2009 GMC Canyon problems
Owners have filed 35 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 GMC Canyon. Electrical system is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. After that come fuel system (17%) and brakes (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 35 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 45,000 miles 27 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 2 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 3 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 3 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 0 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 27 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 45,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 1 injury reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2009 ranks 13th most-complained-about out of 14 model years of the GMC Canyon with enough data (19 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 GMC canyon. The contact stated that while stopped at an intersection, another vehicle crashed into the front driver's side wheel. The contact's vehicle was spun approximately 270 degrees however, the air bags failed to deploy. The contact suffered from minor bruising. A police report was not filed of the incident. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 10,541. The VIN was not available.
We were at family gathering when a neighbor called and said the black truck is on fire. I rushed out the door to investigate and there was a fire inside the cab on drivers side in rear section. I started spraying it with a water hose and called 911. The fire department came extinguished the fire and filled fuel tank with water just in case they said it looked like something electrical started the fire in that section of the truck. Fire marshall going complete investigation and insurance was called.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 GMC canyon. While pulling into a parking space at 10 MPH, the brake pedal extended to the floor when it was depressed. The contact believed that there was air in the brake line, and that the air should be bled from the hydraulic system. The mechanic stated that other vehicles were experiencing the same issue and bleeding the air out of the hydraulic braking system would not repair the failure. The mechanic further stated that the vehicle was designed to operate in that manner.
My airbag light came on unexpectedly and remained on. The cause was due to broken airbag (orange wiring in the extended cab drivers side rear door. Upon inspection, several wires (air bag (orange), a speaker wire (brown) were completely broken. This appears to be an extremely common problem with chevy colorados/gmc canyons with extended cabs and should be looked into further. The airbag shouldn't be compromised because of a poor wiring design in the rear door.
I was driving approx. 65 MPH in heavy traffic on the new york state thruway when I lost all power to my truck and was barely able to manuever off the road. I had my truck towed to my mechanic & was told that it was the fuel pump flow control module. Recall no. 08411 2009 GMC canyons were recalled because of this problem. The recall stated that the fuel system control modules have a condition in which an adhesive separation of the rtv seal between the seal and the housing may allow water to seep into the module.