Chevrolet · Colorado · 2016
4
Recalls
684
Complaints
4/5
Safety Rating
The 2016 Chevrolet Colorado has 4 recalls and 684 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Overall safety rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Most reported issue: steering (325 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
Frontal Crash Test

Side Crash Test

Overall Frontal Rating
Driver and Passenger Assessment
Driver Side
Passenger Side
Overall Side Rating
Side Barrier and Side Pole Tests
Driver Side
Passenger Side
Rollover Resistance
21.4% rollover risk in single-vehicle crash
Safety Features
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2016 GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado, and 2016 Chevrolet Volt vehicles. The driver's frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began November 8, 2017. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17387.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Colorado vehicles manufactured January 19, 2016, to February 2, 2016, Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured January 9, 2016, to January 26, 2016, and 2016 GMC Canyon vehicles manufactured January 21, 2016, to February 4, 2016. The driver frontal air bag may improperly inflate during second-stage deployment in the event of a high speed crash.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver side frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on April 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 28030.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Colorado trucks manufactured August 25, 2015 to September 24, 2015, and GMC Canyon trucks manufactured August 28, 2015 to September 24, 2015. The affected vehicles have a console compartment lid latch assembly that may fail to keep the compartment door closed in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 201, "Occupant Protection in Interior Impact."
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the console compartment door latch assembly, free of charge. The recall began on January 5, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16370.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.
For the past couple years, the electronic power steering system shuts off while driving. Turning off and on the car would usually reset it. These past couple months, that trick doesn't work anymore. Using an OBD two-way scanner, the codes popping up are PSCM not calibrated and it shuts off the braking system as well. This seems incredibly dangerous and am surprised it's not included in the recall. I am shocked the dealership is recommending the entire power steering assembly needs to be replaced at a cost of thousands of dollars. Reading the recall notice (RCSB-21V213-4201), the replacement solution is a $20 cover and repacking of an easily accessible component. This really needs to be escalated to include other model years as well.
I was driving home and and out of no where my power steering went out, good thing I was driving slow and that no other cars was heading toward me, it was very difficult to keep my truck in my lane. I did get a warning light stating no power steering, I stop the truck when I got home and restarted it and the problem went away? (So did the warning light) I looked into this issue online and there was a recall for 2015 models, my truck is a 2016 which has the same issues. (And other consumers complaints) I'm making a appointment today to have it check out. I hope I can make there without any issues.
Driving down the road and had Stabiltrak disable and power steering go out, causing great difficulty to maintain control of steering the vehicle. My teenage son’s first vehicle and he was driving with myself and younger son as passengers. This could have been a very horrible situation. Apparently this is a pretty widely discussed and common issue with this vehicle make (a quick google search proves this), and actually was recalled in the previous year model for this exact issue (reference NHTSA #21V213). The issue was evidently not sufficiently corrected in the 2016 year models. This is obviously a safety issue that could lead to severe injury or death and should be taken seriously by the manufacturer.
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. Next Issue the speed sensor which we have replaced it 3 times now in less than 2 years.
The Power Steering and Stabilitrak went out on my vehicle. Within a 2 week period the service lights started coming on and then it finally went out. I could not steer the vehicle due to it being so hard to turn. Brought vehicle to dealer and they had the same issue with it. They had to replace the Steering Gear box. Cost me $2100.00. Noticed on line many people have had this same issue on many different year vehicles. 2015 vehicles were recalled, but other years had the exact same issue.
While driving the dash will show power steering alert and then stabilitrack alert and the power steering then fails. This always happens while in motion and never when parked\idling. It has happened while turning which proves dangerous as the car then starts to straighten out. Had the truck serviced at the dealership to be told that it is a low voltage issue. The car is running so the alternator is running which should be providing a charge. After paying for updates to the car (software) it happened again. Then I was told it was the phone charger being plugged in and that has to be unplugged every time I stop to get out now. This has been reported by many 2016 owners and 2015 had a recal for an issue that was similar (torque sensor). Dealership says that the sensor in my truck is good.
When driving normally on wet paved city roads (it had recently rained but not currently raining), my truck suddenly lost power steering and the warning messages came on to service power steering and stabilitrak systems. Traction control lights also came on. The next morning, I tried starting the truck again, and the power steering came back temporarily before losing it again and service messages came back on. I've read many others in online forums have had this same electrical connection issue, and it was a recall on the 2015 model year of this same truck.
Vacuum pump busted as shown in photos. Once that busted it sent metal shrapnel into the engine which broke a piece of the cam shaft into bits. There were metal fragments that had to be meticulously cleaned out of my engine block. The loss of vacuum seal caused me to lose brakes while driving in stop and go traffic on the highway.
