2016 GMC CANYON Electrical System Problems

At random the power steering and traction control turn off making it difficult to drive.. This happens randomly and has become unable to steer. Once the vehicle is turned off for a period of time you can start it up and the steering returns. The issue was reported in the 2015 models. That recall needs to extend into the 2016 models since most of the parts were most likely manufactured tot eh same specs as the 2015. The vehicle was diagnosed by an independent repair shop. The dealership wanted $200 for just the diagnostics. Every time this happens it becomes very difficult to drive and is a safety issue. The issue first appeared 2 months ago and after the restart stopped. Then all of a sudden it seems to occur daily.

The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that the headlights failed to activate automatically. Additionally, one of the phone charger ports had become inoperable. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. A message advising that the power steering was inoperable and to drive carefully was displayed. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the power steering functionality returned. Additionally, the contact stated while driving 50-55 MPH after the power steering failure, the vehicle was pulling to the right. The dealer was contacted, and an appointment was scheduled for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

Mileage: 105,000

Transmission has been shuddering since 15,000 miles till now. Dealerships says it's normal on these transmissions, 6 fluid and filter changes and now at 72,000 miles the transmission is failing just outside of warranty. They scammed me and kept my transmission barely alive until warranty ran out and now they want 8k-10k for a replacement. They knew. Dash goes crazy from the touch screen to the digital information screen in the speedometer. They say it's normal and happens on all the units. But it's distracting and has been messing up since bought the truck new. Again they just kept saying it was nothing they can do. Now they say it needs to be replaced after my warranty has run out. DEF system is failing conveniently after the warranty has run out. It's dangerous because they programmed the truck to go into limp mode when anything emissions related fails stranding me anywhere at anytime. Emission failures like sensors should not restrict travel. This is a major issue with the diesels in these trucks and they need to be forced to remove anything that's not dangerous to the health of the engine or drive train from the software or hardware from being able to restrict travel. In every situation I've been restricted to limp mode by dirty particulate sensors, but the code that pops and puts my truck in limp mode says that the NOX sensor is bad. This is false and is just a way for GM to get service at their dealers. Then they charge customers a fortune to replace parts that don't need to be replaced when you can just remove and clean the four particulate sensors and the restrictions will clear themselves shortly after. EMISSIONS RELATED ISSUES SHOULD NOT RESTRICT TRAVEL BY ANY MEANS! It is dangerous to be stranded on a trip because your emission sensors may be malfunctioning.

While driving the power steering went out making the vehicle difficult to control. Once I stopped the vehicle and turned it off then back on, the power steering came back on leading me to believe an electrical issue is the cause

The vehicle will lose power steering while driving. The lights come on for stabilitrak and traction control then it says power steering is gone. It randomly deactivates the power steering, while driving. It's extremely dangerous and have almost had accidents. They are telling me that it may not be under a recall. If gmc used the same steering box as the previous model year, the same issue is occurring. Intermittent power steering failure.

I am the owner of a 2016 GMC Canyon truck, which i purchased used in approx 2020 with about 43,000 miles on it...today's date is now 1/5/25 and the truck has approx 99,0000 mile on it. Over the last 2 years the electronic stability control has failed approx 20 times. A warning light appears on the dash stating the failure of the power steering and the stabilitrac. When this happens steering the truck and be extremely difficult and I am forced to pull off the road. Usually when the truck is turned off for a short while and then turned back on the problem will fix itself, but only for a few minutes or hours and the problem reoccurs. Last week I took the truck to a GM dealer and had the steering angle sensor recalibrated..which fixed the problem for 1 month. Now it is failing again! My wife is afraid and refuses to drive the truck because if this happens again while she is driving she isn't strong enough to turn the wheel..particularly from a complete stopped position. This is a very serious and dangerous problem that GM needs to be responsible to resolve.

The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that after arriving to his destination, he became aware that the ignition switch would not release the key. After restarting the vehicle and then turning the vehicle off, the contact was able to remove the key, but the failure became a regular occurrence. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 50,000.

