2019 Chevrolet Colorado Steering
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
You will be driving down the road and then the power steering goes in and out so stops working and then starts working again. Not safe especially on the highway. No lights go on on the dash. Chevy is currently trying to figure out the problem but has not yet.
The steering wheel would not turn right while driving. The steering rack failed. The truck has only 10000 miles on it. We almost wrecked because of this defect. No warning messages appeared. The vehicle was inspected and the failure was confirmed by an independent service center.
February 2023 my son was driving 40 mph (approx) and the power steering became disabled. We took the truck to Landers McLarty Chevrolet. They never mentioned a known recall for this issue on previous year models. The Truck only had 27,000 miles but was out of warranty for the 3 years had expired in August. They gave an initial estimate and repair of $750. Picked up the vehicle and on the way home same thing happens again - lost power steering and then had warning lights on dash after it went out. Took it directly back to dealership. 3 attempts and 5 weeks later including +-$5K cost for 3 different repairs - issue seemed to be resolved. The issue returned today as my son was driving 55 mph (approx) lost power steering in extremely heavy traffic. Knowing what had happened before he was able to navigate to an exit without having an accident. There seems to be a known issue with the power steering on the Colorado. There was a previous recall on earlier year. I had made complaints and spoke to GM multiple times and they said it needed to go through the dealer. GM never mentioned any recall issue with power steering on previous years and offered no direction on possible issues as the truck sat for weeks on end with no resolution.
Steering binding hard in turns. Turns over 45 deg of steering wheel rotation cause periodic binding in the turn, regardless of vehicle speed. Can be reproduced when the truck isn’t moving. Very nearly caused a serious accident as could not control direction out of a turn at 30 mph, and had to come to a rapid stop to avoid hitting another car. Wiggling the steering wheel in both directions with moderate force/torque releases the binding steering. Vehicle only has 44,000 mi with no off-road use. Vehicle is going in for service on 4/18/24. Extremely dangerous failure mode, whatever it turns out to be.
While driving steering assist went out and the steering wheel would hang up and make it hard to control. You could get past the stoping point with effort but the control would wonder and make it hard to turn. Luckily it happened close to home because it would have been hard to control at speed and in traffic.
While driving on the highway, especially extended trips, the vehicles steering will get very stiff, extremely hard to turn off of center, you need to “jerk” the steering wheel in order to move it, then it will stick in that position also.
Twice now I've had to have the powering steering replaced due to water penetration. After approx 25000 miles both times I've had failure. The power steering will momentarily stop causing you to apply pressure to the steering wheel causing an over steer condition. This also happens in slow turns to when you try to straighten the wheel, it's almost like a magnet keeps you from turning and when it releases, you over steer causing the vehicle to cross over the lane your traveling in. Several other people have had this same issue as I've researched it online. It's a very dangerous situation, and now a costly one if this keeps happening.
The electronic power steering failed while driving making the steering of the vehicle difficult and if my wife or child had been driving this could have resulted in an accident if they could not steer the vehicle without the power assistance. The instrument cluster displayed to service the power steering unit. Mechanics diagnostic is that it was the corrosion of water entering the system. Also that this I a known problem. There was a recall recently for 2015 models for what appears now to be a technical service bulletin for the newer years of the vehicle. This is a dangerous issue that seems to have now plagued multiple years of the Colorado pickup. The mechanic also stated that AUL service warranty (protective asset protection) denied the claim to repair as it is a known issue.... Currently attempting to speak with them to appeal the decision. The warranty company is also not above board as well as they have worded their contract to be misleading with provisions to deny claims due to common causes of failure. Realistically if Chevrolet did not address the problem of the 2015 model year the recall should be expanded.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact notified the dealer of the failure and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The dealer instructed her to take the vehicle to the dealer for a diagnostic test. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.
While driving the vehicle listed above, the steering wheel locked, causing the tires to remain stationary. The vehicle was not able to be moved until a tow truck moved the vehicle to the dealership. The vehicle is fairly new, and has approximately 40K miles.
Had my truck towed into a Chevrolet dealer to have power steering module checked since it stopped working. Dealer told me the harness was corroded and there was water build up in unit. Got a call a couple days later when it was supposed to be fixed and now the steering column needs to be replaced due to the steering shaft being rusted out.
Power steering stopped working. Seized and locked up, couldn't turn steering wheel.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that after driving approximately 65 MPH and then with the vehicle being idle, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The power steering assist warning light illuminated. The contact turned off and restarted the vehicle to regain power steering functionality. The failure recurred approximately three times. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer however, the mechanic was unable to identify the cause of the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 8,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electric power steering failed and the steering wheel stiffened. The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle however, the failure recurred. The message "Service power steering unit drive carefully" was displayed. An independent mechanic went to the contact's residence and diagnosed that the power steering had failed and informed the contact that there was a recall related to the failure. The dealer was made aware of the failure, but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,000.
STEERING STARTED MAKING A "RATTLING" NOISE AND FINALLY LOCKED UP SO IT COULD NOT BE TURNED TO THE RIGHT. BECAUSE OF THE RATTLING NOISE, I DROVE TO A NEARBY CHEVROLET DEALER (AUTO NATION, GILBERT, AZ) AND THEN AS I WAS WORKING WITH THE SERVICE MANAGER, THE STEERING LOCKED UP. *TR
I CAME UP TO A TWO LANE CITY STREET, FOUR WAY STOP INTERSECTION AND STOPPED. I TURNED MY STEERING WHEEL TO THE RIGHT (IN ORDER TO MAKE A RIGHT HAND TURN) AND STEPPED ON THE GAS. THE VEHICLE TURNED TO THE LEFT, OUT INTO THE INTERSECTION, INSTEAD OF RIGHT. THE STEERING STAYED LOCKED TO THE LEFT AND WOULD NOT TURN IN IN EITHER DIRECTION. I HAD JUST CAME OFF THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. HAD THE FAILURE OCCURRED WHILE ON THE INTERSTATE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC. THE DEALER SAID, THERE WAS AN INTERNAL FAILURE IN THE STEERING MOTOR. I UNDERSTAND THAT PARTS CAN FAIL, BUT THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO FAIL SAFE MODE, IS DISCONCERTING. I LOST ALL CONTROL OF MY STEERING. I HATE TO THINK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I WAS AT SPEED INSTEAD OF STOPPED.
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Quick Summary
The 2019 Chevrolet Colorado has 16 Steering complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.