Engine And Engine Cooling Problems of Chevrolet Colorado - part 1

The brake booster vacuum pump failed catastrophically while driving, resulting in a sudden, dangerous loss of power braking assist and a rock-hard brake pedal. Upon inspection by a mechanic, the pump's internal failure violently sheared and destroyed the engine's exhaust camshaft, requiring a complete camshaft tear-down and replacement. This is a severe mechanical defect causing both immediate highway safety hazards and internal engine destruction.

See all problems of the 2022 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

While sitting in idle the engine will just start to idle rough for no reason this happens all the time and clear out when accelerated. While driving the radio and infotainment screen will go blank then come back on. I was driving on the freeway going straight and all of a sudden the power steering went out and I got this warning light on for the power steering being disabled along with this vehicle symbol and squiggly lines behind it on. I drove to a safe spot with the truck feeling really heavy. Turned it off and on then it cleared up. This power steering issue just happened.

See all problems of the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

My truck is in the shop for engine wiring harness chafe. They are making me pay 1200 dollars for an issue that is known by chevy. I feel like I should not have to pay.

See all problems of the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

Crankshaft position tone wheel delaminated, mechanic changed it out and not sure what they did with it. Stalled vehicle on uphill passing lane during rush hour traffic, cars where inches from me as they passed at 65-70 mph, I called 911 and had a state trooper come and direct traffic. Joe's garage inspected my vehicle and did the repair. It was not inspected by anyone besides joe's garage to my knowledge. No warning, dashlights came on after engine stalled.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

While driving our 2022 Chevrolet Colorado zr2 (VIN: [xxx]) through an active roadway intersection at approximately midnight, the vehicle experienced a sudden, uncommanded complete loss of motive power and stalled without advance warning. Our teenage daughter was driving, making the abrupt loss of power, steering assist, and vehicle control in live traffic especially dangerous for an inexperienced driver. The stalled truck had to be physically pushed out of active traffic lanes into a nearby gas station for safety and has required flatbed towing for all subsequent transport. In the days prior to failure, an intermittent, unidentifiable mechanical odor was noticed, but zero warning lamps, dashboard messages, or diagnostic trouble codes were displayed, and the vehicle drove normally until the sudden shutdown. At the scene, an obd-ii diagnostic scan pulled dtc p0019-00 (crankshaft position - exhaust camshaft position not plausible bank 2). An independent service center subsequently confirmed adequate, safe oil levels (ruling out oil starvation), and independent technicians confirmed catastrophic internal engine failure. The truck is currently at an authorized Chevrolet dealership undergoing formal diagnostics to determine the exact internal failure mechanism (including potential correlation to known bearing/valvetrain defect patterns under gm bulletin 19-na-256). The vehicle and components are available for inspection upon request. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 mph, the engine revved without the accelerator pedal being depressed. The contact stated that while turning onto an exit ramp, the brake pedal was depressed to slow the vehicle; however, there was resistance to the brake pedal, and an excessive amount of pressure was needed to depress brake pedal to stop the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was informed of the failure. The dealer informed the contact that failure might cause the complete engine failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,000.

See all problems of the 2021 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

Engine cooling system has a known leak. It is rather expensive out of pocket and although there is now a TSB the TSB does not cover the danger of overheating an engine and being stranded on the side of the road. Also the coolant leaking causes an unseen hazard by polluting water supplies with one of the more known toxins to the water and environment.

See all problems of the 2024 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Colorado. While the contact’s husband was driving into the driveway at the residence, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. The vehicle was parked, and the hood was opened to determine the cause of the failure. The contact’s husband discovered that the serpentine belt had slipped off the pulley because the pulley was fractured. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.

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I was told that my vehicle has a bent exhaust valve, which has caused irreparable damage to the engine and requires a complete engine replacement. The dealership could not determine what caused the valve to bend, but they indicated that it could potentially be a manufacturing defect, although they could not confirm that. My vehicle has now been at the chevy dealership for more than 30 days, and I was informed that there are currently no replacement engines available from the factory due to a shortage. Given that this appears to be a known parts shortage, I assume other owners of the same make and model may be experiencing similar issues, although I cannot confirm that. The vehicle has approximately 10,000 miles on it.

