2017 GMC Terrain with blown engine 51,000 miles

[cdlamb]

A friend recently had the engine fail in a 2017 Terrain with the 2.4 Ecotec engine.

She purchased it new from the dealer and oil changes were being done regularly at the dealer 3800 to 4000 or 5000 kilometer intervals.

because it is 7 years old it is out of warranty period with only 82000 kilometers, and dealer won't do anything for her.
not sure if it was getting ran low on oil or whether it had oil consumption / leaking issues.

I know it had a lot of short trips in small city driving to work, and extended idle times. Would have been interesting to see regular oil analysis results on this engine from new to see what was going on.

Doesn't sound like its a good idea to replace with a salvage engine, & new drop in is not in her budget.
She has decided to sell as is for $5000 CAD and cut her losses.

Too bad they don't build them to last.
Sounds like engines are prone to carbon builup with direct injection, and have fuel dilution issues.

 

[Rmay635703]

A friend recently had the engine fail in a 2017 Terrain with the 2.4 Ecotec engine.

She purchased it new from the dealer and oil changes were being done regularly at the dealer 3800 to 4000 or 5000 kilometer intervals.

because it is 7 years old it is out of warranty period with only 82000 kilometers, and dealer won't do anything for her.
not sure if it was getting ran low on oil or whether it had oil consumption / leaking issues.

I know it had a lot of short trips in small city driving to work, and extended idle times. Would have been interesting to see regular oil analysis results on this engine from new to see what was going on.

Doesn't sound like its a good idea to replace with a salvage engine, & new drop in is not in her budget.
She has decided to sell as is for $5000 CAD and cut her losses.

Too bad they don't build them to last.
Sounds like engines are prone to carbon builup with direct injection, and have fuel dilution issues.

2017 Terrain 2.4l or V6. Which is more reliable

www.terrainforum.net

Odd but I wonder if that 2.4 eco tech is virtually identical to the na 2.4 in the old Cobalts? Engine swap to a throttle body and problem solved?

My old Cobalt makes its own oil so I have to change often, sucks that it messes with the downstream o2 sensor

 

[SeaJay]

3800 to 4000 or 5000 kilometer intervals well exceed any manufacter oil change interval, at least in the US on mainstream modern cars like a 2017 Chevy Terrain. It certainly wasn't anything the owner did regarding oil changes.

 

[dogememe]

When I was shopping for an newer compact SUV to replace a high mileage 2008 Escape about 5 years ago I was cross shopping another used 2nd gen Escape a used Terrain four cylinder. So glad I went with another Escape even though I preferred a few things about the Terrain. That 2010 Escape was a top notch vehicle til last year when I sold it and I suspect it's treating its new owners just as well. Meanwhile the amount of people that come in to the parts store or post online about problems with their four-cylinder Terrains is just astounding. The Escapes are not perfect and went downhill starting with the 3rd gens but holy cow I have heard not a single good thing about that GM 2.4.

 

[Rand]

Very short on information to draw any conclusions.

 

[twX]

These engines are known for oil burning issues, so maybe it was oil starvation.

There are also issues with the PCV line freezing, which causes the rear main seal to blow, resulting in more oil loss. A vehicle that's short-tripped in a Saskatchewan winter is a prime candidate for this issue.

 

[JTK]

The worst part of this situation to me is, if she indeed bought this vehicle new from this dealer and took it to this same dealer every 2-3K miles (?) for oil changes, and I assume all other services. They couldn't step up and goodwill anything? I would have started a polite, professional and persistent campaign with dealer management in regards to this.

I thought situations like this was the whole reason for using dealer service.

 

[cptbarkey]

I Do Cars YT channel agrees with OP. "Alot of people need these engines, and there are alot of reasons why."

 

[cdlamb]

2017 Terrain 2.4l or V6. Which is more reliable

www.terrainforum.net

Odd but I wonder if that 2.4 eco tech is virtually identical to the na 2.4 in the old Cobalts? Engine swap to a throttle body and problem solved?

My old Cobalt makes its own oil so I have to change often, sucks that it messes with the downstream o2 sensor

Yeah, probably not that easy to do with the ECM and everything else. Replacement salvage engines have to match up to serial numbers.

 

[cdlamb]

These engines are known for oil burning issues, so maybe it was oil starvation.

There are also issues with the PCV line freezing, which causes the rear main seal to blow, resulting in more oil loss. A vehicle that's short-tripped in a Saskatchewan winter is a prime candidate for this issue.

Yes, vehicle was owned by my ex's mother. I am not too sure on the history of the car, just was always serviced through dealer. Not sure how much oil it was using, or if it was getting checked often enough, or if maintenance was completed as needed, or if the OCI has always been this often or a more recent development.

