2017 Chevrolet Colorado Power Train
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
*Transmission wiring harness - Not avail for inspection since it has been repaired *Repaired before complete failure. *Yes, repaired by Chevrolet Dealership *No *Yes, engine light - diagnosed as Code P0700, PO711 - transmission fluid temp performance failure. Monitor fluid temp. Temp readiing is erratic drops from 120 to lower temp. Perform circuit verification. Fluid temp sensor failure. Light appeared a few days before repair on 9-8 to 9-11, 2025. Mileage at time of repair - 74,525.
Transmission hard shift. Sputters when driving
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission converter clutch was shuddering. The contact stated that the failure persisted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed that the torque converter and a fluid change were needed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and offered to assist with the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.
My son was driving the vehicle when it lost power and he had to maneauver to the side of the road putting himself and others in danger. The truck was not able to drive forward, but could only drive in reverse. There were no warning lights or other indications that the vehicle had a problem. I had it towed to a mechanic who said Chevy Colorados have problems with their transmissions and it would need to be replaced.
Transmission is slipping, vibrating, jerking. Bought the truck used. It started on 12/28/2023. There is no open recall or anything.
Purchased vehicle new in 2017 with 14 miles. In June 2018 at 17,500 miles vehicle developed a sever transmission shudder. Took the vehicle to the Chevrolet dealership where purchased. They replaced the transmission fluid and torque converter. Now, in July 2023 at 79,000 the transmission shudder has returned. This shudder affects my ability to control the carβs speed, acceleration, and deceleration and increases the risk of collision. Took the vehicle back to a dealership. They now recommend a full transmission replacement at $5,900. They will cover only $237 of the cost since the vehicle is past 5 years and 60,000 miles.
8 Speed transmission slipped as I was going around a corner causing my 2017 Colorado stop suddenly causing the cars behind my to swerve to avoid me. Then the excellerator linkage or something caused the engine to rev out of control when the transmission finally stopped slipping causing me to run the truck off the road. This slip and then uncontrolable exeleration has occured 3 times since I bought it, This truck is a LEMON!
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, the vehicle inadvertently downshifted before returning to normal functionality. Since the failure was first experienced, the failure became a regular failure. The check engine warning light was illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who determined that a transmission fluid flush was required. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle briefly shuddered before returning to normal functionality. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 32,500.
Transmission is shuddering and bucking during acceleration and deceleration while driving. Recommended transmission flush and fluid replaced completed 4 months ago and problem still persists.
In March of 2021 purchased a used Chevy Colorado from Jake Sweeney Automotive Group in Cincinnati Ohio. The vehicle seemed very sound, but over time a rumbling sound was starting to take over the cab of the truck. I felt it was coming from the rear end of the truck. I took the vehicle into an independent mechanic. They removed the tires to make sure it was not the brakes. They ended up telling me where I thought the sound could be coming from was the differential. They could not tell me exactly what was wrong without tearing the differential apart. I took the vehicle back to Jake Sweeney Service in Lebanon Ohio because this Service Center was closer for service. After their service inspected the vehicle they determined it was an issue with the differential. Again, they could not tell me exactly what was wrong until they tore into it. The independant mechanic gave me a text on GM-Techlink.com that indicates GM is having issues with this type of differential. After some arguement with Service Tech and Manager of Service Department. They agreed to cover 25 per cent of the of the work done to make differential right. I was not in agreement with this due to it is a GM problem. I made contact with GM to complain to them of their issues with the differentials on these vehicles. After a couple months of talking to the claims writer. A supervisor called me to inform me they would cover 25 per cent of the cost to repair the vehicle. Again, I was not in agreement with GM only covering 25 per cent of the cost when GM has an issue with these differentials. It looks from reading the GM-Techlink.com GM is aware of 2017-2019 differentials in the Colorado and GMC Canyon models causing the whining, growling and grinding sound. The link indicates there is a machining issue on the surface of the carrier bearing bore. I understand, I have put miles on this vehicle before I was aware of this issue. But my feeling is GM has put an unsafe and faulty vehicle on the road.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that on numerous occasions while accelerating at low speeds, the vehicle shuddered and jerked. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Vehicle vibrates and/or shudders during light throttle acceleration at a steady state, promoting a driver to accelerate quickly to overcome the disconcerting shudder. This definitely should be a safety recall as GM has acknowledged the problem in a Technical Service Bulletin #19-NA-018, prevalent in many models & brands including Cadillac, Chevrolet & GMC (even Corvettes 2015-2019 models). Suggested repair is for dealer to fill & flush transmission pan 3 times(!) with 7 liters of Synthetic LV ATF HP fluid. Other complaints on this site question the effectiveness of this repair citing recurrence of shudder. Very disturbing & unsafe condition.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that the transmission was shuddering while depressing the accelerator pedal. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed with a defective torque converter. The torque converter was replaced under warranty; however, after several thousand miles the failure returned. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was now out of warranty. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.
