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5547 Views 12 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  Auger
Hi all, I am new to the forum. We have been considering the Colorado Diesel for a while now and looking at different things, especially safety and reliability. It looks like crash tests seem ok, but I am a mom and will be hauling kids all the time so keeping this in mind, pickups usually not as safe as a sedan or van. Does anyone have links to crash test videos? I have seen one, but I want a good review with ratings, not just a simple video with no talking.

On reliability, I have watched a video of a Colorado owner unhappy with his truck saying there is a shake in the driveline at higher speeds. Has anyone else heard of similar issue? I am hoping it is just a fluke thing as with all vehicles, but have dealt with high issue GMs before and not so great service at the dealers. We like our Silverado but the thing is just too big to be running around town all the time in. Need truck for dogs and 4H. Anyway, hoping to find some owners with higher miles on their trucks to chime in :)
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Perfect for you..........High speeds great.....no shaking.....drives great....I dont have a lot of miles.....though..
I have 10k miles on mine and have had absolutely zero issues with my truck. I've had my truck to 95 and it rode smooth, had no idea I was going that fast until I looked at the speedo lol.
Hi all, I am new to the forum. We have been considering the Colorado Diesel for a while now and looking at different things, especially safety and reliability. It looks like crash tests seem ok, but I am a mom and will be hauling kids all the time so keeping this in mind, pickups usually not as safe as a sedan or van. Does anyone have links to crash test videos? I have seen one, but I want a good review with ratings, not just a simple video with no talking.

On reliability, I have watched a video of a Colorado owner unhappy with his truck saying there is a shake in the driveline at higher speeds. Has anyone else heard of similar issue? I am hoping it is just a fluke thing as with all vehicles, but have dealt with high issue GMs before and not so great service at the dealers. We like our Silverado but the thing is just too big to be running around town all the time in. Need truck for dogs and 4H. Anyway, hoping to find some owners with higher miles on their trucks to chime in :)
Jedi, hold on and sit down, I had a couple of cups of coffee so I got a little verbose.

I have had a vibration above 80. It used to be above 70, but had the tires re-referenced and re-balanced. I think they just moved the vibration. When I had that done, I was given a Silverado loaner. I did not like it at all, which made me even more pleased I went with the Colorado Diesel. There are a some odd vibrations associated with this diesel that I have not felt in any of my other diesels (Golf 1.9TDI, GLK250 2.1 Bluetec, Touareg V10 5.0 monster TDI). For context, my last truck was a 2002 GMC 2500HD 8.1l gas 6 speed, 4 door 4WD (insert Tim Allen grunts here).

I believe engine vibes are due to the size of the engine. 2.8 is rather large for a four cylinder motor. There is a lot of mass moving, but vibes should be limited by the relatively low RPM's the motor does it's work. You could opt for the 3.6l Gas motor, but it seems to work a lot harder to do the same thing. (It will save you about 5000 over the oil burner though).

As for crash ratings. I personally have never really even considered those when buying a vehicle. I wear seat belts and pray the airbags don't shoot shrapnel into my brain should I wind up in an accident, so do what I can to avoid crashes. I suspect if you do the same, this vehicle will provide an adequate level of safety. It does have reasonable visibility and optional electronic safety items that will help. But there is no substitute for a attentive driver. However, if something big does hit you, there is a body on frame chassis that should provide more rigidity than a unibody (mini-van) and a higher seating position that should allow you to avoid some of the worst things that could occur in a car crash. However if you are rear ended at 50 MPH by a brain dead moron chasing a Pokemon, or T-Boned at an intersection by some distracted teen, I doubt if any crash rating will matter, and will likely be the last thing going through your mind. Seriously, If a crash rating is the most important element in your decision making, wait for Subaru or Volvo to build a truck.

Meanwhile, back to the Colorado....when the emissions controls are doing their thing, it will produce: a)a smell like burning plastic outside the cab; b)some vibrations associated with the particulate filter purging (my terms, not GM's). The problem is you won't know when that is happening until it happens. No drama's just part of owning an engine that has to conform to the emissions mandates of the Climate Change crowd (people see diesel smoke and freak out. It is actually environmentally more friendly than anyone will admit. But that is a rant for another day...)

Another thing to consider is the how you are going to operate the truck. Short sub 10 mile jaunts around town, or short distance driving are not the ideal realm for modern emissions control laden Diesels and in general are not the best errand running engines (even UPS and FedEx have gone to gas motors in their delivery trucks). They (diesels) are better suited for longer drives. Compounding this now is the amount of emissions components that actually have to work harder if your drives are limited to short runs and stop and go driving.

Don't get me wrong, I love mine and would buy another. I love having a truck to go to Home Depot instead of a little Golf. I drive mine 62 miles twice a day for work. I get 32+ average and it pulls better than a V6. I think GM spent a long time getting this right. It may also be GM's best kept secret as trucks go.

