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I was a 20 yr. die hard Chevy fan but the Colorado took care of that!
Colorado the gift that keeps on giving..(to the service dept.)
Randy Wise Chevrolet. Milan Mi. THE WORST DEALER ON THE PLANET!!!
If you would like assistance in working with a dealership towards resolving this concern, please email us more information (including your name/user name, contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN, your servicing dealership, and any further details about this vehicle concern).
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
I'm sorry that you're frustrated with your vehicle and with your dealership. Have you already worked with Customer Assistance?
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Assistance
I've followed the posts since there were only like 40 or 50 of them. Now there are over 500. I really liked the Colorado but finally gave up and bought a Toyota. I never in a million years thought I would ever buy anything but American. Obama Motors is no longer American IMHO.
That aside, there are so many electrical issues with this truck, and so many possible solutions, there is not any one single fix since the problems reoccur and are ongoing. It could be the programming of the control modules, the grounds, the alternator, the battery the.... forget it, just replace the truck with something other than a GM product.
By the way, I did do the "customer care" BS. I got fed up with the GM service department randomly replacing expensive parts always promising this would fix the problem that would reoccur. Their "care" representitive offered four oil changes and a tire rotation "worth $450 dollars!!".
Forget it, do yourself a favor, get rid of the money pit as soon as you can for whatever you can get for it.
After which I call someone like you at good ol' G.M. who tells me "Sorry Randy Wise Chevrolet. Milan,Mi. is and Independent G.M. dealership there's nothing we can do." SOOooo with that said obviously G.M. DOSEN'T care how a service manager/owners son of the dealership treats thier customers!! The sad thing is I REALLY liked the trucks 4cyl. engine/gas milage. and was a "DIE HARD" chevy customer for yrs. But I guess paying back Obama & the boys is more important than a few satisfied customers..
Since my WONDERFUL treatment at Randy Wise Chevrolet. I've had a sign in the back window of my Colorado/Jeep stating just what they can do! and whenever someone asks why, I make it a point to tell them what was said to me by both Randy Wise/G.M. Have a nice day!
Randy Wise Chevrolet. Milan Mi. THE WORST DEALER ON THE PLANET!!!
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
The "we're sorry with your frustration" reminds me of those banking ads with 'Peggy'.
"Um, yeah, my colorado doesn't start, the driver's window doesn't work, the fob doesn't work, I've taken it to the dealer three times, they've replaced the BCM, the battery, the blower resistor, the fuse block, all the time saying they have never seen this problem before. Is there anything you can do about it?"
"Ah-low, dis is Peggy. You are waluable customer. You con change in your coupons for tokens, vich you con redeem for credits...."
Just sell the Colorado and buy a Chevy Volt. At least when that one burns up they'll buy it back.
Chevy= :lemon:
Could you forward me the pdf wiring diagram for 2005 colorado power window/lock issue.
Thanks
Ive had the truck for a year and a half now and a rear signal light went a couple months ago.$1.99.Easy fix.No other problems until a month ago. My engine light came on and all of a sudden i cant pump gas into the tank at full pressure.Takes me about 20 minutes to fill up. Its not being able to release the air from inside the tank and i think the airline from the tank is plugged or something. I looked under the gas tank neck today and the airline is solid metal line welded to the main neck. I dont know how it could become plugged. Havent had it looked at yet as i have worked 27 days straight and havent really worried about it because im sure the engine light is on due to gas cap air pressure etc. Anyone know a fix for this problem?
Anyway,i havent even started the truck yet since fixing the door lock/window problem.I want to give it a good run, but ill wait til tomo morning when i go to work. I cant believe that with all these posts on here that there isnt a definite solution yet. Its all a guessing game. I read alot of posts in here.Spent all day reading other peoples posts and its such a shame that GM could care less about the people who "WERE" and are supporting them. Charging people astronomical amounts of money for 2 yrs old or less vehicles to be fixed.