Mileage: 50,000

On [XXX] at approximately 5:30p, I was driving normal highway speed when I saw what I thought was exhaust trailing behind. There were NO dash warning lights, engine temperature showing normal range, car was performing normally. I pulled over to shoulder, turned off car, released the hood latch. My husband tried to open hood but it was too hot. We then realized it was smoke coming from under hood, not exhaust. Smoke began to come inside car through vents. I quickly exited the car, and within a minute the entire front end engine area was engulfed in flames. 911 was called, fire, police, highway patrol responded. Fortunately there was no injury to myself or husband. There was also concern of starting a brushfire risk here in SoCal, but it was all extinguished thoroughly. Truck was towed to Al’s Towing, 475 W Vermont Ave, Escondido CA 92025, ph 760-745-5933. A report has been filed with our insurance USAA, inspection by adjuster is pending. I also notified Temecula GMC, where I purchased vehicle from, of the incident. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Received a stabilitrck error and lost power steering and traction control while driving. This appears to be a common and dangerous issue with this model vehicle.

Complete loss of power steering and traction control while driving. Very difficult to make turns. Would have to pull off the road and restart vehicle to fix problem. I have not taken it to a service center. It has not been inspected. Warning lights for loss of stabilitrak do come on.

Stability track Cameondoing 50mph transmission geared down motor shut down on and off yes it's available problem not found by dealer took to 2 different ones stability track comes on side lights stay on and off press brakes it shut down turn left it shut down motor running in park put in reverse shut down Will drive and run sometimes but gets worse

Purchased this vehicle brand new and paid extra for Nav and a backup camera as I am a disabled Veteran! Currently have 32000 miles or so as i don't drive that much. No other lights or warnings came up before the following happened. Recently the radio stopped playing and the infotainment system went blank. It occasionally pops up a screen that says waiting on update, other than that it stays blank most of the time. The backup camera comes on intermittently but not always when backing up, maybe 1 out of every 5 times. Also the bluetooth went dead since this all started. As a disabled Vet I depend on the backup camera and built in Navigation so this is an issue! Called the dealer and 3 other radio and entertainment car stores and they stated this is a know issue and would cost around $1000 to $1200 to replace the HMI 2.5 module behind the dash which is the known issue. Looking online this is a well known and common issue and GMC has bulletins to diagnose but no free or discounted replacement or repair, even though it's all over the internet that GMC and Chevy Infotainment centers have issues. There is a class action lawsuit going on due to this issue as well. I'm sure there are others that just haven't complained and should be fixed by the dealer.

The key does not always release from the ignition after parking the truck. I have to shift into Drive and back into Park multiple times or wait up to a minute to remove the key. Took it to the dealership, but at that time, it was only happening once a week or so, and they could not reproduce the problem. 3 years later and it still happens and it's getting much worse. Happens at least once a day. I have seen this problem pop-up on many forums, and while it is not a safety issue, it is a quality issue that should be addressed by GMC.

The malfunction is: no power, no crank, no electricity at all, can not use key fob to lock/unlock, radio does not work, dash does not work, literally 0 lights 0 power when key is in ignition to and turning to start or when key is not in ignition. The positive battery terminal also overheats to extreme temps which caused my dad a 3rd degree burn since positive terminals should never be hot. Dates of malfunction that have left me stranded 7/16, 8/3, 8/5, 8/11, 8/12, 8/28. I have video evidence of the malfunction on each of those dates. The way we got it to fix is by banging on the battery. on 8/12 I brought the truck to the dealership because I banged on the battery I got error codes- Engine Power Reduced, and Stabilitrak Offline. The engine was shaking very badly, I have video. hey have the truck for a week, get it to trigger the same incident and determine its a bad battery cell that could only be detected when the malfunction was happening. They replaced the battery. On 8/28 the same malfunction happens except nothing is fixing it, not banging on the battery, not waiting 24+ hours. Prior to me buying the truck on June 28th the previous owner has an invoice in the glove box dated May 25th to try to fix the same issues. I bought this from the dealership not the previous owner. The vehicle still sits at the dealership trying to diagnose the issue.

