NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
Vehicle shuts off traction control and power steering intermittently. Two errors are thrown at the same time. Vehicle has to be shut off or battery disconnected to fix and then error happens again while driving
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.
Power steering and stabilitrak fail while driving randomly. Any speed, any steering angle. NUMEROUS times at highway speed. Loss of power steering completely. Will sometimes reset if truck is turned off, key removed, and turned back on again. Other times it takes a few restarts. This is dangerous and scary and it is identical to the 2015 Colorado/Canyon issue.
The body is defective in keeping water out of the cab. Water intrusion into cab causing moisture build-up and damaging interior and electrical components. My safety is at risk due to the electrical components in the cab that run the vehicle could cause electrocution or cause the vehicle to fail while in use. No they have not reproduced the problem. Yes, GM Collision center and service center (three separate times) have seen the vehicle and the video of the leak. I informed them of the TSB5396 of the known manufacturer defect issue. No warning, problem was first noticed in May 2023. I found my interior completely soaked one morning. I have waterproof marathon seat covers and they are soaked thru to the seats. Checked all windows to make sure they were up and the door seals were shut, everything was closed. Assumed that it was a fluke, followed up by checking the next morning and found the headliner dripping along with a soaked interior again. With the electrical seats and all the electronics in the dash I am concerned about that much water and moisture being in the cab might electrocute me or cause malfunction while driving. Besides the fact that moisture causes rust, mold and mildew that are dangerous to your health to breathe in.
Randomly lose power steering and enables stabilitrak.
Power Steering and Stabilitrak go out while driving
Was driving 45mph today, when I hit a small bump in the road, all of us a sudden I had a message on my panel saying something about “power steering” and stabilitrak…and my power steering went out. Barely made it home. But the power steering going out made it almost impossible to steer.
Seat belt cable broke between anchor on floor and first connection. Brought to chevrolet dealer and they said they haven't seen that before. Now I wonder if the other seat belts are defective. There was no previous warning
Power steering went out as I was driving
Same as the recall bulletin 15595 for the 2015 model year. Power steering intermittently goes out and goes back to normal after stopping/starting vehicle.
Power steerin and stabilitrak went out while driving. Electrical thing on the dash goes out as well
I get an intermittent power steering and Stabilitrak warning when driving, and the warning causes my power steering to shut down. The fault clears when I stop the truck and shut off the engine, but it reoccurs at regular intervals ranging from once per week to twice in one day. I took the truck to my local Chevrolet dealer, and they did a programming upgrade to the power steering module and a front-end alignment. This did not fix the problem. It appears that my truck has the same fault that caused the 2015 model to be recalled, so I would expect the dealer to be able to identify the problem.
No electric Power Assist. I am 77 years old with disabilities so steering without power steering is nearly impossible. First appeared on 4/4/2023 and has occurred on three different occasions since. First time was after driving approx. 15 miles; 2nd time, less than 3 blocks, 3rd time, less than 3 mile & yesterday after about 20 miles. Driving speed at 1st incident 60 mph; 2nd, 30mph, 3rd, 30 mph, yesterday 60 mph. Manufactured date which I was unable to provide on last submission is 08/2015
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Water intrusion to the cab of the truck has structural failure in the roof causing it to leak inside the cab. Leak runs into dash and out of ignition causing electrical issues in the dash and ignition, along with pooling on the floorboards causing rusting; runs into the rear 3rd brake light and rear headliner causing electrical concerns to the rear brake light not alerting of braking and leaks into rear seats causing rusting under the seats where the seats can fall through the floorboards. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? rear brake light failure to alert surrounding drivers of braking. Possible electrocution in starting the vehicle with water in the ignition and dash; possible passenger/driver being dropped through the floorboards while driving. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? unknown Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? I have had it looked at by mechanics and told it was a body issue and needed to go to a body shop, not the dealership. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No
On 3/29/2023 took veh in for rountine oil, filter change. On 4/4 while driving Power assist steering went out and track stabilization was disabled. Took veh back to where it was serviced and they said nothing they did would have caused this failure. Spoke with dealership where vehicle was purchased after seeing recall for this same problem on 2015 models. They wanted $179 to diagnose and tell me if this was the problem? Have searched for manufacture date which should have been on the door and found only place of Mfg. Since vehicle was bought in Oct 2015 I need to know if manufacture date falls within recall. I am a 77 year old female with disabilities and when this occurs as it has several times now I have difficulty getting vehicle back home and this is a safety issue.
Power steering and stabiltrack fail while driving.
