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CarComplaints.com Notes: The Cobalt was introduced to replace two of Chevy’s smaller cars, the Cavalier and Prizm. But the compact’s fresh start that Chevy was hoping for was riddled with issues, most notably widespread power steering failure.

The power steering failed so often that GM was forced to issue a recall in March, 2010. Great, but what about other problems like the key getting stuck in the ignition or all the other electrical demons this car possesses?

And, oh yes — then there’s the terribly dangerous issue where the Cobalt randomly shuts off while driving. As it turns out, that problem is related to GM’s massive 2014 recall for a dangerous ignition switch defect. A recall that eventually ballooned to 2.6 million vehicles in one of the automotive industry’s biggest scandals.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
9 / 0
Average Mileage:
155,689 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2005 Chevrolet Cobalt Owner Comments (Page 2 of 2)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #3

Jun 082011

Cobalt

  • 83,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Unable to open drivers side door either from inside or outside. Doors appear to lock/unlock fine but handle feels like it is disconnected. This has happened multiple times. In researching on internet, I found that many Cobalt owners are having the same problem and that a quick fix is to pound on the outside of the door around the handle and that whatever is out of alignment will pop back into place. I consider this to be a very serious safety hazard in that one might be trapped inside of the car with no quick means of exit.

- Enon, OH, USA

problem #2

Dec 272011

Cobalt

  • 113,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked and upon exiting, the front driver's door would not close properly. The contact was able to successfully shut the door after repeated attempts. The contact also stated that the same door would intermittently fail to open from the inside. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing or to be repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 113,000.

- Cullowhee, NC, USA

problem #1

Jan 272011

Cobalt

  • 115,000 miles
The drivers door cannot be opened from either the inside handle or the outside handle of the the door, thus trapping the driver inside the car or preventing the driver from accessing the car if they are not in it when this happens. The door cannot be opened with either the door key, the remote or unlocking the door from the inside. This results in the driver being forced to enter and exit the car by entering the passenger side and then climbing over the console. This is a common complaint from many owners of Cobalts and needs to be addressed. If the occupant was involved in an accident in which it was critical to exit the vehicle, they could not. After several days the door began working again. This has happened several times.

- Bluff City, TN, USA

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