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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
11,726 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2016 Chevrolet Colorado drivetrain problems

drivetrain problem

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2016 Chevrolet Colorado Owner Comments (Page 1 of 5)

problem #83

Jun 132023

Colorado

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

06/13/2023: Odometer: 86881 Transmission-2nd Shift: Flare, 3rd Shift: rough shift flare, 4th Shift: shutter. Excessive metal particles in the fluid. No transmission codes or engine light detected. Result was a new rebuilt transmission. 11/01/23: Odometer: 90239 Engine Code: P00b7 coolant flow restriction, stuck thermostat. Result was to replace thermostat and flush coolant system. 12/06/23: Odometer: 91701 No codes detected. Fluids noticed on pavement occasionally. Valve cover gasket, vacuum pump gasket were failing. Result was to replace all parts. 02/25/24: Odometer: 92885 Code-engine overheating, idle engine. Critical 260 upon cold start. Failing temperature sensor. Result was to replace front and rear temperature sensor. Driver seat has begun to unravel and separate at the stich line on the side closest to the door. No repairs have been made. Issue began years ago. Approximately 2018. The area was small and has slowly widened. Approximately 6 inches currently even with avoidance of stretching and being cautious of that area. I do have documentation of this events and repairs if they are needed.

- Cedar Park, TX, USA

problem #82

Jul 292023

Colorado

  • 85,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The failure was intermittent. The contact used excessive force to steer the vehicle. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle was restarted, and the vehicle regained power steering functionality however, the failure would recur soon afterwards. The contact found NHTSA ID Number: 10208045 (Steering, Power Train, Electrical System, Exterior Lighting) as well as NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V213000 (Steering) which were related to the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the battery had failed. The battery was replaced. The failure persisted and the vehicle was returned to the dealer, and a recalibration was performed. The vehicle was returned to the dealer a third time to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the torque sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, and it was confirmed that the failure was related to the NHTSA ID Number and the recall however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage 85,000.

- Dewey, AZ, USA

problem #81

Jul 042023

Colorado

  • miles
Had transmission problems for over 2 years with the truck has always shifted hard and weird since I bought the truck repair torque converter mechanic has had to go back in twice still can't get it right everything on this truck has been very difficult to get fixed and repaired everything has to be done more than once it's getting annoying

- West Palm Beach, FL, USA

problem #80

Nov 082023

Colorado

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Stabilitrack system alerts then will cut off power steering. Clicking on the shift module occured resulting the computer to go into limp mode making unsafe to drive when it happens spontaneously as I drive. Took it to a local mechanic and ecu codes came up however the dealership is scheduled this weekend. No warnings. The mechanic was able to see the codes pop as I drove

- Vero Beach, FL, USA

problem #79

Aug 252023

Colorado

  • miles
A known wire chaffing problem for this make/model caused vehicle to loose all transmission power. Doors unlocked and locked on their own while moving the vehicle. Had two young children with me in 100+ degree weather. Truck finally moved in first gear at 20 mph max to get home on the road with other traffic.

- Macomb, IL, USA

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problem #78

Sep 012022

Colorado

  • miles
My power steering and stablalink keep malfunctioning. My power steering will go out on me while I'm driving!

- Peoria, AZ, USA

problem #77

May 022023

Colorado

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power steering and stabilitrak fail while driving randomly. Any speed, any steering angle. NUMEROUS times at highway speed. Loss of power steering completely. Will sometimes reset if truck is turned off, key removed, and turned back on again. Other times it takes a few restarts. This is dangerous and scary and it is identical to the 2015 Colorado/Canyon issue.

- Danbury, CT, USA

problem #76

Mar 182023

Colorado

  • miles
Vehicle suddenly loses power steering without warning. The power steering module is connected to the CAN bus which errors everything else on the same network so stabilitrack, traction control, ABS, etc goes out all at the same time. On icy roads, this caused to hit the ditch at very high speed. What I don-??t understand is why you only forced a recall on the 2015 MY when the 2016-??s use the same exact components and assembly process. Clearly this is still an issue for many 2016 owners!

- East Grand Forks, MN, USA

problem #75

Mar 212023

Colorado

  • miles
While my 17 year old son was traveling on the highway at a speed of 55, the truck (2016 Chevy Colorado)suddenly lost its power steering. He was barely able to get off the road, because the steering wheel was so hard to turn. The stabilitrak warning light came on and a warning light about the power steering also came on(while the problem was happening). My son was very concerned, because he said if he had been traveling at that speed around a curve, he could have crashed. This seems very serious to me. I googled this problem, only to find there have been recalls on several 2015 and 2016 models, but my VIN was not one of them.... something is wrong here!!?? I'm scared to let him drive it anymore.

- Glennville, GA, USA

problem #74

Dec 142022

Colorado

  • miles
Vehicle shuddering at low speeds. Took to Chevrolet Dealer, and they diagnosed as Torque Converter coming apart. Colorado has 67,953 miles. Per dealer service department, Need to replace Transmission at $6,273.52. If not replaced, Vehicle will freeze up and not be able to shift gears.

- Daphne, AL, USA

problem #73

Dec 132022

Colorado

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Auto stutters in lower gears at lower speeds like transmission is skipping.

- Daphne, AL, USA

problem #72

Jun 152020

Colorado

  • miles
Vehicle shift lever, part # 23397472, will not go into mode to allow keys to be removed from ignition. Will only go into the accessory mode which will allow the battery to run down if left this way. Have to restart and move shift lever back and forth multiple times before keys can be removed. This seems to be a continuing problem on Chevy Colorados and GMC Canyons according to various Chevy/GMC owner complaints. Almost have pointed back to the part number above.