My 2016 Colorado is experiencing the same loss of power steering issue that the 2015 models have which was recalled. The 2016 models need to be included. It started 2 years ago and will randomly cut in and out. I was unaware of the recall when it first occurred and I took it to the dealer and after inspection they said my battery was low and would fix it. It didn’t fix it. I also have a hard time believing they were unaware of this issue with other colorados.
While my 17 year old son was traveling on the highway at a speed of 55, the truck (2016 Chevy Colorado)suddenly lost its power steering. He was barely able to get off the road, because the steering wheel was so hard to turn. The stabilitrak warning light came on and a warning light about the power steering also came on(while the problem was happening). My son was very concerned, because he said if he had been traveling at that speed around a curve, he could have crashed. This seems very serious to me. I googled this problem, only to find there have been recalls on several 2015 and 2016 models, but my VIN was not one of them.... something is wrong here!!?? I'm scared to let him drive it anymore.
Power Steering Loss while driving. Based on what I've read, many 2015/2016 Colorado's have been recalled for this issue. It appears many more people have the same issue but their VIN# was not part of the recall, like mine. This has happened to me on multiple occasions, and often while traveling at high speeds on the highway. It is very dangerous as it is nearly impossible to turn the wheel when the power steering has gone out. I've been very lucky that I have been on a straight away when it's happened and been able to pull over and re-start my vehicle to correct the issue. With all the complaints over the last 6 years, I cannot believe that the recall hasn't been extended to all 2015/2016 Colorado/Canyon models.
Vehicle suddenly loses power steering without warning. The power steering module is connected to the CAN bus which errors everything else on the same network so stabilitrack, traction control, ABS, etc goes out all at the same time. On icy roads, this caused to hit the ditch at very high speed. What I don’t understand is why you only forced a recall on the 2015 MY when the 2016’s use the same exact components and assembly process. Clearly this is still an issue for many 2016 owners!
A warning came on my dash board for Service saying "Power Steering Drive With Care" followed by another Service warning for "Stabilitrak." See photos of warnings. I had the same incident occur a couple of months ago, but it went away while driving and no adverse affects occurred. However, this time, my power steering lost all ability to function. Luckily, I was parked and just reversing out of a parking spot. I shut the vehicle off, opened and closed my doors, and restarted it to no avail. The power steering was still not working with the same warnings. I was close to home with only a few turns so I muscled my way to the road. Power steering returned while on a straightaway going 25 mph. The warnings did not cease even though power steering returned. I have restarted my vehicle twice and the warnings are still there. The Stability Control Warning Symbol and TC symbol to the left of the info display also stay on while these warnings are occurring. Took pictures of them for proof that are included. I read on this forum (https://www.coloradofans.com/threads/2016-colorado-stabilitak-power-steering-fault.413270/) that it is a known issue and see many complaints here on NHTSA. This is a dangerous scenario that should be investigated and seems to be an obvious manufacturer's fault or oversight, especially since a recall was issued for some 2015 models. Please investigate before crashes begin to occur. Its an expensive repair that many will not pay for, especially since it is well documented to be an issue plaguing the vehicles.
I went out to my truck the morning of March 16, 2023. Upon starting the truck I saw in the dashboard information center "service power steering" and "Stabilitrak-Stability control" notifications. My truck had absolutely no power steering. Later in the day I arranged to have the vehicle loaded onto a car carrier and delivered to the dealer - Bob Allen Chevrolet here in Danville. They told me the problem will cost $1,750 to fix and, BTW, the parts are on back-order with no ETA. Tonight I checked several sites on the internet and find that these problems with this truck are epidemic! Also Chevrolet recalled some 60,000 2015 Chevrolet Colorado's for this identical problem but thus far they have not recalled any 2016 Colorado's even though the problems and the parts are identical. I am very thankful this problem occurred in my driveway! Other owners have had this happen on the interstate at high speeds or in traffic. I think that Chevrolet should/must be forced to issue a recall and fix this known issue on these trucks. Someone is going to get killed if it hasn't happened already.
Power steering stopped working while driving on open road. A box in the display opened and said that there was a problem and see dealer. The vehicle was stopped and inspected under hood. No reservoir or pump, so suspect it is an electrical issue. Turned vehicle off for a few moment and restarted, made a phone call to home and all of a sudden, the power steering started working again. Returned home, made appointment with Chevy service, paid for diagnostic of issue, nothing found, no codes, no history, can not observe issue during test drive. Vehicle returned to me, I have driven about 400 miles with not a repeat of issue. I have read about a recall for this issue in the 2015 model, and have heard of owners of 2016 having the same issue, so I am adding my experience. I have the repair doc. but can not upload it at this time. RAB
Vehicle intermittently will show power steering loss warning then stabilitrak loss warning. Have to immediately pull out of traffic and turn off vehicle as it is hard to steer. Usually turning vehicle off helps resolve issue until it appears again. This has occurred previously about 9 months ago for about a week and then again now.
