The 2006 added it’s own special flare with gas leaks due to cracks in the “return portion of the modular reservoir assembly.” A recall of 2006 Cobalts was issued to fix the problem, but only to vehicles sold in or current registered in Arizona and Nevada, leaving other owners to pay for repairs themselves.
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.
2006 Chevy Cobalt electronic power steering failure. Mileage 70,000. Turning key off/on restarts steering. Problem not repaired yet due to cost. Very dangerous.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt has multiple issues. Several occurred while the car was under warranty such as the ignition switch jamming, the gear shift not shifting into park, and the fuel pump leaking. The latest is with the power steering. I hear a click in the steering column, then the power steering goes out immediately and then the light on the dashboard alerts me that the power steering has failed. It does this without warning irregardless of how long the car has been running. Sometimes it occurs within minutes of starting the car, other times it occurs after driving for 30 or 40 miles. Many people have responded online about these complaints. All you have to do is google in "Chevy Cobalt power steering problems" and you will see hundreds of consumers with this problem. I called the GM customer hotline and got the run around. This problem is extremely dangerous because the power steering goes out suddenly and without enough warning. It becomes extremely difficult to maneuver.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The traction control and the check engine warning lights intermittently illuminated on the instrument control panel and the vehicle stalled. The dealer replaced the shift column for $260 at the owners expense; however, the repair did not remedy the failure. He was in the process of notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 56,000.
Last Aug 2009 I was living my drive way and they steer wheel got stuck and I got trapped between my trees. I didn't know what happen so I just assumed it was me being a bad driver. Two weeks ago I was driving in a street and the bell in the computer start ringing and gave me a message "power steer" then the steer while got stuck again. I didn't know what to do so I stop and called a towing truck to get my car and take it to my mechanic. My mechanic kept it for a day and said that Cobalts 2006 and 2007 have this problem the computer does not communicate with the engine and that's what happen. I called General Motors and they asked me how many miles I had in the car which is 64,000 and then they told me I had to take it to one of his dealer shops to make sure. I told the lady to be sure they were going to consider this because I have to pay and then they will decide if it was a safety issue. I did pay a lot of money and they say -you are not under guarantee- I got mad because they knew since the beginning how many miles I had. Now if I turn left or right the steer wheel get stuck so I have to stop and turn off the car. After that I can drive ok. Is always dangerous if I'm in a busy street or highway. To repair they want $1,000 that I don't have. The lady who "helped" me her name is mariana jimenez and she told the they are going to pay for a gas leak that I had in this year too. Because that is a re-call. She said she will send the papers to get reimburse but she never did. The case number for the problem I have now from General Motors is 71759207211. They are only recognizing the problem with the gas leaking because that was a "safety issue" how is not a safety issue driving and the steer wheel gets stuck? so my complain is for the gas leaking that I pay myself and didn't get reimburse and the current problem. The Chevrolet shop wrote this in the invoice I paid "performed diag system check-U2107/U2100/CO475 stored in pscm silate to internal pscm motor failure".
I have 2006 Chevy Cobalt and have recently had problems with the power steering. The light turns on blinks then completely shuts off your steering, barely allowing someone to turn your car to safety. It works after a while yet continues to happen when you drive. I heard it is the power steering motor. GM really needs to recall this part in that I hope that I, as well as others, do not get into an accident because of this problem.
- Brownsville, TX, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
Well I've had my car a Chevy Cobalt 06 lt model 2.2 motor for about 2 yrs and the power steering just doesn't work anymore. It's defective I've asked other Chevy drivers and it has happen to their vehicles as well..
1) the car was steering fine up until approx 69,000 miles. 2) the electronic power steering on this model car quits working arbitrarily. The power steering will initially function correctly every time the car engine is restarted (ignition turned off then back on) regardless of how long the engine has been on or off prior to the restart. Then at some point after the engine is running, the power steering will quit and you must apply tremendous force to the steering wheel to control the direction of the vehicle. The time between restart and occurrence of the power steering going out appears to vary with temperature, however the problem behavior is not consistent across all temperature ranges. In general, the cooler the ambient air temperature the vehicle is operating in, the longer the power steering will work correctly before it quits, but this is not always the case. The one thing that has been consistent is that once the power steering quits, it remains out until you turn the engine off and restart the car. 3) I have not attempted to have this problem repaired as estimates to repair the problem are in the $2000 dollar range.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that intermittently while driving he experiences a loss of power steering. The inability to steer while driving increases the risk for vehicle crash. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a technician concluded that the power steering motor needed to be replaced at an expense of $356. He is in the process of having the vehicle repaired. The manufacturer was notified, but no assistance was provided. The failure and current mileages were 50,000.