While driving my 2020 Chevrolet Colorado through [xxx], the truck began having difficulty accelerating. As I exited the highway and turned into a gas station, the truck suddenly lost power. The steering became extremely difficult, and I lost normal brake assist. The brake pedal became extremely hard, and I had to apply extreme force to stop the truck and avoid crashing into a wall at the gas station. Fortunately, no collision occurred. The truck was towed to ed corley Ford in [xxx] because I was stranded in a remote area with very limited options. They diagnosed a failed/broken vacuum pump and told me replacing it should make the truck operable so I could drive it home to [xxx]. I authorized the repair. After replacing the vacuum pump, they told me they started the truck and heard an abnormal sound. They shut it off, and when they tried to restart it, the truck would not start. They wanted to perform additional diagnosis, but I declined and had the truck transported back to [xxx] for evaluation by a Chevrolet dealership. Huffines Chevrolet lewisville inspected the truck. Their technician removed the camshaft position sensor and used a borescope to inspect the camshaft. They documented that the camshaft is damaged at the end where it connects to the vacuum pump and stated the actuator pin was most likely bent due to the vacuum-pump failure, damaging the camshaft and causing it to be slightly out of time. I have also been informed of engine damage. The truck remains inoperable and is currently available for inspection. I am concerned this is a safety defect because the vacuum-pump failure resulted in a sudden loss of normal brake assist while I was driving and was followed by camshaft/engine damage. I am asking NHTSA to investigate this failure and similar Chevrolet Colorado complaints. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

Brake vacum pump experienced a catastrophic failure. I was unable to step on the break because the break pedal was hard. I ran thru a red light. I was told the brake vacume pump shattered & pieces of metal went into my engine.

While driving at normal and safe highway speeds, without warning (no audible or visual warning from the vehicle information display) my vehicle experienced engine lockout, loss of all non-electric power, and no control over vehicle speed. A few seconds after loss, the information display did show a "check engine light" and that the engine was in "lockout. " we (my spouse, young child, and self) were surrounded by multiple commercial semi-trucks and passenger vehicles and had to weave and serve to avoid collisions at highway speeds and get to the shoulder of the highway in a few seconds. The root cause as diagnosed by a Chevrolet dealership service department was failure of the magnetic strip that is press fit to the reluctor (tone) wheel. A 1/2in piece of the magnetic strip was missing and over 10 cracks within the strip itself observed. This magnetic strip is used by the engine control module to measure engine rpms. The strip's failure caused the emc to shutdown the engine without warning which is a significant hazard for controlled vehicle movement at highway speeds. My vehicle's engine (lwn) is one of the few gm designs that have the press fit magnetic strip reluctor wheels. The rest use integrated wheels with the crankshaft or traditionally stamped steel with machined teeth. The vehicle and reluctor wheel has not been inspected by gm or any other representatives. I offered to send images to gm for records but they declined.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while reversing out of the driveway, the check engine warning light illuminated. The failure recurred while driving 65 mph. The vehicle was taken to autozone, where dtcs p0024 and p0014 were retrieved, indicating exhaust camshaft position system performance issues for bank 2 and bank 1. The contact associated the failure with gm special coverage number: n232430470 (camshaft position actuator valve solenoid - bank 2 (left side) exhaust). The vehicle was then taken to the dealer, where the diagnostic result was confirmed. The dealer swapped the camshaft position sensor actuators between both banks and cleared the codes. The contact was advised that the cause of the failure would be determined if the diagnostic trouble codes returned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the special coverage. The failure mileage was approximately 36,500.