The transmission locked up while I was on the freeway and refused to go over 40 mph. Multiple dash warning lights came on. This is after the truck has had long term transmission issues that the dealership is not repairing.
My car was shuddering (almost like the wheels didn't have enough power) and it felt like I was going over a rumble strip. After some research I found out that Chevrolet knew of this problem and acknowledged it in a service bulletin in 2018. The problem was that the transmission oil Chevrolet had used was failing and needed to be replaced. The oil Chevy had in there was causing the Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) to Shudder or slip. Chevrolet never notified its customers because they said this would not harm the truck. However they're wrong, if the transmission does not have the right oil and is causing the TCC to slip, this inevitably would ruin the clutch and thus is a manufacturing default and should be replaced at no cost by Chevy. The newest service bulletin on this problem is N0: 18-NA-355 (https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10163890-9999.pdf) Chevrolet said this was not covered by a warranty and wanted me to pay $500 to fix their mistake of putting in faulty oil in my truck. They then offered me to pay $80 . They also refuse to extend my warranty and cover the remaining $80. This is a safety problem because it could cause the transmission to seize up if not fixed. Because this has been well documented in many other customer cars, I believe they should be forced to Recall and notify all customers and pay for this procedure. My car was inspected and flushed by car dealer (Chuck Olsen Chevrolet in Shoreline WA). There were no warning lamps, or messages. It failed why I was driving on a two hour road trip. The rumbling was so noticeable I initially thought my wheel was falling off so pulled over to make sure my tire still had all of it's bolts. Turns out the fluid Chevy used in my transmission was to blame. In the owners manual it says you should flush your transmission at 72,000 miles. My truck only has 58,000 miles.
The vehicle stopped engaging in park and unable to remove key. This is a known issue with GM, and the shifter assembly has to be replaced which is NOT covered under the power train warranty. This is a serious safety issue.
Hard shifting, missed shifts, shudder from TQ converter. For six months the vehicle has been shifting had at random times during shift sequences. Hard shifts occur on both moderate acceleration and hard acceleration. Shifts can only be described as sudden and violent, feeling something like a U-joint failure, broken transmission mount, or a clutch slipping and then slamming into gear. The hard shifts occur and any speed and any gear, but are very noticeable around 3rd / 4th. The TQ converter slips on acceleration only. Has been in the dealer 3 times for a total of 7 days so far with one technician claiming it needs a new TQ converter and possibly a new transmission. Other techs claim they can't find the problem. No codes, no lights. Dealer claims they can feel the problem but have failed to diagnose it. Failure of this could pose to be a serious safety issue if it happens at highway speed in traffic. GM has the inventory of 6L50 transmissions on lockdown.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that at low speeds of 20-60 mph, the vehicle failed to accelerate with the accelerator pedal depressed. The vehicle started to shudder as the power train warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and was diagnosed that the torque converter sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired however, the transmission fluid was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact to take the vehicle back to the dealer. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and was test-driven however, the mechanic informed the contact that the failure would continue if the torque sensor was not replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 71,900.
There is an uncontrollable shaking in the driveline when driving at low rpms regardless of speed.
My key gets stuck intermittingly in the ignition and will not turn off. There is a current bulletin (#PI1429B) on this issue. In order to be safe and leave the car, I need to be able to turn it off.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle downshifted into first gear and failed to exceed 10 MPH. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to drive to the residence at a slow speed. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact stated that the failure was experienced for a second time on 11/8/2021. The contact stated that the transmission warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,643.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the vehicle jerked back and forth while shifting gears. The contact stated no warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed but not yet repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and advised the contact to have the vehicle diagnosed by an authorized dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 84,437.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that his vehicle would shutter upon the depression of the accelerator pedal without warning. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was out of warranty and referred him to a dealer for assistance. The contact had yet to take the vehicle to be serviced or diagnosed for the failure. The failure mileage was 60,000.
THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE HAD IT TO THE DEALERSHIP THIS TIME. THE FIRST TIME I WAS TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. THE SECOND TIME, THEY REPLACED THE TORQUE CONVERTER. THIS TIME THEY ACKNOWLEDGED A PROBLEM AGAIN AND AND SAID GM ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN TO ADDRESS THIS. I HOPE THIS REPAIR WORKS THIS TIME. BUT MY CONCERN IS, HAVING BEEN REPAIRED BEFORE, HOW LONG WILL THIS REPAIR LAST, AND 2) WILL IT LAST TILL THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED? HAVING LOOKED THROUGH THIS LIST SINCE THE FIRST PROBLEM IN 2018, I HAVE SOME MAJOR CONCERNS WITH THE 8 SPEED TRANSMISSION IN THIS TRUCK. GM NEEDS TO ADDRESS THIS BY ISSUING A RECALL OR EXTENDING THE POWERTRAIN WARRANTY ON THIS MODEL. I NEED THIS VEHICLE TO LAST AND RIGHT NOW IT DOESNT LOOK GOOD.
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Quick Summary
The 2017 Chevrolet Colorado has 78 Power Train complaints on file. 1 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.