2016 GMC Canyon Steering
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
Electric power steering stops working and the power steering assist warning light is illuminated. Once the truck is restarted the problem goes away but will come back at some point while driving. This has happened multiple times at multiple speeds, the first time it happened I was going over 70 MPH. With no power steering it is nearly impossible to turn the steering wheel since I only have one hand available to use on the steering wheel. Had I not had a passenger with me to help turn the wheel I would have crashed. I took the truck to the dealer and they told me it was the same problem that the 2015's had had on a recall but my truck was a early 2016 so I was not part of the recall. The dealer was happy to fix it at a cost of $2916.27 My truck only has 27135 miles, but is to old for warranty coverage.
Vehicle intermittently and suddenly loses power steering. This started happening more often. Restarting vehicle usually restores power steering. Losing power steering while driving was very dangerous, as steering became much more difficult, especially if mid-turn.
Over the past 6 months, when driving, the power steering stops working and I get a dash light that comes on that talks about stabilitrac. If I shut my car off and restart, it works again, but it is random when it might occur. It's very scary, because, if I were not strong with great reaction time...I might be dead.
Without any notice the stabila track and service power stealing message will come on while driving and the power steering will stop working. While researching it looks like this issue was resolved with a recall on the 2015 models which has the same components as the 2016 version. This is a life-threatening issue and it looks like many are online sharing the same concern and asking for a recall.
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The power steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the steering gear assembly due to an electrical short. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V213000 (Steering), but neither the VIN nor the model year was included. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 66,000.
Truck reads power steering problem and does not allow me to turn my steering wheel.
Power steering drive with care. Stabilitak. Steering problems
Randomly lose power steering control while operating vehicle, dealer diagnosed issue as same problem part in 2015 GMC Canyon Recall
I have lost my power steering while driving over a dozen times in the previous month. Fortunately, it usually happens when I am not attempting to negotiate a turn. However, it did happen once when I was turning into a parking lot, but luckily it was at a low speed. I could not negotiate the turn without the power steering, so I stopped and turned the car off to reset it. I have found that if I stop, park and turn the car off, the power steering immediately resumes upon restarting the vehicle. In some cases, I have lost the power steering again within the next few minutes. Usually, the problem won't happen again for the remainder of the drive.
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while his wife was driving approximately 70 MPH, the power steering suddenly failed, and the steering wheel became difficult to turn in either direction. During the failure, the message "Power Steering Failure" was displayed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer and local dealer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 51,867.
I have been having the same problem many people have been having with the same vehicle type. I will be driving and this has happened 4 times now and once on the freeway! Were I am driving, and all of the sudden the power steering cuts out, and I get all the warning lights come on. I had to pull over, or find a spot to pull over and turn the vehicle off and turn back on. Now I see there was a recall for this issue on the 2015 canyons but not for the 2016, and this needs to be recalled there are going to be people dying if you do nothing, and GMC will have a class action suite and this regulatory agency shall have serious legal redress against you should you do nothing, even though you know there is a serious issue and that multiple complaints have been filed and GMC is well aware of this! I do smell legal redress coming for you and GMC...
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while his father was driving at an undisclosed speed, he became aware that the electronic power steering was not functioning properly, requiring increased effort to the steering wheel in order to maneuver the vehicle. Afterward, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The electronic steering assist warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 190,000.
Without any notice the stabiltrak and service power steering message will come on while driving and the power steering will stop working. While researching it looks like this issue was resolved with a recall on the 2015 models which has the same components as the 2016 version. This is a life-threatening issue when you are driving on a busy road and have to make a turn or swerve to avoid an accident and it looks like many are online sharing the same concern and asking for a recall. This has happened 3 times in the past year and resets when you turn the vehicle off for a short time and start it back up,
The problem: Electrical connectors within the power steering system may corrode and fail, which can cause the power steering system to stop working. The fix: GM dealerships will replace the steering gear torque sensor cover assembly with an updated part that is designed not to corrode. This was a recall on the 2015 GMC Canyon. The 2016 is having the same issue but GMC will not assist with the fix for my year. $3000 estimate to correct the problem. It Is also a safety issue. I nearly lost control when my steering went out while driving on interstate 79 with my daughter in the truck. Please help if you can.