Component that failed: brakes. I was pulling into a parking spot at low speed and the brake pedal was suddenly extremely difficult to depress, almost impossible. It felt as if a brick were under the pedal but there was no obstruction. I was able to stop only because I was already going so slow. Safety of myself and others was at risk because I was almost unable to stop the vehicle. If I had been going any faster I don't believe I would have been able to without crashing into an obstacle. Vehicle is currently at a service shop but issue has not been verified or repaired as of today. When restarting the vehicle, the engine stuttered and started making odd sounds, and wouldn't idle properly. There were no warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms at all prior to failure. When I entered the parking lot it was working normally and when I turned to enter a parking spot the brakes suddenly just failed.

While driving on the parkway, the engine revved, and then the brakes became hard as a brick. The truck was unable to be stopped. There were no warning lamps or indications there was a problem, it happened suddenly and immediately. Other drivers' and my own safety was at risk because I could not stop the truck. Here is the diagnosis from the gm service center where it was towed "after the removal of the valve cover, the tech found the pump in pieces, and the end of the exhaust camshaft was damaged, as presented in the photos. The quote attached depicts all that is being replaced with this repair. " the is a know and acknowledged gm defect that has affected well over 3 million vehicles to date. There was a recall issued for some models, but not the Chevrolet Colorado. There are many reports online of other Colorado owners having the exact brake vacuum pump failure, resulting in damage to the camshaft. There is also a class action lawsuit filed in michigan in early 2026, involving the same brake vacuum pump failure, for some of the models that were not included in the recall. This is an extremely dangerous mechanical failure that gm is aware of.

Issue 1: cooling fan remained on after engine shutdown component or system involved: engine cooling system and fan control system, including the radiator cooling fan, fan relay, coolant temperature sensor, wiring, or engine control module (ecm). The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. What happened: after turning off the engine, the radiator cooling fan remained running continuously for approximately five minutes and would not shut off as expected. No warning light, message, or other dashboard indication appeared before or during the event. This was unusual behavior compared with normal operation. Safety risk: the unexpected fan operation created concern that the cooling system was malfunctioning and that the vehicle could overheat, experience an electrical problem, or become unreliable while driving. A cooling system or electrical failure while in traffic could put me and other drivers at risk. Reproduction or confirmation: the issue occurred several time and was confirmed by a Chevrolet dealer, and was told that my warranty did not cover the issue. I took it to outside mechanic to fix the issue as Chevrolet wanted to charge over $1500 for the issue. No warning lamps, messages, overheating indicators, or other symptoms appeared before the fan remained on. The problem occurred suddenly back in 2025. Issue 2: ignition key gets stuck and cannot be removed ignition lock cylinder, ignition switch, transmission shift-interlock system, park-position switch, or steering column lock mechanism. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The ignition key intermittently becomes stuck and cannot be removed from the ignition. The problem occurs after parking and turning the vehicle off, and I sometimes need to move the shifter or steering wheel repeatedly before the key can be removed. A stuck ignition key can prevent me from properly shutting down and securing the vehicle. It may also indicate a failure in the ignition or shift-interlock system.

Since I've had my truck the passenger seat vibrates excessively while driving; the oil alert comes on even when there is oil, current oil change; seems to not have power, shifts hard. What's interesting is that these items come up when I searched on recalls. This truck is not driven hard. . . Mehanic cant figure out what is causing the oil alert, the passenger seat shaking excessively. . And there is a recall on you tube truck was purchased in [xxx], 07/15 have lived in [xxx] since 11/15. This is unacceptable information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

