Wiper or washer failure on the 2012 GMC Terrain
When wiper or washer failure gets reported
Owners of the 2012 GMC Terrain report wiper or washer failure at a median of 90,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles, from 38 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 80,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 55,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 127,500 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 73,900 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
3% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54,100 miles | 64,886 miles | 90,070 miles | 110,885 miles | 128,000 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 $120–$800 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 7 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2013, at a median of 60,000 miles, and latest on the 2011 at 95,000 miles.
By volume the 2012 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
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.
Wipers in "on" position, wiper motor audibly running, neither wiper blade would move across windshield, both remain stationary. Can manually move both blades freely, no binding, in unison validating linkage between the two blade arms were still connected. Suspected motor shaft/spline connecting to the "blade transmission" was disconnected, stripped, or fell off. To ensure not an electrical issue, removed 25 amp fuse (no. 29) from engine compartment fuse buss and inspected fuse. Fuse intact and in like new condition. Reinstalled the fuse resuming motor function. Drove the vehicle to valentine gmc buick, fairborn, ohio and asked service mgr if a tsb referencing this safety issue had been reported. The service mgr did not comment; instead he showed me an illustrated parts breakdown of the area in question pointing to the blade transmission. To confirm my diagnosis, he had one of their mechanics inspect the area in question pending the removal of a panel. Service mgr followed by stating I "might" not have to pay, depending on the problem. The inspection proved it was indeed the wiper blade transmission p/n 25948436, gm at fault. The…
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. During inclement weather, the window wipers ceased to function. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the wiper transmission was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 44,000. Updated 10/19/16*lj *tr
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 gmc terrain. While driving approximately 40 MPH in the rain, the windshield wiper on the driver side failed. The vehicle was driven to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the driver side wiper failed and needed to be replaced. The windshield wiper transmission linkage was replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 16v582000 (visibility). The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 113,000.
Also reported on the 2012 GMC Terrain
Excessive oil consumption
Other engine problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Other visibility problem
Other electrical problem
Oil leak
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 44 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 wiper or washer failure happen on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
Across 38 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 90,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is wiper or washer failure on the 2012 GMC Terrain?
44 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.5 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