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.
I was driving down the high and all of a sudden my power steering came on and has been for 2 months now. I have looked up the issue and I am not the only owner of Cobalt to have these problems. I have the 2005 Cobalt ss supercharged wit 84,000 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 60 mph, the steering locked up and the contact was forced to pull the vehicle over. The vehicle was towed and is unable to be driven. There were no prior failures with the steering. The dealer stated that it would cost $2,000 to repair the steering. The electrical system was also defective and will not activate the air conditioning or lock the doors. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 73,000.
I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt that I bought new in 05. At about 50K miles, the power steering would occasionally stop working and the car was incredibly hard to steer. This happened randomly, sometimes driving straight, sometimes turning. I had a few near collisions when it failed mid-turn. After finding out the replacement part was close to $1000 from Chevy, I found a suitable donor car and salvaged the electric power steering unit. I swapped it out and have had no problems in the 15K miles since. I still have the failed power steering unit available for inspection.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the power steering constantly failed. Once the vehicle was started, the steering would become stiff within one minute. She was unable to maneuver the steering wheel without applying maximum force. The manufacturer would not assist with the repairs because there were no recalls. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 37,500.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. Power steering fails at all speeds. Impossible to steer the car. Could definitely cause collisions at high speeds. Should be a recall. GM is unwilling saying they do not have enough complaints. Someone is going to get hurt.
- Seguin, TX, USA
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2005 Chevy Cobalt - loses power steering. Dealership cannot diagnosis and neither can my mechanic. Teenage driver. Very unsafe to have happen to her while driving.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving various speeds, the power steering activates and the steering wheel becomes difficult to turn. The failure has occurred three times. Through online research, the contact discovered many consumers who were experiencing the same failure. The vehicle must be shut off and restarted in order to deactivate the power steering. The dealer stated that they will charge $109 just to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 85,156.
I have been having problems with my 2005 Chevy Cobalt it can be working fine and then suddenly the power system shuts of and my steering wheel gets really hard impossible to turn. It has been increasing in time every time we use the car.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 45 mph, the power steering light illuminated on the instrument panel. The electronic power steering failed when attempting to make a turn and almost caused a crash. It took great effort for the contact to complete the turn. The current and failure mileages were 66,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer because he heard a noise coming from the steering column. The dealer stated that a new steering column was needed. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel at the time of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 34,950. Updated 05/27/09 an ignition switch was needed as well. Updated 05/29/09
I have a 2005 Cobalt ls and the power steering goes out now within 5 minutes of driving the car. I use to be able to turn the car off and it would correct the problem, but now turning off the car doesn't correct the problem. I know what part needs to be replaced, but no one sells just that part, they want to try to sell you a whole steering column for $1500 or more. I think it is disgraceful that GM is asking for bail out money, but they will not recall this model of car to fix the problem. I cannot afford to go to a GM dealership and pay to have this problem fixed. I am not responsible for paying for this it is GM's responsibility! GM wouldn't be in financial trouble if they built cars that didn't have problems or if the cars they built that had problems they took responsibility for fixing them. I don't think I can trust GM anymore. Eventually someone is going to get seriously hurt or worse.
Have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt and on four separate occasions, the power steering has gone out on vehicle. Almost impossible to drive. After getting it off the road and shutting off engine and restarting, worked ok. Took to dealership for them to check, they could find nothing wrong and said they had no history of this type of problem. This is a very dangerous situation and could results in death or injury. GM has tsbs out there, which of course is customer pay, and they will correct GM defective issues. The cost is approx. $800. There have been enough complaints on this issue since 2005. A GM recall should be made mandatory. This is major safety factor. A recall by GM should be directed.
The power steering goes in and out intermittently. There is no warning. Particularity turning curves and corners. The dash board warning systems warns of this after the fact and you're in panic mode. When you shut down and restart it performs normally for a while and does it again. Also, when going around curves or making 90 degree turns, the steering "slips" and bumps as if you've run over something. Its as if the joints of the car aren't fitted together property.
No events leading to failure. Chevy Cobalt 2005 model 33,000 miles power steering random catastrophic failure key sticks in ignition nothing was done to correct the failure by the manufacturer (no recall) even though multiple complaints and problems have been identified with the power steering in these models.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact experiences periodic power steering failure while driving various speeds. The steering wheel cannot turn to the left or right and she must turn and pull the wheel with great force to pull the vehicle to the side of the road. The vehicle has not yet been taken to the dealer. The failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 20 mph on normal road conditions, the steering wheel locked and the power steering warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning indicator remained lit until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and the engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was able to resume normal operation; however, the failure recurred three times while driving. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and the steering column code was reprogrammed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for identical failures. Currently, the steering column is being replaced. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 54,000.
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- St.Louis, MO, USA