GMC Terrain vs Ford Expedition: which is more reliable?
The GMC Terrain is clearly ahead of the Ford Expedition on the federal record: 83/100 against 66/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
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)
Ford Expedition
- 10 model years scored
- 2,276 owner complaints on record
- about 40 complaints per year on the road
- 86 recall campaigns, 32 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (89/100) · worst 2020 (41/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Terrain against Expedition
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.
What owners actually complain about
GMC Terrain
- Engine — 1,094 complaints
- Power Train — 417 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 346 complaints
Ford Expedition
- Power Train — 822 complaints
- Engine — 394 complaints
- Electrical System — 281 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Terrain's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Expedition's in Power Train. 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
GMC Terrain: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016….
Ford Expedition — avoid: 2019, 2020.
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 GMC Terrain prices at about $40,800 and a Ford Expedition at about $63,100 — the GMC Terrain is roughly $22,300 less, and they return 25.0 against 19.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the GMC Terrain or the Ford Expedition more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the GMC Terrain scores 83/100 against the Ford Expedition's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The GMC Terrain carries about 21 complaints per year on the road against 40 for the Ford Expedition.
Which GMC Terrain and Ford Expedition years should I avoid?
GMC Terrain: no year scores below 45. Ford Expedition: 2019, 2020. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the GMC Terrain and the Ford Expedition?
The largest complaint group on the GMC Terrain is Engine (1,094 complaints); on the Ford Expedition it is Power Train (822).
Is the GMC Terrain or the Ford Expedition cheaper to own?
A recent used GMC Terrain prices at about $40,800 and a Ford Expedition at about $63,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.