Driving 55 miles per hour and the power steering suddenly cut out. Has since happened two other times, both driving and completely stopped. Traction control and stabilitrak warning lights illuminate at the same time. Luckily was driving in less dangerous situations at the time, but had this been on a windy road or highway, could have been much more serious.
On four separate days, over six months, the power steering failed while driving, resulting in VERY difficult steering. We managed to pull over. A warning light appeared on the dash simultaneous to this occurring. Upon shutting the car off and restarting, the issue vanished.
Car losses steering after light comes on for stab/track , turning car off clears it seem to clear it and happen for 2 days then stopped. It’s terrible not never know when it will happen. This happens in the 2015 model and seem it’s a problem with this model as well.
Total failure of electric power steering assist while driving on I-5 in Oregon & attempting to take off ramp. Took to Zilkowski Auto Electric in Springfield Oregon 541-747-9213, have repaired & the wiring harness was melted & full of fluid from the power steering unit. Also the plug on the electric assist fell apart when removed & you could hear grinding or metal clashing type sound if you tried to steer. Did not take it to the local Chevy dealer as I got the run around & they were several weeks out to even look at it. Fortunately when the unit failed I had the awareness to keep the vehicle in the lane of travel as steering became a physical effort. It also required realignment that the shop who repaired it could not do.
My power steering went out while driving. I had 2 errors pop up that I need to service power steering and that I need t service Stabilitrak. This was very dangerous. I read that this is a known issue for a recall for the 2015 model but not the 2016. However, it is happening with this model.
Since I have got the truck I have had non stop problems with power steering going out while driving. Almost causing multiple accidents when turning corners and yanking the wheel out of my hands when it shuts off. There are recalls on the 2015 Colorados with the same parts as the 2016 Colorado’s but to recall on these. When power steering fails it pops up “service power steering drive with care” and “stabilitrack”
When operating the vehicle the steering will suddenly without warning go from power steering to a very stiff steering which someone of limited upper body strength would have great difficulty maintaining control of the vehicle. Vehicle was taken to a dealer who advised the problem was electrical and replaced the battery. Steering has failed twice since then in less than 100 miles.
When shifting into Park and attempting to turn ignition off, the ignition does not fully rotate to the Off position and I’m unable to remove key from ignition. There are several YouTube videos demonstrating this issue with thousands of views, so the problem clearly affects a lot of people. Some videos show where the ignition safety switch solenoid does not properly disengage when placed in Park. Would be more than happy to have my vehicle inspected and tested, if needed. Have been able to “work around” issue by doing a couple of quick release pops of the shifter release switch. Seems to be a mechanical + electrical issue. Happened suddenly in February 2023 when parking in a busy parking lot. Became very nervous and concerned that I couldn’t turn the ignition off and therefore remove my key. Was not going to walk away from vehicle and leave the key in the ignition either. Have not yet reported to dealer, but that’s my next step. No warning lamps or related lights on dash.
Was driving down the road and the stabilitrac warning came on and it caused the power steering system to shut down while driving causing me to almost wreck because the steering became so hard to turn. When I stopped and turned the truck off and restarted it, the warning lights went off and the power steering was working normally again
Getting a power steering failure just like the 2015 model parts on the 2016 is the same as 2015 which had a recall on this failure getting failure and losing ability to steer the vehicle from what I can tell there is a lot of vehicles this is happening to cost is very expensive to fix I think it should be investigated and a recall to gm to fix before someone gets hurt because of this failure I have had it several times and it never happens when dealerships look at it
While driving, out of the blue, two censors popped up(Power Steering & Stabilitrak)and my power steering was gone. Thankfully I was driving in a straight section of roadway at the time. I was able to muscle the car into a business and park away from others. I turned off the car and turned it on again, and the error codes went away and my steering returned. Over the next couple of days, the same error codes popped up and steering went out. Stopped by my dealership and spoke with the service manager who just started the week before, said he would speak with the area manager. It has been a week and have heard nothing. The safety issue is, if you are driving in an area where you cannot pull safely off the road you are putting yourself and everyone else at risk. Especially dangerous, is if you need to make a right turn, anyone who is not extremely strong is going to end up going wide and possibly collide head on with traffic coming in the opposite direction. Apparently the flawed part has brought forth a recall for the 2015 model, but the same issue and part occurs with the 2016, yet no recall has been issued.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at approximately 60 MPH, the contact heard a warning chime and then observed that the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and the power steering warning lights were illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn to the left or the right. The contact pulled over, turned off, and restarted the vehicle the vehicle regained power steering functionality. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent and only occurred while driving above 55 MPH. The contact had not taken the vehicle to a local dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact researched online and related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V213000 (Steering). The manufacturer was informed of the failure but informed the contact that the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 185,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that the "Service Power Steering Drive with Care" warning light was illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and informed the contact that vehicle was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
While driving my 2016 Chevrolet Colorado P/U Truck, the steering assist failed numerous times and steering became dangerous especially for my wife. I took the vehicle to a repair shop and they said the Electric Steering Motor is failing and warned not to drive the vehicle. I called Chevrolet and they advised there is a recall on that truck and equipage, however my VIN was not included in the recall. My question is why not, I am experiencing the issue as others and this could result in a deadly crash.
