[AlabamaDieselMan]

Hi all, first post on this forum but just wanted to report some mechanical issues I've had in 1 year and 50k miles of ownership on my 2016 Colorado.

Issues and cost to repair:
1. Blown charge pipe - $650
2. Cracked Exciter wheel + sundry maintenance - $2400
3. Timing Belt replacement - $1300

Unsolved issues so far:
1. Stabilitrak light coming on after ~10 minutes of highway driving

I really hate to say it but I'm probably going to trade this heap in. This is absolutely unacceptable to pay this much for a vehicle that's been down 6 months of the 1 year I've had it, which sucks considering the work I've put into trying to like it and making it mine.

 

[bartelsjoshuac]

No emmisions issues though?

 

[AlabamaDieselMan]

No emmisions issues though?

Nah, I immediately deleted the DPF, EGR, and DEF when I got it. I drive 150 miles a day so DEF wasnt worth paying for

 

[bartelsjoshuac]

Nah, I immediately deleted the DPF, EGR, and DEF when I got it. I drive 150 miles a day so DEF wasnt worth paying for

The cost of the least of the concerns with the emmisions system on these trucks, towing fees, 2 month waits at the dealer, being stranded, $10k repair bills, only to have it happen again. If all I had to do was buy DEF the the emmisions would work, I would be fine.

 

[AlabamaDieselMan]

The cost of the least of the concerns with the emmisions system on these trucks, towing fees, 2 month waits at the dealer, being stranded, $10k repair bills, only to have it happen again. If all I had to do was buy DEF the the emmisions would work, I would be fine.

That's why I immediately removed all the emissions systems 😂

 

[sunspsd]

Sorry to hear of all the issues.

95k miles so far and no issues.

 

[bigoilbob]

Sorry to hear of all the issues.

95k miles so far and no issues.

Are you deleted? My biased, unscientific observation here indicates that there is a definite correlation going on. Delete, and the vehicle becomes a lemon. GM must be boobytrapping them that way....

 

[Boostpowered]

These weren't meant to be deleted they were actually redesigned from the world market to meet emissions in North America. I'd imagine that redesign to make the vm motori engine work there are some things that don't work properly after a delete. Rolling coal in a Colorado isn't the same as turning up a 12v Cummins you can tune the computer fuel maps etc but there is no p pump to turn up to 1000hp so let's all stop acting like it is on the Colorado.
Not chevys fault you decided to modify your truck beyond what's federally legal.
If you've blown a downpipe and it's not 15 years old and rusty that's you doing things you shouldn't do.

I've had my truck since 2017 and have way more miles with no delete an no major issues.

If you don't like it feel free to sell and go buy some other midsize diesel truck if you can import one or do like everyone else and get a Bronco break it then complain its ford fault.

 

[DeeK]

What boostpowered said plus you bought it used and have no idea how it was treated. Then, you delete it and who knows what kind of tune or reprogramming was done to shut down all the normal error codes. Gm has plenty of faults but take responsibility for your choices and actions.

 

[DeeK]

Are you deleted? My biased, unscientific observation here indicates that there is a definite correlation going on. Delete, and the vehicle becomes a lemon. GM must be boobytrapping them that way....

Or the deletes and reprogramming are hack jobs that poison the engine?

 

[Rogo]

Very uncorrelated evidence with deletes and lemons.

One thing that does correlate is that almost all the issues I have seen that were actively complained about on the 2 big colorado forums, facebook groups, other publications/youtube were pre 2018c model years.

The early ones were very much like a lottery in how durable it is. GM made a number of revisions in that time on the platform.
Deleted or not, people either have tons of problems or none. Go ahead and follow the Facebook groups....Those are guys that are having endless issues and are on there seeking ways to delete knowing the forums knowingly turn them away.

It really does boil down to if you did delete how well was it done. And stock is a lottery with the emissions. I feel personally after having both you are equally damned each way...it's just which fork you want to take.

 

[4wheeldriveseats35]

Nice Looking truck Alabama Diesel Man, I want that bumper. (i hit a deer 2 months after buying it and have regretted not putting a bumper on it)
I have a 2018 Canyon bought new and now has 127,xxx miles and Im definietly experiencing more maintenance issues then my 2009 4 banger Tacoma. I (or the dealer depending on difficulty) have replaced reductant line heater, Cracked wheel, wheel bearings, now having this lurching, clunking problem under load while cruising-> still haven't figured that out (torque converter? motor mounts? rear diff?), and lots of small annoying problems (power outlets not working, drivers side door unlock button stopped working as soon as the warranty ran out, and ive replaced tail light bulbs at least a dozen times and tires dont seem to wear very well on top of the brakes, oil, filters,fluids etc.