When I put my GMC Canyon into park, the key will not release from the ignition. This does not happen every time, but it is a recurring problem. I first had the issue back on April 6, 2018 and the dealer "fixed" the issue. Three weeks later, April 27, 2018, I had the same issue. This time the dealer replaced the "shift control assembly". The truck was still under warranty so there was no financial burden on me. Then on September 2, 2020 the same issue happened and the shift control assembly had to be replaced again. This time the truck was not under warranty and it cost me $688.72. Now August 2022 the key is not releasing from the ignition once again. This is the 4th time for the same issue. I believe GMC needs to recall this part and come up with a fix that will work.

I have a power steering failure.I also have a fuel problem while pumping gas, the truck doesn’t want to start.

The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while the gear shifter was in park(P), the contact was unable to be removed from the ignition. The contact was able to remove the key after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 55,223.

Mileage: 55,223

Ignition key randomly will not release from switch. The key is stuck in the ignition in the accessory position which in turn kills the battery. As far as I can tell (and I have read about and experienced this problem for many months) the root cause is the gear shift assembly or Part # 23397472. It is not reliably returning the confirmation, to the solenoid lock on the ignition switch, that the transmission is in PARK reliably. For the first time last w/e my dealer admitted this is a problem and that replacing 23397472 usually resolves the issue. I need GM to take responsibility and activate a recall

Key is not pulling out of ignition after truck has been put in park. Mechanic has replaced the shifter twice, and yet the problem is more pronounced. The Dealership (Anthony GMC) has now stated there is no problem, and yet the key wont come out for them either.

As I started the vehicle I got a notification that the power steering has Maldonado I got a few warning lights on the dashboard. As I drove the vehicle the power steering did not work and it makes it hard to steer. This has been happening for a week now

When turning off vehicle the key will not to “off” mode. It stays in accessories mode and prevents the key from being able to be removed.

Have had truck in shop several times, currently in the shop and has been there for almost 3 weeks nobody seems to know what the problem is. Vehicle losses power and goes into a limp mode. Temperature gauge keeps failing, exhaust break does not work, ac cuts out often and does not work often, keeps trying to clean exhaust filter over and over again and again.

MY WIFE AND I WERE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MILES AN HOUR WHEN ALL DASH LIGHTS NAV SYSTEM GAUGES ETC. TURNED OFF. IT WAS AS IF I TURN THE IGNITION OFF. THEN IT TURNED ITSELF BACK ON AND SEEM TO FUNCTION NORMALLY. THE VEHICLE HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM PREVIOUS TO THIS AND THERE WAS A RECALL PERFORMED ON IT RECENTLY. ALSO THIS VEHICLE IS SUPPOSED TO GET CLOSE TO 30 MPG AND NOW THE BEST I CAN GET IS 21 MPG. IT HAS HAD A ROUGH IDLE AND SHUT DOWN ON ME SEVERAL TIMESDURING THE LAST FEW YEARS. I FEEL LIKE THIS VEHICLE IS UNSAFE AND GMC SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. I BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE BECAUSE I WANTED GOOD FUEL ECONOMY FROM A DIESEL AND THAT IS NOT THE CASE. THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD A NUMBER OF MAJOR ISSUES AND NUMEROUS RECALLS BUT NONE HAVE ADDRESSED THE VEHICLE SHUTDOWN. I HAVE READ MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS OF OWNERS NEARLY GETTING KILLED WHEN THEIR VEHICLE RANDOMLY SHUTS OFF WHILE DRIVING. THE VEHICLE SEEMS UNSAFE AND I FEEL THEY MISREPRESENTED THE FUEL ECONOMY OF THE DIESEL ENGINE.

