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Chevrolet Colorado
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Comments
That is commuting half highway/ half city.
I haven't really had the truck out on a long trip, so I don't know about real highway mileage.
The highways I drive my commute on are all posted at 65, where it lugs a little in 5th gear.
The truck runs much better at 70 as it gets much better torque with a little higher RPM.
GM automatics REALLY want you to stop when shifting to R or D. If you are in the habit of rolling when shifting into gear, you had better stop this or it could get expensive. This is not a truck problem but a driver habit that needs to be changed! Grin.
Dirk
I have also read on this site, which is great I just found it today, that others are having trouble with tires and alignment. I got 35000 miles out of my Generals, probably would have got more, but the front tires started wearing on the inside and I didn't rotate them quick enough. I replaced my 225/75r15 Generals with 235/75r15 Bridgestone AT Duellers. These tires ride maybe a little better than the generals but they also have a more aggressive tread.
New brake pads are so tough they wear slowly but preform better. You also end up replacing a LOT more rotors than you ever did years ago as a result. I have a minivan that goes through brakes about every 16 months it seems, but I commute in it.
Dirk
I still have the intermittent engine bucking when accelerating in the lower gears. I have been told by multiple service managers that the engine bucking is a feature of these "lean burn" engines. I guess I am stuck with the "bucking feature". I can't afford to trade out this vehicle at this time.
Chevy only authorized the bulletin replacement after I was back five times to the dealer complaining about the defects and dropping hints of a replacement vehicle. As I stated in an earlier posting, I regret that I ever bought this vehicle. The shame is the GM does not appear to care. I have called the customer assistance line multiple times to complain about multiple issues. This is my 14th GM vehicle and likely my last! :lemon:
The truck had a quiet, refined ride, much like a car. It handled well, but I found that the turning radius was quite large for a small truck. The 5 cylinder engine puts out adequate power for small engine to handle an empty truck. The available torque is not that great and I do not know how well would this truck handle a medium size trailer or a boat. There was minimal wind noise, which was a pleasant surprise. The transmission shifted very smoothly and downshifted without any hesitation. The steering wheel was straight and the truck did not pull to either side.
The interior of this truck looks awfully cheap. Large expanses of cheap plastic and cheap cloth seats do little to convince me that this is a quality product. GM was too cheap to install a rear window defroster as standard equipment on this truck, which did not have a sliding rear window. I noticed that the truck had a compact spare tire, which is ridiculous for any pickup nowadays, especially a 4X4 version. There were no body side mouldings and no splash guards either (although GM did install a set of cheap looking unpainted plastic fender flares). The maximum towing capacity of only 4000 lbs is disappointing. I would have expected at least 5000 lbs out of this truck. (The old S-10 crew cab could tow about 6,500 lbs with 4.3 liter V6 and proper rear end gear ratio).
With all current red tag sale discounts and the $3K GM rebate, this truck can be bought for $ 22,100 plus taxes and other fees. My GM card rebate would lower this price further.
I think that GM is out of touch with reality. Given the cheap interior and cheap features, such as a compact spare tire, the sticker price on this truck should be around $ 20K. This is not a $27K vehicle.
GM should finally realize that this is 2005, not 1985. Twenty years ago, the competition was very weak, so they could get away with cheap looking trucks. Not any more.
Reading the post above about weak valve springs used on these engines, is this a current issue? It looks like a pretty serious issue. Just how durable is this 3.5 liter engine? How good is the fuel economy? And can somebody tell me if this truck has a remote for locking/unlocking the doors? The salesman could not answer this question. The truck has the power package (power windows, locks, cruise, tilt).
With my GM card rebate I could buy this truck at a good price, but I am hesitant at this point. Do '05 models have any well known problems that GM corrected for the '06 model year (such as this valve spring issue for example)? Any feedback would be appreciated.
Note: I miss the old venerable 4.3 V6 in the S-10 crew cab 4X4 pickup. It definitely had more torque than this 5 cylinder in Colorado. I wonder what genius
at GM decided that it was a good idea to use a 5 cylinder engine in a pickup truck?
Sounds pretty odd. I had to put a shift cable on another GM product, but the cable is probably similar, and you might check that it isn't the transmission, as the cable is probably not the problem.
On a weekend that its "frozen" crawl underneath and disconnect it, then see if the lever moves freely.
D