2018 Colorado transmission issues

[Kenneth Haines]

Question to all new truck buyers who bought a 2018 Chevy Colorado, you having any transmission issues, like slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear on the automatic floor shiftier or problems with the + and - buttons ?

Edited May 25, 2018 by txab

[dbs600]

On ‎3‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 12:48 PM, Taj2019 said:

Bought a new 2019 Colorado zr2. Had 101 miles on odometer when I left the lot. At 417 miles I had to have it towed back to the selling dealer. They have informed me that my transmission needs rebuilt. Granted it’s under factory warranty it I don’t want the truck back. I bought this new so I wouldn’t have to deal with something like this much less after only driving it about 300 miles. How do I get gm to take this one back and get another one?

Hi Taj,

 

Any update on your matter?

 

Please advise.

 

Thanks.

[Taj2019]

No news on when my truck will be done. They’ve had it almost 3 weeks. They are rebuilding transmission. I’ve escalated my case through gm, so far they’ve only offered a $500 gift card to purchase accessories for the truck. Dealer keeps putting off the day that the truck will be completed. They do have me in a loaner though. I’m still fighting to get another truck. I still don’t want this one back after transmission going out after driving 316 miles. I drove this truck all of 6 days before this happened. My first payment is due in 4 days and only had the truck for 6 days. I’ll update the outcome.    

[Scubaman]

ok so I am hearing of shudders different places we have 2 trucks in the fleet 2017, 2019 both trucks have a slip at 5mph then a hard shift into what would be 2nd gear ? not all the time a couple a day or when you back out of a space and shift from R to drive when everything is cold. dealer wont acknowledge a problem. started when new and seems to get worse as the truck gets older. no shuddering at high speed

[Taj2019]

On 5/9/2019 at 1:41 PM, Scubaman said:

ok so I am hearing of shudders different places we have 2 trucks in the fleet 2017, 2019 both trucks have a slip at 5mph then a hard shift into what would be 2nd gear ? not all the time a couple a day or when you back out of a space and shift from R to drive when everything is cold. dealer wont acknowledge a problem. started when new and seems to get worse as the truck gets older. no shuddering at high speed

That’s what my 2019 started doing a few days after buying it. Hard shift either taking off or while going into second. They said the pump exploded. They rebuilt the transmission. Guess I was lucky as I wouldn’t want this to go on long enough for the warranty to run out like they seem to be trying to do to you. Keep taking yours back and make sure to get documentation every time. Maybe even try another dealer. I’ve had the truck back for about 3weeks I’ve now got 1904 miles on truck. On my way home today 5-12-2019 it started shifting funny and wouldn’t go into overdrive. Transmission temp fluctuated from 122 degrees to 298 degrees. About 30 miles from home the engine light also came on. Check it with my scan tool and pulled code p0711 which is Transmission temperature sensor. Guess I’ll be going back to the shop to drop of and get a loaner for another extended period of time. The Chevrolet case manager I’m dealing with won’t even call me back any longer. Probably will be seeing a lawyer next. 

[M_Well65]

Hey good thread.  I helped my daughter purchase a 2019 Chevy Colorado with a V6, her first ever new car starting her career with Florida Fish and Wildlife which requires her to use her truck for work..   She has just over 23,000 miles on it and calls me to indicate something is wrong with it ... a shudder issue.  She brought it to the dealer who did a flush and change of transmission fluid and she indicates it is running fine now.  However, I read this thread now researching the issue more and believe by date of manufacture it must certainly have the latest torque converter.  So why is the issue still occurring?  Is there anyway, like by VIN, that I can inquire as to converter model installed?  What is the latest update to this issue and yes I have the same concern that Chevy will just push this along until out of warranty then hit me for a replacement.   I am starting to regret this truck purchase.

 

 

[Chuck3]

On 5/24/2018 at 2:30 PM, Kenneth Haines said:

Question to all new truck buyers who bought a 2018 Chevy Colorado, you having any transmission issues, like slipping between 2nd and 3rd gear on the automatic floor shiftier or problems with the + and - buttons ?

I have a 2018 Colorado.  When I start the truck there is a loud/obvious thud at the rear axle while in park.  Does not do it  everytime  , about every 3rd startup. There is also an obvious noise when shifting from park to neutral to drive also.  Do you think my issue is related to the torque converter issue?

[BryBoy]

I WAS considering purchasing a 2019 Colorado during Labor Day... but now have been scared off.  Anyone know if GM has actually started installing "improved" converters in newer model??

[Hiho Silver]

My 2017 Colorado is also doing a very hard shift after backing out when cold, and put into drive. Thought I had a bucking horse under me! No issue when warmed up. 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Hiho Silver
Reword.

[MIKE-CHECKA]

Just bought a 2019 Colorado December 8th. It had 34 miles on it when I got it. Noticed the shudder (currently very mild) almost immediately and thought is was just the ride of the truck. Then I figured out I could kind of make it happen. So I did a quick search to find that this is a known issue. Took it to the dealership with 1500 miles on it and told them what it's doing. They took it in and for a day and gave me a rental. Got it back and noticed on the paper work that I turned it in with 1585 miles on it and got it back with 1586 and it was noted they couldn't reproduce the problem so they put air in my tires. Guess what, that didn't fix the problem. I'm going to call them and ask what they did to be sure I'm not crazy and that all they did was put air in my tires that did not need air. The problem may not produce itself in mile. I usually feel it most between 45-65 mph. Also, is this the Chevy Shake? I have seen videos where the whole truck is shaking the entire time. Thankfully I don't have that... yet.  

[Jim Kelley]

I have 2017.   Shudder started at 4,000 miles. 

Changed fluid and it came back at 5,000 ...

Replaced TC with new grey label mobile one...

Went to march 2020 and shudder back shaking truck like unbalanced tire ..

Per tsb 19-na-355 changed fluid to new BLUE label mobile one ...  

So far running good   

...

This tells ya it's a fluid TC problem for some reason fluid does not work with this transmission.

I have feeling it's going to be thing where you will have to keep changing fluid ?

  

 

 

 

 

[Ray Lacelle]

Currently my 2018 Colorado has been sitting at a dealership with a vibration problem after the flush.The dealer told me they don't have a transmission tech to asses the problem, I told them i would get it towed to another dealership that has a tech.GM customer care did not like that idea because the dealer told GM customer care that it was safe to drive.I told GM customer care that the dealer had no right to tell you if it is safe to drive because they don't have a tech to asses the problem. So i gave them a couple of scenarios to think about. 1st scenario i pick up the truck drive away no problem untill i find a tech to repair the problem. 2nd scenario i drive the truck away, the problem with the vibration causes me to lose total control of the vehicle, i wind up hitting a school bus full of kids killing them all. Ya the truck is still there and it seems no one wants to to get back to me concerning this problem. My son owns the all new AT4 and guess what he has the hard shift problem in his transmission too not sure what he is going to do yet becuase he bought it at the same dealership my truck is sitting at good luck with our problems. Don't be afraid to use my scenarios with your dealership when you bring it in for your problem.

[Logical Guy]

On 5/26/2018 at 10:16 AM, newdude said:

We've had 2 in for the torque converter shudder on the 8 speed with the V6.  One got a torque converter, the other the fluid flush fixed it. 

 

What engine/transmission do you have in your Colorado? 

Mine had the issue with not downshifting and shuddering till you stomped on the gas forcing it to down shift. Especially when slowing down and going around a corner and gently giving it gas it did not automatically down shift. I took it to the dealer and they switched the transmission oil to Mobil 1 Synthetic LV ATF HP and I have now put on 6K miles since then with no issue.

[Not1lost]

On 5/26/2018 at 10:16 AM, newdude said:

We've had 2 in for the torque converter shudder on the 8 speed with the V6.  One got a torque converter, the other the fluid flush fixed it. 

 

What engine/transmission do you have in your Colorado? 

have a 2017 Canyon V6, 4x4 SLE started doing the same thing at about 12000 mi continually getting worse! The worst shudder shaking is at about 55 steady speed with slight off and on exelaration to hold the speed in cruise or whatever. However it will do it at nearly any speed at times. Yes it helps when cruising at hwy speeds to downshift to 7th but that’s not what you should have to do! Besides it will do it in 7th too when it pulls just right up a grade.I thought the tires were out of balance and took it back to the dealer which re-balanced all of them and didn’t help at all. So I have another appointment next week. Going to give them a ride and shake their teeth out to show them what it is doing! The truck only has a little over 14000 mi. On it so this is completely unacceptable! And getting worse! I noticed the transmission temp. Probably already damaged the internal parts... After all I have read on this forum and other about this I don’t think I’m going to go along with all the “we’re going to fix it crap” and tell them either buy it back or give me another “new” different kind of truck and transmission maybe like the Duramax since it has the 6 speed in it. 

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update: Took it to the dealer another day and had the service manage ride with me to show him and have it documented that it will shake your teeth out while cursing. however when he got into the truck he said "I'll take a ride with you but I am well aware of this problem, I know what it is doing.” I'm sure he does... he then told me they have to go through "the process" and do triple flush to see if that fixes it. said it probably would but if not they would put a new torque converter in it. I said if that will for sure fix it why not just go ahead and put it in there? GM says have to do the flush first... yeah$$$ I told him even if it fixed it how much damage has already been done to the longevity of the truck? Oh he said the transmission is fine... yeah sure. I had the lemon law book laying in the console so he could see it but said nothing. He knew what that meant... this whole thing makes me sick. I have always trusted GM and now they are trying to cover up an obvious recall issue. sickens me.

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Update again:

Next visit to the dealership to do the triple flush on the shuddering transmission. while I was in the lobby waiting (only a few minutes) reading my lemon law book; the service manager came out and said it looks like we have an update on fixing your transmission. now GM is saying go ahead and skip the triple flush and replace the torque converter. well well, that's what I asked about to begin with if they knew it would fix it, why not!? so  they kept it about a week to replace the torque converter. I've driven it about 700 miles so far and it is very smooth, no shaking or shuddering so far. the thing that worries me is how much damage did it do to the rest of the transmission driving it with the wrong fluid in it and the torque converter going out (metal shavings pumped throughout the transmission) what is going to happen say 50,000 miles down the road? this was to be my last new truck since I am retired and on a fixed budget. I won't have the money to pay for replacing a transmission... concerned, don’t know what I should do even if it seems like it's fixed?

Any advice would be appreciated; thanks

Edited November 6, 2018 by txab