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 a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt on Thursday morning April 17th around 4 am. I was driving on interstate 170 going South. The vehicle was being driven in the left lane going 65 mph. I was approaching the split-off where you can go onto 64 East or West. The Cobalt started to veer towards the right. I corrected it back to the left and that's when the vehicle went completely to the right and the steering locked up and I hit the middle divider that divides the ramps exit. The car was then towed and we are currently awaiting inspection.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 70 mph, the steering wheel began to move independently to the left causing the contact to momentarily lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where technician replaced the electronic steering motor. The failure recurred two weeks after the repair and the vehicle was towed a second time to the dealer where the contact was awaiting diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 10V073000 (steering:electric power assist system) but the contact had not confirmed with the manufacturer if the vehicle was included in the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 32,000.
Driving at a slow speed 15-20 mph, was unable to turn the wheel, seems like it locked up. I could not pull the car away from veering into a concrete planter used to keep the traffic pattern in the parking lot. Vehicle sustained damage in the wheel, steering, radiator and body of the car. When the car was towed over to the dealer we were told that they were checking the VIN for the recall that was issued for many of these cars. After checking we found that there was a recall on this model up to March of 2010, ours we are told was built in April of 2010. Obviously, there were problems with the 2010 Cobalt since this was the last year they had production on this vehicle, we were not aware they had stopped the production of this model at the time we purchased this vehicle. We believe there was a manufacturing problem with this vehicle which may have lead to the steering issues we had on January 13. 2011. Updated 8/22/12
Back pass side door lock[2X], steering lockup, [factory recall] fuel guague/tacomentor bounceing, dealer replaced body control sensor, now cruize control quit working. Still not fixed, [cc]guagues still bouncing. GM tech from Corp, involved, to try to fix. In 3X's. total in 6X's,3 dirr repairs.no car loaner/or rental, kept 2-days.had eye surgery at veterans hosp, had to find another ride.
I purchased the vehicle in February 2010 and I didn't start noticing problems till around summer but they were not that bad till September were the car started showing strange electrical and steering issue. I received the recall letter in October and had the power steering issue fixed but its still have issues were the vehicle will swerve back and forth in return I will have to keep my hands on the steering wheel to try to keep it from hitting other vehicles on the highway. Then the blower motor that blows the hot and cold air sometimes istatically revs up high and I have to turn of the heater. Also I have noticed that the brakes squeal and I only have 10,300 miles. I have also noticed that the needles on the gauges in the dash tend to twitch radically when I turn the vehicle off sometimes. Then at times the car when turned on will start to act as if it was to shut off and the lights would all dim and then it would stabilize. It has done that on the highway making steering difficult at times. The engine as well had made knocking noises to its been an off and on thing.
- Berea, OH, USA
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The power steering completely locked up sending the vehicle and passengers into a ditch, airborne and back down into the ditch. Ever since that incident, the steering wheel freely turns 360 degrees several times - with the key out of the ignition!!! when it is supposed to turn it doesn't and when it isn't supposed to turn, it does. The plastic key guard around the ignition switch fell off! and this is after earlier complaints about defective rims, the starter 9or electricl relay to the starter) failing after one weeks ownership, the power steering "locking up" and now little by little the pieces are falling off the car!!! and GM says - the computer doesn't show anything happened - or - it is not a warranty item - it is impact damage! I bought the 2010 Chevy Cobalt new on March 29, 2010 with 10 whole miles on it. I have also filed a complaint with the attorney general from some sort of intervention.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving the steering wheel locked, the contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a ditch. The vehicle rolled over several times. He was ejected from the vehicle and landed into a field, then back into the ditch. The front tires were out of the ditch so he was able to put the vehicle in park. The steering returned to normal which allowed him to drive the vehicle out of the ditch. The radiator, front end, and under-carriage were damaged. The driver and three passengers sustained injuries to the neck, back, and face. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. Report 71-881068254 was filed with the manufacturer and they stated that someone would call her later. The failure and current mileages were 36,000.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 10 mph the power steering light illuminated causing the power steering failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who stated that the power steering unit needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was called who stated they will contact the dealer in regards to the repairs. The failure mileage 4,000.
I bought a brand new 2010 Cobalt lt that was built after the March 2010 recall for electric steering. So it came with the newly authorized electric steering unit. The steering didn't "go out" as many have experienced, but had an annoying pull to the left. The dealership mechanic followed procedure and reset the "centering" with his scan tool, but it made no difference. The service manual said to replace the steering column. The steering column was replaced and that did resolve the pulling to the left. However, when I reach 50ish mph and the computer puts the steering into "stiff" mode there is no play left in the steering and it takes a lot of effort for input. It requires full attention to keep the car in the lane at expressway speeds, and worse still in windy conditions. In short, at expressway speeds, the steering is too stiff requiring much effort, and there is no "play" in the steering so the car continually wants to go left or right, and not "track" straight down the highway, as it should. I find this annoying and tiresome, as I have arthritis and it requires needless effort, and even the junkiest old wreck should track down the highway and stay in the lane without much input. I've contacted every department at GM to find out if the steering can be set to always be in full-power assist mode and no one can answer the question, not even the handicap/special needs department. GM won't put me through to the engineering department who could actually answer the question, and would know how to go about it.
On 3/5/10 at about 4pm I was traveling East bound on route 280 near newark exit. I was in the fast lane of a 3 lane highway. The middle lane was empty so I pulled into middle lane. A red pick up truck in the far right lane (slow lane) pulled into the middle lane. I assume I may have been in his blind spot. I had to pull back into the left lane. Car locked up & I could not stop it from going left. I hit the cement barrier along shoulder. The witnesses all told me they could not understand why my car did not stop. Itjust seemed to keep going left for no reason. I've heard through the news that Chevy is issuing recalls for failed power steering in Cobalt 2010. I've had this car 6 weeks and now its totaled. I could not pull it out of going left & it seems since it was 50 degrees that this was a steering failure. I was treated at the scene for abrasions & swelling to the face & arm. My neck & back are sore. I got a black eye from air bag. NJ state trooper wrote a report.
Feb 03, 2010 purchased a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt from pape chev. S. portland, Maine. Can hear power steering rubbing noise upon turning at low speeds. Mileage only 660. Now I hear there is a pending recall for this vehicle? does the dealer have to exchange for another model..
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- St Louis, MO, USA