Chevrolet Traverse vs GMC Terrain: which is more reliable?
The GMC Terrain is clearly ahead of the Chevrolet Traverse on the federal record: 83/100 against 71/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Traverse
- 15 model years scored
- 4,296 owner complaints on record
- about 48 complaints per year on the road
- 53 recall campaigns, 35 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (88/100) · worst 2025 (46/100)
GMC Terrain
- 15 model years scored
- 2,848 owner complaints on record
- about 21 complaints per year on the road
- 36 recall campaigns, 10 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (92/100) · worst 2018 (71/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Traverse against Terrain
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
| Year | Traverse | Terrain | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 AVOID | 89 BUY | -43 |
| 2024 | 64 CAUTION | 84 BUY | -20 |
| 2023 | 86 BUY | 89 BUY | -3 |
| 2022 | 88 BUY | 85 BUY | +3 |
| 2021 | 85 BUY | 92 BUY | -7 |
| 2020 | 69 CAUTION | 75 BUY | -6 |
| 2019 | 61 CAUTION | 78 BUY | -17 |
| 2018 | 65 CAUTION | 71 BUY | -6 |
| 2017 | 72 BUY | 91 BUY | -19 |
| 2016 | 78 BUY | 90 BUY | -12 |
| 2015 | 76 BUY | 75 BUY | +1 |
| 2014 | 58 CAUTION | 82 BUY | -24 |
| 2013 | 81 BUY | 76 BUY | +5 |
| 2012 | 80 BUY | 77 BUY | +3 |
| 2011 | 69 CAUTION | 75 BUY | -6 |
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Traverse
- Air Bags — 921 complaints
- Engine — 876 complaints
- Power Train — 738 complaints
GMC Terrain
- Engine — 1,094 complaints
- Power Train — 417 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 346 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Traverse's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Terrain's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Traverse — avoid: 2025.
GMC Terrain: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016….
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Traverse prices at about $63,100 and a GMC Terrain at about $40,800 — the GMC Terrain is roughly $22,300 less, and they return 21.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Traverse or the GMC Terrain more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the GMC Terrain scores 83/100 against the Chevrolet Traverse's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The GMC Terrain carries about 21 complaints per year on the road against 48 for the Chevrolet Traverse.
Which Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Traverse: 2025. GMC Terrain: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Traverse and the GMC Terrain?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Traverse is Air Bags (921 complaints); on the GMC Terrain it is Engine (1,094).
Is the Chevrolet Traverse or the GMC Terrain cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Traverse prices at about $63,100 and a GMC Terrain at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.