With a newer vehicle owner may not have checked oil levels often enough. Unsure if dealers let owners know if they are using oil, or just drain it, without checking levels.

It went down in -45 cold snap, battery seemed like it was too weak to crank engine. I tried boosting it, and still wasn't firing well.
I think they determined that timing chain went out of sequence and valve damage maybe.
Is this an interference Engine?

Our cold winter climate is hard on some of these vehicles, with extended cold weather idling.

I just felt the need to have a brief rant and disappointed in dealer service.

 

[PF52]

Odd but I wonder if that 2.4 eco tech is virtually identical to the na 2.4 in the old Cobalts? Engine swap to a throttle body and problem solved?

My old Cobalt makes its own oil so I have to change often, sucks that it messes with the downstream o2 sensor

I asked the same question awhile back and was told no, the old-style Ecotecs and the later ones (like this 2017) are considerably different.

My Cobalt is also a 2.4 but it's a 2006 and is not DI. It's also maintained per usual BITOG standards and unlike the OP's friend I have UOA every 20K miles from nearly-new to 270K.

 

[twX]

I think they determined that timing chain went out of sequence and valve damage maybe.

The engine in the video posted above had the same thing happen, which is another common on these engines.

He thinks it happens when oil starvation causes oil pressure to drop, the timing chain tensioner to lose pressure, and the chain to jump time.

 

[atikovi]

Too bad they don't build them to last.

No basis for that statement with the few facts mentioned.

I think they determined that timing chain went out of sequence and valve damage maybe.

Pull the head and replace the bent valves. Maybe $1500 job. That's not a blown engine.

 

[FowVay]

This is a sad story. There's no reason on planet earth for a vehicle that new and with such low usage numbers to die of a catastrophic failure.

And what MENSA member thought it was a great idea to drive the water pump off of that timing chain? Good Lord it's getting stupid.

I agree with atikovi, rebuild the head and stick it back on there. What do you have to lose?

 

[GMBoy]

Before even opening the thread I knew it was the 2.4. TERRIBLE motor - I have replaced a dozen or more. All the same failures - ran low on oil and either burned up or timing chains failed. They burn so much oil that in a normal oil change interval you will be nearly bone dry of oil by the 5k mark. If people would check their oil then the whole issue could be avoided but people don't.

 

[Exhaustgases]

All the manufactures seem to have the same problems. Engines especially are over priced junk in modern vehicles. What is the reason for this? I'd like to know what vehicle manufacture makes a dependable engine now days? Even Honda doesn't.

 

[JTK]

Before even opening the thread I knew it was the 2.4. TERRIBLE motor - I have replaced a dozen or more. All the same failures - ran low on oil and either burned up or timing chains failed. They burn so much oil that in a normal oil change interval you will be nearly bone dry of oil by the 5k mark. If people would check their oil then the whole issue could be avoided but people don't.

Of course it's tough to know the full story on the vehicle, but the OP stated she got dealer documented oil changes done every 3000 miles or less.

Could it be possible it burned THAT much oil that it still smoked the engine with that oil change regimen?

 

[Rand]

Of course it's tough to know the full story on the vehicle, but the OP stated she got dealer documented oil changes done every 3000 miles or less.

Could it be possible it burned THAT much oil that it still smoked the engine with that oil change regimen?

When its 2 quarts low the other 3 quarts are living a hard life.

There is a 2.4l 2013 equinox in the family it uses considerable oil It caught me out at 1.5quarts low after 2500miles one time.
Now it rarely gets 500miles a month so I check it every few months and its needed about .5quart every time.
Still runs like a top. I think the key is keeping oil in it.
IIRC it has 53000 miles on it.

I think I'll take my boxer engine over that one...

 

[atikovi]

ran low on oil and either burned up or timing chains failed.

Isn't there a low oil pressure warning light on the dash? And do people just ignore it, like they ignore checking the oil regularly? If so, I have no sympathy.

 

[vpr5703]

All the manufactures seem to have the same problems. Engines especially are over priced junk in modern vehicles. What is the reason for this? I'd like to know what vehicle manufacture makes a dependable engine now days? Even Honda doesn't.

Speaking from personal experience and a few friends/family members - The Ford Duratec 2.5L NA engines are absolute tanks. I had one in a Fusion that went to 324,000 miles on 10,000 OCIs and burnt maybe 4oz of oil. I sent the car to the junkyard due to a transmission issue, and the engine still revved to the moon and back happily on the way there.

Related - The Mazda 2.5L Skyactiv-G engines are also known for being very reliable save for some MY 2020-2021 Turbo variants that had bad seals on the exhaust valves and burnt oil.