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2012 Chevrolet Colorado

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Fewer warning signs than most model years

Owner complaints for the 2012 Chevrolet Colorado are lower than the model-year median of 84.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

31 reports with mileage · 11 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 9 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

3 crash reports2 fire reports1 injury reports

Service Brakes complaints

7 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jul 21, 2021
Service Brakes

Traction control dash light is illuminated and display states "Traction Fault Service Stab Sys". Dealer stated there were no codes present and they did not know the cause. Fault occurs before engine crank and is intermittent, happening 8-9 times out of 10.

NHTSA ODI #11425894

88,346 miles · Mar 18, 2019
Service Brakes

ABS MODULE LIGHT GM ISN'T MAKING THE MODULE TO FIX THIS ISSUE AND HAS NO PLANS TO MAKE MORE. THIS MEANS THIS ISSUE CANNOT BE FIXED.

NHTSA ODI #11189777

23,300 miles · Mar 13, 2016
Service Brakes

THE PARKING BRAKE CABLE RUNNING FROM THE FOOT PEDAL TO THE MIDDLE OF THE TRUCK IS ATTACHED TO THE FRAME IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT WORE A HOLE THOUGH THE RUBBER CASING. THIS CAUSED THE INTERIOR METAL CABLE TO RUST. THE INTERIOR METAL THEN WOULD NOT MOVE FREELY THROUGH THE RUBBER CASING. WHILE DRIVING THE BECAUSE OF BUMPY ROADS WOU…

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THE PARKING BRAKE CABLE RUNNING FROM THE FOOT PEDAL TO THE MIDDLE OF THE TRUCK IS ATTACHED TO THE FRAME IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT WORE A HOLE THOUGH THE RUBBER CASING. THIS CAUSED THE INTERIOR METAL CABLE TO RUST. THE INTERIOR METAL THEN WOULD NOT MOVE FREELY THROUGH THE RUBBER CASING. WHILE DRIVING THE BECAUSE OF BUMPY ROADS WOULD CREEP UP AND ENGAGE WHILE DRIVING. THE TRUCK WAS PURCHASED IN JULY OF 2012, BUT IT ONLY HAS 23000 MILE ON IT. I CALLED THE CHEVY DEALER AND HE INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NOT RECALL. I HAD MY MECHANIC REPAIR THE BRAKE. I HAVE INCLUDED THREE PHOTOS. THE FIRST IS THE BILL FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BRAKE CABLE. THE 2ND IS A LONG VIEW OF THE PART CHANGED. THE 3RD IS A MEDIUM VIEW OF THE PART REMOVED. THE 4TH IS A CLOSE UP OF THE PROBLEM AREA.

NHTSA ODI #10846301

39,138 miles · Jan 16, 2015
Electronic Stability Control (esc)Service Brakes

ABS BRAKES AND STABILITRAC LIGHTS ON DASH UPON STARTING, TAKEN TO DEALER ON 11/27/2014, MILES 39138, FAILED AGAIN 12/19/2014, MILES 39780, AND 12/31/2014 FOR SAME PROBLEM. TRUCK IS STILL AT DEALER AS OF 01/16/2015. AFTER FIRST FAILURE BRAKING WAS NOT RIGHT, AND THE TRUCK NEEDS A PART THAT CAN NOT SEEM TO BE FOUND TO DATE. I BEL…

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ABS BRAKES AND STABILITRAC LIGHTS ON DASH UPON STARTING, TAKEN TO DEALER ON 11/27/2014, MILES 39138, FAILED AGAIN 12/19/2014, MILES 39780, AND 12/31/2014 FOR SAME PROBLEM. TRUCK IS STILL AT DEALER AS OF 01/16/2015. AFTER FIRST FAILURE BRAKING WAS NOT RIGHT, AND THE TRUCK NEEDS A PART THAT CAN NOT SEEM TO BE FOUND TO DATE. I BELIEVE THIS TRUCK IS UNSAFE TO DRIVE DUE TO THE BRAKE ISSUE, AND WILL NOT KEEP THE TRUCK UPON RETURN, BUT I AM FEARFUL THAT IT WILL BE SOLD TO ANOTHER CONSUMER, AND IT WILL BE INVOLVED IN A TRAGEDY. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10676150

14,000 miles · Aug 14, 2014
Service Brakes

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET COLORADO. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH ATTEMPTING TO STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF TH…

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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CHEVROLET COLORADO. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH ATTEMPTING TO STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE BRAKES FAILED TO STOP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 14,000.

