Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon ABS Fault Issues

380 messages,  Last post on Jun 09, 2013 at 6:50 AM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Electrical, Truck

    

#342 of 380 2006 Colorado by strick27

May 01, 2012 (7:05 pm)

Hi everyone,
        I purchased a 2006 Chevy Colorado about 4 years ago. About 2 years ago i first experienced the ABS fault issue. I touched the brake pedal to slow down and the vehicle veered off to the right, i corrected it in time but what had happened is the ABS activated for some reason but was only working on the right side of the vehicle. The ABS stayed activated for a few more seconds while i was trying to slow down, then it released and the ABS BRAKE FAULT message came up. I then had full control of the brakes. After shutting the truck off and restarting it the error message was gone. I took it to my local GM dealership (while i was under extended warranty) and they said that nothing was wrong. It happened a few more times over the next few months so i tried again, same result from the dealership. I then took it to Les Schwab, and they replaced about 1000 dollars worth of drums and pads. Also ever since i have had the truck there has been a pulse in the brake pedal. A few months later, same thing. So back to the dealership i went. When i purchased the truck in 2008 i bought a 5 year 100000 mile extended warranty. What i was not told in 2008 is that, that specific warranty starts with the vehicle manufactured date. So by this time my warranty was over (2 and half years and 40000 miles later). I threw a fit in the store and left never to go back, just decided i would live with the ABS FAULT problem. In the past week the problem has got very bad. Almost every time i stop it happens, this last weekend it happened at 75 mph and just about threw me off the interstate. Its been doing it daily, and is getting very annoying. Is there a solution to this Fault yet that anyone knows about, because we all know that GM will not man up and fix it. I'm sure there is no way that their design would ever have this many problems is the way they see things. Anyway long story short i hope that GM will fix this problem. But the way i was treated at the GM dealership in Twin Falls, ID i will most likely sale my truck and never buy a GM product again.

#343 of 380 ABS by lynnie63

May 01, 2012 (9:09 pm)

Hi Strick~
 
  How scary that must have been having the ABS problems at 75mph! Thankfully I have only had problems at low speeds. I have been keeping a log book in my truck for every time it happens and today again coming off of the highway I could hear that sound coming from somewhere under my dash and then the ABS brakes kicked in with no fault lights on the dash. I frequently travel 300 miles on the highway to my destination and really getting worried about the safety issues and wondering when Chevrolet will realize the magnitude of our problems with this issue and do something to make it right. I refuse to pay 1000.00's of dollars to have something fixed that is not the problem or continue to have it diagnosed and pay for no readings. I have to travel this week and wondering if I should just pull the ABS fuse again?? Does anyone know if that will do the trick? I have done it before and didn't seem to have any problems but unsure if that was just coincidence. I put the fuse back in to pass inspection. I am going to attempt to call Chevrolet tomorrow and see what they have to say. So sorry that we all have to deal with this and for the dealerships not even standing behind us. Be careful!">

#344 of 380 Re: 2006 Colorado [strick27] by n9cv

May 02, 2012 (12:54 am)

Replying to: strick27 (May 01, 2012 7:05 pm)
The ABS system works by comparing the wheel rotation speeds and when it finds an anomaly (meaning wheels spinning at different speeds) it engages the ABS (The pulsing you feel in the pedal) to stop what it thinks is a wheel sliding.
 
There are several components that could cause your problem but the most common by far is the wheels sensors. Things like shoes, pads, drums, and rotors should not cause this problem.
 
I would start looking for a maladjusted sensor (meaning the sensor clearance is off because it is not seated properly) causing an occasional loss of sensor pulses.
 
If you also have traction control, an intermittent / weak sensor will also display an occasional traction fault without pressing on the brake. The traction control system uses the same sensors .
 
 Initially I would scan the ABS controller looking for errors (codes). The scan might tell you which sensor is failing. A solid sensor failure will set an ABS light after initially picking up speed past 10 mph without touching the brake. These are errors are easy to retrieve with a scan tool.
 
If that does not work, with the same scanner I would drive the vehicle with the ABS scanner attached and look at the output of each wheel sensor. One should be different than the others.
 
You could also have a bad ABS controller but those failures are rare.

#345 of 380 Re: 2006 Colorado [strick27] by marroe

May 02, 2012 (4:57 am)

Replying to: strick27 (May 01, 2012 7:05 pm)
strick,
 
I thought that I was reading my own post while reading yours. Talk to almost anyone that owns a colorado they can share the same issue. I was sick to my stomach to read all of the information on the internet about this problem. It seems that a lot of people replaced the hubs the sensors and everything but the truck and it still happens. If pulling the ABS fuse stops it, I may do that to mine. I would rather have no ABS than no brakes at all. Or having just one front wheel brake working and shooting you off the road. That happened to me too. Everyone just needs to report it. https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
 
Be careful, it scared the hell out of me.

#346 of 380 Re: 2006 Colorado [strick27] by gmcustsvcsarah

May 02, 2012 (5:27 am)

Replying to: strick27 (May 01, 2012 7:05 pm)
Good morning strick27,
 
I am sorry to read that you haven't had a satisfactory experience with your dealership. If we can look into this further for you, please send an email to socialmediagm.com with more information (include your name/Edmunds username, phone and address, the last 8 of your VIN and current mileage, and the name of your involved dealership). My coworker Christina, who answers inbound emails, will assist you further.
 