I currently have a 2016 Chev Colorado with a intermittent power steering issue. It stops sometimes without warning in which it makes it very difficult to drive especially if you have no warning to this issue. I am sure this is a extra unsafe condition to deal with. I have seen that the 2015 was recalled for the same issue. I have seen many complaints while researching this issue with exactly the same problem. Could someone please look at this issue because I am not feeling safe while driving. Thank You, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Hello, I have already submitted a steering complaint for this 2016 Chev Colorado. It has intermittently have had this issue for some time. I have checked to see how many complaints there were with this same issue, and it was 422 complaints. I am just wondering how long it takes to get a recall. I am not feeling very safe and hope this gets taken care of soon. I have also checked and found that the 2015 Colorado's were recalled for the same issue. Please let me know on this matter. Thank You, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
My 2016 Chevrolet Colorado lost all power steering while driving down the road. My young daughter was in the vehicle with me on a busy highway when I lost my ability to safely steer the vehicle. The stabilitrak light came on and that is when the power steering failed and I had to force my vehicle off the roadway manually to avoid getting into a collision. Had I needed to quickly steer to avoid another vehicle, obstacle, or maneuver a sharp turn at those speeds that could have been fatal for me, my daughter, and potentially other drivers or pedestrians. The vehicle was diagnosed and the issue was reproduced and confirmee at an independent service center as described. It was determined this was a known issue with similar make and model Chevrolet Colorados that were already on recall however my VIN was not included. It was determined to be a defective steering wheel torque sensor (code C0545) and required a complete steering rack replacement. They inspected the wiring harness had not chafed causing any damage, and that it was the sensor. There were no warning lights prior to the failure and it was abrupt while driving. The stabilitrak light came on simultaneously to the power steering failing.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to steer in the intended direction. In addition, the “Service Stabili-trak” message was displayed, and the “Power Steering Failure” warning light was illuminated. The contact held the steering wheel tightly and pulled on the steering wheel, preventing the vehicle from crashing into a wall. The vehicle was driven to the intended destination. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle was driven very slowly, and the contact used added force to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The contact referenced an unknown recall for the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado with a similar description of a failure; however, the VIN was not under recall. The contact stated that an online forum advised the contact to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 130,000.
The electric power steering system on my vehicle intermittently fails while I am driving. When the failure occurs, the steering suddenly becomes extremely heavy and difficult to control, creating an immediate safety risk to me and to others on the road. The loss of power steering has happened multiple times with no advance warning. Each time, the only way to temporarily restore normal steering is to pull over, turn the vehicle off, and restart it. The problem occurs randomly and without a pattern. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. The issue has been evaluated by the dealer’s service center. They were not able to reproduce the failure during their inspection, but they did confirm that the vehicle had stored a diagnostic trouble code indicating a power steering failure. The service center reported that the code was too generic to determine the root cause, and no repair was performed. They acknowledged that the steering failure had occurred based on the stored code, but could not identify why it was happening. During the failures, the vehicle displays warning messages stating that both Stabilitrak and Power Steering have failed. These messages appear only at the moment of failure, with no prior warning lights or symptoms. This intermittent loss of power steering severely compromises safe operation of the vehicle, especially when turning at low speeds, entering or exiting parking lots, or navigating intersections. It puts me, my passengers, and the surrounding drivers and pedestrians at risk because the vehicle cannot be steered normally when the failure occurs.
We were driving on a busy freeway and the power steering quit working making it hard to steer and maneuver in traffic. We went directly to a GM dealer and the code CO545 Steering Wheel Torgue Sensor came up. This is a sensor inside the sealed steering gear that cannot be replaced without being completely removing and replaced. The cost is over $2000 and not covered under warranty. We will not be purchasing GM products any longer.
My steering failed. I was driving under 30 mph and my steering locked up and I was presented with a Service notification "Stabilitrak". I can not turn my wheel and was not able to go down my driveway.
The stabiltrack and power steering fail while driving.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The message “Service Power Steering” was displayed, and the stabili-trak warning light was illuminated. Neither the dealer nor an independent mechanic was contacted. The vehicle was not taken to an independent mechanic or dealer to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 178,000.
COMPONENT: The piston in cylinder #1 cracked and created conditions for the fuel injector to bore a hole through it. SAFETY: This led to sudden loss of engine power and violent shaking of the vehicle at highway speeds. CONFIRMATION: Multiple reports of the exact same incident can be confirmed and researched at ColoradoFans.com, specifically on these threads https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/looks-like-my-number-finally-came-up-engine-failure.444376 https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/poll-how-many-blown-up-2-8-diesels-please-indicate-on-poll.396705/ https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/documented-2-8l-duramax-lwn-engine-catastrophic-failures-thread.427244 INSPECTION: Confirmed the crack and the hole in piston #1 with borescope. WARNINGS: Prior to catastrophic failure, there was an ongoing intermittent issue chasing down DTC P11CC - NOx1 Performance Low. Not sure if that was a harbinger or completely unrelated.
Stablitrak has come on 2x now on the highway, completely losing power steering. Very scary. Resets after turning the car off and on. 2016 , should have a recall. Same issue as the 2015s.
When the truck is driven there are times at random that the steering wheel locks into place while driving at any speed on the road. This warrants me to slowly try and get the car off the road to shut it down and restart it and then the steering goes back to normal. This has happened multiple different times on different days. This has not happened on the highway yet, but if this occurs while driving on the highway this poses a huge risk for an accident to occur. Chevy has had this similar recall on previous 2015s and it seems that 2016 owners are complaining about this issue but it is yet to be a recall.
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2016 Chevrolet Colorado has 4 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 684 owner-reported complaints for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado.
The 2016 Chevrolet Colorado received an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5 stars from NHTSA.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado are steering (325 reports), power train (56 reports), steering,electrical system (39 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 4 recalls on record for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
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This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.