2024 Chevrolet Colorado: What to check before buying

Instrument cluster and infotainment screen go black or reboot while driving, which leaves no speedometer or warning lights, sometimes at highway speed. Dealers replace clusters and radio modules or load software, and the problem often comes back. Other reports describe several warnings appearing at once (ABS, brake, ESC), followed by lost braking, automatic emergency braking with nothing ahead, and a left signal that flashes after a right turn. Batteries go dead during over-the-air updates. One report describes smoke, lost steering and brakes, then fire. Some voice and hands-free features stop working unless the owner pays for an OnStar subscription.

Brake pedal sinks to the floor or turns spongy, often with "Brake System Failure" and "Service ESC" warnings. Braking returns after a restart, then the failure repeats. Several cases happen on nearly new trucks, at about 200 and 517 miles. Some dealers can't reproduce it. One case is tied to low-voltage codes. A second pattern is uneven front pad wear, worse on the driver side, blamed on a caliper spring. A bulletin covers some trucks but not all, leaving owners with bills near $500. Two crash reports say automatic emergency braking did not engage.

Brakes slam on with a clear road ahead, at speeds from parking-lot pace up to 55 mph, and drivers behind nearly hit the truck. The system also sees pedestrians that aren't there or fails to warn before a real near-collision. The front camera shuts off with obstruction messages even when the lens is clean. Blind-spot lights come on with no traffic nearby. Dealers replace the camera, sometimes twice, and the fault continues. One failure shows up at about 425 miles. One report links a rear-end crash to sensor faults.

Coolant leaks at the upper radiator hose where it seals to the radiator, with one hose failing at just over 20K miles. Owners hear a whooshing sound, then see a check engine light once coolant runs low, and they worry about overheating. Replacing the o-ring does not always stop the leak. One truck loses its engine at highway speed from a failed crankshaft at 28,000 miles and needs a new engine. Other reports describe a rough cold idle with a misfire code, the accelerator hesitating for several seconds after braking, and an oil drain plug insert breaking loose from the pan.

After a right turn, the signal cancels and then flashes left about three times. Owners say the stalk bounces past center, and it happens on some turns or on most of them. Bulletin 24-NA-235 is performed on at least one truck without fixing it. Dealers call the behavior normal or don't know how to repair it. Some owners report it from the day of purchase. Other drivers may expect a left turn that never happens. A separate complaint describes headlights too weak to show lane markings at night in fog or rain.

Harsh 2nd-to-1st downshifts get worse until the truck shudders and knocks, and a dealer replaces a valve in the valve body. That one starts around 3000 miles. Other trucks lose power at speed with transmission codes and need a tow, and one stops moving in any gear about a week after purchase. A rear main seal leak shows up at 150 miles and is fixed under a GM bulletin. Radiator hose repairs stall because the parts are back-ordered for months.

Most reports here describe the turn signal problem again: after a right turn the stalk bounces and signals left, and it returns even after a dealer repair. One truck has stiff, hard-to-turn steering along with "Service Steering," "Reduced Acceleration," and ESC warnings and a loss of power, and the cause is still undetermined. Owners also report blind-spot lights flashing with no traffic around and a steering column cover that rattles loose.

Car wash blowers dent the roof or push it in. GM addresses this in bulletin 23-NA-209, which adds braces to the roof. At least one roof dents again right after that repair, and the owner's case stays open for months with no fix. Another truck makes a loud bang from the roof while parked, and the headliner cracks at about 3,080 miles. Owners worry the roof would not hold up in a rollover.