While driving my 2016 GMC Canyon today May 1st, I am experiencing the following... power steering/stabilitrac control lights come on and loose power steering. sometimes it will reset after turning off the truck and restarting but this is happening more and more often which is a major safety issue when considering this occurs randomly at any given point while driving. I have experienced this issue in the past few years at all different mileages and then it doesn't happen for a long time but always ends up having the same issue. I have been doing research and found this exact same problem is why there was a recall on the 2015 GMC canyons referencing the steering torque sensor assembly and cover. I have also researched the cost to repair out of pocket and it quite expensive. This recall for the older models needs to be updated to include all 2016 models as there are many more complaints about this happening on 2016 models as well. just search google and there you go. I have already called GM and got nowhere. Extremely frustrated as this shouldn't be happening and i as the consumer should not be having to pay out of pocket for a manufacturer error they refuse acknowledge. Thank you,
The contact owned a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering assist failed to operate as needed. The contact stated that an unknown steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed with power steering failure. The contact was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The manufacturer had been notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was repaired out-of-pocket. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.
Warning on dash states Service Power Steering Drive With Care, results a complete loss of power steering assist. Happens at start up or while driving. Looses stability control and traction control as well.
I lose steering like the recall says, would like dealer to fix this as part of existing recall
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the "Service Power Steering" message was displayed, and the contact became aware that the electric power steering was not functioning properly. After restarting the vehicle, the vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The traction control warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the steering column shaft torque sensor. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 16V054000 (Steering), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 146,000.
The problem: the power steering disables at high speeds suddenly due to a potential poor electrical connection within the steering gear assembly. The hazards: a loss of power steering makes it more difficult for me to maintain control of my vehicle and in turn increases my risk of a crash. This problem requires steering inputs with increased effort. It clears with a power cycle to the truck but then reoccurs randomly.
Driving on expressway power steering went out, very hard to steer, warning light came on. Upon reaching destination, turned vehicle off, then back on, fixed the issue. This has happened again, two more times over a period of three months. This appears to resemble NHTSAC 16V054, or GMC recall N202325410. GMC dealer informed me vehicle reports diagnostic code C0545 which reflects the same issue as the above campaign and recall. This is very dangerous.
power steering shows stabillitrack and I lose control.
The contact owns a 2016 GMC Canyon. The contact stated while driving approximately 75 MPH, the stabilitrak warning light illuminated and a chime sounded. Additionally, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact was able to pull to the side of the road. The contact stated that he turned off and restarted the vehicle, and the power steering became functional. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.
On Monday, 10/23/23 I was driving up a mountain to go on a leisurely hike at Fremont State Park, CA. While I was ascending up the mountain the "Service Power Steering and Service Stabilitrack" warning dash alert came on. From then on, I lost power steering and had to struggle driving up the mountain. After my hike and having restarted my vehicle, Power Steering returned. However, while I descended down the mountain, I lost Power Steering again and had to struggle steering my vehicle down the mountain (this scared me quite a bit and placed my safety at risk). It's been five days since I had this problem. I haven't had any issues since then. I primarily drive on Highways, but now I'm nervous driving up hills or mountains with switchbacks. No. Right now, I don't have the means to pay for a scan or fix. I'm not planning to drive up a mountain anytime soon. However, before I drive up mountains or hills with switchbacks, I plan to get it checked and fixed if possible. There weren't any warning or messages before this incident.
The vehicle’s power steering and stability control (Stabilitrak) have stopped working suddenly several times over the past two weeks. There have been no warnings leading up to the loss of power steering .This has happened while I have been traveling at highway speeds as well as in the middle of making a turn and has nearly led to crashes on a couple of occasions. It has also happened at lower speeds as well as upon starting the vehicle with no rhyme or reason. The vehicle has not been inspected for this issue but is available for inspection if necessary. I understand that this same issue has also led to a recall on the previous year’s model (2015 GMC Canyon).
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Quick Summary
The 2016 GMC Canyon has 137 Steering complaints on file. 3 crashes have been reported. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.