- Broken Arrow, OK, USA

problem #71

Oct 302021

Colorado

  • miles
The transmission sucks. It-€™s jerky, rough, and random. Downshifting from 5th to 4th and 2nd to 1st is rough. Stopping the vehicle can be a pain sometimes because it-€™s like the truck doesn-€™t want to stop. Acceleration is very poor, I shouldn-€™t have to go pedal to floor to accelerate 5+mph while at highway speeds. It shudders, chuggles, and creates a weird deep droning noise when getting up too speed While driving, the engine picks and chooses when to speed up. I press the gas peddle down and have to wait a few seconds before the vehicle responds. I have noticed the vehicle making sounds like it is sputtering almost to the point to seizing all together. Slow and go driving 20-40mph after coasting and trying to accelerate again the transmission bucks, hesitates trying to find a lower gear. It can-€™t decide which gear to go into and just sputters and chugs until I push the accelerator 1/2 way down or more and it the finds its gear and rockets off. This type of driving is not safe at all. This happens all the time. This is a known gm issue with Colorado/Canyons and GM changed transmissions following years and no support for 2015-16. It sucks at maintaining speeds; even with cruise control. I go up the slightest, and I mean like a 2% grade incline it loses its speed by 2-5 mph. And with cruise control it-€™ll down shift to get back to the set speed but I go nowhere. Then it-€™ll downshift again to a lower gear and climbs even higher in RPMs to get up to speed and then cruise control will shut off and I-€™ll have to manually accelerate.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #70

Jul 272022

Colorado

  • miles
The transmission went from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive without me doing a thing. The light came on that the transmission was transmission to 4 wheel drive. Then the traction control lights came on the dash which said they were off. The transmission was very sluggish, I pressed on the gas pedal to see if that would clear it and the transmission didn't engage. When I went to turn of the road my front wheels felt like they were coming off. (Hard to explain) it's like the wheels were turned to tight. And the front end shook. I was stuck.

- Niles, MI, USA

problem #69

Jun 262022

Colorado

  • miles
Has happened multiple times where driving and notification comes on dash that Stabilitrak and Power steering are malfunctioning and then stop working. Has happened in the middle of a turn and the wheel turn to lead in my hand and I almost crashed. Every time it happens the only way to fix it is to pull over and reset computer and pray it doesn't shut off again while I'm driving. I've spoken to numerous others with the same year and have had similar electrical issues, as well I have seen dozens of people posting online asking the same questions so i know its not just my car and I know there is a recall out for the same part on the '15 Chevy Colorado. The issue of bringing it into the mechanic to fix is that if nothing is going wrong at the time they can't see the issue. This is an extreme safety issue. more than once the power steering has shut off while taking a steep turn. GM needs to be help accountable to fix this issue.

- Melbourne, FL, USA

problem #68

Dec 082021

Colorado

  • miles
my truck has a issue when you are going down a hill it shifts into a lower gear. This is an automatic transmission. This can cause my truck to slide and spin in bad weather. I have seen people comment about this issue on some Colorado forums. It has done this many times and at times I have pulled over and placed it in park

- Honesdale , PA, USA

problem #67

Oct 182021

Colorado

  • miles
My transmission suddenly failed while I was in drive, stopped, at a stop light. I had the transmission repaired. It was a sealed unit with nothing visible from the outside. I would have had to pay a substantial core charge to keep the failed unit, which I did not do so it was not inspected and is not available to my knowledge. My safety was put at risk because I could not move my vehicle in heavy afternoon rush hour traffic on a busy city street. The police did not respond. A tow truck took 50 minutes to arrive. My vehicle was in a traffic lane. My safety was put at risk because I had to direct on-rushing traffic around my vehicle by the light of my phone flashlight as darkness fell. My truck and I were at risk of being hit for at least twenty minutes before my arriving son and two kind strangers were able to stop traffic and push my vehicle onto private property. The problem was reproduced and confirmed by the certified Chevy technician who repaired my truck. The component was only inspected from the outside by the service tech who could not see any issues on the outside of the sealed transmission. There was no warning. My vehicle was in drive with my foot on the brake as I sat waiting for the light to change. When the light changed, I took my foot off the brake and depressed the accelerator pedal. The engine revved but there was no movement. I changed the gears from drive to park and back again several time with no effect. The reverse gear still worked but that did not help me in traffic.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #66

Oct 052021

Colorado

  • miles
Electrical issue receiving "Service 4WD" message. Has came on intermittently in the past. This causes the vehicle to get stuck in either 4wd or 2wd. Removing battery terminal and fuse fixes this and it works again fine until the error comes on randomly.

- Appleton, WI, USA

problem #65

Feb 272020

Colorado

  • 36,000 miles
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at highway speeds, after switching from the automatic drive mode to manual drive mode, the driver was able to manually switch to 1st gear which caused the speed to abruptly decrease. The contact indicated that the owner-€™s manual stated that the vehicle would not allow itself to shift into a lower gear at an unsafe speed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and the mechanic duplicated the failure, but no service was performed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 36,000.

- Northville, MI, USA

problem #64

Jul 122021

Colorado

  • miles
When the vehicle is placed in Park and Ignition is turned off, the Ignition Key cannot be removed one out of eight or ten tries. It is available for inspection. My wife was running an errand after dark. She was unable to remove the Key, but did not want to leave the vehicle to be possibly stolen. This was a serious danger to her and it has also happened to me. Dealers confirm that this is a common problem, but only replace parts at my expense due to being out of warranty. The parts work for several months, then the problem reoccurs. The vehicle has been inspected by a dealer. No warnings prior to failure. Problem began at 41,000 miles.

- Purvis, MS, USA

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