Congrats to snaproll for his new truck.I read alot of his posts!! Hopefully, unlike him and many others, this isnt the start of my electrical nightmare!!! Or i'll be going to Ford next!! Dont mind fords. Dont dislike japanese cars,just cant afford them...lol.....Take care and good luck all!!
It really comes down to which is the problem, the chicken or the egg kind of thing. Did the low battery cause the electrical problems or did the electrical problems cause the dead battery? It seems the two are related, the low battery and the weird electrical problems. It could be bad grounds causing feedback and stuff to fry. It could be the bad fuse block if you haven't replaced it. It could be bad programming on in the computer modules. Perhaps low voltage gets causes error codes in the computer modules. There are many things is could be, and any one of them could cause problems with the others, so it is virtually impossible to solve. It's impossible to tell if the problem is actually 'the problem' or just a symptom of something else that is the root cause.
You could take it to a good mechanic and spend $$ having them chase the problems. Or you can try a Chevy dealer, but I didn't have much luck with them randomly replacing parts. Needless to say I am pretty disgusted with Chevy service.
A couple things you should be aware of if you didn't know already. The head needs to be replaced on the trucks. There was a recall on that. The cylinders go flat because the head was improperly constructed. There was also a SB to replace a fuse block. This can't be the main problem because I had mine done yet I still had the ongoing electrical problems. My fuse block was actually burned. There was also a recall on the tail lights. They could stay on, they could fail completely, but... "Don't take your truck in unless you experience these issues". Uh-huh, wait until you get rear ended at night, then bring it in. (Well, that is what Chevy is good at, rear ending customers IMHO).
Again, seriously, your best bet is to get rid of the thing. I really loved my Colorado. If it was well built I would still have it. For its size, utility, gas milage, on paper it looks like a good vehicle. But... these weird electrical problems do not go away. It is simply a poorly designed system that Chevy did not stand by and rapes their customers over. If you want to experiment and "hope" for a while like I did, good luck to you. If you actually want to try the apologizing "Customer Care" reps from Chevy, give them a shot, but report back if they were able to do something except open your wallet.
The alternative is to get with a car company that actually stands by their product. I've never heard anything but good about Toyota. I'm not a fanboy of non-American products, but there's a limit of what is reasonable for a person to expect. Like I say, if nothing else, trade the Colorado in for a Chevy Volt and wait for that to burn up so they will buy it back, but I wouldn't hold my breath on the Colorado.
Chevy= :lemon:
Thank you for your feedback on our services. I completely understand why many of you are on the forums looking for information; some because you don’t trust your dealer, some because you are out of warranty and looking for a less expensive fix. I’m not sure you completely understand why I am here on the forum. I’m not here to drive business to the dealers or even on behalf of the dealers. Dealers are our eyes and ears in the field yet they are independently owned and operated. I am here on behalf of GM. I am here to listen to your concerns and report the concerns to GM; however, I am not a technician nor can I diagnosis a vehicle via the internet. Therefore I have to have the vehicle diagnosed by a dealer to report the proper concerns as well as attempt to have them addressed by GM as well as the dealer. I understand this can be frustrating for you that I don’t have more technical information, but we do have the ability to contact dealers to see what’s going on or what the hold up is. GM is working to improve our customer service and so we are out here to hear you and your concerns and assist you. Each case is handled on a case by case basis. I can tell you that our service on different forums has helped us and many customers. Feel free to email me.
Christina
GM Customer Service
Thanks,
Dennis S Tomlinson
Certified Master Light and Heavy vehicle Technician, 30 yrs+ with extensive electrical background.
Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Well, Christina, Camran, Sarah... and uhhh, "Peggy".... Yeah nothing personally against you guys, I know you are trying to do some kind of job on behalf of GM.
