Most common 2011 Chevrolet Colorado problems
Share of the 42 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Chevrolet Colorado complaints by model year
Best Colorado years: 2011, 2012, 2020. Years to avoid: 2016, 2015, 2024, 2023, 2017. Compare all years →
2011 Chevrolet Colorado recalls (5)
Latches/locks/linkages › Hood › Latch
General Motors is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon vehicles manufactured from November 9, 2009, through August 28, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 113, "Hood Latch System." The hood may be missing the secondary hood latch.
Remedy: General Motors will notify owners and instruct them to inspect their vehicle for the presence of a secondary hood latch. Dealers will replace the hood on any affected vehicles, free of charge.
Power train › Automatic transmission › Gear position indication (PRNDL)
General motors is recalling certain model year 2011 Chevrolet colorado and GMC canyon passenger vehicles equipped with a 2.9 or 3.7 liter engine and a four-speed automatic transmission for failing to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no 102, "transmission shift lever sequence, starter…
Remedy: GM dealers will install a new automatic transmission adjustment clip free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or about July 19, 2011.
Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer › Motor
General motors is recalling certain model year 2011 Chevrolet colorado and GMC canyon vehicles manufactured from September 22, 2010, through November 5, 2010. Some of these vehicles have the condition in which the windshield wiper motor crank arm nut May not be tightened to specification.
Remedy: Dealers will secure the wiper motor crank arm nut free of charge. The safety recall is expected to begin on or before May 11, 2011.
Suspension › Rear › Axle › Spindle
General motors is recalling certain model year 2011 Cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; Chevrolet avalanche, colorado, express, silverado, suburban, tahoe; and GMC canyon, sierra, savana, yukon and yukon xl vehicles.
Remedy: Dealers will install a new rear axle cross pin free of charge. The safety recall began on January 11, 2011. Owners May contact Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, GMC at 1-866-996-9463 and at the…
Child seat
GM is recalling certain model year 2004-2011, Chevrolet colorado, GMC canyon, model year 2006, Isuzu I-280/I-350, and model year 2007-2008, I-290/I-370, regular cab vehicles and extended cab vehicles without a rear seat and equipped with a front 60/40 split bench seat.
Remedy: Dealers will cut a hole into the back panel trim cover to allow access to the top tether anchor for the front center seat position and will provide supplemental information as to use in the owner's manual.
What 2011 Chevrolet Colorado owners say
Electrical system
The vehicle has an electronic issue where it does not recognize the original key to the car. It does not let you start the vehicle. There is a bad sensor in the ignition lock housing unit located where the key is inserted into the vehicle. This issue will nit let the driver start the car and the problem happens at random. For me it is 1 out of 20 times i try to start my vehicle it does not start due to this issue. This is a dangerous situation for me, as I live in a cold weather state in the US. I have been left stranded dozens of times because the car doesn't recognize the key. If you search "chevy colorado passlock" hundreds of videos will come up, each video with thousands of views (from users like myself). GM charges hundreds to fix the issue. It is a well known issue with this vehicle. I fixed the issue myself. I replaced the faulty sensor and the issue is gone.
Inline ignition fuse keeps blowing while driving. The first two times were when I was turning, two other times were when it was driving on a state highway, one time after it just started, and another as I left my driveway. At times the truck will start when a fuse is replaced, at times it takes multiple fuse changes to get on the road. This results in the engine to stop and power steering to fail. There is no pattern in when it happens. It has been to two dealerships and they have not been able to diagnose the problem, due to the truck working when a new fuse is inserted after the truck was towed in.
Air bags
The drivers-side airbag indicator light remains on. The light warns that the airbag is not working. This is the third time it has happened, first at 89,000 miles, then at 111,000 miles, and now at 133,000 miles. Previous repairs were for broken wires in the wire harness to the extended cab rear door. Wiring in the harness for the airbag is related to the seat belt tensioner. This is a defect that was reported to NHTSA by several others, some of whom were injured in accidents. The repair is costly; the dealer charged around $400.
When I started my truck the red air bag warning light was on steady. I went to find out why the air bag light was on it was for the seat belt pre-tensioner. It was in a fault situation. It was giving 2 codes for this but was not told what they were. Upon closer examination it had 2 broken wires inside a rubber boot that leads from the extended cab rear door to the body. I was told this is very common for extended cabs as the wiring is to short and is pinched when the rear door opens and shuts. The wires eventually fail and cause the air bag system to go into a fault situation and no longer work. Also I was told that the other wires in the rubber boot will also eventually fail including the speaker wire and interior light sensor wires. I was told this is an extended cab issue no other models seem to do this.
Engine & cooling
My vehicle and many others as well suffer from a intermittent problem of the pass lock security safety feature. There are times when inserting the key in the ignition the vehicle would not start because the pass lock fails to recognize the key. When this happens a security lock indicator on the dash flashes. To overcome this the ignition has to be placed in the 'off the on ' position and let it remain so for at least 10 minutes. After such time the vehicle will star until a undetermined time the discrepancy occurs again. Besides my vehicle I have found this condition to exist on many owners on this type and other GM models as well and as far as I can tell from 2006 and on. It's a inconvenience plus if for some reason there was a emergency of some kind the owner would not be able to start it's vehicle and it would not know when or where it's it is a intermittent problem. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Colorado. While the vehicle was parked, it failed to start. The vehicle was towed to northstar Chevrolet (400 center road, clifton park, ny 12065, [phone]) where it was diagnosed that the timing belt stretched and caused the vehicle not to start. A new starter was installed. The manufacturer was notified and was unable to assist. The failure mileage was 77,306.
2011 Chevrolet Colorado engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.9L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 18 / 24 / 21 |
| 2.9L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | RWD | 18 / 25 / 21 |
| 2.9L 4-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD | 17 / 23 / 20 |
| 2.9L 4-cyl | 5-speed manual | 4WD | 18 / 24 / 20 |
| 3.7L 5-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 17 / 23 / 19 |
| 3.7L 5-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD | 17 / 22 / 19 |
| 5.3L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 15 / 20 / 16 |
| 5.3L 8-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD | 14 / 19 / 16 |
EPA ratings. Class: Small pickup.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado a good car?
Based on 42 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2011 Colorado rates better than average: 82% fewer complaints than a typical year of the Colorado at the same age. It is one of the best Colorado years by this measure. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado?
The electrical system — 14 complaints, 33% of all complaints for this model year. Next are the air bags (10) and engine & cooling (4).
How many recalls does the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado have?
There are 5 recalls for the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado, the most recent from December 19, 2012 (latch). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Chevrolet Colorado?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2011, 2012 and 2020. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2016, 2015, 2024, 2023 and 2017. See the full Chevrolet Colorado years comparison.
At what mileage do 2011 Chevrolet Colorado problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 54,000 miles; 40% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
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.