2023 GMC Canyon: What to check before buying

The forward collision system brakes hard with no threat ahead, sometimes to a full stop at around 45 mph in traffic, leaving following drivers to swerve. Blind spot lights flash with nothing there and miss real vehicles, worse after dark. Screens and the digital gauge cluster go black, so the speedometer disappears. Other reports cover false theft alarms and one total power loss with an engine stall. Dealer software updates often fail to fix the problems, and one brake repair stalled on a backordered part.

Coolant leaks from the upper radiator hose where it seals to the radiator. Reports cluster between 28,708 and just over 37K miles. Leaks in the cooling system risk overheating and engine damage. Dealers cite a national backorder on the hose and tell owners to keep driving and watch the coolant level. No separate seal is sold, so the fix means buying the whole hose. Owners describe the failure as a design flaw in the seal rather than wear.

Hard automatic braking hits with nothing in the path. Triggers include oncoming traffic on a gentle curve and a turn at 20 mph, and on snow the sudden stop put one truck into a slide. A forward collision warning light can also stay lit until the truck is restarted. Reports appear as early as 2,251 miles and recur around 13,000. Dealers often find no fault, owners switch the feature off, and one repair waited on backordered parts.

The truck brakes on its own in traffic, including an abrupt stop at 20 mph with no warning. One report links this self-braking to an injury and property damage after repeated dealer repair attempts. A separate failure involves the brake master cylinder at about 2,000 miles, with the service engine and brake assist lights on and the dealer saying the truck should not be driven until a replacement part arrived.

Blind spot monitoring lights up with no car nearby and sometimes misses vehicles that are there, mostly on the passenger side and mostly at night. Drivers find the false alerts distracting and lose trust in the system. Lane keep assist and pre-collision warning also switch themselves off more often over time, and personal dashboard settings reset. Dealers often cannot reproduce the fault, and a window switch replacement has not cured it.

The truck lurches forward just before a stop, as if downshifting from second to first and adding throttle. It happens when parking or at red lights, and drivers report nearly hitting garage walls and other cars. Shifts from first to second can also slam under light throttle. The problem is intermittent and shows no warning light, and dealers often cannot duplicate it. One owner reports a buyback, with the replacement truck showing the same behavior.

The roof panel pops, crackles, and dents under the air blowers of automatic car washes. Dealer repairs have not held, and one repeat repair stalled because the part was unavailable. A separate problem involves the factory sunroof gurgling above 25 mph after rain or washing, as water collects in the drain gutter. Clearing the drain lines has not solved it. Neither problem is described as a crash or loss-of-control risk.

Power steering and brake assist cut out at once, with brake failure, ABS, and engine warnings, sometimes at 70 to 75 mph on the interstate. Speed is limited to 62 mph and the pedal feels ineffective, which creates a serious loss-of-control risk. Turning the truck off and restarting it restores normal function. Two of the three reports share identical text. Another links the failures to a remote electrical update and earlier battery problems.