The truth of the matter is the Chevy rep in our area made a very bad call when I had the initial problems with the truck. After the initial $750 fiasco of replacing the BCM that would cure the problem, then the fuse block, then the battery, then buring up the blower resistor while testing, I had worked out a deal with the dealer. They finally had to agree that all these things that happened in a three day period couldn't all be coincidence. They offered to cover $250 (out of their holdback probably), if I would cover $250 and they said Chevy would cover $250. Ok, fine... except the Chevy rep wouldn't cover the GM portion of the $250. I called the "customer care center", you know, the outfit you work for... the woman on the phone gave me all the "we apologize for your frustration" BS and said the best I could hope for was the five oil changes and a tire rotation, a "package worth $450 dollars!". About $40 bucks in oil and an impact wrench is not worth $450 dollars.
Chevy and GM should be a footnote in history like Packard and Studebaker, not a nationalized car company "too big to fail".
Ya know, if you want to take a "message" back to GM, it would be one of "don't be penny-wise and dollar foolish". The little $250 bucks that Chevy rep kept in the company has cost GM a lot more than that in future sales as good will.
If you want to do what is right, push them for a recall on the truck. That is what should have been done in the first place.
GM= :lemon:
Now after reading all of these posts, I have a delimma do I possibly go through all of the BS the rest of you have gone through or trade it in. This really sucks because I only have two payments left. I could pay it off and let it sit and get a different car but I'd still have the issues sitting there waiting for my wallet to open up again and again. :sick:
Was the repair shop a GM dealership? Have you worked with Customer Assistance already on this concern?
Thanks in advance,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Does the word RECALL come to mind???!!! Kristina you know what RECALL means right??!! RECALL, to bring something back from where it originated? RECALL,RECALL ,RECALL!!!!! But I guess that ALL these post don't add up to enough for a RECALL!!!
I bet if instead of the colorado we all were wealthy enough to go and purchase the Volt A.K.A. "Start,stop and BURN." why G.M. might do something for us besides the jelly of the month club/oilchange, tire rotation. Some earlier advice was to trade your colorados in on this (the Volt.) vehicle because G.M. is offering to buy them back.. GOD can America really afford ANOTHER bailout??!!
Sincerely,
Wes...
Traded it off on someone elses product,have not been sorry. Found out thru friend at dealer where I traded it off, poor sap who bought it brought it back 3 days after purchase complaining of "Electrical issues??" Buyer beware of used cars!!
If we can look to see if there are any recalls associated to your vehicle, or if you were to decide to work with a dealership to diagnose your vehicle and would like assistance, please send us an email with the last 8 digits of your VIN.
Regards,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
The other electrical issues you have are not common with this thread other than the issue of stalling when turning corners which may have been mentioned here.
If you have a window/door lock issue (this thread), the problem is either the door/window module connections, module itself, or electrical supply issues to the module. This module is the actual drivers door switch and is easy to remove and replace. Disconnecting the battery and messing with the body computer is not a fix and sometimes causes things to work again just because the time was right for it to start working again, not because you really did anything to the body computer.
The body computer WILL NOT cause stalling issues with the engine, so you can eliminate that.
Dennis
Certified Master Light/Heavy vehicle Technician
It's interesting what you say about the door module and power to it etc... I found cleaning and replacing the door module would reset the window/fob thing for a couple of days, but then it would return, dead battery window/fob problem. My DEALER absolutely assured me that the problem had "nothing to do with the door module", (that was when they were replacing the BCM etc). They also told me not to "believe anything on internet" because they were "the experts".
The next time I had the door/fob thing (dead of winter, window down 4 inches when it was 20 below), I passed on the "knowlegable dealer" option and had a competent mechanic work on the truck. Know what they found? Like you said, no power coming out of the window module. Imagine that? Huh. The window module was replaced, which was like $350 more dollars to Chevy. Perhaps they can be found cheaper or used at a junk yard, but once again... replacing parts randomly may work, disconnecting the battery may work, sacraficing a virgin over the engine compartment may work... hit or miss, intermittent (but expensive fixes that may or may not work long term.
Anyway, I've followed your posts with interest and what you have said makes a lot of sense. It is certainly a lot more helpful that those that care enough trying to get people without your expertise into a GM dealer to spend more money. It really kills me... for FIVE YEARS, 500+ posts, and Many, MANY people that have had this whole fob/window/battery deal and all GM can do is say they never heard of the problem before, or get the truck to a dealer for "specific diagnosis". What BS. There is obiously a reoccuring problem and their has to be a common solution... but it isn't important enough for GM to address.
