I’m looking at a 2008 Chevrolet Colorado with the 3.7 inline 5 cylinder engine. 92k miles on the odometer. First, are these engines reliable? Second, are there any other major issues that plague this generation of Colorado?
GM 3.7 engine reliability
- Thread starter otis24
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The 3.7 is a little better than the 3.5 of earlier models. My dad bought a new Colorado in 2005 - 1st year and my mom drives it now for projects etc and its been a good truck with 60k miles. My personal experience with it in my shop in these trucks and the H3 Hummers is: coil failures, wire harness issues where it rubs the block on the driver side and causes loss of 5v reference signal, water pumps and thermostats. Basically the repeaters I have seen. The early 3.5 had head issues but you're looking at the 3.7 so no issue there. I remember my dad calling the 5 cyl motor the motor with 6 cyl gas mileage with 4 cyl power lol! I think the quality of the truck leaves a lot to be desired and the ride is terrible - but for a small truck I think reliability is average and you won't do bad getting it.
That’s a 3.6 v6 on a newer truck. The 3.7 is an inline 5 in the previous gen Canyorado.
The 3.7 is ok, I’ve had good experiences with the Atlas engine family overall. A 4 cylinder Colorado and a 6 cylinder Envoy. Expect to do coils, thermostat, and VVT solenoids but all those things are easy enough.
It’s mostly reliable but not powerful or efficient. It has a very utilitarian feel to it. Idles kinda rough and has a grumbling sound to it. I like it actually. There are bigger things to worry about with these trucks than the engines. The resistor for the fan motor goes bad about every 30k kms on mine which causes the blower to only work on high. It’s fairly simple to repair but is extremely irritating as this was a common issue for the entire run of these vehicles and it wasn’t addressed. Also if the battery dies or you change the battery it somehow messes up the circuit board in the drivers door which causes the locks and drivers side window to stop working. You have to take it all apart and heat it with a heat gun or put it in the oven for a bit and it starts working again. Must have something to do with moisture but this is also an extremely common issue.
Overall they’re very durable trucks that have odd electrical issues. They’re no luxury cruisers but if you want a rugged little truck at a decent price (half the cost of an equivalent Tacoma) they’re a solid buy. I don’t regret buying mine Even though it rides like a hay wagon and has the road noise of an old troop carrier.
Overall they’re very durable trucks that have odd electrical issues. They’re no luxury cruisers but if you want a rugged little truck at a decent price (half the cost of an equivalent Tacoma) they’re a solid buy. I don’t regret buying mine Even though it rides like a hay wagon and has the road noise of an old troop carrier.
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I've had to replace the transmission after 160000 miles. I replaced the radiator around 120000 miles.
Are all those problems really worth it?
Just buy a Tacoma.
Just buy a Tacoma.
I owned a 1995 Tacoma. Head gasket blew at 55,000 miles on L/H cylinder bank. Apparently a common problem on 3.4L Toyotas. Transmission Input bearing failed at 96,000 miles. That one really surprised me. Sold it at 142,000 miles and bought a 2007 Tundra 5.7L. Exhaust camshaft on R/H bank snapped in two at 4,000 miles. Toyota fixed it under warranty, but my days of owning Toyotas was over. I traded the Tundra for my Canyon(most reliable vehicle I’ve ever owned).
I was being conservative when I said a used Colorado/Canyon is half the price of an equivalent Tacoma. Realistically you’re looking at 1/3 to 1/4 the price and yeah there can be some annoying minor issues but they are easy to deal with when you have an extra 10 grand in your pocket.
Nothing specific comes to mind except to say- look hard at that engine. I was interested in it a few years ago and the 5 cyl had some major issues. PCV? crankcase condensation?
Tacoma's have had their fair share of engine troubles. Early 2nd Gens with the 4.0L were known to pop head gaskets and then the motor mount (bracket?) disintegrating into the frame at low mileage. Timing cover gasket leaks common as well. Let's not forget the 2.5 generation in 2012 that added a smog pump that is failure prone and costly to repair.
Early 3rd gen Tacoma's with the 3.5L are seeing bad cylinder heads starting to pop up. They also still can't get a timing cover to seal right. Bonus is earlier models toque converter failure taking out the transmission as well.
Even though I am a Tacoma fanboy, I'll be first to admit they still have issues.