Since the third-generation Chevy Colorado launched in the 2023 model year, some owners have noticed flexing and dents in their roofs. Interestingly, each instance occurred after going through automatic car washes. The forces of the air dryers apparently cause enough flex in the roof panels that small dents would appear. It only happened on trucks without sunroofs, and GM eventually issued a service bulletin with a fix for customers under warranty. Now, according to GM Authority, Chevy is fixing the roofs from the factory so future Colorado owners can drive through carwashes worry-free.
The Drive asked GM for a comment and will update this story when we get one.
The issue is commonly called “oil canning,” which is the perceived waviness of a flat metal panel. It isn’t a structural issue, as it only affects the sheet metal; it’s not like Colorados with dented roofs would be any less safe in a rollover crash. However, it looks bad, and on a brand-new truck, that’s disappointing. To fix the issue on existing Colorados with affected roofs, dealers would remove the interior headliner and install five strengthening patches on the underside of the roof. Then, they’d install a longitudinal metal strengthening bow to help stiffen the entire roof panel, along with vibration-dampening material.
Now, that exact fix is being installed on new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks before they leave the factory. Any Colorado or Canyon built after February 3 will have the fix. Any truck built before then is now eligible to have the fix installed to prevent any denting from happening if it hasn’t already. If denting has already occurred on older trucks, and paint or bodywork is needed, this fix will be done first. It’s unclear if GM will reimburse customers who may have already paid to have the dents fixed on their own before a factory fix was announced.
It’s also unclear how GM is going to handle owners who previously had the roof repaired but still saw dents after going to a car wash. Colorado owners on Reddit have complained that their roofs dented again even after being fixed by the dealer. Furthermore, some owners claimed that paperwork from the dealers says that any roof dents that happen after the fix aren’t covered under warranty. So if it happens again from the fix not working, the owners are supposedly left holding the check. Now that there’s a factory fix, though, GM might change its tune when fixing existing owners’ trucks.
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