What 694 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado

Intermittent loss of power steering. Indications from other owners stating a defect in the multi pin electrical connectors

NHTSA ODI 11622314

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Water intrusion to the cab of the truck has structural failure in the roof causing it to leak inside the cab. Leak runs into dash and out of ignition causing electrical issues in the dash and ignition, along with pooling on the floorboards causing rusting; runs into the rear 3rd brake light and rear headliner causing electrical concerns to the rear brake light not alerting of braking and leaks into rear seats causing rusting under the seats where the seats can fall through the floorboards. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? rear brake light failure to alert surrounding drivers of braking. Possible electrocution in starting the vehicle with water in the ignition and dash; possible passenger/driver being dropped through the floorboards while driving. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? unknown Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I have had it looked at by mechanics and told it was a body issue and needed to go to a body shop, not the dealership. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No

NHTSA ODI 11621340

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Transmission, yes How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I was going 55mph on an open highway and the transmission downshifted into 2nd gear throwing me forward and dropped me to 35mph with a line of cars behind. I could've been rear-ended, thrown off the road, or rolled if I had not immediately grabbed the shifter and put into manual and manually upshifted it back up. Besides the damages to the engine downshifting at that rate of speed to the wrong gear without notice or warning. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? no not a dealer but it has recreated itself a handful of times. This happens more often on downhill grades. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? yes, Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear?No

NHTSA ODI 11621342

Recently started having issues with Power Steering going out along with stability control. It will happen at different speeds and turning radius. No warning that it's about to happen. I will have to pull over turn off the truck. Most often I have to open the driver side door before the alert will reset and I gain access to power steering again. On several occasions I have to repeat this process multiple times. In one case I had to remove the negative battery cable for 30 minutes before I could once again gain access to power steering.

NHTSA ODI 11620294

In the past two months, my 2016 Colorado with 79,000 miles has intermittently been losing power steering. It happens sporadically, in various speed and turning situations. It becomes very difficult to steer without the power assist. It happened while heading into a turn recently and has become more concerning. Shutting the truck off and restarting usually clears the problem (though not always). It can happen multiple times in a day and then not happen for more than a week. A diagnostic scanner showed code C0545

NHTSA ODI 11619279

While driving power steering stop working. Nearly hit the car. Was able to get the truck to the side of the road. I turned the truck off. Waited 2 minutes tried to start truck. Won’t start. The lost power steering light stability track and four-wheel-drive service light came on

NHTSA ODI 11617785

The vehicles stabilitrack keeps coming on for no apparent reason.

NHTSA ODI 11617562

Power steering failure occurred while driving. This makes the truck very hard to turn. A warning message appears in the info screen “power steering assist failure” when the power steering failure happens. The only fix is to stop the truck, turn off the truck, open the drivers door, close the drivers door, and then restart the truck. The first occurrence of this failure was in July 2024. It has happened many times since: at slow and high speed, wet and dry conditions, on bumpy roads and smooth pavement. There does not seem to be a specific condition which triggers this event. Today, the power steering went out right as I was turning right. This caused me to turn very wide and forced me into the opposing lane of traffic. Thankfully, this did not cause an accident, however, the potential for an accident due to this failure is very high. A similar issue has been identified in the 2015 model year of this truck and there is an open recall for that model year but not this one. I believe the included model year list should be extended to include the 2016 model year at minimum.

NHTSA ODI 11617108

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE LOSES POWER STEERING AND BECOMES UNSTEERABLE. THE SAME AS NHTSA RECALL# 21V213. SINCE GM WOULDN'T EVEN HAVE KNOWN OF THIS PROBLEM WHEN 2016'S WERE BEING BUILT I THINK I'LL BE FIXING THE EXACT PROBLEM AND PARTTHAT GM FIXED IN THE RECALL ON THE 2015'S. THEY SHOULD AT LEAST NOTIFY 2016 OWNERS THAT THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF THIS HAPPENING.

NHTSA ODI 11616536

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at approximately 20 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The stability-track warning light was illuminated and the message "Be Careful - Loss of Power Steering" was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact researched and was made aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V213000 (Steering); however, the VIN was not included. The vehicle was driven to a dealer. The contact was informed that the steering angle sensor and the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.

NHTSA ODI 11615948

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while his brother was driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The stability control system warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V213000 (Steering); however, neither VIN nor the model year was included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ODI 11616067

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds on several occasions, the "Stabili-trak Failure" message was displayed. The contact then stated that the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The vehicle was steered to the side of the road and restarted. The contact stated that on several occasions, the message and failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where DTC code: UO420-42: “Power Steering Control Module – Not Receiving Signal” was retrieved. The contact was informed that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000.

