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.
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.
The power steering goes out at least once a day. You will be just going down the road and all of a sudden it goes out. If you turn the car off it will come back, but it makes it hard to steer and control the vehicle when it does go out.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While the contact was driving 20 mph she noticed that the power steering warning light displayed on the dashboard. However, moments later there was a loss of power steering. The vehicle was taken to the dealership in which there was a replacement of the power steering motor. There were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 46,000.
I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt and at least once a day while driving (highway or city driving) my car loses its power steering. I can be on the highway or driving home from the store. There is no speed limit, no rhyme or reason. The only way I can fix it is to turn the car entirely off and restart it. I have on numerous occasions had such difficultly steering that I barely missed hitting other cars. Turning corners is nearly impossible!
I had just taken an exit off the interstate and was going to make a left turn. As I was beginning to turn the power steering failed in my 2005 Chevy Cobalt. An eighteen wheeler was also making a left turn in the lane to the right of me. It took all the muscle I had to keep the car from veering in front of the truck which would have caused a very serious accident. I pulled into a parking lot and turned the car off. When I started it again the steering worked fine again for about a mile, then went out again. I sent GM an email to inform them of this problem and to let them know how concerned I was that someone could be seriously injured or killed. I contacted my local Chevy dealership and they said that they had seen this problem happening in Cobalts. I took it in to be repaired, but since there had not been a recall I had to pay the $768.12 to have the steering column replaced. I have heard that this is a common problem with Cobalts and I have asked GM to do the right thing and recall these cars before someone is injured or killed.
- Mt. Pleasant, TX, USA
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I own a 2005 Chevy Cobalt. I am the original owner. About a year ago I had a problem with the power steering turning off in parking lots while I made full turns of the steering wheel. Now I have a problem with the power steering randomly turning off while I'm driving. Its really random some times it seem to never want to stay on and sometimes it seem to not affect my car at all. Scary that it is inconsistent. I'm awaiting to hear back from the dealership.
The power steering warning light appeared & w/in minutes the power steering failed. Restarting the car reset it, but now it will only work for a couple of minutes before going out again. I was told I needed to replace power steering column. This car has been a headache since the beginning w/ one defect after another. I have not been notified of any recalls since I purchased it new in Jan 2005. The problem has not been fixed as it is not in our budget at $1200.
I was driving along I-20 when the power steering light came on and the power steering just gave out. Thank god I was able to pull to the side, turned the car off started it up, the light went out. Now as soon as I turn the car on it automatically comes on and the power steering is terrible. The car is, of course, out of warranty. Talked to dealer and was told they only had 1 car brought in with this problem and it was costly.
TL- contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that when she was driving down the road at approx 55 mph and the power steering failed. She tried to turn around a curb and had no power steering which made for a difficult time turning. She stated that the longer the vehicle had no power steering, the more she felt as if the entire steering system was locking up altogether. She noticed the problem every time she drove the vehicle. She took the vehicle to the dealership and was told that they could not duplicate the problem and the vehicle was alright to drive without the power steering. They told her that it just made the vehicle harder to drive. She had not spoken with the manufacturer to-date. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was 46,503. The failure mileage was approximately 42,000.
My power steering continues to fail 3-4 times a week now. I own a 2005 Chevy Cobalt and had recently lost my steering in a snow storm. I have contacted gmac, and they informed me there was nothing that they could do, but repair it if necessary @ my expense, seeing as the warranty has expired, and there was no recall on this problem. There is little time lapse between the power steering indicator, and losing the power steering.
The power steering on my 2005 Chevy Cobalt failed while making a turn on a busy street. The sudden failure caused me to veer into 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. Was able to stop and no accidents occurred. I had 3 of my children in the car with me, could've been tragic!!!!
I was driving my 2005 Chevy Cobalt when the power steering failed. I was doing 30mph when the warning light on the dashboard went on and I had a hard time steering the car off the road. I turned the car off and then back on and the problem stopped. This has happened twice. My mechanic cant find anything wrong.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt - had total power steering failure. The repair was made by our local Chevrolet dealer I.G. burton in seaford, de for $998.94 on 8/27/09. Code #9996 they replaced the steering column assembly due to faults in motor unit. Part #19200751 F-column kit and part #4238 cpc.. I complained to Chevrolet customer assistance center. A representative responded back by telephone denying my request for financial re-imbursement claiming "they had no reports of complaints about this problem".
We purchased a used 2005 Cobalt and have had this issue with the power steering going out on numerous occasions. Each time the car was taken in they would say they couldn't find the problem and would return the car to us unrepaired as it would do the same thing again and again and on one occasion it almost resulted in a severe accident while my wife and daughter were turning through an intersection and the steering went out. Thank god the other drivers were alert and a near and possibly fatal accident was avoided. They tell us it can be fixed but now that it's out of factory and somehow even extended warranty they had us purchase that was supposed to last until we paid it off have expired they want us to now pay for the repairs and even $100 to even look at the car. We got a report that this car had issues from day one and were never told but received it later from GM indicating the car had a some problems and was sold to our dealership at a GM auction. We feel stuck with this car and trusting in god each day that the problem won't occur and cause loss of life to anyone. Please make GM recall and repair these Cobalts so that loss of life or limb isn't a result at anytime. This occurs quit often and should be addressed.
I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt in which the power steering will go out randomly. The first time it happen I was a couple of weeks ago, 01/28/2010, on the highway, and I almost crashed. I thought it might be a fluke, but it happens everytime I drive, and I am now forced not to drive it for obvious safety reasons. It is extremely dangerous and there is no reason for it to be happening at this point in the car's life. I have done research and found this is a very common problem for this model.
My 05 Chevy Cobalt power steering keeps going out I hear a "ding ding" then the words power steering flashes on and the T/C light comes on the car will slow down and mph and RPM gauges fluctuate back and forth and steering is nearly impossible it first went out at around 54000 miles I replaced the power steering motor but at around 55000 the powering steering went out again so I replaced the entire steering column but the powering steering has gone out twice since then always at random times all the old parts are available.
I was riding down the highway and the power steering went out three times and I can not control the vehicle.. I felt that my life and family was endangered. I know I am not the only one with this problem.
I was running an errand earlier this afternoon under normal driving conditions (the weather was clear and the temperature was about 45F) when my driver information center warned of a power steering problem. At the time I was on a straight road only going about 25mph, so when I got to the upcoming stop sign, I shut down and restarted my car. I drove another 5 miles to pick up some food and there was no problem up to that point. On the remaining mile from the food stop to my home, the power steering went out twice. I was on a straight road going about 35mph the first time, and the second time I was pulling into my parking spot. I have not driven my car since then, and at this moment I plan to take the car to the local dealership Monday (if they are not closed for president's day). The reason I am reporting this to NHTSA sort of prematurely is because this seems to be a very common occurring problem based on what I found after looking up 'Chevy, Cobalt, power, steering' on a search engine. One article alone had over 810 comments, all owners of the same car with the same problem.
I was driving my 2005 Chevy Cobalt through a winding mountain road and my electronic power steering went out and almost caused me to crash that could possibly cause injury or death of me or my daughter who was with me.
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- Lake Jackson, TX, USA