Question 1

Why has my 2014 Holden Colorado suddenly stopped working?

Accepted Answer

Modern common-rail diesel engines with their sophisticated, multi-pump fuel systems and high-pressure injectors can stop in their tracks for any number of reasons, not all of them electrical. You could start by checking the battery and the charge-rate from the alternator (if the engine will restart). But you also really need to be checking the fuel system and the obvious stuff such as a dud ignition barrel that’s shutting everything down. A simple fuse or relay that controls the fuel pump system could have failed, too, with similar results. The absolute best advice is to have the vehicle electronically scanned at a workshop with this type of diagnostic gear. By having the vehicle tell you what’s wrong with it, you’ll save a whole lot of time and money replacing random bits and pieces, hoping that you’ve identified the culprit.

Question 2

Why is there a change in noise when I switch from two to four-wheel-drive in my Holden Colorado 2013?

Accepted Answer

A minor increase in noise when shifting to four-wheel-drive is quite a normal thing to happen. By selecting four-wheel-drive, you’re suddenly engaging the transfer-case output shaft, the front differential and the front driveshafts. So, fundamentally, there’s a lot more mechanical stuff happening, and that’s probably what you’re hearing. But the change in noise shouldn’t be a huge one, nor should it involve a high-volume noise of any kind. If there’s something screeching, grinding or knocking when the vehicle is in four-wheel-drive, then there’s probably something wrong with the driveline. If the noises are loud or nasty, then you need to have the vehicle inspected to find the cause and fix it before it causes more damage.

Question 3

How can I check what's eating the battery while my 2013 Holden Colorado is switched off and parked?

Accepted Answer

There’s a chance that the battery is old enough that it won’t hold charge for long, so a check of the battery’s general health would be the first step here. Beyond that, conventional wisdom holds that there’s something in the car that’s staying on even though the ignition switch is off, and that’s what’s draining the battery. But before drawing the latter conclusion, attend to the basics: Make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight and test the vehicle with the engine running to make sure the alternator is, in fact, charging the battery at the correct rate. Most tradesmen agree that something between 13.5 and 14.5 volts at a fast idle is about right for the alternator. While the voltmeter is hooked up, turn on the headlights and make sure that the alternator keeps up. If the voltage drops during this stress test, you could have a dodgy regulator. If that all checks out, the usual suspects here become a stereo (particularly an aftermarket one) or an alarm system (ditto) that is draining the battery. Make sure that the ignition switch is, indeed, turning everything off and then go back and check the car in the dark to see if there’s a courtesy light or underbonnet light that’s still on and slowly sending the battery flat. If nothing sticks out as being wrong, the next step would be to take to the car to an auto electrician who can use a multi-meter to check each circuit in the car individually until they find the one that’s energised when it shouldn’t be. It doesn’t take a huge current draw to flatten a battery or at least take it to the point where it will no longer start the car. Ignoring this will not only eventually leave you stranded, it will send your battery to an early grave as batteries don’t appreciate being flattened over and over again.

Question 4

Where is the fuse for the reverse lights/reverse camera located in the 2013 Holden Colorado?

Accepted Answer

This is a weird one. I spoke to two different Holden service workshops (former Holden dealers) and the consensus was that the reverse lights on your car are not on a separate fused circuit. Certainly there’s no mention of such a fuse in the owner’s manual. That means, then, that the reverse lights share a circuit with other functions at the rear of the vehicles, possibly the tail-light circuit. Beyond that, nobody could be specific. In turn, that suggests that it’s not the fuse at fault because, if it was, the whole rear of the vehicle would be blacked-out. Which brings us to the possibility that the problem, rather than being a blown fuse, is rather the adjustment of the switch that recognises the car is in reverse and turns on the lights and camera. This is located on the side of the transmission and, if it’s out of alignment or showing wear in its contacts or wiring, could lead to the problem you have.

Question 5

Why is the gear stick in my 2015 Holden Colorado wobbly?

