Other fuel system problem on the 2012 GMC Terrain
When other fuel system problem gets reported
Owners of the 2012 GMC Terrain report other fuel system problem at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 135,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 9th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 135,149 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
33% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,607 miles | 18,000 miles | 50,300 miles | 133,000 miles | 145,756 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 $300–$2,200 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 on other years
The same failure is reported on 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 10,000 miles, and latest on the 2013 at 80,000 miles.
By volume the 2011 carries the most reports, with 24; the 2012 has 14. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the contact drove over a piece of a tire in the road. The tire struck the fuel line and caused the fuel line to become detached. As a result, gasoline fuel began to spill over the highway. The vehicle was stopped and towed to a dealer for diagnosis and the fuel line was replaced. The dealer informed the contact that there was nothing to protect the fuel line from subsequent contact with road debris. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 18,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. The contact stated that he was driving approximately 60-70 MPH when he heard a loud noise as the vehicle stalled. The contact was able to pull off the road. After inspecting the vehicle, he found that the fuel line was fractured and all of the gasoline spilled out from the vehicle and onto the highway. The police were contacted and a report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnosis where the contact was advised that the fuel line needed to be replaced. The fuel line was replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 12,000.
I started out driving on highway road at approximately 5:45pm traffic was moderate, my speed was about 30-35 MPH. All of a sudden I heard a clunk and then alarm ding from the dash as well as message "service stabiltrak" then "reduced engine power". I was unable to go any faster than 25mph. I drove in this mode for about 2 miles in traffic, when reaching open highway (no traffic) the vehicle would not shift by itself. I had to accelerate then let off the gas, tap pedal then the vehicle would shift. I was able to do this multiple times until reaching about 45mph. I pulled off into a neighborhood, shut vehicle off to see if this would reset something, it did not. The vehicle was in this state when I arrived at the dealership service department at approximately 6:05pm. Dealership logged following on service request: 5043 found code p228c ran diag could not duplicate problem fuel psi at spec raises to spec test drove on highway did not duplicate condition found no bull on condition test drive numerous time, could not duplicate concern. Miles out 5067. *tr
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 14 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 other fuel system problem happen on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 135,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other fuel system problem on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
14 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 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