Home · 2016 Chevrolet Colorado · Complaints

What 694 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (694)Crash / fire / injury (16)Steering (445)Electrical system (113)Transmission & drivetrain (96)Engine (47)Brakes (38)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (36)Speed control (24)Fuel system (20)Airbags (10)Suspension (10)

4 of 694 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

May 6, 2025Transmission & drivetrainElectrical systemFire

The contact stated the company they work for owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the transmission would slip intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed the transmission failed. The transmission was replaced. When attempting to start the vehicle it failed to start. They had to jump-start the battery to start the vehicle. The battery was replaced by O'Rileys, a battery specialty shop. Approximately a year later, while another employee was driving at approximately 65 MPH when smoke began coming from underneath the vehicle's hood. The driver pulled over and exited the vehicle. The fire department came and put the fire out. The fire department informed the contact that the cause of the fire was because the battery caught fire. The fire department filed a report. The vehicle was towed and deemed totaled. There were no injuries or need for medical assistance. The contact spoke with the dealer who informed them that the VIN was not included in a recall. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 88,000.

NHTSA ODI 11659171

Mar 29, 2023SteeringTransmission & drivetrainElectrical systemCrash

Vehicle suddenly loses power steering without warning. The power steering module is connected to the CAN bus which errors everything else on the same network so stabilitrack, traction control, ABS, etc goes out all at the same time. On icy roads, this caused to hit the ditch at very high speed. What I don’t understand is why you only forced a recall on the 2015 MY when the 2016’s use the same exact components and assembly process. Clearly this is still an issue for many 2016 owners!

NHTSA ODI 11514352

Apr 11, 2019Transmission & drivetrainBrakesCrash

THE TRANSMISSION (6SPD AUTOMATIC W/V6 ENGINE) OF THIS VEHICLE IS KNOWN TO HAVE ISSUES THAT WILL SURPRISE YOU IF YOU AREN'T ALREADY AWARE OF THEM. THE ISSUE AFFECTING SAFETY THE MOST, IS THE OCCASIONAL ENGINE ACCELERATION WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES AS THE TRANSMISSION DOWNSHIFTS TO A LOWER GEAR. IT CAUSES THE CAR TO ACTUALLY ACCELERATE MOMENTARILY AS YOU APPLY THE BRAKE EVEN HARDER TO ARREST THE INCREASED SPEED. I WAS DRIVING UP A SLIGHT INCLINE AT ABOUT 35-40 MPH WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP BECAUSE THE CAR IN FRONT OF HER HAD STOPPED COMPLETELY. I HAD DRIVEN THIS ROAD FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS AND HAD NEVER SEEN ANYONE COME TO A COMPLETE STOP AS THE FIRST CAR DID IN THIS AREA. FIVE(5) OF US WERE ALL SURPRISED. I WAS THE THIRD CAR. AS I FIRMLY APPLIED MY BRAKES, THE CAR INITIALLY SLOWED DOWN BUT THEN IT FELT AS IF IT WAS TRYING TO ACCELERATE AND UNFORTUNATELY I WAS UNABLE TO STOP IN TIME, ALTHOUGH I ONLY LIGHTLY TAPPED THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, FOLLOWED BY 3 MORE CARS IN BACK OF ME. AT FIRST I WAS SURPRISED THAT I WASN'T ABLE TO STOP IN TIME AND THEN IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT THE STRANGE FEELING I FELT AS THE VEHICLE SLOWED WAS AS IF THE ENGINE HAD ACCELERATED AS IT DOWNSHIFTED CAUSING THE BRAKING ACTION TO NOT BE AS GOOD AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. SINCE I KNEW THE CAR OCCASIONALLY DID THIS I THOUGHT I SHOULD REPORT THIS AS POSSIBLY CONTRIBUTING TO MY PROBLEM AND PUT IT ON RECORD IN CASE YOU HAD OTHER REPORTS LIKE THIS.

NHTSA ODI 11195656

Jul 28, 2016Transmission & drivetrainCrash1 injury

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

NHTSA ODI 10889351

Working with the data? Download all 694 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 Chevrolet Colorado verdict →