Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (service brakes, ABS, rotors and pads, parking brake).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Chevrolet Colorado owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
2005 Chevy Colorado, emergency brake cable is hanging 3 inches, below the frame rail, a clearance of 11 inches. I caught a piece of rebar steel sticking up from a cattle quard on a dirt road, and my vehicles slammed to a stop, throwing me out of the drivers seat, and against the door on the passenger side, dislocating my shoulder, a putting my vehicle in the ditch, with damage, to the wind=deflector, fog lamp, dent in bumper. My phd. Major is in construction equipment engineering, this routing of the emergency brake cable, in such a manner is an extremely poor design, a bad idea, and consistent with the use of intern level engineers that GM uses on lower priced production vehicles. …
On way to work, I started braking while slowly coming to a red light. My brakes did not stop me and I crashed into another truck. I had extensive front end damage,while the other vehicle had none. When I applied the brakes, they went to the floor.also noticed pulling to the right....had new tires and alignment at sears(well after the accident) and, they said brakes were fine and did an alignment. When I had the accident damage repaired, I asked the dealer ship to check the brakes. They said they pulled the wheels and checked the brakes and road checked the truck, the braking incident failed to happen for them. So they claimed. I have also had other incidences where the wheels will spin upon acceleration from a stop on wet roads and also locking up on wet roads, and a grinding noise. Des someone have to get killed in order for GM to send out a recall notice for this defect? …
This truck has a recurring problem where the rear brakes freeze into position when the emergency (parking) brake is applied. Has been happening for 10 years since I bought the truck new. If the emergency brake is set, the rear brakes will not release when the lever is released by the driver. I am stuck where I parked with a set of frozen rear brakes. In order to get home I am forced to drive with the rear brakes engaged causing a severe overheating condition in the rear wheels and potential for a brake fire near the gas tank. GM said there was not a problem and refused to fix this problem under warranty. It is still a problem and GM still refuses to fix this prolem even though there are thousands of drivers with this "freezing rear brakes" issue. My work around? I don't use the parking brake. …
Tl contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado. While driving 40 MPH he attempted to slow down while making a slight turn and the brakes locked as soon as they were engaged. Due to the locking of the brakes the contact was forced to crash into a ditch when the brakes locked; however, he was not injured. The contact has experienced the same failure on 5 different occasions. The vehicle had been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 33000. Updated 11/17/09 the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was totaled.
Tl contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that the ABS warning light flashed intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who replaced all of the brake sensors on four occasions but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the front passenger side sensor needed to be replaced. The technician did not disclose any further information. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000.
Brake problems, grinding, pedal to floor, rubbing and grinding noise, squealing, had accidents 2 6 08 and 2/15/08 rear end collisions due to brake seizing up , non stoppage while coming to a rolling stop. Also, the parking brake line hangs below the frame, when I asked dealer if this is a problem, they stated no. My parking brake sometimes does not hold or engage.
Contact states: stepped on brakes and they failed, never slowed down ,and crashed into another vehicle. Speed was approximately 30-35 MPH in stop and go traffic. This was the first incident of this sort with the vehicle. It had extensive damage to front end with no repairs, is currently in shop awaiting an inspection from GMC within the next 14 days.
ABS warning light will come on in dry weather and ABS will engage diminishing braking. This is a known problem with Chevrolet and GMC 2004 - 2006 Colorado and canyons. GMC will refuse to do anything about it. My personal case is that they told me that they closed my complaint until I spend $100. To have diagnostics run for the error codes. All one has to do is go to edmunds.com and look at the hundreds of complaints out there for this very problem, or any other vehicle forum for that matter. Even the error codes are shown. I finally relinquished and took vehicle to dealer to have codes read. Just like the forums state the error codes came back, c0035, left front sensor and c00220, left front in release too long. Sensor and new hub is estimated by dealer to be $762.00!!!!dealer also stated GM is aware of this problem and it is due to poor/flawed design. …
On October 18th in the morning I was driving by Chevrolet Colorado 2005, and the brake fluid light came on during driving. Within minutes, I lost all ability to break. The vehicle had around 50K miles on it at the time. Upon inspection at the nearest place of repair, my entire right rear break drum (the piston) had burst and leaked all of the fluid from the break lines into the drum. The resulting metal fragments had ground into the drum and caused massive failure of the entire system. This all resulted in my being unable to brake while driving, and I almost wrecked the vehicle into another vehicle at 50 miles per hour. I had to roll my vehicle into a nearby shop and have it fixed. There is no way this should have happened. I am a mechanic and failures like this at such low miles are unheard of. …
Purchased truck in November 2007 with 17,000 miles. Truck now has 26,663 miles. No problems occurred with the braking system until September 2, 2008. While on vacation, stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, traffic began to move due to a green light. When the light turned red again, I pressed brakes to stop. Experienced a horrible grinding noise and brakes would not work to stop the vehicle. Very close to a collision. The ABS light then came on and "ABS fault" began to scroll. Pulled off of the road, husband looked at brakes and could see no visible problems. Shut the truck off and restarted it a moment later and the light and scrolling were gone. Truck has done this everytime it has been driven since then. Got a mechanic to read the code and he says the ABS speed sensor on the left front wheel is bad and needs to be replaced. …
Brake complaints in other Colorado years
Frequently asked questions
How common are brake problems on the 2005 Chevrolet Colorado?
NHTSA has 95 complaints about the brakes of the 2005 Chevrolet Colorado, 27% of the model year's 356 complaints. The component named most often is antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip (7 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Chevrolet Colorado brake problems?
No. NHTSA lists no brakes recall for the 2005 Chevrolet Colorado, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2005 Chevrolet Colorado brake problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 51,000 miles, and 20% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 9 crashes, 0 fires and 4 injuries to brakes problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.