2016 Chevrolet Colorado

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 CHEVROLET COLORADO. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED MAKING THE VEHICLE UNABLE TO BE DRIVEN. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO WOODY FOLSOM AUTOMOTIVE (1749 GOLDEN ISLES PKWY, BAXLEY, GA 31513) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH THE POWER STEERING UNIT NEEDING TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED AS OF YET. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN INFORMED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 115,000.

MY 2016 COLORADO IS EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE AS THE 2015 COLORADO COVERED BY GM RECALL 15595. OFTEN WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE POWER STEERING ASSISTANCE IS LOST AND THE STEERING REVERTS TO MANUALLY STEERING AND IS VERY HARD TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND GET THE VEHICLE TO A SAVE PLACE. GM STATES THAT MY VEHICLE IS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL EVEN THOUGH MANY 2016 COLORADOS HAVE THE SAME ISSUE AS THE 2015. THE INITIAL RECALL APPARENTLY DID NOT COVER ENOUGH VEHICLES.

STABILITYTRACK LIGHT CAME ON & LOST POWER STEERING WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON THE HIGHWAY. IMMEDIATELY, TURNED ON THE HAZARD LIGHTS AND ATTEMPTED TO STEER THE VEHICLE TO THE SHOULDER. STEERING A VEHICLE AT A HIGHWAY SPEED WITHOUT POWER STEERING WAS A VERY DIFFICULT TASK. RESTARTED THE VEHICLE A COUPLE OF TIMES, THEN IT WAS BACK TO NORMAL. THE DEALERSHIP FOUND ERROR CODES U0415 AND U0420 AMONG OTHER ERRORS IN THE HISTORY OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP ONLY RE-CHARGED THE BATTERY AND RESET THE COMPUTER (I BELIEVE). HOWEVER, THE EXACT SAME ISSUE OCCURRED AGAIN ON 10/18/2020 IN THE EXACT SAME SCENARIO. EXCEPT, WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO THE SAME DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP WAS UNABLE TO DETECT ANY ERROR MESSAGE IN THE VEHICLE HISTORY, WHICH IS QUITE FRIGHTENING. EXPECTING TO BRING THIS VEHICLE TO A DIFFERENT DEALERSHIP FOR A SECOND OPINION.

IGNITION KEY CANNOT BE REMOVED AND DOES NOT ROTATE TO THE "OFF" POSITION WHEN PARKING THE VEHICLE. YOU HAVE TO MOVE THE VEHICLE AND THE STEERING WHEEL MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET THE KEY TO RELEASE. MULTIPLE GM CARS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. GM DOCUMENT PIT5233F CALLS THIS A NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC ON 11 MODELS FOR MULTIPLE YEARS. MY VEHICLE HAS 32000 MILES ON IT AND THE DEALERSHIP REPLACED THE SHIFTER ASSEMBLY. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND GM CUSTOMER SERVICE ABOUT THIS COMMON PROBLEM THAT SEEMS TO NEED A RECALL.

WHILE THE VEHICLE REMAINED IN MOTION TAKING A TURN ON A ROUNDABOUT, THE VEHICLES POWER STEERING AND STABILITRAK SUDDENLY TURNS OFF CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO BECOME VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER AND NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO COMPLETE THE TURN. THE SITUATION HAPPENED TWICE IN ROUNDABOUTS IN THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS. ONE OF THE TIMES THIS HAPPENED MY WIFE WAS DRIVING WHILE MY TWO YOUNG CHILDREN WERE IN THE VEHICLE. SHE DESCRIBED HITTING THE CURB, BECAUSE OF LACK OF ARM STRENGTH TO PULL THE WHEEL. THE ISSUE RESOLVES WHEN YOU CAN SAFELY PARK AND RESTART THE VEHICLE. AFTER TAKING IT TO THE DEALER IT WAS CONFIRMED THERE WAS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE "STEERING GEAR PINION" AND APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN SAFETY ISSUE WITH CHEVY COLORADO'S. THE DEALER MENTIONED THE COST TO REPLACE THIS ELECTRICAL COMPONENT INCLUDING LABOR WAS AN UPWARDS OF 1800 DOLLARS. FOR 2015 MODEL YEARS IT APPEARS 3000 VEHICLES WERE RECALLED FOR THIS EXACT ISSUE, HOWEVER A BROADER RECALL WAS NOT EXTENDED TO THE 2016 MODEL YEAR. AFTER CONTACTING GM IT WAS EXPRESSED THAT THEY WOULD NOT COVER MY VEHICLE UNDER THIS RECALL AT THIS TIME. I WAS CHARGED FOR THE DIAGNOSTIC FEE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF ISSUE.

ELECTRIC POWER STEERING QUITS WITH NO WARNING AND LOSE TRACTION CONTROL AND POWER STEERING. DASHBOARD LIGHTS COME ON TO SAY POWER STEERING FAILURE USE CAUTION. PROBLEM IS PERSISTENT MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK WITH NO WARNING. THE ONLY WAY TO RESOLVE ISSUE IS TO STOP FOR FIVE MINUTES AND RESTART ENGINE. THIS TEMPORARILY FIXES THE ISSUE BUT THE PROBLEM WILL REOCCUR AT UNSUSPECTING MOMENTS. IT HAS HAPPENED AT VARYING SPEEDS FROM 25 MPH TO HIGHWAY SPEEDS OF 75. CAUSES THE STEERING TO BECOME HEAVY AND UNMANAGEABLE REQUIRING A SPEED REDUCTION AND STOPPAGE TO RESET ENGINE. MADE APPOINTMENT WITH DEALER AND WAS TOLD THE TRUCK IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THAT IT WOULD BE AN OUT OF POCKET EXPENSE.