2021 Chevy Colorado Problems and Top Complaints – Is Your Car A Lemon?

Updated on July 10th, 2023 Author: Brian Jones

After many years of making defective trucks, the 2021 Chevy Colorado seeks to be the year of redemption. The company claims it is “such a showoff,” but most customers would be happy with simply reliable. Yet, there are just as many problems with the newer Colorado, from defective service brakes to a faulty electrical system and a poorly made structure.

Click on other model year to view more problems:  2018   2019   2020   2022   

NHTSA Complaints for the 2021 Chevy Colorado

Problems with the Service Brakes

Stopping the Colorado is a top priority for owners, but these brakes just don’t seem to work right at all.

Here is one Edmunds review. “I have had my 2021 Colorado for 7 weeks less than 900 miles. I have had it in for service twice for the same issues.  Brakes grind for the first 10 minutes of driving. Took it in they cleaned the brakes, two days later same thing.  Took it in again they changed the pads. 3 days later same thing, called and they told me it had a service bulletin for this issue and GM is working on it. Well 3 days later and now it grinds all the time.”

For now, Chevy has chosen to issue no bulletins about brake problems. It seems odd that the company suddenly wants to be quiet after talking about “showing off.” Maybe the automaker is eating some humble pie right now.

Electrical System Problems

In 2021, the electrical system should be top-notch in any vehicle, but the Colorado can’t seem to get the basics right.

Here’s another Edmunds complaint. “Hands free phone system worked about 10% of the time. They flashed the program, seemed to work better, nope took it in again, same thing flashed the program, this time it when it started acting up again, I installed Google assistant.”

It actually wasn’t that long ago that Chevy was facing class action lawsuits because its wireless phone chargers in the older Colorado models weren’t compatible with almost any standard device. This was just one of many problems that created a mass exodus of truck owners to become loyal to Ford.

Problems with the Structure

One last look forces a peek at the build of the Colorado. It should come as no surprise that nothing is made the way it is expected to be.

A final Edmunds review says, “I have had my Colorado for a month. It’s been in the shop for almost 2 weeks out of the month. The a/c compressor sounds like a jet plane. The truck has a vibration during highway speeds and really noticeable during deceleration. They tell me it’s normal. I traded a 2013 Tacoma with a hundred thousand miles that didn’t have these problems. I love the style of the truck but there has to be some design flaws somewhere. I’m a certified diesel mechanic and this stuff just isn’t right. Now they want me to test drive another one to show me it’s normal. I drove 2 last week and neither made these noises. But because they were not the exact same model that doesn’t count. Well I went and drove another LT model that was just delivered. Not only did this truck have the vibration but it also had a whining noise that sounded like a siren coming from either the transmission or rear end. Was told by the lead technician at RK in Virginia Beach va that this truck sounds like the carrier bearing was bad. Colorado’s do not have carrier bearings. But these are the same people that tell me the vibrations in my truck are normal operating procedures of this vehicle. What a real joke. I have since hired a lawyer. Do yourself a favor, do not buy the Colorado. I regret I ever did.”

Remember a few years back when Chevy was facing class action lawsuits because the transmission was defective in Colorado trucks? How could anyone expect the same company that doesn’t know anything about transmissions to have the knowledge to build the rest of a pickup truck? Let’s get real – there’s nothing here worth showing off.

Your Lemon Law Legal Rights

Think you have a lemon? Sit back and let the experts work out your lemon case at no cost to you. The law makes Chevy pay legal fees. You may be able to get your lemon out of your life. Every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners like you.

About the Author:

Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.

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