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.
There were no events that led up to this power steering just went out. A month before we had the key stuck in ignition problem. Paid $300 to get that fixed now it is back in the shop for power steering failure. I called GM about this and the rep said they had no other complaints about this issue. Are you kidding me?? I told him it was all over sites on the internet and he said I shouldn't pay any attention to that as GM has no power over what people reported on these sites and they should contact GM. He again tried to tell me that I was the only one reporting this problem!!
I just purchased a 2005 Chevy Cobalt as my wife drove it to the store the power steering locked up & shut off she almost got into a wreck she had to force car off the road. Spoke to a Chevy mechanic said this was a common problem with 2005-2006 Chevy Cobalts, this is a defect in the steering column. Looked on the internet & there are lots of people with this model having the exact same problem yet there is no recall from GM. This is a safety hazard my wife could have been killed should these vehicles be on the road? please investigate this problem. We had the car for 3 days now and it happened 4 times it is now in the hands of a mechanic.
Power steering message and failure began in April 2009. Power steering fails and displays message at random during turns, straight, high or low speeds, and will usually reset after engine shut off and restart. This failure and message can happen several times a day. Called GM after finding similar occurrences on the internet; they recommended a diagnostic at their dealership. Diagnostic revealed a C0475 code, which is a steering column motor short. The recommended course of action was to replace the steering column for $880 P&L. mileage of 2005 Cobalt is almost 80,000. This power steering failure is a huge concern for me since it is my wife's car. It is very possible for the failure to occur just before or during a needed reaction to an emergency situation, or could even cause an adverse reaction if failure occurs during a high-speed turn. This car isn't nearly old enough to "throw away" and get something newer, yet the price of the part and repairs seems to suggest it is time to do so. It's too bad for us we owe more than it's worth... and now this.
Power steering light comes on dash and car loses power steering immediately. Major safety concern while driving. It is happening often. Usually 1-2 times a month. I am not the only person who has this problem. Upon looking it up online and seeing that there's hundreds of other people with the same problem, it caused me to file this complaint. It obviously is a wide spread issue. I contacted GM through E-mail and they have yet to respond. It has been about 2 months. Also the key gets stuck into the ignition, I do not know if it is relevant to the steering issue but everyone who has the steering issue also has the key/ignition problems. When I experience power steering failure, I feel out of control of the vehicle. Luckily for me, it has not caused a crash, but I can certainly see how it could. I feel like GM should step up, take responsibility for this, and fix the problem instead of letting it be, and letting their customers drive unsafe vehicles. I feel unsafe.
The power steering on the 2005 and later Cobalts quits either intermittently or continuously. In my case, the ps only works for 2/10 of a mile before quitting. After that point it is only manual drive. There are websites and blogs that are dedicated just to this problem including www.topix.com/forum/autos/Chevrolet-Cobalt/T8fmsuqb7V2dth5jh. this site has 335 instances of this problem as of today. GM has failed to step up and fix this. In fact, they insist that the entire steering column must be replaced. However, this site www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Cobalt/2005/steering/power_steering_failure.shtml shows that it is usually only one component but that component cannot be purchased separately. The entire column replacement runs from $800 to $2000 whereas the component alone has to be much cheaper and is actually simple to replace. I tried the remedy listed by wayne from zion il #318 on the first website listed here and while it didn't work for me, there was so much black powder coming out of it I couldn't believe it. No wonder it doesn't work! this part is basically sealed so it must be made in unclean conditions. I believe it is made in Japan (one of the posts mentions it). I believe that power steering issues are a major defect and why nothing has been done by this organization or GM is beyond me. While it may be safe to drive in manual steering, having it change in the middle of a turn (as is reported in the posts) is not safe! another problem that seems to be related is the key not coming out of the ignition. I say related because most cars with the first issue seem to have the second issue too. Lastly, these cars also have the A/C leak directly into the passenger compartment causing mold and mildew and therefore unsafe breathing conditions in the car. Check the posts, dealers "can't find anything wrong" with them. How do I force your organization to do something about this as I know I'm not the only one to complain?
