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GM Working On Fix For Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon Roof Dent Issue

Back in September, GM Authority reported on an issue concerning the roofs on units of the 2023 Chevy Colorado and 2023 GMC Canyon pickups, with some owners complaining that their truck’s roof was dented after using a touchless car wash service. Now, GM Authority has new details to report after learning that GM is working on a fix for the issue.

For readers who may be unaware, touchless car wash services use an array of water jets and detergents to quickly clean the exterior of a vehicle. These services do not use large, scrubbing brushes like other car washing services, which can result in scratches in a vehicle’s paint. However, some 2023 Chevy Colorado and 2023 GMC Canyon pickups owners have reported that the water jets used in touchless car wash services can actually dent the roof on their new pickup, with photos posted online as evidence.

A 2023 Chevy Colorado with a dented roof due to a touchless car wash service.

Now, GM Authority has learned from sources familiar with the matter that GM is actively working to fix this issue. For now, GM will begin implementing the fix on newly built trucks at the GM Wentzville plant in Missouri, although the technical details of what the automaker will do to address the issue are still under wraps. Timing for implementation of the fix is also unclear at the moment. Either way, the news will undoubtedly come as a relief for those customers thinking about purchasing a new Chevy Colorado or GMC Canyon sometime in the future.

However, what will be even more interesting to see is how GM will address this issue in units of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon that have already been built. New owners will no doubt be eager for some kind of fix that will allow them to visit touchless car wash services without fear that their roof will end up with new dents. For now, GM Authority recommends hand-washing your pickup to keep it clean.

Rest assured GM Authority will continue to report updates on this issue as we receive them, so make sure to subscribe for more Chevy Colorado news, GMC Canyon news, Chevy news, GMC news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. GM quality at its finest.
    You can take your high quality Toyota through a touchless car wash & not have a dent put in it.

    Reply
  2. When the order books opened last year for the 2023 Colorado my dealer ordered 10. He received three of those.
    Of three customer orders for 2023 Colorados he has received none.
    I brought my request for a 2023 Colorado ZR2 to my salesman on December 19, 2022. Chevrolet accepted my order on March 28, 2023. Target Production Date was July 13. Production Date was August 4. Available to ship date was August 15. Dealer has still not received my truck as of November 11. GM Chat says that they cannot comment on the status of my truck.
    Good luck buying a new Colorado before 2025.

    Reply
    1. I was the second to order in my state. Early December 2022. I received the truck late July. Sadly I am still wait for GM to fix issues like door seals and paint. They keep telling me about issues with the strike. We all know Dearborn doesn’t make the parts.

      Reply
      1. But the distribution warehouses that went on strike do ship them….

        Reply
  3. When will they address the non working phone chargers? Dealers are clueless on how to fix them!

    Reply
    1. Maybe don’t use tinfoil for body panels.

      Reply
  4. I took delivery of the 2023 Colorado LT I ordered in June on August 24th. I was somewhat surprised by the quick delivery. However, besides the roof dent issue, there are electrical gremlins that are affecting a lot of us.

    I would really like GM to address these issues first. The symptoms are the blind zone lights coming on one or both outside mirrors. Initially many owners thought it was just a glitch in this system. It’s actually a bigger issue that prevents the door windows and locks from working. Anything that seems to be connected to LIN BUS 3 functions erratically at best.

    I have owned my truck for 2-1/2 months, but it has been with the dealership for almost 2 months of that. Supposedly they are working with GM on this issue, but nothing has been resolved yet. If you peruse the Colorado forums you’ll find that this is a somewhat prevalent issue affecting quite a few owners.

    While I love the overall truck design, GM’s inability to troubleshoot and repair this issue, even with the help of the GM Tech Center, leaves me very unsure of their ability to fix anything.

    Reply
    1. My ’23 Canyon AT4 with 7K miles has had the blind zone lights come on randomly, but I’ve only noticed it while driving during rainy conditions. Other electrical gremlins include the radio locking up and refusing to scroll through the presets, radio unresponsive to steering wheel control inputs, check engine light has come on twice – went back off by itself once and had the dealer reset it once. None of these have been permanent, the issues seem to resolve themselves fairly quickly on their own. More annoying than anything else. Have also experienced the dead battery situation – turned off the software auto updates and it hasn’t happened again. I know this is a first year vehicle, but my wife’s ’23 Mazda CX-50 is also a first year vehicle and in the 25K miles we’ve had it, there have been ZERO issues. “GM sweats the details” is nothing more than an advertising slogan, IMO.