Accepted Answer

You’re on the right track by asking about the gear-stick and its linkages; either of those two things is almost certain to be the cause of your problem. The gearstick itself needs to pivot in two planes, so there’s always scope for wear to develop in those joints and create the sloppy shift action you’re experiencing. In fact, because the shifter on your car bolts directly on to the gearbox – with no external linkages – wear in the shifter pivots is a very good bet as the cause. You can remove the shift lever, take it apart and replace the bushes that allow the shifter to move and select each gear. That should tighten up the shift action and give you much better feel for what’s going on. The other possibility is that the shifter has become loose where it bolts on to the gearbox, or the rubber gasket that sits between the shifter and the transmission has perished or failed, allowing movement to occur.

Question 6

Why does the engine light keep coming on in my 2008 Holden Colorado?

Accepted Answer

If replacing the actual sensor doesn’t fix the problem, then you could be looking at a problem with the wiring that connects that oxygen sensor to the car’s on-board computer. Did the mechanic that changed the sensor check the condition of the wiring? This equipment all lives very close to a very hot exhaust system, so damage from that is not unknown. There’s also a chance that the computer itself is throwing up a bogus fault code when it’s interrogated. Temporarily swapping the computer for another one is a reasonably simple way to rule this out. There’s also a chance (and it’s more common than you might imagine) that the brand new oxygen sensor you had fitted was a dud straight out of the box. This has definitely been known to happen, and it’s the first thing some experienced mechanics will think to check.

Question 7

How do I disable the seat-belt sensor for the passenger seat in my 2012 Holden Colorado?

Accepted Answer

A better idea would be to fix the sensor that’s creating the false alarms. That will probably be simpler and quicker than finding the right wire to cut or fuse to pull out, as well as maintaining the car’s legality. A car that doesn’t have all its safety equipment functioning properly is, technically, unroadworthy and if that fault can be blamed for any injury in a crash, then you could be in real trouble in a legal and insurance sense. Don’t forget, too, that a car such as yours will usually have a sensor to determine whether the seat-belt is secured and another to determine if the passenger’s seat is occupied. Either of those could conceivably be causing your false alarm.

Question 8

Can I increase the brightness of the dash lights in my 2013 Holden Colorado?

Accepted Answer

On the lower-right corner of the dashboard, you’ll find the rotary switch that controls the headlights. On the same switch panel (just to the left of the main headlight switch) are a pair of sliding controls that control the headlight aiming (the right-hand slide) and the dashboard-light brightness (just to its left). When the car’s headlights are turned on, the dashboard lights are automatically dimmed, and sometimes this provides insufficient light to see the gauges clearly in bright daylight. But by holding the adjustment slide in the up position, you can turn the dashboard lights to their brightest level of illumination.

Question 9

What is causing the brake pedal to sink slowly to the floor in my 2016 Holden Colorado?

Accepted Answer

There are three classic causes of a sinking brake pedal. The first is a worn out brake master cylinder that is allowing brake fluid back past the actuating piston. The second is a leak somewhere in the braking system, either a caliper itself or a brake line or union and, the third is an ABS system fault where the ABS pump isn’t working properly, usually due to a low brake-fluid level. Regardless of the cause, there’s no `acceptable tolerance’ for a brake pedal that slowly sinks towards the floor. A braking system in good working order should be able to hold the brake pedal at the same level more or less indefinitely. Any sinking is bad news and is a serious safety issue. I wouldn’t even have the car towed to a workshop; it’s simply not safe to drive.

Question 10

What is causing a front end knock in my 2020 Holden Colorado ZL1?

Accepted Answer

I’ve actually experienced this on a brand-new Colorado (during an evaluation drive, no less). In this case it turned out to be a couple of loose fasteners in the front end, which were fixed quickly and permanently. In your case, though, it seems as though even with everything checked and tightened, the noise is still there. So maybe it’s not something as obvious as a loose coupling or fitting. Maybe you’re looking at noisy shock absorbers. Sometimes these components can contribute a clunk, but it’s usually when they’re worn out, not on a six-month-old vehicle. Does the noise occur in a straight line or with some steering lock applied? Perhaps the steering lock stops are the culprits. I’d be putting the vehicle back on a hoist and checking that everything from the engine mounts to the cross-member and the steering rack to the transmission mounts are torqued to the correct values. Don’t rule out silly things like a loose tub or tray, either; sometimes a clunk in the rear of a vehicle can be transmitted down a chassis rail to sound like it’s coming from the front somewhere.

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