But i like how clean the motor is, lower carbon emissions with overlanding potential that i can use for work (100-200 work day miles) was the goal when purchasing it and GM is the only game in town as far as midsize diesels go in the states. I did the Green Diesel tune and 30 MPGs without a trailer is awesome for a moderately capable tow rig. Ravenol oil changes with Blackstone labs has me up to 17,000 miles between oil changes, so some of that ownership cost comes back.

I think Toyota sets a pretty high bar that has spoiled me plus i drive it a whole lot like ADM and therefore will have more maintenance costs. So i like the truck and when I think about what i would replace it with, its always a new version of the baby duramax, probably the new one AT4 if money was no concern.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Iowa]

I am not a mechanic but I tend to agree. paying for DEF is what we signed up for. I am even hesitant to tune my rig.

 

[terryjm1]

On the GM / Toyota quality discussion. This was about 20 years ago, so keep that in mind. I had a friend that worked for Toyota in a plant they built engines here in the United States.One evening we sat down and got into a discussion about working for Toyota, It drifted into a discussion about the quality control measures they use in building engines. Now, bear in mind, I didn’t try to separately validate what she said, but it was an enlightening discussion. She had to fly back to Japan fairly often for training. Everyone that did her job (and other jobs) had to do this.

She detailed allowed tolerances in engine manufacturing. She compared it to the allowed tolerances with US auto manufacturers such as GM and Ford. She previously worked for Ford. (Note, their personal vehicles were Toyotas and Chevys, no Fords…) To make a long story short, Toyota had much tighter tolerances. She discussed how they would regularly pull an engine from stock, tear it down, and meticulously inspect them. She spoke of how one time they found an engine that was outside their tolerance standards in some way I can’t recall, I think it was crankshaft journal to bearing tolerance. (Bear in mind the cars ran fine,) They shut down the plant and traced it back to an error that occurred about 100 engines prior and all the cars were still at the factory awaiting delivery. They identified which cars had received the engines. They didn’t pull the engines… they had the cars crushed.

I asked why they didn’t at least make the cars available to a salvage yard for parts with the condition the engines not be sold. She said they didn’t want to take any chance that the engines would in any way end up in any car. They had a local metal recycler crush them while employees from Toyota watched until all the cars were crushed.

But again, that was 20 ish years ago.

 

[terryjm1]

I am not a mechanic but I tend to agree. paying for DEF is what we signed up for. I am even hesitant to tune my rig.

Tunes that are EPA compliant still use DEF. You can tune, be good to the environment, and not break EPA laws. (However, please dont take that as my encouraging tuning. I just don’t know enough about it to say it is a good idea. My main “like” with my tune is better fuel economy and improved torque converter lock up with the trans tune. I am not deleted and while at one time was considering a delete, I have soured on the idea for a number or reasons.)

 

[Iowa]

Thank you for the feedback. I definitely am all about improving mpg, and just a tad more zip would be welcome. My warranty goes away in a about 10 thousand miles. I will get serious about researching the tune. Any suggestions?

 

[terryjm1]

Thank you for the feedback. I definitely am all about improving mpg, and just a tad more zip would be welcome. My warranty goes away in a about 10 thousand miles. I will get serious about researching the tune. Any suggestions?

Im only about 8000 miles into my GDE tune but am pretty happy with it. I went with them because they have been around longer than any other tuner I could find. Also, those who develop their tunes are actually folks that previously did similar work for major auto manufacturers. They also previously made tunes for the almost same engine used by Jeep. So, they already had experience with the basic engine. Furthermore, unlike most other tuners, when the EPA crackdown happened, they survived. Anyone that previously bought a tune from them could “upgrade” to their EPA certified/compliant tune for $50. I did just that.

However, I am not recommending tuning. It really is a very individual decision with pros and cons.

Oh, one other major like with the tune is not having that pause from when you hit the accelerator to when the engine responds. I’m sure this causes more soot, but to me it is worth It. Sometimes, you just really need to go and it is really nice to be able to do that.

 

[Iowa]

So it does feel a little more punch on the on ramp or passing? So how much does it cost and what is involved with installation and who does it?

Thank you

 

[terryjm1]

So it does feel a little more punch on the on ramp or passing? So how much does it cost and what is involved with installation and who does it?

Thank you

Very much more punch when you need it. Trans plus engine tune is about $1100, I believe. (I purchased mine a long time ago.) You buy from GDE via their website and you install it with a tuner they provide with the tunes. You will need a PC to load the tune to the tuner module.

 

[SFLTruck]

I too have the GDE tune and it's totally worth the $. I disliked the way the factory tune was set up so much and I told my better half if the tune doesn't resolve the problem the truck is gone. It was a $1000 dollar gamble but I went for it with only 1K miles on the odometer and never looked back. I would do it all over in a minute. Like Terry said it's much more responsive and that's what I was after plus about 2-3 mpg better mileage.