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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.

About this comparison →

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

What owners actually said

706 reports
Mileage unknown · Nov 19, 2025
Lane DepartureSteering

POWER STEERING AND STABILITAK UNABLE TO STEER . CHECKED OWNERS MANULE IT SAYS TURN TRUCK OFF THEN START AGAIN. iT ALSO STATES IT IS STILL SAFE TO DRIVE I don't think so!!! it comes with no warning and you have to pull over and shut the truck off let it sit just a short while then it will steer just fine ....again for a while …

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POWER STEERING AND STABILITAK UNABLE TO STEER . CHECKED OWNERS MANULE IT SAYS TURN TRUCK OFF THEN START AGAIN. iT ALSO STATES IT IS STILL SAFE TO DRIVE I don't think so!!! it comes with no warning and you have to pull over and shut the truck off let it sit just a short while then it will steer just fine ....again for a while . the warning lamps and chimes worked just fine. at the same time the system is failing. 202

NHTSA ODI #11700459

Mileage unknown · Nov 17, 2025
Steering

My steering failed. I was driving under 30 mph and my steering locked up and I was presented with a Service notification "Stabilitrak". I can not turn my wheel and was not able to go down my driveway.

NHTSA ODI #11699991

Mileage unknown · Nov 17, 2025
SteeringSuspension

Steering of the truck. No, it has not been reproduced by a dealer No has not been inspected Does not do it all the time, does in over period of times cannot specify any specific time you be driving and all sudden the wheels seem to lock and hard to steer and turning is very hard.

NHTSA ODI #11699725

Mileage unknown · Nov 7, 2025
Steering

The stabiltrack and power steering fail while driving.

NHTSA ODI #11698287

100,000 miles · Nov 5, 2025
Engine And Engine CoolingSteering

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at various undisclosed speeds, the stabili-trak activated independently, and the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. In addition, the message “Service Power Steering” was displayed. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while rev…

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The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at various undisclosed speeds, the stabili-trak activated independently, and the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. In addition, the message “Service Power Steering” was displayed. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while reversing out of the driveway, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact used force to steer the vehicle. The stabili-trak feature was activated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer replaced the rack and pinion assembly. The vehicle was retrieved, and the contact was informed that a leak was found. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while stopped at a traffic light, the vehicle vibrated abnormally. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the oil pan was leaking. The dealer performed a tune-up and a fuel injection service. The timing cover gasket was replaced, the engine front cover was resealed, and the oil pan assembly was resealed. The contact arrived to pick up the vehicle, and there was a puddle of fluid on the ground underneath the vehicle. The dealer inspected the vehicle and diagnosed that the water pump had failed. The vehicle remained at the dealer pending the repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

NHTSA ODI #11697743

Mileage unknown · Nov 4, 2025
Engine

COMPONENT: The piston in cylinder #1 cracked and created conditions for the fuel injector to bore a hole through it. SAFETY: This led to sudden loss of engine power and violent shaking of the vehicle at highway speeds. CONFIRMATION: Multiple reports of the exact same incident can be confirmed and researched at ColoradoFans.co…

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COMPONENT: The piston in cylinder #1 cracked and created conditions for the fuel injector to bore a hole through it. SAFETY: This led to sudden loss of engine power and violent shaking of the vehicle at highway speeds. CONFIRMATION: Multiple reports of the exact same incident can be confirmed and researched at ColoradoFans.com, specifically on these threads https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/looks-like-my-number-finally-came-up-engine-failure.444376 https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/poll-how-many-blown-up-2-8-diesels-please-indicate-on-poll.396705/ https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/documented-2-8l-duramax-lwn-engine-catastrophic-failures-thread.427244 INSPECTION: Confirmed the crack and the hole in piston #1 with borescope. WARNINGS: Prior to catastrophic failure, there was an ongoing intermittent issue chasing down DTC P11CC - NOx1 Performance Low. Not sure if that was a harbinger or completely unrelated.

NHTSA ODI #11697475

185,000 miles · Nov 3, 2025
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving approximately 27 MPH and making a right turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the failure initially occurred while making turns but had started occurring while driving straight. The contact stated that the failure wa…

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The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving approximately 27 MPH and making a right turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact stated that the failure initially occurred while making turns but had started occurring while driving straight. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent, requiring the contact to pull over to the side of the road, restart the vehicle, for the vehicle to operate as designed. The stabili-trak warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.

NHTSA ODI #11697251

178,000 miles · Nov 3, 2025
Steering

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message “Service Power Steering” was displayed, and the stabili-trak warning light was illuminated. Neither the dealer nor an independen…

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The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message “Service Power Steering” was displayed, and the stabili-trak warning light was illuminated. Neither the dealer nor an independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 178,000.

NHTSA ODI #11697210

Mileage unknown · Nov 1, 2025
Steering

Stablitrak has come on 2x now on the highway, completely losing power steering. Very scary. Resets after turning the car off and on. 2016 , should have a recall. Same issue as the 2015s.

NHTSA ODI #11696896

Mileage unknown · Oct 30, 2025
Electrical SystemSteering

When the truck is driven there are times at random that the steering wheel locks into place while driving at any speed on the road. This warrants me to slowly try and get the car off the road to shut it down and restart it and then the steering goes back to normal. This has happened multiple different times on different days. Th…

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When the truck is driven there are times at random that the steering wheel locks into place while driving at any speed on the road. This warrants me to slowly try and get the car off the road to shut it down and restart it and then the steering goes back to normal. This has happened multiple different times on different days. This has not happened on the highway yet, but if this occurs while driving on the highway this poses a huge risk for an accident to occur. Chevy has had this similar recall on previous 2015s and it seems that 2016 owners are complaining about this issue but it is yet to be a recall.

NHTSA ODI #11696658

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.