Component: drivetrain, brake, and engine management systems repeatedly fail in a coordinated pattern, with multiple warning indicators activating simultaneously and sudden unintended deceleration occurring without warning. Vehicle available for inspection. Safety risk: most recent failure occurred at highway speed with family including passengers in the vehicle. Without warning, the vehicle decelerated abruptly while multiple dashboard warnings activated at once. Sudden deceleration at highway speed creates immediate risk of rear-end collision from following traffic and loss of vehicle control. Prior dealer confirmation: yes. Curry Chevrolet (scarsdale, NY) has had the vehicle in service for the same defect category on multiple prior occasions, including stays of over a week on at least two visits. The dealer has not permanently resolved the issue — symptoms have now recurred at sixth time. An additional early service visit at the same dealer was not documented with a repair order; I retain contemporaneous text messages establishing that visit occurred. Other inspections: inspected only by curry Chevrolet to date. Gm customer assistance engaged (case #xxx). No police, insurance, or independent inspections. New case has been filed with gm, linked to the previous (case #xxx). Next service visit will be at a different authorized Chevrolet dealer for an independent diagnostic. Warning indicators: yes. In the most recent incident, multiple warning lamps and system alerts activated simultaneously at the moment of deceleration, with no advance warning. Prior incidents showed the same multi-system warning pattern, consistently without predictive indicators. Vehicle is a 2026 Chevrolet Colorado, VIN [xxx], delivered January 2026 with 2,209 miles on the odometer at delivery. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

Engine fails it violenty thumps and studders and drops from highway speed with no warning. This is a mfg. Defect and also an extreme safety concern. The engine studders and thumps and we were almost rear ended by a truck when our truck could not go into gear properly. It is very scary! dealership confirmed that they have many vehicles with same issue and recommended a super flush of transmission but not sure this will correct problem or cause more problems. There is no warning when these incidents occur and the driver has no control to avoid it. It is commonly referred to as the chevy thump and studder and a known mfg defect in which gm refuses to pay for repairs causing consumers an extreme hardship! this is an ongoing issue affecting thousands of vehicles and someone is going to die! there is no negligence of operator of vehicle, it is a manufacturing defect that affects thousands of gm vehicles and they are doing nothing about it except expecting customers to keep incurring cost to try to remedy a repair at our own expense which is unfair! the government needs to force a recall at gm's expense!.

Engine light came on. Fan ran high. Had it towed to the dealership. Has 39,000 miles on it. Needs a new upper radiator hose due to a defective hose. Apparently, after reading online, gm is aware of this issue. Now we have to pay the diagnostic fee and $850 for a new hose and a flush, as well as the tow bill! now can’t get the part for a week or 8 days and then have to wait on the repair. This is unsatisfactory that there is a known problem and isn’t covered or hasn’t been a recall.

The upper radiator hose on some huge percentage of these trucks fail (mine has failed at just over 35k miles). You can check the Colorado chevy forum, youtube, etc. , et al, and find plenty of instances where this has failed. As this is the cooling system, it can cause the engine to overheat and potentially ruin the engine. The flaw seems to be an engineering issue with the rubber seal they use (instead of a high quality o-ring) to seal the upper hose to the radiator. Additionally, since this can cause engine failure it should be addressed immediately. Instead, my local chevy dealer, since its not a recall item, said they could schedule a time next week for me to leave the truck and then they would get to it in 7-10 days. This is extremely unfair to the consumer who depends on these vehicles. This should absolutely be a recall item. You can find 1000's of examples online and if you can pull gm repair data, I'm sure you'll find 1000's more.

Truck has 36,669 miles check engine light came on and was idling loud, after being looked at my a Chevrolet dealership came back a faulty radiator hose, and coolant was leaking. Too new of truck for this kind of problem.

Faulty radiator inlet hose, upper radiator hose failure, outlined in pit6494a. This is the third time that the light on the dashboard has come on for failure, the first time they "fixed it" the second time they said it was the battery, it was not!! this time they are saying what it really is, the radiator hose failure, since the vehicle is only 3 years old but over the 36k mile warranty, they will not fix! failure on their part.

I have had my vehicle for less than 2 years and less than 25,000. I had it in for regular maintenance and was told I had no coolant. After a pressure test the dealership told me I had a large crack in the coolant line. It will 2 weeks to get the part and I can’t drive my truck. This needs to be made a recall and the part needs to be made available ASAP. This could of caused serious damage to my engine and could of cause me to have an accident.

Coolant leak, upper radiator hose, TSB issued pit6494a over $500 repair. Not covered under any warranty.

