Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2012 GMC Terrain
When ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure gets reported
Owners of the 2012 GMC Terrain report ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at a median of 60,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 60,000 miles and a quarter after 60,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 16th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 60,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 1,570 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 59,100 miles | 60,000 miles | 60,025 miles | 60,100 miles | 60,670 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure, every year of the GMC Terrain
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I turned off the ignition to my 2012 gmc terrain, removed the key and opened the trunk/hatch to retrieve some items. As I attempted to lock the vehicle I realized it was still running. I was unable to use the key fob to unlock the doors and had to open them manually. It took two attempts at inserting the key in to the ignition and turning it "off" before the vehicle actually turned off. This is an issue with this vehicle yet according to the dealership "not with my specific vehicle" and they won't even look at it with. Please include my specific vehicle in this recall that was made on 07/05/2016 stating "general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year...as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in park. Also, certain...2011-2013 gmc terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 114 "theft protection and rollaway prevention." please amend this recall to include my vehicle.
09/08/18 I put the vehicle in park, turned the ignition off, removed the key from the ignition and exited the vehicle. I got some items from my trunk and went about my business. About 45 minutes later, I returned to my vehicle only to notice the lights were on and it was running. I was unable to unlock the vehicle using the key fob and had to manually unlock the door. I put the key in the ignition to turn the vehicle off again and it would not turn off. I wiggled the gear shift and it finally turned off. This is the second time this has happened. Please add my vehicle to the recall list as this is the exact issue that the other gmc terrain 2012 are having.
09/08/18 I put the vehicle in park, turned the ignition off, removed the key from the ignition and exited the vehicle. I got some items from my trunk and went about my business. About 45 minutes later, I returned to my vehicle only to notice the lights were on and it was running. I was unable to unlock the vehicle using the key fob and had to manually unlock the door. I put the key in the ignition to turn the vehicle off again and it would not turn off. I wiggled the gear shift and it finally turned off. This is the second time this has happened. Please add my vehicle to the recall list as this is the exact issue that the other gmc terrain 2012 are having.
Also reported on the 2012 GMC Terrain
Excessive oil consumption
Other engine problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Wiper or washer failure
Other visibility problem
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 8 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure happen on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 60,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 60,000 miles and a quarter after 60,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
8 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed