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General reliability

8K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  OliverHuntx 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a 2009 Colorado with 82,000 miles. I’ve had the truck since 77,000 miles. So far I’ve replaced the battery and alternator and fluids as needed. It’s clean overall and underneath. No rust no rot not holes no oil. It shifts fine. Occasionally I’ve had the anti theft thing pops up. Steering and suspension is fine.

does anyone have any suggestions of things I should pay attention to at this mileage? Has anyone had taken their trucks on long drives?

Most every car I’ve ever owned was a POS except this Colorado, it’s a real peach and the two years I’ve owned it I’ve had no problems though still nervous to use my truck vs getting a rental to drive across country basically.

hope everyone is well this far into the new year.
 
#3 ·
Go ahead and replace your heater hose fittings. Mine fell apart around 75,000 miles. Over time the hot coolant makes the fittings very brittle. Quick, easy and cheap fix (OEM fitting was around $11 from the dealer at the time) but if you wait for it to break it will leave you alongside the road. I was lucky, when mine went I was only a couple of blocks from the house.
Also, fix the grounding pack on the passenger side attached to the inside of the fender. It can be the cause of many electronic gremlins. There is a how-to on here somewhere, but it is about a 15 minute fix. Overall I have been very pleased with my Canyon. I bought it in 2013 with 36,000 miles on it and now have over 136,000 miles on it. It is one vehicle that I never intend to sell.
 
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#4 ·
Independent of taking a long trip, I second reworking the ground packs - one each on the inner fenders inside the engine compartment - they can create some real buggy problems. Invest in a bluetooth ODB2 connector (get the $20 one, not the $10 one) and get an app for your phone that can scan it. I use Torque Pro on Android - its well worth a few bucks. Check your spare tire, belts, filters, etc.

The anti theft thing is typically due to the ignition lock cylinder and switch getting gunked up (it doesn't recognize a valid key being inserted even though it is the right key and can turn the cylinder). Make sure you know the steps to deal with it when it happens.

Enjoy your trip!
 
#6 ·
Drove my 2005 3.5L from Sacramento CA to Portland Oregon at 200k miles. Drove it annually to Las Vegas NV all the way up to 250k. Probably would've hit 300k soon if it hadn't been totaled by a guy running a red light. The truck was started to burn a little oil after 260k
 
#32 ·
I have a 2005 Canyon 2.8 L. I was having issues with my blower motor not running and my highbeams not working. Come to find out it’s those grounding blocks on the inside of the fenders, one by the battery and One by the airbox. The one by the airbox is the one I was having issues with so I cut the wires and used ring connectors,two of them. I mounnted them right to the fender and added a 12 gauge ground wire from the battery. Now I’m golden. It was a cheap way for the factory to put all these grounds into these blocks. Very poor design. Lots of people have had this problem.
 
#7 ·
I have an 09 v8 and just hit 114k. I have drove it in some of the remote areas and never considered any issues. Just change all your fluids/oils early and often, before the recommendation interval. 30.00 - 50.00 dollars of preventive services is way cheaper than replacing. If you're not a DIY, find a reputable service provider. Lots of DIY instructions here on everything that can go wrong or maintain.

One issue I experienced, my radiator leaked around 105K. The top seam on the drivers side leaked. I ended up replacing the radiator myself. For all of the parts, hoses, brackets, radiator, trans connectors, anti-freeze, less than 300. And saved over 300 in labor. I changed front and rear pads, calipers, drums, and rotors around 85k. Used instructions here.

I replaced the heater connector with my own DIY stuff. Didn't trust OEM since it failed.

I really like this truck! I drive it everywhere I can. No oil burning or loud rocker arm or lifter noises.

Moded the exhaust, added Lasfit LEDs in every light fixture which doesn't require resistors and DD 5.5k HIDs for main headlights.

I do a lot of hauling and carrying so IMO, I bought the OEM bed cover. I know...issues with water under the cover but its clean. Just easier than spray to slide stuff and shovel stuff. One the things you need to do if you use the bed and do not have a spray in bedliner, buy bed caps for side to protect the top of the bed.

Other than that, enjoy.
 
#9 ·
I made the mistake of getting a SuperMod ported throttle body and custom tune on my '10 V8. Why a mistake you ask? The extra ponies under the hood made it so much fun to drive that my wife stole it. :ROFLMAO: It is now her daily driver and I am stuck driving the Suburban. :cautious: Ok, full disclosure. At 6'4" the Suburban fits me better anyway.....and I still get to drive the Canyon on occasion just for fun. 😊
 
#11 ·
SuperMod custom tune makes it drive like a completely different truck.......torque management gone...speed limiter gone (I don't know what top speed is now, but I did have it over 110 on the interstate in Texas once and it still had plenty of get-up-and-go left.) The tune really woke that engine up.
 
#13 ·
My '09 with 180900 miles on it went on a 2800 mile road trip in early December 2020. It held up well. Kept up with traffic running well over the speed limit for the I-35 run from Minneapolis, MN to Des Moines. Don't ask what happened to the mileage... As of the time of it's retirement yesterday, still averages 22+mpg. Retired at nearly 183.000 due to getting an rediculusly low mileage 2012 WT standard cab. I would still drive the '09 anywhere even with it's issues.
 
#15 ·
I finally got to do my long trip in my truck. I’m still not even at 90,000 miles on the truck yet.
Before my trip I changed the thermostat, changed the heater hose connections on the fire wall,changed the Vvt valve and crank sensor as well as oil change and coolant change oh and spark plugs.

I put 1300 miles on my truck in 3 days driving from Austin Texas to grandmas house in West Virginia.
Here’s my #1 road dog Pete
Sky Cloud Plant Dog Wheel
 
#20 ·
Automotive parking light Tire Car Automotive side marker light Wheel
I’mI scored these fender flares for $50 off someone in West Virginia . The truck was rotted so bad there wasn’t anything to even mount the fender flares to on the bed.

today I went to a junk yard that had several colorados. I’m going back tomorrow to pull a rear sliding window for $45

there was at least a full set of painted fender flares there and one of those enclosed beds. And a console but no bucket seats.
I’m in Ohio hanging with family but I live in Texas and Have yet to score anything for my Colorado. Here in Ohio they seem plentiful.
 
#22 ·
Ohio the salt has virtually destroyed many of them. In Texas, most are still on the road.
 
#33 · (Edited)
I have a 2009 Colorado with 82,000 miles. I’ve had the truck since 77,000 miles. So far I’ve replaced the battery and alternator and fluids as needed. It’s clean overall and underneath. No rust no rot not holes no oil. It shifts fine. Occasionally I’ve had the anti theft thing pops up. Steering and suspension is fine.

does anyone have any suggestions of things I should pay attention to at this mileage? Has anyone had taken their trucks on long drives?

Most every car I’ve ever owned was a POS except this Colorado, it’s a real peach and the two years I’ve owned it I’ve had no problems though still nervous to use my truck vs getting a rental to drive across country basically.
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hope everyone is well this far into the new year.
I did however get rid of the VATS system for piece of mind. Keep fresh and clean fluids in the thing and you should be in great shape.
 
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