While driving the power steering goes out and you have to drive without power steering. It is very hard to steer when this happens. It has happened several times and I’m scared I’m going to have a wreck. Dash warning lights come on saying check steering and stabilink. If you shut it off and restart it, it resets until the next time it does it. Very dangerous.
Power Steering has went out on my truck. I only have 37700 miles on this 2016 chevy colorado and think the power steering should last longer than that. It is my only vehicle and now I am being told that the part is on back order. Please can you help me?
Power steering went out suddenly while turning in a parking garage. The stabilitrack light also came on as being disabled. After getting to a spot, I inspected the power steering fluid and it was full. I started the truck back up and everything was reset and fine. Because I was driving slowly and the steering wheel was designed small since it had power steering, I had almost didn't make the turn. Had my wife been driving, I know that she would have crashed into the parked cars near the turn. I have an appointment with the garage on Feb 15th. The truck had no indicators on prior to the incident. The stabilitrack light had come on twice in the past six months but reset after restarting the truck. This was the first time it came on with a loss of power steering. After an internet search, it seems that this is similar to the many other cases in 2015 and 2016 Colorados.
Power steering failed on start up, stabiltrack and traction control light on as well. Don't want to take chance if it failing while at speed, but with no recall and looks very expensive to fix.
While driving my power steering goes out and I have to stop the truck and turn it off and restart it and it reset. Has done this several times and I’m scared I’m going to kill my self or someone else. Lights on dash says check steering .
While stopped at an intersection, the steering wheel jerked to the right and the power steering systems shut down and felt like it was "locked" in position. The idiot lights on dashboard indicated power steering and Vehicle Stabilitrack systems were not working. It was a yellow light with a car and something representing swerves. The truck steering became incredibly difficult to control and turn the wheels. When it was safe, I managed to pull into a shopping center. I tried restarting the vehicle 3 -4 times before the system errors were cleared and steering performed normally. I drove 14 miles towards my house, when the same scenario happened, except this time I was driving on the highway.
Power steering and stalilitrak keep going out while driving the electrical stuff on the dash keeps going out too
When driving the truck I loose the power steering which makes it almost impossible to safely drive the vehicle..its happened 10 times and 2 of which I was in the smokey mountains and almost went off the road.
While driving the vehicle, all power steering systems shut down and traction control systems stopped working. Lights on dashboard indicated power steering and Vehicle Stabilitrack systems were not working. Truck steering became manual immediately and truck was incredibly difficult to control. I was able to guide the truck (from interstate speeds) over to a shoulder and turn off the truck. Walk around indicated no external impacts or problems with tires. Got back in, restarted the truck, all system errors were cleared and steering performed normally. A different incident occurred (same incident specifics as above), except I was just started to move out of a parking place at church and lost all power steering/stabilitrack. Manual steering was possible, but extremely difficult. I stopped the truck, restarted and all systems were operational again. This is the same incident behavior as indicated in GM recall notification 15595. However my vehicle does not fall under the recall age. Many other users on the colorado truck forums are reporting these errors and there is a nation wide shortage of part (at 2,000$ each). Which means these trucks and vehicles are not safe to drive and people will die if this is not addressed.
Power steering failure at high speed
Vehicle shuddering at low speeds. Took to Chevrolet Dealer, and they diagnosed as Torque Converter coming apart. Colorado has 67,953 miles. Per dealer service department, Need to replace Transmission at $6,273.52. If not replaced, Vehicle will freeze up and not be able to shift gears.
Auto stutters in lower gears at lower speeds like transmission is skipping.