The contact owned a 2015 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven and parked in the garage. Upon exiting the vehicle, the contact noticed an abnormal burning smell and smoke coming from under the hood. It was unknown whether a warning had illuminated. The contact opened the hood and noticed that the engine compartment had caught on fire. The contact closed the hood and attempted to restart the vehicle to drive out of the garage; however, the vehicle failed to restart. The contact shifted to neutral(n) and was able to push the vehicle out of the garage. The contact stated that the vehicle burned significantly from the front end to the windshield. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. No fire department report was filed. No police report was filed. There was no injury sustained. There was no property damage. The contact stated that the vehicle was a total loss and was in the process of being towed to a salvage yard. The vehicle did not have full insurance coverage but had liability coverage. The dealer and the manufacturer were not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 124,000.

Thermostat is having problems. Fan runs over use and thermostat will not open.

See all problems of the 2017 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

Coolant leaking from the upper radiator inlet hose connection.

Coolant leaking from the upper radiator inlet hose connection. The malfunction indicator lamp (mil) illuminated in the driver information center (dic).

The upper radiator hose on some huge percentage of these trucks fail (mine has failed at just over 20k miles). You can check the Colorado chevy forum, youtube, etc. , et al, and find plenty of instances where this has failed. As this is the cooling system, it can cause the engine to overheat and potentially ruin the engine. The flaw seems to be an engineering issue with the rubber seal they use (instead of a high quality o-ring) to seal the upper hose to the radiator. Additionally, since this can cause engine failure it should be addressed immediately. Instead, my local chevy dealer, since its not a recall item, said they could schedule a time next week for me to leave the truck and then they would get to it in 7-10 days. This is extremely unfair to the consumer who depends on these vehicles. This should absolutely be a recall item. You can find 1000's of examples online and if you can pull gm repair data, I'm sure you'll find 1000's more.

Copied this from a forum and it's the same thing for me. I'm editing to fit my unique situation. This is an $800 repair at my dealer for a $40 part! 5 day backorder so I'm without a vehicle. The upper radiator hose on some huge percentage of these trucks fail (mine has failed at 37500 miles). You can check the Colorado chevy forum, youtube, etc. , et al, and find plenty of instances where this has failed. As this is the cooling system, it can cause the engine to overheat and potentially ruin the engine. The flaw seems to be an engineering issue with the rubber seal they use (instead of a high quality o-ring) to seal the upper hose to the radiator. Additionally, since this can cause engine failure it should be addressed immediately. Instead, my local chevy dealer, since its not a recall item, said they could schedule a time next week for me to leave the truck and then they would get to it in 7-10 days. This is extremely unfair to the consumer who depends on these vehicles. This should absolutely be a recall item. You can find 1000's of examples online and if you can pull gm repair data, I'm sure you'll find 1000's more.

Upper radiator hose leak with 36,750 miles(just out of warranty) 3 days after it was at dealer for oil change and replacing the heat shield. Apparently very common in these vehicles which says they are aware but haven't fixed the issue, should be a recall!!.

In and out of the shop for the last 3. 5 years (warranty is expired now) with multiple engin codes (cel). Most having to do with the fuel delivery systems. Most common p026d, and p1089. It has been in the shop at least 6 or more times. Gm won't stand by their product. Since the warranty ended I've put mor than $4,000 in to repairs for this and now I'm told it will cost me anouther $6000 to $7000 to repair. I bout this truck used with 60,000 miles on it and paid cash $50,000 to the dealer the originally sold it to the previous owner. I just want them to fix the issue once and for all. To date they have just thrown parts at it but it never fixes the problem. They have changed the map sensor, the fuel rail and pressure regulator, the injectors, and they've re-wired part of the wiring harness. None of this has solved the issues.

See all problems of the 2019 Chevrolet Colorado 🔎.

Radiator hose near failure, lose of coolant could be catastrophic. Upper radiator hose quick disconnect o-ring inside failed.

Upper radiator hose leak.