1. power steering light comes up while driving and power steering goes off/locked, I can't move either right or left. 2. it occurs every when you drive the vehicle. 3. this is problem with electrical power steering for Chevy Cobalt 2005.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the power steering light illuminated on the instrument panel and the power steering failed. She had to place the vehicle into park or neutral and then shut off the engine in order for it to restart. The power steering functioned sporadically before completely failing again. The failure occurred every time the vehicle was in use. The manufacturer informed the dealer of a tsb for the issue and stated that the repair would cost $700. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current mileage was approximately 39,200 and failure mileage was approximately 37,500.
Power steering cuts out while operating vehicle extreme safety hazard if in the middle of a turn.happens at warmer temperatures, can be reset by turning off and re-starting vehicle. Problem re-occurs at random.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving various speeds, the power steering shuts off. As a result, the vehicle becomes unmanageable to turn and uncontrollable. In order for the vehicle to reset itself, the contact must shut off the vehicle and wait a few minutes for it to restart. Occasionally, this process must be repeated several times. He had to tow the vehicle to his residence after the most recent failure. The contact took his vehicle to the dealer on April 13, 2009. The failure mileage was 52,500.
2005 Chevy. Cobalt electric power steering unit in steering column failed while driving. This failure occurred at 40,222 miles and happened about 15X. Absolutely no steering was possible, and this happened in traffic, once the vehicle was turned off I had steering again, then within seconds I would get the message power steering and the steering would be gone again. The cost to repair was $849 and only GM has the part. From the information on the internet, this is a defect with the part, and GM has known about it since fall of 2005. The shop manager at hudiburg Chevy. Was not aware of any problems but when he asked his ticket writer, he acknowledged he has seen alot of this problem with this model vehicle.
Steering motor was determined defective by GM at 50K miles. Tires wood catch grooves in the road pulling the car unexpectedly. Shuttering of steering wheel while going straight. Knocking/ rattle sounds from steering column on rough/ bumpy roads. This happens all the time. These problems started about 35K, right after my warranty expired. After contacting GM and a Chevy dealership, the cost will be $850. And it is a "common problem", design error. At 52K driving normally down the road, power steering shut off, "power steering" displayed, and the steering wheel was excessively hard to turn.
I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt ls and around 38,000 miles the power steering flashed in the dash and I lost all power steering in a parking garage. There is no warning that's its going to happen besides the flashing in the dash 3 secs before it goes. This happened everytime I drove over 20 miles at a time, and I go to school in syracuse so I drive the thruway everyday so it was extremely hard to drive with it. I had to get the whole steering column replaced because the power steering is electric. It all cost 675$ I was able to get almost all of the labor charges dropped after working and talking with a Chevy dealership.
I purchased my 2005 Chevy Cobalt a little of a year ago. I only have 46,000 miles on it and my power steering has gone out of it. I am now told that it will cost me over 1,000 dollars to get it fixed which I can not afford. I have almost gotten into an accident because of the power steering.
The power steering on my 05 Cobalt keeps going out I drive and all the sudden my power steering fails and its hard to turn and bounces all over the road I turn the car off and start it again and it goes away it does at random times more often in warm weather I bought the car for my wife and she cant drive because of and im still paying on the note Chevy fails to acknowledge the deficiency the steering column has been replaced once because of this problem and problem still exist a recall is due because the cost of repair is around 2500 dollars more than the car is worth.
Power steering light comes on and power steering fails while driving on the interstate at 70mph. This incident happened about a year ago, my cars power would completely shut off and my car would go from 70mph to 10 mph in about half a second while driving on the interstate. I will never buy a Cobalt again. I had the issue fixed, or so I thought last year, but because it happened again tonight, it looks like it was not resolved.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt near 50,000 electronic power steering failed. Dealer denies even knowing such a problem exists despite numerous complaints found by other drivers of the same make/model on the internet. The failure occurred while on a very curvy and dangerous road. Luckily, no accident occurred.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Bolivar, OH, USA