Hi,
I just leased a 2019 Terrain SLE and I noticed that there are 2 large cuts behind the front seats. There’s also big rectangular cut outs, for what the dealship said were for vents for the AC and heat. Is this normal? I’ve never had a GMC before, but none of my other cars ever had this. They really look terrible and just look like poor craftsmanship.
I can’t imagine what you posted in the photo above is the way the interior is supposed to look. I’m presuming that is visible for anybody sitting in that area to see, not something you’d only see when lying on the floor looking for lost nickels ;). If it’s in a visible area of the vehicle, I doubt it left the factory that way, so not poor craftsmanship, probably damaged in delivery or at the dealership. Go back to the dealership and show them again. If they say “they all look like this”, ask them to prove it by showing you some more of their Terrains on the lot.
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I did! I went back yesterday and they showed me one in their showroom and another in their lot. Before going, I had gone to a different dealership than the one I leased my car at. The sales manager there told me that it’s not normal and showed me a car in his showroom that didn’t have those slits or vents! I’m so confused! Could it be something that just my dealership does to their cars?
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I would immediately go back to the leasing dealership. In my opinion the carpeting should be replaced by them. At the very least, have it documented that it was delivered that way. If not documented, I would bet they would charge you for damage at the end of the lease.
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+1
Take it back and demand a repair or replacement. Do it tomorrow, or tonight is even better. The longer you wait, the more likely it is they will tell you that you damaged the Terrain.
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Are they having knife fights in the back seat when the cars are delivered? Even if that were normal for that vehicle, it would not be acceptable.
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This is what it looks like now. They said it was missing a vent for the heat/AC. Wouldn’t the carpet be molded to the vents instead of them just cutting out a spot for them? If this is how GMC does things, it’s very poor quality and craftsmanship!
Poor craftsmanship from GM? You don’t say! 
Unfortunately, while the overall reliability has gotten much better, the American legacy brands (all two of them that are left) are known for cutting craftsmanship corners. Ford’s the same way. The fit and finish interior difference between them and makers like Honda and Toyota are pretty significant.
Now that you’ve posted the second photo, I’m guessing that is normal because it’s the opening for the rear heat - and the slash to the left of it is probably for the power seat wires. So, it’s normal, but it’s also, frankly, craptastic.
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I suspect a trim piece is missing. No, it would not be molded into the carpet any more than the center console would be. The carpet trim does not need to be perfect if a trim piece or vent is installed over it. Personally, I would be back to the selling dealer in a heartbeat to look at others on the lot. Or perhaps even a different dealer since this one seems a bit shady on the whole deal…
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Well, at least they seem to have advanced beyond their days in the '70s & '80s, when the chance of having a properly aligned trunk lid/hood/doors was… minimal, and their paint quality was abysmal.
Am I the only one who recalls the instrument panels of Chevys in the 80s that were purposely designed with large gaps so that poor assembly wouldn’t be quite as obvious?
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Assembly becomes an art when tolerances are widened enough to reduce parts costs significantly. More expensive, tight tolerance parts are actually easier and therefore less expensive to assemble properly because they just fit or they don’t. No need to make adjustments.
Cheapening up parts at the expense of labor is a fool’s pursuit since labor is the primary cost driver for some time now.
My point is the gaps weren’t as much to address poor labor as they were to reduce parts costs. Those loose fitting parts were much harder to align properly and then hold a gun to someone’s head to get it done within some time standard…lousy outcome all the way around…Not saying they didn’t also have some poor quality control issues but enough blame to go around…
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From where I sit, the bottom line is not to let the accountants in the executive offices tell the engineers how to make the car. Whether the crappy quality comes from pinching pennies on parts or labor, it’s still crappy quality and the consumer doesn’t have to put up with that anymore.
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Well, at least from my perspective, we’re light years beyond the example I was addressing in my last post. The failings of the past have been recognized for the most part in that quality is given higher consideration than the time frame discussed above.
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Without a doubt, it’s better than it used to be. Much. But the trouble is that the other guys have also been getting better, and so they’re still better. When you see pics like OP’s, or when you get into one of the (godawful) Escapes we drive at work and see the fit and finish problems… Someone somewhere at Ford and GM doesn’t care about doing it right, and that’s reflected in the end product. Check this out:
The pic on the left is the stock ignition switch for the Escape. The pic on the right is an aftermarket trim ring that someone decided to sell because Ford couldn’t even be bothered to put a trim ring in there. When we first got this gen of Escape I thought someone at the factory must have forgotten to install the ring - then it turns out Ford cheaped out (again) and didn’t spec one.
It’s a small thing, but it looks unfinished, and bad, and all to save maybe a penny per car at the expense of people thinking your company turns out unfinished, bad, cheap-looking cars. And when you pair that with all the pieces that fall off of our Ford fleet (not just the Escapes - whole pieces of exterior trim have just dropped off of our full-size Transit van), and all the pieces that don’t work right (if it’s below freezing out, the hatch won’t lift all the way, and the windows won’t roll up) you end up selling vehicles that people aren’t exactly going to be chomping at the bit to buy again.
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Yes, craptastic indeed!
Went to one more dealership today. Unfortunately this is just how the car is made. Even on higher models. This was the 3rd dealership to show me the same thing. The salesman noted that it’s probably just more noticeable to me because (I’m short) and my seat is up a lot closer than most other people would have it. I hope GM and Ford get their acts together because I never had these issues with my Honda, Toyota, or BMW.
That is generally how all cars are, the rear seat floor ducts are under the front seats out of view. This is the rear seat flood duct on a Lexus GX460 (SUV), just a hole cut in the carpet, no bezel;
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I never realized that! Thank you for showing me the vent in another car brand. I still think GM’s looks crappy and think they could’ve done a better job finishing up the cut like Lexus. 
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Yeah, but in your picture the hole is neat, and the edges are smooth, and it overall does not look like Norman Bates took a detour on the way to the shower like it does in OP’s picture.
The hole isn’t the problem. The sloppy “just swing a knife at it” method of making the hole is.
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That hole was cut the day after payday.
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