      Reply
      1. We gave up on GM after a Silverado and a Saturn. Both had multiple issues. Our Honda Pilot has 90K and was returned to our dealer once for a Takata air bag replacement which took 45 minutes. Our Tesla has been in for minor repairs 3 times in 60K miles. Both will be replaced in 2024. GM is not on our shopping list. Right now another Pilot and probably a BMW or Mercedes EV. Both have much better interiors than Tesla. Hoping my Z06 shows up in 2024. First GM vehicle purchase in 20 years.

        Reply
  5. Sorry to inform you, it’s not the touch less car wash with just the water jets!
    It’s the car wash that have a power blower at the end of the car wash, the unit comes down, and the wheel on the unit dents the roof, center of the windshield!!
    Best of my knowledge, I use the touch less unites and no dents!
    Just the power unit at the end of car wash!
    I feel although your facts are incorrect!

    Reply
    1. Interesting, I feel like the roofs make a lot more flex and pop sounds on cars today than they used to from even the touchless blowers, makes me wonder if one day it won’t flex back!

      Reply
  6. Here’s an idea. FIX THE DAMN ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS. You are 0-8 with reprogramming, updating and, writing new software. You won’t replace the entire infotainment system, no no. Too $$. The Canyon is a great looking truck, that’s where it ends. POS.

    Reply
  7. Received My 2023 Canyon Denali the beginning of June. On my First road trip there was a whistling noise at high speeds, 65 mph plus. It was spotty at 65 but more consistent and louder the faster I went. Drafting certain vehicles also alleviated it. I’ve taken it in twice and the dealership can’t ID the cause. It’s now November and still present albeit not as prevalent. Summers in the south are HOT and it’s now cooler. At this point I think it’s either the windshield wasn’t seated completely or it’s tied to the two rubber roof pieces. Anyone have the same issue or know what the cause is?

    Reply
    1. I also once had a 1999 chev cavalier 2 door. While driving I had a loud whistle noise. I found the windshield was not glued fully. I found the exact location by pressing against the windshield and the volume and tone would change. It was under warranty and the dealer accused me of changing the windshield. I showed him the windshield stamp matched cars on his lot. They replaced it.

      Reply
    2. Unfortunately, this sounds like one of those problems that the dealer will never fix.

      Reply
    3. Same problem 2023 Canyon Denali

      Reply
      1. You have same whistling? Any idea on the cause?
        I’m driving up to Buffalo NY next week. My plan is to tape off (painters tape) sections of the windshield and the seams on top of the roof. I’ll update this thread with my results.

        Reply
  8. I am having intermittent issues with the camera system. The vehicle does not recognize the cameras are being activated. I can put the vehicle in reverse and the dash screen does not change at all. I can press the camera button on the dash screen and no change. I press all the fuses down under the hood and you hear them and feel them snap down in further. Then the cameras work again.
    There are moments the dash camera button does not work at all while driving. You have to put the vehicle in reverse to activate the cameras and then drive forward again and the dash camera button works again. I believe this part is a glitch/bug in the software.

    Reply
  9. At least the poor UAW members will now be making $150 an hour (when benefits are added in) to properly compensate them for all their hard work building in these multiple failures and errors.

    Reply
    1. Yes some times , the line workers don’t install parts properly. But many times the line worker tells a.d shows their leads and engineers. They say just install as you were told even it won’t work. The engineers don’t care.

      Reply
  10. The problems and defects were already known to GM management I am sure. Their timeline on research on development costs and production came to an end before the problems were remedied. So the remedy for GM I assume is to build them and have the dealers intervene while still making a profit on defective vehicles. It’s not the first time car manufacturers have enacted this horrid behavior. That is my thought on that.

    Reply
  11. GM and others guilty for years of building/shipping vehicles with known defects/problems. Then their dealers are stuck with an unhappy customer until GM gets around to finding and paying for a fix. Lots of loyal buyers on to new brands. Thinking there is not enough pre-production testing now, especially for electronic glitches. Our 2004 GMC ranch truck is an example of a simpler truck that just keeps on working. We are not interested in replacing it with any of the 2023 fancy, over engineered/complicated trucks.

    Reply
  12. Still think AI is going to “take over the World” ?