The electronic power steering in my 2006 Chevy Cobalt ss goes out randomly at different speeds. The power steering resets itself when I turn off and on the car. So far it has happened to me 5 times the latest one I was going down a backroad going 45 miles per hour and it just turned off. Luckily there wasn't anyone around me and I was able to stop and shut off the car and turn it back on. Also, luckily I was close to home so I didn't have to drive it much farther with a chance of it happening to me again.
Power steering message appeared on message center; wheel became hard to turn and then there was no longer power steering. Happens intermittently; when you turn the car off and back on the power steering works fine (for a short period). Doesn't depend on the speed or anything I'm doing; the first time it went out I was pulling into a parking lot, now it happens when I'm on the freeway, turning, going slow, it doesn't matter. There are times I can drive to the store and it doesn't go out at all and there are times when I don't make it to the end of my street before it goes out. I have read many other complaints from people who have had the same problem and most say the entire power steering system has to be replaced to fix it even though it's generally the power steering motor that is going bad/shorting out. Have to take it to dealership to find out specifically what's wrong, they said it could be "a number of problems." I haven't even had this car a year; there's 67,000 miles on it; power steering shouldn't be an issue.
I bought my 06 Chevy Cobalt in October 2008. The power steering started going out just a few of months ago. Just yesterday I can't keep it on for more than five minutes. If I turn the car off and back on it works for a few minutes but goes right out. This has happened daily for the past 2-4 months. I am very disappointed in my choice of vehicles because it has been nothing but problems, and it only has about 45000 miles on it. This often happens while attempting to turn onto the freeway and makes the car very difficult to turn. This car is very dangerous, and there is nothing I can do about it because of the expense for fixing it. Have not taken it to a dealership yet.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately between 65 to 70 mph on normal road conditions; the steering wheel locked. The "power steering" warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. There was difficulty steering which resulted in a higher effort to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle steered in one direction. The contact was able to drive into the emergency lane. The warning indicator remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was able to resume operation. The failure recurred. The vehicle was in the process of being taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The contact had concerns of the safety risk involved. The failure and current mileages were 77,000. The VIN was rejected from the system.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 25 mph, she noticed the power steering warning light was illuminated and suddenly, the vehicle no longer had power steering. The failure has not been diagnosed by the dealer and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages were 24000.
The contact owns 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 20 mph the power the steering failed and made it difficult to control the steering wheel. Within seconds, the power steering light illuminated. The contact previously noticed a burning smell in the engine area. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure; however, he replaced the engine oil. The vehicle identification number was not available. The failure and the current mileages were 78,000.
Electric power steering system failed while driving on the interstate. After stopping, shutting car off, and restarting car the power steering appears to be functional again. This happened today, as well as 2 times last week.
I was driving my 2006 Cobalt on a straight roadway, the power steering went out and was very hard to steer, it does that very frequently now and my pregnant wife is afraid to drive it because of its defect. I think Chevrolet should have to fix this before someone gets hurt or killed because they don't want to back up there product, I think a recall would be very handy for this situation.
Power steering failure. Driving in curvy area, power steering went out. Little control of vehicle, driving at 25 miles per hour. Even in dead stop, could not turn steering. Have to stop vehicle, turn off ignition and turn back on. Will let you drive for limited time and then same thing occurs. Afraid to drive vehicle that still having to make payments on, cost to repair too great. Small children in home and ride in vehicle, afraid accident will occur and hurt my children.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, then steering became difficult. The vehicle was restarted after five minutes, and then she resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to dealer, in which the technician concluded that she would have to pay $1000 to replace the steering column. No repairs were made. She is in the process of contacting the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 29,800.the current mileage 29,826. Bl updated 10/20/09 the dealer made the repairs. Updated 10/22/09.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mouthcard, KY, USA