NHTSA ODI #10622349

74,000 miles · Jul 3, 2014
Exterior LightingService Brakes

THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED ON OUR 2012 CHEVY COLORADO. FROM REVIEW, CHEVY HAS RECALLED COLORADOS OF DIFFERENT YEARS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. I BELIEVE THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO OTHER YEARS AS THIS PROBLEM IS OCCURRING IN LATER MODELS THAN THE MOST CURRENT RECALL YEAR OF 2009. WE HAVE NEVER…

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THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH NEEDED TO BE REPLACED ON OUR 2012 CHEVY COLORADO. FROM REVIEW, CHEVY HAS RECALLED COLORADOS OF DIFFERENT YEARS FOR THIS SAME ISSUE. I BELIEVE THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH RECALL SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO OTHER YEARS AS THIS PROBLEM IS OCCURRING IN LATER MODELS THAN THE MOST CURRENT RECALL YEAR OF 2009. WE HAVE NEVER HAD A BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH FAIL ON ANY OF OUR OTHER VEHICLES. SEEMS MORE THAN COINCIDENTAL THAT IT WOULD OCCUR ON OUR COLORADO, WHEN THERE WAS A RECALL PREVIOUSLY ON THE SAME MODEL, BUT DIFFERENT MANUFACTURE YEARS. CHEVY SHOULD PAY FOR OUR REPAIR AS WELL AS RECALL THIS PART FOR ALL 2012 COLORADOS. THE FAILURE OF THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH RESULTS IN THE BRAKE LIGHTS NOT LIGHTING WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS PRESSED. THIS COULD RESULT IN A DANGEROUS REAR END COLLISION AS DRIVERS FOLLOWING WOULD BE UNAWARE THAT THE BRAKES WERE DEPLOYED. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10608139

3,000 miles · May 1, 2014
Service BrakesStructureCrash

I WAS ON THE FREEWAY GOING TO WORK AT 5:00 AM WITH ALMOST NO TRAFFIC. A PICKUP TRUCK IN THE NEXT LANE LEFT OF ME HAD A PIECE OF PLYWOOD EJECTED FROM THE BED AND WAS FLYING THROUGH THE AIR TOWARDS THE FRONT OF MY PICKUP. I SAW IT COMING AT ME AND I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL ONCE BUT MY TRUCK DID NOT SLOW TO AVOID IT AND THE PLY…

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I WAS ON THE FREEWAY GOING TO WORK AT 5:00 AM WITH ALMOST NO TRAFFIC. A PICKUP TRUCK IN THE NEXT LANE LEFT OF ME HAD A PIECE OF PLYWOOD EJECTED FROM THE BED AND WAS FLYING THROUGH THE AIR TOWARDS THE FRONT OF MY PICKUP. I SAW IT COMING AT ME AND I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL ONCE BUT MY TRUCK DID NOT SLOW TO AVOID IT AND THE PLYWOOD DESTROYED THE FRONT NOSE (GRILL, LIGHTS AND ALL FRONT GRILL EMBLEMS AND SO FORTH). IT WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT MY TRUCK HAS HAD BAD BRAKES SINCE IT WAS BRAND NEW. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO THE CHEVROLET DEALER 4 TIMES FOR REPAIR WITH NO RESOLUTION. MY TRUCK IS AT TOM BENSON CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP WITH 8700 MILES ON IT CURRENTLY SINCE 4/26/2014 AND TODAY 4/30/2014 THEY CALLED ME AGAIN TO SAY THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH IT. THEY ARE WRONG. I HAVE ALWAYS HAD BRAKE PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE SINCE 7/28/2012. THE BRAKE PEDAL FADES ALWAYS AT A RED TRAFFIC LIGHT. THE BRAKES LOSE HYDRAULIC PRESSURE ALWAYS, BUT THE DEALER TELLS ME I AM WRONG. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10585807

Official recalls

2

12V594000 · Latches/locks/linkages:hood:latch

Dec 19, 2012

General Motors is recalling certain model year 2010-2012 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon vehicles manufactured from November 9, 2009, through August 28, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 113, "Hood Latch System." The hood may be missing the secondary hood latch.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the primary hood latch is not engaged, the hood could open unexpectedly. During vehicle operation, this could obstruct the view of the driver and increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: General Motors will notify owners and instruct them to inspect their vehicle for the presence of a secondary hood latch. Dealers will replace the hood on any affected vehicles, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on January 17, 2013. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or GMC at 1-866-996-9463.

11V552000 · Seat Belts:front

Nov 17, 2011

GENERAL MOTORS (GM) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2012 CHEVROLET COLORADO AND GMC CANYON VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM SEPTEMBER 9, 2011, THROUGH OCTOBER 19, 2011, FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NUMBER 208, "OCCUPANT CRASH PROTECTION." THESE VEHICLES MAY HAVE BEEN PRODUCED WITH DRIVER SAFETY BELT BUCKLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR TERMINALS THAT DO NOT FIT SNUGLY WITH THE CONNECTOR PINS, CAUSING THE CONNECTION TO BE INTERMITTENT.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: THE LOOSE CONNECTIONS MAY CAUSE THE DRIVER TO NOT RECEIVE A VISUAL OR AUDIBLE WARNING THAT THE DRIVER SEAT BELT IS NOT FASTENED, THEREBY INCREASING THE RISK OF PERSONAL INJURY IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.

Remedy: GM WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR TERMINALS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 7, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438 AND GMC AT 1-866-996-9463.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.