GM's New Software Validation Team Catches Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon Issues

General Motors is sliding into a quagmire of software issues. Having previously issued a stop sale of its brand-new Chevy Blazer electric SUV over related concerns, it is now holding back deliveries to dealerships of its new-for-2024 midsize pickup trucks, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Here's what we know so far.

Here's the automaker's statement on the Colorado and Canyon sales hold that was provided to Automotive News: "Certain [model year 2024] Colorados and Canyons displayed intermittent software quality issues, identified during our rigorous validation process. A fix has been identified and implemented into vehicles that have begun shipping to dealers this morning," according to Brandee Barker, GM's vice president of global technology communications.

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"We've put in place a world-class software leadership team that is urgently working to overcome any issues in the short term, while building for the long term, including revamping the software development process and more importantly the validation process. We're confident that our vehicles will have software that exceeds customer expectations," Barker continued in the statement provided toAutomotive News.

So far, it's unclear how long the fixes will take to make, but it appears a solution is already rolling out now based on the above statement. The Blazer EV continues to be on a sales hold for software, which GM reconfirmed toMotorTrendwas still in effect last week. It also appears that the "rigorous validation process" is part of the newly-introduced software testing and quality processes in reaction to the Blazer EV's troubles, so hopefully things get caught before they're shipped out the door going forward. Around 15,000 units of the midsize pickup trucks are expected to be back on sale shortly and shipments to dealers will continue.

During our 2024 Truck of the Year testing, which saw the Colorado emerge as the winner, we noted a few small issues with the trucks—both the Chevys and GMCs—which we figured were early build "teething" problems. Those included a blown axle seal during testing on one truck, then, separately, a malfunctioning trailer brake controller on another. Only the latter counts as potentially software-related, of course, and we maintain that the Colorado is an otherwise excellent midsize truck, with great road manners, mighty off-road capability, and good value.