NHTSA ODI 11615341

I was driving my 2016 Colorado of the freeway going about 70 mph. Suddenly, a stabilitrak warning came up on the dashboard and the power steering immediately turned off making the truck difficult to control. I managed to drive 20 miles home, but turning was extremely difficult. I'm frightened to drive it now. Truck has 94,000 miles on it.

NHTSA ODI 11615472

This is the secound occurance of this major safety issue occuring in my vehicle. Both times I was driving at highway speed and my steering lock up on me. The traction warning lights and message on my dash popped up, then my steering became very rigid. I can not remember exactly what the message said but it mentioned power steering, maybe it said "power steering" engaged...? This is a huge safety concern, I would not be able to make quick manuever or turn if necessary. I had to come to a complete stop on the side of the highway and turn vehicle on and off again, and it was fine the rest of the day. This is a known issue with other models of the Chevy Colorado, I am floored that it has not been recalled in this model. Does it take someone dying?

NHTSA ODI 11615281

While driving my truck there was a sudden loss of the power steering. This made it very difficult to control the vehicle and put me at risk of having an accident and put other people at risk by getting hit by my vehicle without any power steering. This has happened three times in the last 2 weeks to me. I was able to pull over put my car in park shut the ignition and restart it and each time the problem resolves itself. This has been documented through my research with many other 2016 Colorado's and you have recalled thousands of Colorado's 2015s with similar problems. Photos not necessary for this problem.

NHTSA ODI 11615116

I was driving on a mountain road and a notification popped up on the dash board that indicated "power steering engaged". The steering then became very rigid, and it felt like the power steering was NOT engaged. I continued driving about ~2 miles until I came to a stop light. I was able to maintain control of the vechicle but Im not sure if I could initiate a turn. I turned the truck off and back on at the light and the steering was back to normal.

NHTSA ODI 11613445

Power steering went out twice with stabiltrak two times so far. Had to stop and turn off vehicle to reset

NHTSA ODI 11613581

The traction control light and stability turn on then the power steering turns off then the vehicle starts running oddly and wasting gas the seats went down on their own the rear view camera turned off multiple problems

NHTSA ODI 11613087

The power steering quits with no warning. It is very difficult to drive as without power steering turning is very difficult. It takes agreat deal of strength. I am worried that I may not be able to make a turn if the steering goes out during a turn. Have to restart truck to get power steering back. Occurs randomly

NHTSA ODI 11612733

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that from idle to up to 55 MPH, the steering seized, and the power steering failure warning light illuminated. The vehicle became difficult to steer causing the contact to drive into the grass on a slight decline on the side of the road. The contact backed out of the grass and waited a while to regain proper power steering functionality. The contact stated that the power steering had failed a second time. The vehicle had been taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering had failed. The dealer replaced the wire from the battery to the alternator. The failure persisted and became more persistent. The failure occurred approximately 12 or more times within 3 days. The steering failure was self-corrected after being idling for a while however, the contact turned off the vehicle and then wait to restart it to regain proper power steering functionality at other times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and opened a case regarding the failure. The failure mileage was 174,000.

NHTSA ODI 11612242

Stabilitrak system forms off while driving and power steering is lost. This makes steering extremely difficult and unsafe to drive, especially at high speeds. This is a common issue I've read about and needs to be addressed by Chevrolet.

NHTSA ODI 11612027

On multiple occasions the warning to service Power Steering and Stabilitrak have popped up during driving causing a loss of power steering. Once I was taking a curve and it jerked the truck toward the right but I luckily had a good grip on the steering wheel to keep it on the road. Other occasions it occurs upon starting the vehicle in the morning or after sitting parked for several hours. When this occurs, it is very difficult to keep control of the vehicle when turning is concerned. I have brought it up with service technicians at the dealership but they cannot diagnose unless it is in the state of warning lights on and loss of power steering. The issue usually goes away when vehicle is turned off and restarted, though not always. This issue continues at haphazard intervals so it makes driving tense and unsafe as there is no telling when it will pop up. It is also causing an issue to get fixed because it cannot be replicated to get diagnosed properly. I have not been able to get any codes read for the issue as I am not near a facility when it occurs.

NHTSA ODI 11611363

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the steering wheel seized, causing the steering wheel to become difficult to turn. There was no warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 93,150.

NHTSA ODI 11611461

The power steering cut off and on intermittently and occasionally making it very difficult to steer. This is the same problem that was recalled on 2015 models. The 2016 Colorado has the same parts as the 2015 and yet they will not recall I have been told at this is a two to $3000 repair my truck has 29,000 miles on it, and this should not be happening.

NHTSA ODI 11611269

Key stays stuck in the ignition and won't let shut the truck off.

NHTSA ODI 11609811