    Reply
  13. Glad to see GM actually work on fixing a design problem, instead of sweeping it under the rug.
    They have a similar design flaw on 2019 and up V8 model Camaro hoods, possibly all 6th generation Camaro hoods, though it’s not caused by touchless car washes (at least mine wasn’t a result of that). Along the center body line of the hood, about 1/2 to 2/3 the way between the hood vents and the windshield, pressure applied to the hood will cause a dent to form right along the body line and it will stick to the adhesive on the hood brace below it and hold the dent down. Mine was caused by the body shop buffing out rail dust on the hood. Paintless dent removal doesn’t work (they tried that on a new Camaro sitting on the lot with the same dent), so GM’s resolution was a new hood, not painted by the factory, but by a local body shop (and no fix for the issue to prevent it from happening to that hood), a carbon fiber replacement hood (not my style), or some my rewards points. I took the points, but will admit, every time I get in the car and I see the dent, it pisses me off.
    Recently saw a Collectors Edition in the wild and was looking it over and noticed it had the dent too, although the stripe helps hide it. The owner walked up as I was looking at it. He asked if the “gray one” was mine and I said yes. He asked if I had any issues with it and I told him the whole story of my journey w/ GM and how it has left me very dissatisfied w/ GM & Chevrolet overall, but that I really loved the car, even though it has a dent that Chevrolet can’t fix and guarantee it won’t happen again. He asked where and I showed him, he started looking at his and he saw the dent on his. He said he was going to the dealer and see what they will do to fix it. I hope he had/ has better luck than I did!

    Reply
  14. Solution, stay away from the ‘Canyon’ or maybe from GM altogether

    Reply
  15. Have the stamping plant tighten the binder up in the draw press. This will put more stretch on the panel. And increase stiffness. It is a form of work hardening. They could also increase the draw die lube so that they can put max stretch in the panel with a tight binder.
    They raise , or loosen the binder , to keep from getting splits when they draw the panel and keep the press line running with out making scrap. The binder holds the sheet of steel at the edges so the punch can come down and creat the shape of the hood, there are multiple trim operations after this. This is essentially a die issue in manufacturing.

    Reply
    1. Dixiedog, I told them pretty much the same thing, as we stamp sheet metal everyday. Of course I spoke to our tooling engineer and press operators first, because I know enough about stamping sheet metal to be dangerous! The GM quality reps didn’t seem to be too interested and I gathered from those and later conversations that they weren’t really concerned with fixing it because of the eminan demise of the Camaro as we know it.

      Reply
      1. GM bean counters not interested in any costly fixes for Camaros either built or going to be built. Car is going away.

        Reply
      2. You guys are right. It’s an engineering design or manufacturing issue, nothing to do with uaw.

        Please. Want to point fingers, Mary says too bad for you. I put woke girlies in charge of product. You should rest easy knowing that I’m in charge.

        Reply
  16. WOW – talk about SHEET metal.

    Let’s find out just how THIN that covering is.

    Reply
  17. The sheet metal has gotten so thin these days. Have a car that the Dore pops in and back out when I shut the door. You even try and leen against it and it bends and smashes in. Cars have become cheap garbage these days.

    Reply
  18. Because of the strike my Colorado is still waiting to be built, so waiting over 5 months is maybe a good thing thing if they are getting all the defects squared away before mine is built

    Reply
  19. I have had my 23 GMC Canyon Denali since early June of this year and have had zero issues with it. I am sorry to hear of the others problems as that would infuriate me after how long and mysterious the order to arrival process has been.

    Minneapolis, MN

    Reply
  20. I guarantee it’s happening to the silverado also . They are tall enough that most customers cannot see it. If they used a thin sheet metal on one style of vehicle they did it to all of them. Everyone with like years of any make and models need to keep an eye on the roof of their vehicle as I’m sure it’s not just the Colorado or canyon.

    Reply
  21. I have the same issue on 2021 gmc Sierra 1500 crew. Car wash pops roof panel when it sprays it

    Reply
  22. This problem has not been fixed! I have a 2024 Canyon and first time through the dryer at a local car wash…BOOM! Now my roof has dents in it. Unreal.

    Reply
  23. I have the same issue and dealer just says they don’t have parts and won’t fix unless it dents in and stays dented. Called GM and they were no help saying dealer is still assessing issue and can’t repair until assessment is completed and no time frame for that.As for phone charger not working still no fix and they have no idea when a fix will be found. In other words GM and Dealer both are just jerking me off! I am done with GM and will trade for a Toyota very soon!

    Reply

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