Mileage: 101,800

MY INFOTAINMENT CONSOLE 'IS FREAKING OUT'. MODEL 84042934 WILL RANDOMLY CHANGE SCREENS, MOVE ICONS, CONNECT AND DISCONNECT THE APPLE CAR PLAY, SWITCH FM, AM, BT INPUT, CHANGE MENU POSITIONS, AND OTHER RANDOM (AND DISTRACTING) ACTIONS. NOBODY CAN USE THE RADIO, BLUETOOTH OR HANDS FREE PHONE INTERFACE. THE USB INTERFACE IS WORSE THAN THE WIRELESS CONNECTION. THE PROBLEM HAPPENS REGULARLY AFTER THE ENGINE REACHES OPERATING TEMPS. IT HAPPENS MORE WITH IPHONE THAN ANDROID. THIS ISSUE HAS BECOME PROGRESSIVELY WORSE OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. IT WILL HAPPEN IN MOTION OR AT REST AS LONG AS THE ENGINE IS RUNNING. WE HAVE HAD THE UNIT TESTED (OF COURSE THERE IS NO TROUBLE FOUND EVEN WHILE IT WAS ACTING UP) IN TWO DIFFERENT AREAS IN THE USA (FL AND TX). WE HAVE CHANGED THE PRIMARY BATTERY ON THE TRUCK BELIEVING IT WAS CAUSED BY IRREGULAR VOLTAGE FROM A 3.5 YEAR OLD BATTERY. RESEARCH IMPLIED GMC KNOWS ABOUT THE RE-ISSUANCE OF 2015.5 INFOTAINMENT UNITS INSTALLED IN 2016 MODEL YEAR TRUCKS BUT WILL ONLY OFFER $500 INCENTIVE TOWARDS A REPLACEMENT VEHICLE, THEY WILL NOT REPLACE THE RADIO HEAD UNIT THAT IS CAUSING RECKLESS DISTRACTIONS WHILE DRIVING. THE PROBLEM HAS BECOME SO PRONOUNCED THAT THE TRUCK IS NOT DRIVE-ABLE WITH THE RADIO ON AND THUS CANNOT USE THE HANDS-FREE FEATURE (WHICH IS MANDATORY IN SEVERAL STATES IN THE USA.

Mileage: 13,000

WHEN I'M DRIVING MY TRUCK MY WARNING LIGHTS COME ON LIKE POWER STEERING ISN'T WORKING ( WHICH IT DOES STILL WORK), ABS LIGHT COMES ON, BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON, AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON. THE TRUCK RUNS FINE LIKE THERE NO ISSUES. WE EVEN REPLACED THE BATTERY AND IT STILL DOES IT. GMC LOOKED AT IT AND SAID IT WAS FINE WHICH I DOUBT.

TOUCH SCREEN AND IN DASH DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER RANDOMLY CHANGES ON ITS ON, THE TOUCH SCREEN WILL NOT RESPOND AND CHANGE RADIO STATIONS, VOLUME, CONTACT ON STAR, TRY TO USE PROJECTION OPTION, MOVE THE MAP ON GPS, AND CHANGE THE DIGITAL SPEEDOMETER FROM SPEED LIMIT TO RADIO STATIONS. ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT THE ENTIRE DASH, RADIO, GAUGES LIGHTS EVERYTHING WENT BLACK RANDOMLY AS IF THE TRUCK WAS NOT TURNED ON BUT THE TRUCK CONTINUED TO DRIVE NORMAL AND AFTER WHAT LOOKS LIKE A RESET MAYBE 20-30 SECONDS EVERYTHING REBOOTS AS IF YOU JUST STARTED THE TRUCK. THEN IT'S BACK TO RANDOM BERSERK OUTBURSTS BY THE TOUCH SCREEN. TRANSMISSION STARTED GETTING JERKY BETWEEN GEARS AT 15K MILES AND HAS ONLY GOTTEN WORSE AT 35K MILES. ENTIRE VEHICLE SHAKES BETWEEN GEARS FRONT TO REAR AND BACK. THROUGH ALL GEARS. ALSO SOME STRONG HARD HITTING SHIFTS. DEALERSHIP HAS HAD VEHICLE 2 TIMES FOR BOTH ISSUES AND SEE NOTHING WRONG. THEY ARE CLEARLY LYING. GM WILL ALSO NOT HELP AND HAVE BEEN CONTACTED DIRECTLY.

Mileage: 15,000

TRAVELING DOWN CITY STREET APPROX 35MPH VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY SHUT OFF, DASH WENT DARK BUT INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM CONTINUED TO WORK. LOSS OF ALL POWER. BRAKES SHUTTERED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO COME TO A STOP. PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURNED IT OFF, AND BACK ON. VEHICLE DROVE NORMALLY AFTER THAT.

