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 first incident happen in 2012 and caused a crash. I was driving down the street and needed to stop at a red light and put my foot to the floor on the brakes and it did not stop me. I could not move the steering wheel either so I could not avoid hitting the lady in front of me. Luckily, I was not going very fast and everyone was okay. While exchanging insurance information, I noticed my keys were in the floor board of my vehicle. I didn't think anything of it, because when it came out of the shop it seemed just fine. Then, I was on the freeway on my way to work in 2013 and my knee bumped my key ring and they fell to the floor. I could not slow down or switch lanes. I got a speeding ticket. Then in November, 2013, the same thing happened as the first time which caused a wreck. I could not stop at a red light and rear ended a vehicle in front of me. I was barely moving whatsoever though, so I got lucky again. Recently, my check engine light came on and I took it to the autovbody shop in town and had to pay 800 dollars to get the timing chain replaced. I have had nothing but issues with that car and now I find out that many recalls have been issued on the vehicle and I have not been notified of a single one. Apparently GM was supposed to notify owners with their registration information. My registration just came up for renewal as of May 1st and I have not been notified or instructed what to do. It has gotten to the point now where I duct tape my key so that it will not come out while I am driving. I limit my driving to necessity travel because I am too afraid that something else, possibly worse, than what has already happened thus far.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving approximately 27 mph, there was a loud knocking noise heard from the engine. The contact shut the vehicle off but was unable to restart the engine. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the vales in the motor were bent. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 140,000.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was able to be restarted after several attempts and was taken to dealer, who repaired made unknown repairs to the vehicle under a manufacturer's recall campaign. The failure recurred after the repairs. Additionally, the contact stated that an overpowering odor of gasoline was present outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken back to dealer but was not further repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 137,000.
I would be driving down the highway and the car's dials would not work then start bouncing around. Then the power steering message would read out, I would loose power steering. If I slowed down it would take more of an effort to get the car up to speed and the car would jump in to gears hard. It wouldn't shift smooth. None of the gauges would work, and if the A/C was on it wouldn't work. When it started back working, the engine lock light would stay on. And the car wouldn't shift in and out of gear with out jerking.
Around two months ago my car locked it self while the keys was in the ignition! then service air bag soon light came on and has stayed on! just last week the engine slowed down like it was going to shut off! I'm 58 years old and disabled and live on very little money each month! so I've been unable to have my car looked at and fixed! I'm frighten to drive my car now ! please help! god bless, thank you!
- Ontario, OH, USA
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
While exiting the freeway, the car engine and electrical system suddenly went dead for no apparent reason. The driver steered the car to the side of the road without power steering or brakes. After it stopped, the driver put the car in park and restarted the engine. There were two people in the car at the time of the incident.
The contact owns 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 50 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning as another vehicle crashed into the rear of the contact's vehicle. The contact and a passenger both sustained back and neck injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and was towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was not made of aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 89,000.
TL- the contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated while driving 10 mph the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle did restart. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The mechanic was unable to detect the problem. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate mileage was 84,000. The VIN was unavailable.
While accelerating moderately from a stop, the engine completely died while in first gear. I coasted to a stop on the side of the road and turned on the hazard lights to alert other motorists. Each time I tried to restart the engine, it sputtered and shook violently and then died. I kept trying for about five minutes and on one try the engine finally started and stayed running. The RPM gauge remained at zero even though I was able to accelerate and drive away from where I had initially pulled over. After about a minute, the RPM gauge started functioning normally. Please advise. Thank you.
This is my second E-mail to you about my timing chain breaking and destroying my engine which I had to replace at my expense ($5,100) because GM would not pay for the repairs. I am resending this because of the recent recall on Cobalts ignition switches that they knew about 10 years ago and did nothing. The timing chains on these models (Cobalts) have been breaking for years according to 3 mechanics I spoke to whom all said there should have been a recall years ago just like the ignition switches they ignored up to now. Please look into this defect because I have also herd from 5 other Cobalt owners who have gone through the same problem as me.( not a coincidence).
My timing chain broke causing damage to the engine block. I took it to my Chevy dealership to have it repaired but they wouldn't cover the cost. I towed it to my mechanic to replace the engine at a cost of $4,500. That is when I was told that the timing chain breaking is very common on this model car. Since this happened I have herd horror stories from other people who have gone through the same stress with GM. I also looked on line and found many other similar complaints. It cost me $250. To release my car to tow it to my own mechanic and they did absolutely no repairs. I called GM directly and they offered no help at all. The timing chain is definitely a defective part and GM knows it!!!
I constantly have problems with my 07 Cobalt, every time it rains, or it's wet out, the engine starts to shake violently, and gas starts spewing out of the tailpipe causing an immense amount of smoke to come out, but when it dries up, the problem stops, only to restart again when it rains. I've been to the dealership, and also private shops, and called G.M customer service, and no one has any clue as to why this keeps happening. This is fuel related, and im worried it could cause harm to me, and my family if not resolved. Somehow, water is getting into the fuel line making this happen and nobody knows how. It even happens when I run the a.C, when the moisture from the compressor drips down. It has been very costly to find no solution, any advice, or repairs that were done to fix this would be very appreciated and helpful.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated as then vehicle stalled. The failure recurred several times. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer had been notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 63,678.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Trinity, TX, USA