I know the Colorado and Canyon were not big sellers for GM so it probably goes that supporting the owners is "small potatoes", not enough to worry about.
To say that the truck was misdesigned is an understatement given the recall on the head, the tail lights, the fuse block and whatever else. When was the last time you bought a new vehicle and had to have the head replaced? I love the recalls, "Your head may be bad but don't bring it in to a dealer unless you have problems" (or the warranty expires). Same BS with the tail lights that may or may not fail, but "don't bring it in unless you have a problem".
I have to say, I had a lot of good memories where the Colorado was involved, trips out west, hunting trips, camping trips, snowy trips in blizzards. I really liked the truck. I have to say though, it was the first vehicle I ever traded where I didn't look back one last time, it was more "good riddens".
Really sad.
Anyway, Dennis, thanks for your posts, I think they are the most helpful.
I've asked this of serveral people, nobody knew a good answer. "Freight On Board" is what is typical but that makes no sense. The dictionary definition is "A chain attached to a watch for carrying in a waistcoat or waistband pocket".
I can tell you what GM stands for though...
:lemon:
How did your trip to the installer go? Hope that things were resolved. If not, please let us know.
Bmmetheny,
I can see why you are frustrated. Where was your battery changed? Are you interested in working with a dealership?
Regards,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
I can see why you are frustrated. Where was your battery changed? Are you interested in working with a dealership?"
I thought you guys were here to take feedback back to GM, not reaallllly to try and drum up dealership business. Seems to me that's kinda the only interest you guys seem to have with this thread. Am I wrong?
How about posting something useful for the poor folks that still own their Colorado's and Canyons, something like... "We apologize to all of you that have been frustrated with your GM dealership lack of service and knowledge with these reoccuring problems. We are issuing a recall..."
Now that would be something useful.
GM= :lemon:
1) since 2005, the effective range of the remote lock FOB reduces, some times to mere inches from the cab. Problems historically start about 35F, and if the temp falls below 10F, the remote FOB doesn't work at all.
2) starting this winter, the problem advanced to where it was first apparent at about 50F
3) starting last week, the UN-lock would not work at any temp (up to about 60F the recent high temp). Remote LOCK worked OK. Also the doors lock would not engage when putting the vehicle into Drive and pulling away, nor would it UNlock when stopping and putting the vehicle in Park.
4) there were several trips to dealers in the last several years where they could never reproduce the problem. last week, i finally got fed up with this, and forced the local GMC dealer to dig into it more when it was 100% that the UN-lock wouldn't work. They replaced the BCM, which did not fix the problem - outside temp was never about 45F. This weekend, the temp rose about 55F and low and behold lock/unlock started working fine. The vehicle stayed in one place that entire day, so it could NOT be related to bumps, or slamming of the door. After nightfall, with the temp in the 40'sF, the problem has returned to the previous condition -- UN-lock does not work, LOCk works OK. (Drive/Park Lock/Unlock also do not work.)
I'm supposed to return to the dealer in the AM to have them work with the factory techs. But i'm already into this for nearly $600 for diagnosis and BCM replacement, and presumably the bill will only go up from here.
Thoughts? This all seems very, very strange. Particularly frustrating to me is that this problem has been brewing since the first winter i owned the truck, at just 4-5 months old, but that I can't _prove_ a repeated string of complaints that might help me get the regional GM people involved. however it seems from here (Edmunds), and Canyon/Colorado Fans and 355 fans forums that there are a LOT of people with similar problems ...
Thoughts?
Thoughts?"
Yeah, pretty much, welcome to teh GM service department. I went through the same thing. Replace the BCM, it will cure the problem. Oh it didn't? You want your money back? Well, ahhhh, the BCM was bad anyway. Let's try replacing something else. How about a new battery? That will cure the problem. Oh it didn't? You want your money back again? Well sorry, but the battery probably needed to be replaced anyway. Oh? It was only three years old? Must have been a bad battery that went before it's time. Oh it was a GM battery? Well, ahhhh... Oh how about if next we replace...
