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2016 Chevrolet Colorado

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Colorado years

Owner complaints for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado are substantially higher than the model-year median of 84.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

295 reports with mileage · 411 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Steering. Review the 457 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 117 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 97 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

14 crash reports1 fire reports6 injury reports

Steering complaints

457 reports
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Mileage unknown · Nov 21, 2023
Steering

While driving my Chevy Colorado to work steering wheel suddenly jerked from my hands in a turn and forced me to drive straight. Luckily was able to make it into a median after nearly striking another vehicle. While completing a turn into a gas station to assess the problem steering was extremely difficult, even beyond what a veh…

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While driving my Chevy Colorado to work steering wheel suddenly jerked from my hands in a turn and forced me to drive straight. Luckily was able to make it into a median after nearly striking another vehicle. While completing a turn into a gas station to assess the problem steering was extremely difficult, even beyond what a vehicle without power steering feels like. Had to shut off the truck and wait for a complete power down, restart and the issue was corrected. I have no doubt that had my daughter been driving, as she sometimes uses the truck, she would have had zero chance of steering the vehicle. Reading other similar issues with the 2016 online, how was this not a recall along with the 2015s? Extremely unsafe!

NHTSA ODI #11556188

Mileage unknown · Nov 20, 2023
Steering

StabiliTrak Warning light comes on and the power steering cuts out at the same time. The vehicle becomes very difficult to drive after the malfunction. The vehicle must be pulled to the side of the road, powered off, and then restarted to get the power steering back. This happens on a completely random basis with no warning w…

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StabiliTrak Warning light comes on and the power steering cuts out at the same time. The vehicle becomes very difficult to drive after the malfunction. The vehicle must be pulled to the side of the road, powered off, and then restarted to get the power steering back. This happens on a completely random basis with no warning whatsoever and most definitely can cause a severe safety occurrence.

NHTSA ODI #11556082

Mileage unknown · Nov 14, 2023
Electrical SystemService BrakesSteering

Power Steering electrical assist shut off several times while driving and once while parked. Extremely difficult to turn steering wheel and incredibly dangerous and life threatening. Service Power Steering and Service Stabilitrak error show on dash screen. Digital Diagnostic shows ERROR U0420-42 INVALID DATA RECEIVED FROM POWER …

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Power Steering electrical assist shut off several times while driving and once while parked. Extremely difficult to turn steering wheel and incredibly dangerous and life threatening. Service Power Steering and Service Stabilitrak error show on dash screen. Digital Diagnostic shows ERROR U0420-42 INVALID DATA RECEIVED FROM POWER STEERING CONTROL MODULE-CALIBRATION NOT PROGRAMMED. This random continuous issue NEEDS to be fixed or truck recalled or someone will be seriously injured. Please push this information forward.

NHTSA ODI #11555162

Mileage unknown · Nov 14, 2023
Electrical SystemPower TrainSteering

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 mecha…

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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

NHTSA ODI #11555092

Mileage unknown · Nov 10, 2023
SteeringUnknown Or OtherCrash

The power steering and stabilitrak went out while i was driving on the freeway, again!

NHTSA ODI #11554551

Mileage unknown · Nov 10, 2023
SteeringUnknown Or Other

Once again the power steering and the stabilitrak went out WHILE I was driving on the dang freeway!

NHTSA ODI #11554549

41,100 miles · Nov 8, 2023
Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering and stabili-trak warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the power steering was inoperable. The contact stated that it was very difficult to maneuver the vehicle, but he was able to d…

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The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the power steering and stabili-trak warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the power steering was inoperable. The contact stated that it was very difficult to maneuver the vehicle, but he was able to drive the vehicle to a nearby parking lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 41,100.

NHTSA ODI #11554185

Mileage unknown · Oct 31, 2023
Steering

When driving the truck I loose the power steering which makes it almost impossible to safely drive the vehicle..its happened 10 times and 2 of which I was in the smokey mountains and almost went off the road.

NHTSA ODI #11552847

84,000 miles · Oct 31, 2023
Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH uphill on a curvy road, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and jerked to the right towards a ditch that was in front of a cliff. The contact used physical strength to steer the vehicle back into the lane. The message "Power Steering Fa…

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The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH uphill on a curvy road, the vehicle lost power steering functionality and jerked to the right towards a ditch that was in front of a cliff. The contact used physical strength to steer the vehicle back into the lane. The message "Power Steering Failure" was displayed and the traction control, the Stabili-trak and other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact drove downhill and pulled to the side of the roadway, turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the vehicle operated as needed; however, the failure recurred while driving in the mountains. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where diagnostic code: C0545 was retrieved, and the mechanic informed the contact that the failure was related to the power steering system. The mechanic referred the contact to the dealer for repairs. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 84,000.

NHTSA ODI #11552841

Mileage unknown · Oct 27, 2023
Electrical SystemSteering

While driving to work the power steering stopped. There was a faint audible chime and a warning comes on and there is no power steering. This happened two separate times this week and one other time approximately three months ago. I was able to exit the highway. I turned the vehicle off, took the key out of the ignition, and exi…

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While driving to work the power steering stopped. There was a faint audible chime and a warning comes on and there is no power steering. This happened two separate times this week and one other time approximately three months ago. I was able to exit the highway. I turned the vehicle off, took the key out of the ignition, and exited the vehicle. There's no smoke or unusual smell from the engine. When I restarted the vehicle, the warning light goes off and the power steering works again like normal. I have contacted the dealer for an appointment.

NHTSA ODI #11552159

Official recalls

4

18V358000 · Fuel System, Gasoline:delivery:fuel Pump

May 31, 2018

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: A damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.

17V621000 · Air Bags:frontal

Oct 5, 2017

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, and 2016 Chevrolet Volt vehicles. The driver's frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17387.

16V125000 · Air Bags:frontal

Mar 2, 2016

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Colorado vehicles manufactured January 19, 2016, to February 2, 2016, Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured January 9, 2016, to January 26, 2016, and 2016 GMC Canyon vehicles manufactured January 21, 2016, to February 4, 2016. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: An improperly inflated air bag increases the risk of injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver side frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 28030.

15V807000 · Latches/locks/linkages

Dec 1, 2015

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Colorado trucks manufactured August 25, 2015 to September 24, 2015, and GMC Canyon trucks manufactured August 28, 2015 to September 24, 2015. The affected vehicles have a console compartment lid latch assembly that may fail to keep the compartment door closed in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the console compartment door does not remain closed in a crash, the contents stored in the console may strike the vehicle occupants, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the console compartment door latch assembly, free of charge. The recall began on January 5, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16370.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.