Mileage: 30,000

WHILE DRIVING, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL SHUT DOWN AND THEN REBOOTED AS IF I WAS STARTING THE VEHICLE EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE NEVER SHUT OFF.

Mileage: 17,755

I WAS DRIVING ON A FREEWAY 80MPH AND THE STEERING WENT OUT. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO VEER FROM THE LEFT LANE INTO THE CENTER LANE, FORTUNATELY THERE WAS NO VEHICLE IN THE CENTER LANE. GMC STATED IT WAS JUST A DEFECTIVE PART. MY OPINION IS THAT IT IS A FAILED DESIGN THAT WOULD ALLOW A VEHICLE TO LOOSE STEERING AT 80MPH. THE VEHICLE HAS 46,700MI. I HAVE HAD NOISES IN THE FRONT AND REAR OF THE VEHICLE AND AM CONCERNED THAT THIS MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE LOSS OF STEERING. I HAVE RETURNED THE VEHICLE TO GM FIVE TIMES TO FIX THE NOISES WITH NO SUCCESS.

Mileage: 45,500

FRONT PASSENGER SIDE FLOOR-CARPET AND FLOOR BOARDS WET, ENGINE LIGHT ON, INTEL LINK COMPUTER FAILED HAD TO REBOOT TOOK TO DALE EARNHARDT TALLAHASSEE FL THEY FIXED THE ENGINE LIGHT IT WAS THE PURGE VALVE AND IT HAD SHORTED OUT, THEY STATED THAT WE WOULD NEED TO TAKE TO A BODY SHOP AS THE LEAK IS COMING IN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE A-PILLAR FILLING UP AND THEN STREAMING OUT OF A "CHRISTMAS TREE HOLE AT BOTTOM OF FUSE BOX ON RIGHT SIDE. THIS HAPPENS ANYTIME ANYWHERE DRIVING OR STATIONARY WHEN IT RAINS. WE JUST PURCHASED THIS TRUCK ON 04/02/2019. 45,710 MILES THEY SAID THEY WOULD NOT FIX IT WE HAD TO TAKE IT TO A AUTOBODY SHOP.

Mileage: 50,000

VEHICLE IGNITION KEY CAN NOT BE REMOVED AND IT DOES NOT STAY IN PARK. VEHICLE CAN CRASH CAUSING INJURIES AND PROPERTY DAMAGE VEHICLE HAS ABOUT 35000K MILES UNDER WARRENTY AND GMC REFUSES TO DO ANY THING ABOUT IT.

Mileage: 35,056

RODENTS ARE EATING THE WIRING IN MY NEW TRUCK. I'VE DRIVEN A NISSAN TRUCK FOR 18 YEARS WITH ZERO ISSUES WITH RODENTS. I PURCHASED THE NEW CANYON IN JULY OF 2016, AND WITHIN 6 MONTHS, ENTIRE WIRING HARNESSES WITH 7 WIRES ARE CHEWED COMPLETELY THROUGH. THE DEALER REFUSES TO COVER DAMAGE UNDER WARRANTY.

Mileage: 5,000

REAR WINDOW DEFROSTER ON PASSENGER SIDE OF SLIDING REAR WINDOWS DOES NOT WORK. MANY COMPLAINTS ONLINE OF SAME PROBLEM.

Mileage: 6

I HAVE A FRIEND WHO HAS A 2016 GMC CANYON WHERE THE RADIO/ONSTAR/REAR VIEW CAMERA ETC CUTS OUT AFTER A SHORT OPERATION TIME -- MY FRIEND HAS TAKEN IT TO THE DEALER WITH NO RESULTS. MY FIEND IS ELDERLY AND DOES NOT HAVE A COMPUTER THAT IS WHY I AM DOING THIS FOR HIM. THE BACK-UP CAMERA DOES NOT OPERATE WHEN THE RADIO/ONSTAR/CAMERA CUTS OUT. THE OPERATION OF THE VEHICLE IS STATIONARY, IN MOTION, ON A CITY STREET OR A HIGHWAY, TURNING

Mileage: 3,000