A Mate of mine who has an inside word on this stuff has told me to stay clear of buying a Colorado if you plan on towing and if you know anyone with one to tell them that they should have the upgraded heavy duty load leveling tow pack.
They have found cracking in the tubs and tub chassis mounts as well as the fuel filler.
It will most likely only show up from extended towing of heavy loads but a bit of a worry all the same.
I've got one and done 30,000k so far with no worries. I have a mate with a 2010 model dual cab towing a 2500kgs van with a boat on top and he has travelled 105,000 ks so far with no troubles. I must admit this is the first time I have heard of anything like this about them. Hope its not right.
He hasn't installed air-bags in the rear suspension has he?
Gday...
HMMM ... I have heard (met a couple of people) who have 4x4 dual cab utes (different makes) who tow 2,000kg+ vans/boats, fitted airbags and use WDHs and find the chassis develops cracks.
Others I have met have had no problems .... so I guess it all depends on how used and conditions driven over.
Cheers - John
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2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto - 2008 23ft Golden Eagle Hunter Some people feel the rain - the others just get wet - Bob Dylan
Hi al......l I think the problem is not with the airbag or the vehicle,,,unfortunately people misuse airbags as load levellers.... ie.... they keep pumping air into the bag until it is as solid as a rock and then does not allow the shock absorbers to do their job.... the constant jarring will crack the chassis..... an air bag is used to assist the shock absorber carry the load,,,,,, bearing in mind that the springs are the primary carrier of the weight,,,
-- Edited by turbopete on Wednesday 3rd of October 2012 08:07:33 AM
Hi al......l I think the problem is not with the airbag or the vehicle,,,unfortunately people misuse airbags as load levellers.... ie.... they keep pumping air into the bag until it is as solid as a rock and then does not allow the shock absorbers to do their job.... the constant jarring will crack the chassis..... an air bag is used to assist the shock absorber carry the load,,,,,, bearing in mind that the springs are the primary carrier of the weight,,,
-- Edited by turbopete on Wednesday 3rd of October 2012 08:07:33 AM
My mate is well in the know, he's worked for Holden for about 20 years in one of their engineering sectors and we were talking about what I should buy as my next work ute and he said Ford Ranger/ Mazda.
He mentioned other faults but the vehicles he's talking about are pushed to the limits and no they do not run air bags but the broken ones have all been used for towing.
As far as miss using airbags go, they are there to up rate the springs and have very little to do with the shock absorbers.
an airbag such as a poly air or the like should only be run at about 15psi and normally if you put more in them the burst before they would get so hard they would not provide any give and break the chassis.
The bellows type airbags are a bit different though and will run at a higher pressure and can cause chassis damage due to the load point being changed from being spread over a large proportion of the chassis to being concentrated to a small area.
This is of course unless your vehicle is leaf sprung as with coils the just replace the coil so doesn't really change anything but the ability to adjust your ride and hight infinately.
Best way to make sure your tug is set up properly is to check your ball weight loaded and adjust the load to be spaced around the trailer to level out the ride with about 140 to no more than 150kg on the ball.
The use a sway control device if the trailer mass is higher than the tug mass and remember these are not "level riders" they are sway control devices. The old "Level riders" are terrible for breaking chassis as they are constantly amplifying the forces through the tow bar to the chassis which an old fasioned heavy steel car or full ladder 4wd would easilly be able to cope with but todays unitary bodys with crumple zones etc dont like the twisting forces.
You should only really use poly airs to level out the tug of the load it's carrying and not try to lift the front of a badly packed van with them as that's not what they are made for and can have devistating results when a bag goes at 80kmh towing and fully loaded and one side of the tug bottoms out all of a sudden.
A Mate of mine who has an inside word on this stuff has told me to stay clear of buying a Colorado if you plan on towing and if you know anyone with one to tell them that they should have the upgraded heavy duty load leveling tow pack.
They have found cracking in the tubs and tub chassis mounts as well as the fuel filler.
It will most likely only show up from extended towing of heavy loads but a bit of a worry all the same.
Cheer Damo
Hi Demo,
We purchsed a new Colorado7, White in colour just recently and our major problem was - small rust spots appearing on all panels of the vehicle in the paintwork most noticeably around the windows. Only after 2-3 weeks of taking delivery, the blame was put on us as "fallout". They said they would fix it but would not guarantee if it came back and cover it under warranty. It has been a most stressful experience and the outcome with Holden was a loss of $6440 to sell it back to them, we decided to take this loss as we had no idea what would happen down the track and could end up lossing a lot more $$$$, we think that we should have received a full refund. They said this problem could be coming from our location or where we have taken it, which is rubbish. We had to get rid of this car as it was a no win situation for us with them. We have seen this same problem on the brand New Commodore as well as the Colorado 4x4 Ute in there dealership yard. It is mostly noticable on the White ones....So our advice is to not purchase any Holden.
As I reported a week ago, our Nissan XTrail also developed cracks in the chassis from the way the Nissan towbar was mounted. Our b-I-l has told us that it's caused by the thinness of the steel they use in the chassis and he said it would not only be the XTrail but many many more cars. He would only buy one car for towing - HiLux - as it had thicker steel in the chassis apparently.