Catch the drift?
Remember the First Rule of Feregi acquisition, "Once you have their money, you never give it back..."
My advice, seriously... there is no simple, single fix, just a host of possible causes. I've been following this thread since there were 50 posts. There are many thoughts, some good, some weird that may or may not help, basically since the problems come and go at whim it would seem. "I sacraficed a virgin on the hood and the fob started working", kind of thing. There are far more posts about dealerships replacing BCMs and other expensive parts that didn't solve the problem.
I Honestly believe your best bet is to quietly sell your Colorado or Canyon as soon as you get it running and learn a lesson about buying GM products. I really tried to stay with the truck but after 5 years of reoccuring weird electrical problems and no support from Chevy (other than invites to spend more money at a dealership so they could continue to experiment at my expense), I finally gave up. Best decision I ever made was to get rid of that truck.
The Colorado and Canyons truly are the gift that keeps on giving... to their repair departments.
GM= :lemon:
But I see where this one might be starting down a bad path. FYI, I didn't mention that the battery was replaced less than a year ago, with a better-than OEM spec unit. (and the problem was neither better nor worse after wards). This is only my second GM product in the last 30 years (the other was a trouble-free Venture van). You want a lemon ... try my old Chrysler Pacifica AWD ... that was a horrendous POS!
Actually, aside from this, which has really just been an annoyance until the last month, I've been quite happy with my Canyon. It's given a steady 17-18MPG overall mileage, even when thrashed, towed my popup, carried countless loads of yard waste to the community recycle (and I mean big ones), carried innumerable loads of kids and sports equipment to football, baseball and softball, taken two trips to California towing a trailer, and been nearly trouble free (one fan clutch, one thermostat in almost 120k miles, did both myself -- although the climate control fan has always been a noisy annoyance). I got a great purchase deal on the vehicle in fall 2004, and would consider it an overall very good value over about 7 years. Basically, I just want a legitimate fix for this so I can get back to not worrying about my vehicle
If this site has all these posts think about ALL the folks who don't know about this site who have'nt posted here..
Pessimism?? NO just straight up FACTS!
Randy Wise Chevrolet Milan Mi. THE WORST DEALER ON THE PLANET!!!
When the truck "dies on turns", are the rpms dropping way off and the truck shakes? If so, this sounds like a throttle body that needs cleaned. Mine was stalling and I took it to a friend and he cleaned the throttle body. It runs much better now (except for the random electrical issues).
Thank you very much for your patience with us as we work to sort through this concern with your vehicle,
Sarah
GM Customer Service
Or, what do you call that small extra pocket on men's pants (especially jeans or work pants)? Those are fobs. I believe the English word dates back at least to the early days of the North American trains (early 1800's), but my etymology dictionary says: [Probably akin to dialectic Low German 'Fobke', small pocket.]
Yes, that was another fix, cleaning the throddle body. Mine was doing the same thing, "bogging out" and the shop (non-dealer) that I was working with cleaned the throddle body and it was fine after that. This is something that is pretty common on high milage vehicles.
The 'concept' of the Colorado/Canyon is a good one, that's why I put so much effort into keeping the truck. Ming got just shy of 19mpg. I really liked the truck but it ended up being a losing battle. It is one thing do get the throddle body cleaned, or change the brakes, alternator or starter, these are things you normally expect.
It is another thing to have to deal with design defects like a bad engine head or tail lights that may fail at any time, or fuse blocks that burn up, or blower resistors that repeatedly fry or CD players that don't work and then the endless weird electrical problems... windo/fob thing, instrument cluster, turn signals, wipers, the "weird list" is endless. That's why I finally gave up and cut my losses.
Anyone can design a product poorly, Chevy, Toyota, doesn't matter. The real deal though is who supports their customers vs those that look at their misdesigned product as a "gift that keeps on giving" to their service departments.