Ford is introducing a 1/2 ton diesel next year. It might be worth looking into. Time for more coffee. Hope I didn't get too crazy Jedi.
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Hi Jedi, don't be worried over somebody having a driveline vibration. Sooner or later almost everybody body will have that in one vehicle or another, 90% of all driveline vibrations are tire related, sometimes due to tires not balanced, and other times due to belts shifting or broken in the tire. I have been working on vehicles since I was young and even have my own tire changer and balancer so I don't have to sit and wait at a tire shop or dealer to have tires balanced.
I may only have just over 1,000 miles on my diesel currently, but know others that have driven these with many more miles with no vibration issues. These are very nice trucks, both the diesel and gas versions!
By the way, if you are considering, right now is a good time to be looking as the dealers are trying to clear out the MY16 vehicles and there are a lot of additional incentives out currently depending on location! Good luck and I hope you buy a new Colorado or Canyon!
By the way, if you are considering, right now is a good time to be looking as the dealers are trying to clear out the MY16 vehicles and there are a lot of additional incentives out currently depending on location! Good luck and I hope you buy a new Colorado or Canyon!
With the premium price of the diesel motor, I doubt you'll find a dealer willing to swallow the cost just to move the truck. I've got 4200 miles and lots of smiles getting those miles. Haven't had a truck in years that's fun to drive including an earlier version of the Colorado.
With the premium price of the diesel motor, I doubt you'll find a dealer willing to swallow the cost just to move the truck. I've got 4200 miles and lots of smiles getting those miles. Haven't had a truck in years that's fun to drive including an earlier version of the Colorado.
You would be surprised, not the full price of the diesel, but in my case, I started out my diesel with a lease instead of a buy (I do plan on buying at the end of the lease). But for the lease price the dealer I got my truck from had one of the dealer tags on the diesel truck that was almost identical to the gas version sitting next to it, and because of the extra dealer tag money, and residual value of the diesel, the lease price was the same for either the gas or the diesel Colorado. So obviously I picked up the diesel. I actually have a few dealers not too far from me that have diesels currently on the lot as well.
Actually, mine has a vibration that is dependent on load and throttle setting. When it happens, either more or less throttle will make it disappear. It's nothing that causes me to panic, but it's definitely there. It doesn't happen a lot and I notice it more often when towing versus unloaded. It's something like what happens when you 'lug' an engine with a manual transmission. It's definitely NOT the frequency of wheel rotation, so it's not tire imbalance. Plus, shaking due to imbalanced tires doesn't go away with more or less throttle.
Actually, mine has a vibration that is dependent on load and throttle setting. When it happens, either more or less throttle will make it disappear. It's nothing that causes me to panic, but it's definitely there. It doesn't happen a lot and I notice it more often when towing versus unloaded. It's something like what happens when you 'lug' an engine with a manual transmission. It's definitely NOT the frequency of wheel rotation, so it's not tire imbalance. Plus, shaking due to imbalanced tires doesn't go away with more or less throttle.
I have not noticed that on mine, but I know what you are describing. I'll have to keep an eye out for that. You did a good job of describing the vibration you are talking about so it should be easy to detect if it happens. I wonder if that has anything to do with the 'regen' when that happens?
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Welcome to the site.

I don't have actual scientific videos or anything, but I know I'd rather be in a pickup truck than a sedan in a crash. Nearly ten years ago, My brother and I walked away from end-over-ending (think cartwheel) a Tacoma without as much as a bruise or scrape. Ten years is eons in vehicle design and safety, I would put any loved one in any new pickup truck and expect them to be ok. .

You can see how hard we hit the ditch by how far the dirt is packed into where the engine should be, which sent us into orbit

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I agree with RockCrawler. I think that the insurance companies would agree with him as well. I mean, I have full coverage with I believe the same deductible on both my 2017 GMC Canyon and my 2011 Kia Optima. One might think that a newer vehicle would have a higher monthly rate (at least I would think), but not true. My car is around $105 a month and the truck is $84 I believe. My 2004 Silverado 2500HD was I think about the same as the Canyon on my monthly. I believe I had full coverage on it as well, whereas the vehicle I owned before that was a 2000 Honda CR-V with only Liability and I think it was slightly more than the Silverado.

I figure it's because you have more metal around you and sit up higher. That way, if you're in a crash, hopefully, it will end better for you than if you were in a little car.
Hi, I am closing in on 30,000 miles on my 2016 z71 crew cab extended bed with a 6" rough country lift, 2wd. I absolutely love the truck and would recommend it to anyone.
It has been absolutely reliable and super comfortable. I drive about 250-300 miles daily. Turnpike driving and around town and city. I leave the truck running all day and average 24 mpg.
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