I was considering a Colorado7 at one point, and a group of engineers I know who had evaluated both a Colorado Ute, and had also a Colorado7 advised me strongly against purchasing any of the Colorado range. There were a number of problems mentioned, including the problems with the rear chassis, paint problems, excess vibration from the big 4 banger diesel.
They indicated that they believed Holden would have sorted most of the issues in the second version, but indicated that they could not recommend it until they changed engine.
I can not tell you who these people work for, suffice to say that they buy and test many of the vehicles on the market.
If you are looking to buy a new ute 4x4 or station wagon 7 seater 4wd, please look at the Mitsubishi range or the Mazda BT50 range, they are of similar price and are a much better value vehicle than any of the New Holden range. You may be sorry, if you choose a Holden, as we are and as we did... we have seen issues with the 4x4, 7 seater & Commodore range of Holden unfortunately this was after we purchased a Colorado7.
Hi I now have seen this rust spot problem on 2008 holden cruze models as well , but the main one we seen was the lastest model still in the new car yard but anyone with a new holden colorado or holden cruze should check for small rust spots on upper body parts, the white ones show up more than other colours but other colour owners should look very closely at the paint work as the white colour shows up more clearly, this as is not to say you will not see it on other colours so Please check your car Holden dealers should not being getting away with this as they know of this problem they call this industrial fall after very short time after you pick up your car you will be blamed for this as to where you live or where you shop or park the car . Please check your cars
We have seen this on just about every white Holden Cruze and colorado 2012 -13 that we have looked just look for small orange rust spots on mainly upper panels look closely and I hope that your car has not got the problem because repair is short lived the spots come back Kazj30
I have heard that, but you'll find there tradies with a cab full of family, the tray with their tools and either towing a boat or caravan.
Which would probably put them over the weight limit.
I have just purchased a 7 and have found a rattle in the engine bay also find the auto better in manual mode to tow the van (2.5t) and I'm getting 12.5 ltr per 100km........not bad
His first issue a few months back related to front end (suspension problems) which the dealer fixed reluctantly.
Rubbish! That's a factory re-call, the dealership wouldn't have a problem with that at all.
Re: The turbo exploding, hear-say..
Also coming in late on this on this, too.. However, The continued slagging on Colorados is so childish, I feel that anybody who partakes in it these days comes across as having insecurity issues - Have at it!
Re: Paint & surface rust..
These cars can't be pigeon holed as "GM H - (Holden,)" the Cruze and Commodores are Aussie built cars, the "Colorado," is a "GM C - (Chev,)" they're even built in different countries. So, how do you explain paint problems across the range when these cars literally aren't painted with the same brush - pardon the pun.
I've had a C7 since 2012, no problems at all, apart from recalls, even when towing a 2.8 tonne off-road, 20' van.
The amount of crap I hear people carry on with about the "Holden/Thai built Chev" Colorado is becoming just laughable.
Seriously, it's seems to just be clearly penis envy. Like people are trying to justify spending another $15K on a sub-par Ranger or BT-50, and the only way to do that is to run down the competition because they can't talk up the other vehicles as their engines can't match the power of the Colorado engine (a clear class leader of vehicles within a $10K price bubble).
Which other ute/wagon comes from the factory @ under $55K (Collies with the high spec engines start at under $40K - joke really) with a 6 speed auto coupled with a 500Nm power plant?
Keep in mind guys. I find it strange we don't use station wagon SUV type vehicles more for towing . We NEVER had these issues in the past towing with Kingwood, Falcons, or Valiants .. Being mainly box constitution as per Landcruiser or Patrol . Yes there's a weight issue . Since the lighter twin cab truck has been popular . Check the chassis between cab and tray ? Where is any flex going ? Yep one area ., A station wagon of similar power train like the new Mitsi look good to me ..btw Toyota have similar issues if abused ..
Its the same old story Wyld. I've had (and still have) Jeeps for the last 14 years, never had a problem but guess how much drivel I've had to listen to in that time. Too many experts out there.
i read your post with interest I own a 2013 Colorado LTZ ute 2013 and have towed a caravan weighing 2600-2700 kg and travelled 83k I have checked under my vehicle on the chassis and tub and unable to find any signs of fatigue or cracking therefore I'm not sure where you base your facts from. the vehicle originally had a sticker on the door jamb "C" pillar stating that it was not suitable to use load distribution bars but after discussions with gmh it was removed and should not have been placed there apparently it was used for overseas vehicle. as I stated I use this vehicle for travelling Australia only towing the caravan as we have another vehicle when at home.
the only problems I have experienced are the front suspension rubber were fixed on a recall and the battery had a melt down which is from alternator overcharging but when I spoke to Holden they reimbursed me for my costs and a vibration that appears around 100k when not towing otherwise the vehicle has been a great purchase
-- Edited by Dreamcatcher on Thursday 30th of March 2017 06:58:49 PM
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BETTER TO HAVE SEEN SOMETHING ONCE, THAN HEAR ABOUT IT A THOUSAND TIMES
I have a Colorado LTZ 2015 travelled 75.000km, have clocked up 38.000km towing a 2300kg full off road caravan.Have had NO problems with the engine, auto trans or chassis. Also have no problem with fuel either when towing or not.
