Originally Posted By: finalyzd
I've had two customers in past three. Months come to my shop and have had blown head gaskets. All low mileage 40 to 50k five cylinders. Both colorados. We pulled them in oil cap had white gunk A LOT of it. And after oil change everytime dipstick was pulled get that same gunk. Don't know if that's a coincidence but I won't ever get one of those after seeing that
I own an '04 Colorado 3.5L I5 Z71 4x4 that belonged to my late father. The truck has ~86,000 miles on it.
Overall, I don't mind the engine/transmission. It has enough power for driving around town, etc. It also handles pretty well, for a truck, due to it's small size. Beyond that though, the truck as a whole leaves a lot to be desired.
I've heard a few stories of blown head gaskets in these engines. I've had no issues with that...yet. I have had the milky gunk under the oil cap. No matter my driving habits or the driving conditions, it's always under the cap when I check the oil. I've also noticed that there is a lot of "burnt sludge" on the cam lobe looking straight down the oil filler hole. I've tried conventional oil, synthetic oil, short OCI's, etc.. My current fill is Rotella T6 5w40 w/25% MMO and I'm still getting the milky gunk under the filler cap. I thought some of the "burnt sludge" on the came lobe was lessening, but I think my observation was wrong because it's definitely not getting any better these days. My next fill will be Pennzoil Ultra (6 qt. sump, btw). If that doesn't make things better, I'll just chalk it up to bad engine design.
Gas mileage is not impressive, at all. I'm currently getting 15-16 mpg (mostly drive around town & country roads). I just recently did a 6-hr. all interstate trip and could only achieve 18.8 MPG's (again, ALL interstate).
The rest of the truck is basically [censored]. Interior is very, very cheap and uncomfortable. The doors are "thin" and don't seem to want to close/latch very easily when you attempt to shut them. It's hard to describe, but it's not due to lack of lube on the hinges. The e-brake "froze" and I ended up breaking the pull-handle trying to get it un-froze. Now I have to use vice-grips to pull the handle. I was able to free it up enough to drive it, but I can still tell that it's not all the way un-froze. When I put it into drive, the truck barely moves. Frozen e-brake is another common problem on these trucks. It's probably part of the MPG problem I'm experiencing.
I also replaced the OEM batter last winter because I kept getting a "battery" warning on the DIC. Even after replacing it with a new battery, I still get the same message when it's cold out.
My other big complaint is the windshield washer nozzles. They don't put out much fluid and they spray most of it at the bottom of the windshield, where it's useless. I've even replaced one of the nozzles ($25 for something the size of a quarter!) and the new one is even worse. It drives me INSANE because I like a clean windshield at all times.
For about a year, I was leasing an '07 Tacoma 4.0 V6 4x4 for my business. That truck blew this Colorado out of the water in all aspects. The only advantage of the Colorado is that the smaller size seemed to allow for slightly better handling.
If you're looking for a mid-size truck, I'd put a Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon at the bottom of the list. If this truck hadn't belonged to my father, I would have sold it yesterday.
