Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2016 Chevrolet Colorado owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
While driving on the highway "service stabilitrack" warning suddenly appeared. The warning went away, but the light on the dash stayed illuminated as if I had manually turned off stabilitrack. Dash then indicated traction control was turned off, speedometer, rpm gauge, and temp gauge all started bouncing around and fuel range indicated "--". Also received a warning that power steering is not functioning. Vehicle would not appropriately change gears (automatic transmission), causing issues maintaining speed. I have a video of the gauges (taken by my partner while I was driving) that can be sent via email, or screenshots can be uploaded upon request. An online search yields several forum posts indicating this is a repeated issue for this model year, causing significant safety issues and leaving individuals stranded. …
The Power Steering keeps failing and this is dangerous once the vehicle is in motion. The most recent incident was July 4th 2023. We have taken the truck to Lawley Chevrolet Sierra Vista AZ (Mando Flores-Service Advisor)several times within the last year and they claim they can't find anything wrong. We can't drive it until the steering is properly fixed. It's impossible to drive. We have to constantly pull over and turn off vehicle for the electrical system to reset . Then we drive for about 1/8 miles then the issue starts all over again. Once the power steer light comes on to include the stabilitrak warning lights then the vehicle is almost impossible to steer. My wife drives the truck most of the time and it's very dangerous and it's not easy for her to steer this vehicle once the power steering goes out. …
While driving my family home on a hot 90+ degree day. My 2016 Chevy Colorado suddenly has a power loss engine died and i went from 75 to parked in less than 30 seconds. Luckily I was able to pull off the freeway to the median. We were almost hit by two vehicles pulling a trailer and the other pulling a RV. I had to have someone pick my kids up due to the hazards of being stranded on the side of the freeway. We had to have the truck towed. The code we got was for a fuel pump control module. We replaced and had it programed. This did not fix the issue. After further diagnostics from a auto mechanic shop, which we had to pay out of pocket. We learned it was a lifter failure. I have see numerous forums and people sighting "Lifter Failure" in Chevy Vehicles. Where most of us owners have to cover all cost out of pocket. Yet still "NO RECALL" for this issue that seems to be worth a recall. …
The Power Steering keeps failing and this is dangerous once the vehicle is in motion. We have taken the truck to Lawley Chevrolet Sierra Vista AZ (Mando Flores-Service Advisor)several times within the last year and they claim they can't find anything wrong. We can't drive it until the steering is properly fixed. It's impossible to drive. We have to constantly pull over and turn off vehicle for the electrical system to reset . Then we drive for about 1/8 miles then the issue starts all over again. Once the power steer light comes on to include the stabilitrak warning lights then the vehicle is almost impossible to steer. My wife drives the truck most of the time and it's very dangerous and it's not easy for her to steer this vehicle once the power steering goes out. I'm disabled and not able to drive the vehicle in case the power steering goes out. …
2016-2020 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon diesel models have faulty DPF and DEF systems that fail within <20-60K miles. They do not warranty it as powertrain, and it is a common problem. SAFETY ISSUE: While out of state, the vehicle regenerating exhaust cleaning cycle can not properly clean the system. It then goes into limp mode. 2 dealers have tried to fix it, with no avail. Limp mode limits speed from 65mph with no power on hills, to 55, then 4mph. See this thread for how many people are experiencing problems: https://www.coloradodiesel.org/threads/dpf-regeneration.1137/page-2 Thank you, Andrew R
Anytime I drive down a moderately steep hill, the transmission down shifts to a lower gear and the RPMs go above 5000. It seems to get stuck in this gear for a bit of time. If I speed up, the RPMs get to about 6000 before shifting. Otherwise, I'll need to slow the vehicle considerably before it will change gears. I contacted the dealership and they told me to bypass it by switching to the manual shifting gear.
my truck has a issue when you are going down a hill it shifts into a lower gear. This is an automatic transmission. This can cause my truck to slide and spin in bad weather. I have seen people comment about this issue on some Colorado forums. It has done this many times and at times I have pulled over and placed it in park
A known wire chaffing problem for this make/model caused vehicle to loose all transmission power. Doors unlocked and locked on their own while moving the vehicle. Had two young children with me in 100+ degree weather. Truck finally moved in first gear at 20 mph max to get home on the road with other traffic.
Numerous times while driving, and going downhill the truck shifts to a much lower gear causing the RPM's to go up to 5500 and does not shift out. Twice I had the cruise control on and was on the highway (speed of 75) going down a hill and it shifted to a much lower gear. It has done this on other roads going down hill as well. In addition, numerous times when merging with traffic on a highway, I will try to tap the accelerator to safely merge with traffic and the truck has gotten "stuck" in a lower gear and would not shift out and I thought I was going to rear end a car so I had to ride my break to make sure it would not continue to accelerate into the back of a car. In addition to that, often when trying to accelerate out of a corner or after an off ramp, the truck will not accelerate at the same rate as the other vehicles around me. …
When driving about 35 MPH, and then pressing the gas pedal to accelerate / pass another vehicle, the engine revs up to 4000 ' 5000 rpms, but does not downshift. It then takes a few seconds to go back to 1200-1500 RPM range. It May downshift at that point, and the truck will jerk violently. I took it to the dealer where I bought it new. They said GM is aware of the problem and referred to TSB #pip5547. I took it in again in dec. 2019 before the warranty expired. They had the vehicle for 18 days. They agree there is a problem, but GM has no fix for it. This is a repeatable problem, happen consistently in the 30 to 40 MPH range. The manual states that when trying to pass at less than 35 MPH, press the accelerator halfway down, as I have done. That is when the engine revs up but does not downshift like it normally should. …
Acceleration complaints in other Colorado years
Frequently asked questions
How common are acceleration problems on the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado?
NHTSA has 24 complaints about the speed control & acceleration of the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, 3% of the model year's 712 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2016 Chevrolet Colorado acceleration problems?
No. NHTSA lists no speed control & acceleration recall for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, though it has 4 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 2016 Chevrolet Colorado acceleration problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 7,000 miles, and 67% before 25,000 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.