2020 Chevrolet Colorado problems, complaints & recalls
NHTSA has received 85 owner complaints about the 2020 Chevrolet Colorado, or 12.5 per year on the road — far fewer complaints than typical (complaint index 0.31, where 1.00 is the average of all tracked vehicles). Among the 83 model-year 2020 vehicles we track, it ranks #28 of 83 by complaints per year (#1 = fewest). Against other Chevrolet models its rate is 73% lower; against other Midsize pickups it is 37% lower.
Counts are normalized by time on the road, not by sales volume: a popular model generates more reports than a rare one, and complaints are not verified individually. How we count
Complaints filed between 2020-06-17 and 2026-10-08. Median delay from incident to filing: 14 days.
Analysis
The previous model year (2019) drew 19.3 complaints per year, more than this one. The following model year (2021) drew 13.5 per year, more than this one. In its first two years on the road the 2020 model collected 18 complaints, 68% lower than the average vehicle of the same model year.
The most common problem area is Transmission / powertrain (34.1% of complaints), followed by Engine (22.4%) and Unspecified or other (12.9%). Transmission / powertrain complaints are 2.9 times as common here as across all tracked vehicles. 4 reports (4.7%) describe a crash or fire; owners mention 4 injuries and 0 deaths.
Half of the reported incidents happened within 50 months of the model year's start; the busiest period was years three to five (41% of incidents). In the last 12 months 20 new complaints were filed, versus 22 in the 12 months before — down 9%.
NHTSA lists no safety recalls for this model year.
Complaint index
- vs. all tracked vehicles0.31
- vs. other Chevrolet models0.27
- vs. other 2020 models0.33
- vs. other Midsize pickups0.63
- Complaints in first 2 years on the road · vs. same-year average (18)0.32
- #28 of 83 · 2020Rankings ›
1.00 means the same rate as the comparison group. 2.00 means twice as many complaints per year on the road.
What owners complain about
vs. all vehicles: 1.00 = All-vehicle average
Problem areas: Transmission / powertrain · Electrical · Engine · Brakes · Unspecified or other · Steering · Driver-assist systems
When complaints were filed
- Crashes reported: 1
- Fires reported: 3
- Injuries: 4
- Deaths: 0
Vehicle age at incident
Median age at incident: 50 months
What owners report
The contact owned a 2020 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH, the contact's wife advised the contact to pull the vehicle over because black smoke was exiting the rear vents.
Power Steering suddenly stopped functioning as I was towing a trailer approx 5000 lbs. ‘Service Power Steering Drive With Care’ popped up on dash. No dealership visit as this just happened. Truck is unfit for driving safely.
Coupling on vacuum pump broke off while in motion. Pieces fell near engine. Camshaft, vacuum pump and brake booster will need to be replace. Vehicle mileage is at 65124 miles. No reason to have such a failure so early
My 2020 Colorado at 14k miles, the dealer did the transmission oil flush and it helped till the warranty ran out. Now I have the same problem again at 32k miles. I bought the truck because GM said the problem with 8L/45 trans was fixed in 2019.
On September 4, 2026, I experienced an extremely serious and frightening braking failure while driving my 2020 Chevrolet Colorado 2.5L. I was driving my granddaughter to school and was pulling into the school's carpool/drop-off area at approximately 20 mph.
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Segment peers · 2020 · Midsize pickups
| Models | Complaints | Complaints per year on the road | Complaint index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 Nissan Frontier | 23 | 3.4 | 0.08 |
| 2020 Chevrolet Colorado | 85 | 12.5 | 0.31 |
| 2020 Toyota Tacoma | 89 | 13.1 | 0.32 |
| 2020 Ford Ranger | 130 | 19.1 | 0.47 |
| 2020 Jeep Gladiator | 484 | 71.3 | 1.77 |
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year.
Investigations
No NHTSA investigation covers the tracked model years.