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.
Picked up child from daycare and while turning to get out of facility power steering indicator showed on digital read-out. Wheel locked and to avoid hitting another parent and child, turned wheel as hard as possible ( very difficult ) to avoid collision and hit curb. Slight damage to rim. Vehicle purchased from licensed Chevy dealer in may of 07 with 50 thousand miles.
Problem, while driving 2005 Chevy Cobalt, power steering light appears on dash warning, and power steering turns off making wheel difficult to move. This has happen a few time while I was driving, and I pulled off the road, put my hazards on, turned off the car, then restarted it again, and the powering steering was back. This is occurring my frequently, and since I drive on the highway daily, it is an accident waiting to happen, my car is unsafe. I will have to pick to mechanic to have fixed somehow.
First experienced warning on display panel for power steering failure August 08. Have had the car back to the dealer 4 times since that time. 2nd time dealer replaced some wires. 3rd time stated nothing was wrong with the car. Have lost complete control of steering 3 times since first occurrence. Yesterday dealer stated car was not fixable. Being advised by GM to clear error codes and return car to owner. Advised I contact BBB to pursue a claim. Car is unsafe to drive.
Eps goes out while driving. Chevy customer service sent me to dealer to have a diagnostic completed for $85 + tax. Declined diagnostic as this is a known issue. Asked why the Malibu and G6 had and extended warranty on the esp but the same was not extended for the Cobalt as it is the same unit. Dealer advised he could not answer my question. Spoke with Chevy customer service about charges and defective esp. They stated they would send the information to a district representative who would determine what action to take as far a reimbursement. Chevy case number 71-702497036. Would like to know if ODI -NHTSA will not take action, if the consumers need to bring a class action lawsuit against GM and the manufacturer of the eps unit before of after lives are lost?
About three months ago, I was driving down the road when my power steering stopped working. I shut the car off, and it went back to working. About a month ago it started doing it again, no I have no power steering. I have read other complaints on the issue. My back driver side window has now stop working and my ac is leaking onto my floor board on the passenger side. The car only has 55,000 miles on it. It had about 48,000 on it when everything started to happen.
- Brandon, FL, USA
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Re:2005 Chevy Cobalt- power steering goes out and reverts to manual steering at random intervals. This is a safety issue as steering problem could happen on an icy turn or in heavy traffic on a four-lane highway, etc. There is no advanced warning that the steering will fail making it difficult to steer unexpectedly.the dealer suggests a new steering column replacement at $800. We have found technical service bulletins (tsb)regarding this ongoing problem with the '05 Cobalts although no official recall has been announced tbs reference no 070232007 and 070235004. Dealer maintains there is no recall. This is, in my opinion, an "accident waiting to happen".
There were no deaths, no accident, but there could have been if I was making a fast turn. And we shouldn't wait till someone gets injured or killed before this problem should be recalled. Driving along, making a turn on a quite street and power steering just shut down, I heard a warning beep at the same time I lost my power steering and quickly had to fight with the car to finish making my turn. The warning beep was when the words "power steering" appeared in the display where it should temp, and mileage. It happened at the same time as the warning beep. The whole electric steering column had to be replaced. Was also told, there was a technical bulletin about this problem, but no notification to owners that this could happen to you while driving.
The electronic power steering on my 2005 Chevy Cobalt ceases to function in the middle of traffic or while making turns. This causes me to temporarily lose control of the car and could lead to accident or serious injury.
2005 Chevy Cobalt with approx 45000 miles. Power steering warning light appears and then steering wheel is hard to maneuver. Did google search and found huge numbers of complaints about the same thing with the same model car. After warning light appears, if the ignition is turned off and then back on the light disappears and the steering is ok again for a while. Took car to Chevrolet dealer and they said the entire steering column needed to be replaced at a cost of $800+. how can such a major problem occur on a relatively new car and there is no re-call?
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 45 mph on normal road conditions, the power steering failed without warning. Immediately, the warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel and remained lit until the engine was turned off. The driver experienced extreme difficulty steering the vehicle, which resulted in greater effort to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and they stated that the failure was related to the power steering unit. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 49,000 and current mileage was 50,000.
A clunk in my driver side front tire, when going over small bumps while turning. Also loose steering, rattling sound from the steering column. GM replaced the intermediate shaft, it did absolutely nothing. Im now being told I need to replace the whole steering column at 50,000 miles! this will cost about 2 thousand dollars..... problem not caused by driver. Inside the steering column there is a "backlash" form the gears causing this problem.
While driving my car the power steering just turned off making the car extremely difficult to drive. When I turn my car off then turn it back on the steering comes back for about a min then turns off again. I am told that the whole steering column needs to be replaced which will be over $800. My car is not even 4 years old. I've already had to have the computer updated twice due to safety lights going off with no reason. Along with replacing both control arms at the rear of the car due to bad bearings. I also had to replace a motor for the heating that was broken. For a car that only has about 41,000 miles on it this seems like too much to go wrong with a "quality" car.
I have a 2005 chevorlet Cobalt and the power steering module fails during operation. To reset this condition you have to stop the car and re-start the engine. This happens after less than three minutes of driving every time you drive the car and is not safe for someone that is not strong enough to steer the car without power steering. The repair will cost approximately $900.
I am experiencing a random loss of power steering in my 2005 Chevy Cobalt. It appears that the electronic power steering in my vehicle will randomly quite working. If I shut the car down and restart it the power steering will function again for a time, but will eventually go out again.
Power steering stops working while driving, works again after restart. Dealer says this is a common problem with this vehicle. Dangerous as car is very difficult to steer.
While driving the electronic power steering assist motor failed and lost all power steering in the vehicle. Cycling power to the motor (killing ignition and restarting car) brings it back for a few moments before it fails again. Entire steering column had to be replaced.
After driving for a few minutes the "power steering" indicator comes on and then there is no power steering, it happens every time you drive it. It is going to cost over $1000 to fix it because the factory warranty is out, so we are unable to fix it at this time. It is the only vehicle I have to drive a 130 mile commute every day.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Kannapolis, NC, USA