DIY Recall: Fix Your Fire-prone Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon With Toyota Parts

Left: Updated Tacoma Resistor, Right: Colorado Resistor

The fire-risk blower motor resistor harness has been recalled in the Hummer H3 and owners will start receiving repairs once parts become available. Owners of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky should be able to use the updated parts as well but will have to pay out of pocket as General Motors has not recalled them at this time. The Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon also use a similar design and pose a similar fire risk but are slightly different than the recalled part due to having one less blower speed.

Hummer owners will most likely wait a few months minimum for the updated parts to get to their dealers to perform their free recall repairs. Colorado and Canyon owners may be waiting much longer — if they are recalled at all. The only silver lining for the Colorado and Canyon is that they use a similar resistor to the Toyota Tacoma and share a connector. The Tacoma also suffered from blower motor resistor issues and received updated parts along with a Technical Service Bulletin in 2011.

Left: Colorado Resistor, Right: Old Design Tacoma Resistor

The original resistors for the Colorado and Tacoma were produced by KRAH-RWI in Slovenia while the new Tacoma part is made by Denso in Japan. The updated part from Toyota features a better resistor style that runs cooler, but the important part is in the connector pins.

The pins on the new part are thicker and prevent the connector from losing contact, reducing the chance for arcing that’s been the cause of the fires. The mounting holes and sealing surface are exactly the same between the Colorado and the Tacoma parts and the resistance values are similar enough to work properly and allow all speeds to be operational.

Left: Old Tacoma Design, Right: New Thicker Pin Tacoma Design

The updated resistor is available as part number 87138-04052 from Toyota and other vendors for around $27, while the harness pigtail is part number 82141-04M40 and runs about $23 with shipping. The Toyota resistor can also use the original GM connector if it’s not damaged. Colorado owners started using the Toyota resistor around 2012 and have reported that it is successful in resolving their issues.

The best scenario is for GM to issue a recall and cover the repairs — but in the absence of that, the Toyota parts are well worth the $50 to give yourself some insurance against a fiery end for your truck. It is worth noting that if you’re unable to do the repair yourself you can expect to be charged for two hours of labor from a qualified shop to complete the repair, raising your total repair cost to around $250.

[Image Source: Bluebanditz71/355nation.net and Gregman/tacomaworld.com]