Regards,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

#347 of 380 Re: 2006 Colorado [strick27] by kpo

May 07, 2012 (11:53 am)

Replying to: strick27 (May 01, 2012 7:05 pm)
I purchased a new 2006 Colorado with less than 30 miles on it and my experience with the truck and Chevy/ GM and their dealers have been the same as you and THOUSANDS of other owners. Simply a nightmare of total GREED. (I regretfully traded in a very reliable Acura.) The dealers don't deal and the manufacturer doesn't manufacture. They slash!
You said, " After shutting the truck off and restarting it the error message was gone. I took it to my local GM dealership (while i was under extended warranty) and they said that nothing was wrong." Of course, what did you expect from a Chevy Dealer; they don't care and/or they don't know how; they just want your money and as much of it as possible.
 
You said, " Is there a solution to this Fault yet that anyone knows about, because we all know that GM will not man up and fix it. I'm sure there is no way that their design would ever have this many problems is the way they see things. Anyway long story short i hope that GM will fix this problem."
 
Don't hope, there is no hope with either the company or their dealers. The company was in financial difficulty, because they don't manufacture a quality product and then don't back them up like a reputable company should.
 
Could you imagine if Boeing (The world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense) built airplanes like GM built their vehicles? A GM type Boeing would say after their plane crashed, " Duh, I don't believe that there is a problem; take it to our hanger and have one of our janitor dealers look at it." Their dealer would say, "There is no problem." or "We can replace all the parts that are attached to the wing that failed, including the entire fuselage and horizontal stabilizer, 'maybe' that will solve your crashing problem. At your expense, of course"
You, the airplane owner, could always contact their Customer Service Rep and they could string you along with false hope and empty promises and then later tell you, " Our GM type Boeing can't help you."
BOTTOM LINE: A LOSER company like GM was in financial problems to the point of BANKRUPTCY and had to have the AMERICAN TAXPAYERS bail them out. What makes us think that we change a LOSER into a WINNER by just throwing Billions of dollars at them? Would you do that for a criminal? Can you change the spots on a leopard; can you change a hawk to a dove? The answer is simply, "NO"! If you love your country, don't buy GM (you will reward the greedy and punish the honest ones) ; go to a foreign car dealer and trade in your GM (Colorado or Canyon) in and a buy the foreign car (most are made in the USA); stick them with the loser GM product that they can't even give away. Tell your friends.
Ken

#348 of 380 Re: 2006 Colorado [kpo] by n9cv

May 07, 2012 (11:39 pm)

Replying to: kpo (May 07, 2012 11:53 am)
The real issue was GM's lack of follow up on a few failure prone areas. You should expect to see a few things to make it through testing and into the production models. I have no idea what they did to simulate thousands of miles in various environments but a 2004 model might be expected still show up a few missed things and maybe even a 2005 model. After those years you should expect that GM would have made engineering changes to fix those failure prone areas. Unfortunately for us and also the future for the 355 (Colorado, Canyon, I 260, and Hummer H3) product line they chose to take the opposite route. You see a lot of lip service from the GM rep here but you never hear anyone come back and say "GM fixed my problem". Instead of fixing issues Gm chose to stonewall customers and say "we have never seen the problem before" even though it is listed here and on the Colorado forum sites hundreds of times.
 
GM did address the issue of the soft valve seats on the I-4 and I-5 engines by extending the warranty to 100,000 miles. They did address the failing brake light with a $10.00 recall, but other than that on these other high failure items such as the wheel sensors, the heater fan resistor, the missing star washer on the right inner fender ground connection, and the evap vent solenoid you hear nothing from them other than "you are the only one who is having this problem". It will cost you $,$$$.$$ to fix our poor design.
 
GM chose to make these design failures a revenue stream rather than an engineering issue. The product line is now dead. This is the last year for them and they are shutting down the US plant that makes them. You seldom see one on a dealer's lot and haven't for a few years. So there now is no incentive for GM to resolve your problem.
 
Two weeks ago I bought my first foreign car. It was a used 2009 Honda. I needed to reset the anti-theft radio code because I had disconnected the battery. I called Honda and registered myself as the new owner. They helped me with the new code and then said "Sir, there is a recall on that Honda and one service bulletin that you should bring you car in to have done. Your nearest dealer is xxxxxx and I can transfer you there if you would like to make an appointment." I never asked for any of this. All I wanted was a radio reset code but they went out of their way to make sure I knew what additional "free" things should be done.
 
I've always owned GM vehicles and GM was customer oriented is in the past like Honda is now, but Gm is not that way today. Good luck on resolving your issues. I now have 5 GM vehicles and one Honda in my family. You can bet that ratio will continue to change in the future until all of the GM vehicles are gone.

#349 of 380 Re: "I'm Sorry..." [kpo] by tammy72

May 31, 2012 (6:22 pm)

Replying to: kpo (Apr 13, 2012 11:16 am)
Amen, you stated it exactly as I read this forum. You get no where here!

#350 of 380 Re: ABS [lynnie63] by tammy72

May 31, 2012 (6:31 pm)

Replying to: lynnie63 (May 01, 2012 9:09 pm)
Yes, I pulled the fuse and the problem is solved. I have to enjoy my truck with the abs and brake light on all the time, but it's better than the brakes not working. My truck was inspected this way at the GM dealership, because they are aware of the problem and that GM is doing nothing about it. It di!d pass inspection even though this is clearly a safety hazard!

#351 of 380 Re: 2005 Colorado Z85 ABS Brake Issue [gmcustsvcsarah] by kpo

Jun 01, 2012 (8:31 am)

Replying to: gmcustsvcsarah (Apr 24, 2012 7:25 am)
I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry.... How do you and your counter parts sleep at night? Try the Honda and Toyota approach, " When can we fix your recalled part?"
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