[wilsonrussell]

2016 Chevy Colorado. The check engine light and DEF Indicator light have both come on. I just filled the DEF a couple months ago and the check engine light is in regards to emissions. Has anyone had similar issues?

 

[SK39]

What kind of climate are you in? I had a similar issue, however my DEF is frozen for half the year; you could have a bad winter blend of fuel. Did you get a recall notice?

 

[dieselmarcky]

2016 Chevy Colorado. The check engine light and DEF Indicator light have both come on. I just filled the DEF a couple months ago and the check engine light is in regards to emissions. Has anyone had similar issues?

Yes, I bought a 2018 Colorado Diesel in December of 2017. The ambient temps were single digits, throughout December 2017, in New York State (Actually most of the northern U.S.A). Twice my truck (with less than 1000 miles) set codes and the heads-up display told me that I had "poor quality DEF".... mind you, a factory-new vehicle. It turns out that GM ships these vehicles with bad DEF tank heaters and / or bad DEF injector line heaters, from the factory. Confirmed, because I ended up spending several nights stranded in Eerie, PA on my first trip, while a new tank and line shipped from Ohio. Yep, GM sucks. Attached is the proof, GM stepped up and gave me Platinum Protection for 60/60... see attached.

 

[alberta minimax]

I had 2 of these messages.
First one required a bunch of checks at dealer and programming change to give more time before code sets so DEF would thaw out.
Second time cleared by itself while I continued to drive.
In the winter, DO NOT fill tank past 1/3 - 1/2 full. The heaters too small to thaw out the entire volume.
AND DEF expands when it freezes and may split your tank.
These things really need an aftermarket plug in blanket heater in the winter.
Aftermarket: Are you listening?

 

[dieselmarcky]

I had 2 of these messages.
First one required a bunch of checks at dealer and programming change to give more time before code sets so DEF would thaw out.
Second time cleared by itself while I continued to drive.
In the winter, DO NOT fill tank past 1/3 - 1/2 full. The heaters too small to thaw out the entire volume.
AND DEF expands when it freezes and may split your tank.
These things really need an aftermarket plug in blanket heater in the winter.
Aftermarket: Are you listening?

No, what GM needs to do is resolve a blatantly obvious product flaw, that is little more than an engineering issue that would cost little to resolve. GM sucks.

 

[Rockcrawlerdude]

Why do you guys live in the damn arctic anyway?

 

[DKinney]

Why do you guys live in the damn arctic anyway?

So we can turn off the TC and drift snow covered roads almost all winter long.

 

[DKinney]

Yes, I bought a 2018 Colorado Diesel in December of 2017. The ambient temps were single digits, throughout December 2017, in New York State (Actually most of the northern U.S.A). Twice my truck (with less than 1000 miles) set codes and the heads-up display told me that I had "poor quality DEF".... mind you, a factory-new vehicle. It turns out that GM ships these vehicles with bad DEF tank heaters and / or bad DEF injector line heaters, from the factory. Confirmed, because I ended up spending several nights stranded in Eerie, PA on my first trip, while a new tank and line shipped from Ohio. Yep, GM sucks. Attached is the proof, GM stepped up and gave me Platinum Protection for 60/60... see attached.

That contradicts my experience with my truck this past winter. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your truck. I bought mine at the end of December and there were some seriously cold nights here in New England in January. I was concerned because my truck didn't have a block heater option. I'm still considering adding the option. I park my truck outside and experienced no issues with the cold. Keep in mind that I purchased at the end of December and so I can only assume that all the fluids were from the factory.

 

[SED58]

I live and work in Alaska, and have a 2017 crew cab 4x4, no trouble in the cold for me so far.
Every year we drive down the Alaska hi way to Oregon and Wyoming for vacation in the fall, so 2 years in a row after driving down the hiway average speeds 50 to 60 we get to Idaho where the speed limit is 80 after about 2 hours at 80 I get a DEF poor quality light, this has happened 2 years in a row, the interesting thing is both times it’s within about 50 miles of the last time, so after thousands of miles I get this issue within the same stretch of road.
The first time it cleared itself, after 30 miles of continued driving, the second time the DEF info was accompanied with a Check Engine Light, Twin Falls Idaho dealer (Awesome guys) cleared the code, we added about 1.5 gal. of DEF and no more issues. Does the system not like hi speed?
The truck is fantastic! We love it, best truck ever.

 

[dieselmarcky]

That contradicts my experience with my truck this past winter. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your truck. I bought mine at the end of December and there were some seriously cold nights here in New England in January. I was concerned because my truck didn't have a block heater option. I'm still considering adding the option. I park my truck outside and experienced no issues with the cold. Keep in mind that I purchased at the end of December and so I can only assume that all the fluids were from the factory.

All of my fluids were factory, I hadn't put 500 miles on the truck when it set the "Bad DEF" code. I guess you got lucky... or you work for GM?

 

[dieselmarcky]

I live and work in Alaska, and have a 2017 crew cab 4x4, no trouble in the cold for me so far.
Every year we drive down the Alaska hi way to Oregon and Wyoming for vacation in the fall, so 2 years in a row after driving down the hiway average speeds 50 to 60 we get to Idaho where the speed limit is 80 after about 2 hours at 80 I get a DEF poor quality light, this has happened 2 years in a row, the interesting thing is both times it’s within about 50 miles of the last time, so after thousands of miles I get this issue within the same stretch of road.
The first time it cleared itself, after 30 miles of continued driving, the second time the DEF info was accompanied with a Check Engine Light, Twin Falls Idaho dealer (Awesome guys) cleared the code, we added about 1.5 gal. of DEF and no more issues. Does the system not like hi speed?
The truck is fantastic! We love it, best truck ever.

This is good information. I was also traveling at highway speed (70-75MPH) when this occurred. It must have something to do with air flow rates leaching heat from the tank and overwhelming the under-engineered tank heater.

 

[dieselmarcky]

Well, my saga if woe with my Colorado continues. At 14K miles, a rattling in the dashboard developed. It took a total of 6 weeks without my truck and 3 times in the shop, with the dashboard completely removed twice, before they traced it to one loose bolt on the cabin air fan housing (the washer was the guilty rattler). And, the third time to the shop was for them to replace a broken radio antenna connection....

Then, at 31K miles, the check engine light came on. The rear NOx sensor had gone bad (yep, after only 31K miles) that's a $180 part, aftermarket. Luckily I was still in warranty.

My 2018 Colorado Diesel is without a doubt, by the numbers, the least reliable pickup I have ever owned. Period, full stop.

Edit: Forgot to add that my NOx sensor went bad during the strike. It took 5 weeks to acquire the part from GM.

Edit 2: I purchased the light-up grill emblem (the bowtie glows blue when the headlights are on). The lens has delaminated from the emblem body, at 36K miles. The photo tells the story (that's not damage in the pic, it's rain on the lens).

You just cannot make the **** up, folks. GM quality is the worst I've ever experienced. Going back to MOPAR or Ford, after this one has 100K on it... if it makes it that far.

 

[oak1971]

For the love of pickup trucks, please don't buy a FIAT. Anything but that.