Chevrolet Colorado Transmission / powertrain problems
192 of the 857 complaints about the Chevrolet Colorado (22.4%) concern Transmission / powertrain, making it the model's largest problem area. That share is 1.9× the Transmission / powertrain share across all tracked vehicles.
Analysis
35 Transmission / powertrain complaints were filed in the last 12 months versus 27 in the 12 months before — up 30%.
4 of these reports (2.1%) describe a crash or fire, with 10 injuries and 1 death mentioned.
No recall campaign addresses Transmission / powertrain for the tracked model years.
By model year
When complaints were filed
Last 12 months: 35 · Previous 12 months: 27
What owners report
The contact's husband owns a 2025 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that after exiting a car wash tunnel and parking the vehicle on the side of the car wash building, the vehicle continued to roll forward at a high speed without warning.
The contact's partner owned a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado. The contact stated that upon placing the vehicle into park, he went into a store while his partner remained in the vehicle with the engine running.
In May 2025, I took my truck to the dealership due to a severe whining noise from the rear. They said the rear differential had failed and needed a full replacement, costing me $1,800 since the warranty didn’t cover the entire amount.
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.
When driving at a slow speed truck seemed to die down and not want to shift to next gears. Truck appeared to shake when pressing on the gas lightly.
The vehicle experienced severe transmission hesitation, rough shifting, and shuddering early on, which was brought to a Chevrolet dealership under factory warranty at 16,875 miles (April 2021). The issue was reproduced by the dealer at that time.
Excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length. The ODI number is NHTSA's record identifier.
Related recalls
No recall campaign addresses Transmission / powertrain for the tracked model years.
Problem areas · Chevrolet Colorado
- Transmission / powertrain192
- Electrical157
- Engine140
- Brakes82
- Unspecified or other74
- Steering60
- Driver-assist systems48
Chevrolet Colorado problems, complaints & recalls by model year ›
Related reading
- Transmission problems explained: shudder, harsh shifts, CVTs and what to test on a driveHow the main automatic transmission types fail, the symptoms owner complaints describe for each, and a practical test-drive checklist.