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.
The blower for heating and cooling began to work sporadically, then one day it just stopped working all together. I removed the HVAC control rand noticed the orange wire had overheated which caused the control knob and wiring plug in connector to fuse together.
I was traveling home with one other passenger in the car with me at 35 mph, the car turned off, the steering wheel locked up. I was scared and didn't know what to do. I shifted the car from drive into neutral and then restarted it, then slipped it back into drive... I've never been more scared then when I had absolute no control over my car. Im just lucky I didn't panic. This has happened twice to me. I now don't feel safe driving my Cobalt and very disappointed this problem has been fixed. To me I don't feel safe driving myself or my family in that car.
While traveling at 35mph on a city street, I hit a pothole and the car shut off and the key fell out. I lost all control of the vehicle and hit a light post causing minor damage to the car. This also happened when the car had 18,000 miles while traveling at 75 mph on the freeway. The ignition shut off and I was able to reinsert the key and regain control of the car. I was told by the dealer that this was not covered by the warranty and they accused me of abuse. I have only had the key inserted into the ignition switch since the 1st incident but this did not prevent the engine from shutting off.
My car is subject to the ignition switch recall. I do not feel safe driving the car until the ignition switch has been replaced. According to reports on abc news and article in the richmond, va times dispatch I can get a loaner car while awaiting the arrival of the new switch. The dealer (dominion Chevrolet, richmond, va) doesn't know anything about providing a loaner car. Called the GM hotline and they don't know about providing a loaner car either.
I was getting off an exit off the highway and my car just shut off. Sometimes also when I'm driving the key if touched turns the car off while driving. No accident because people avoided me had there been an accident I would have been seriously hurt and I am afraid everytime I drive. Also to take out the key everytime I have to stick my finger in the hole under the steering wheel otherwise it stays stuck.
- Flushing, NY, USA
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The 05 Cobalt, regularly serviced by the dealer where it was bought crashed after going out of control when the ignition switched off on the interstate at 60 mph. The steering locked, the ABS did not function, when it crashed into the guard rail the air bags did not deploy. The only warning was the dash warning lights all lighting up and the alarm sounds. The one second or so did not allow any chance to the driver to react before the crash. After the accident, when the dealer was contacted, we were advised to contact the GM person. The GM person was friendly and nice, but very firm in stating that we needed to have proof that the car failed, rather the driver at the wheel. The cars computer was not analyzed because the wrecking yard demanded over $700 to tow the car out of the wrecking yard so any investigator could look over the car. GM told us that it was our problem to pay the bill to allow their investigator to look at the car. We did not have the money. After reading numerous comments on the NHTSA site and blogs, people never heard a word from GM after they retrieved the computer. The salient point is that many of the over a thousand complaints about the Cobalt and other similar GM cars that identified the power steering as the problem that caused a crash are wrong. The power steering was not the cause of the crash. The problem was that the ignition switch turned off. The GM recalls about the power steering problem hide the fact that the ignition switches were turning off while the car was moving down the road. We know that the lack of power assist only affect the car at a stop or very slow speeds. Experienced drivers do not crash their car into guard rails, ditches, trees or other car simply because the power assist fails. That story is what GM has been selling in the past few years.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the vehicle stalled accompanied by the illumination of the check engine warning light. The failure was recurring. In addition, the instrument panel failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated while driving approximately 50 mph, the check engine warning light illuminated as the vehicle stalled, causing the contact to crash into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries however, a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic and ruled as destroyed. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 14V047000 (air bags, electrical system) and stated that the recall notification was not received until after the crash had occurred. The vehicle was not inspected to determine the cause of the stalling or air bag failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.
This submission is an addendum to the report that I submitted on Aug 15, 2011; reference number 10419491 with the attachments that include the police report, may statement and photos. I submitted my report two days after the accident. Now, after reading the news articles and the GM statements regarding the faulty ignition switch, it is apparent that what I thought was a steering malfunction (per the recalls I received and the statements made to me by GM representatives) was clearly the ignition switch. While driving down the freeway at 60 mph my dash lights turned on, I immediately lost steering control (I could not turn my steering wheel) and swerved had to the left crashing into the guard rail. The accident report shows my skid marks across three traffic lanes that clearly indicate that my ABS system also was not working. My airbags did not deploy even though my front end was crushed and the car totaled. Nothing on my car worked because the ignition switch had turned off. My original report should indicate that my car suffered an ignition switch malfunction that caused the accident. I was belted in so after being released from the hospital emergency room (I was taken by ambulance from the crash site) I was diagnosed with a cervical sprain, multiple cuts and bruises, sprained ankle and knee. My head impacted the windshield even though I had my seat belt on.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated intermittently, all the lights and instrument panel gauge lights failed to illuminate. The vehicle was not taken for diagnosis or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 93,000.
When I attempt to start the car, nothing happens. This happens randomly. Sometimes after a few minutes it will start, sometimes it takes a few days. There are also times where if I go over a bump the car will just die and I will have to restart it. In traffic, this is dangerous. I have been told by a mechanic that this is an ignition switch problem. There is currently a recall for this on my model car, but I am told that my VIN isn't covered by the recall.
This happens to me on different occasions I when I park my car or stop driving I try to shut my car off and I cannot my key will be stuck in the ignition and still running for about up to 30 mins my last time this problem happened to me. My other problem I am having is I can start my car perfectly fine but I try to shift the gear from park to drive and I cannot its like its stuck I put my foot on the gas and try to shift it but all I hear is a clicking noise coming from the steering wheel area sometimes I have to sit with the car running for about 15-20 mins until I can finally get the car in drive.
Car has shut off twice in the past 4-5 weeks. It happens on rough road. Engine dies and car shuts off. Car has to be restarted. This is a safety issue on the road. Recall has been noted on media and newspaper article for 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. These incidents when car shuts off actually happened before I seen the recall on the news. When I called Chevrolet to report issue I was told I would need to wait for recall letter before I could get the repair done. I feel that due to safety issue and my car actually having this problem that I should not wait until April for recall letter. I was told recall letters would not go out until April 2014. This same problem also happened to my Cobalt last year on 3-4 occasions during winter months when roads are more rough. GM's number for initial recall is 13454 and 14063 for the expansion recall. I do not want to pay out of pocket for the repairs. I am reporting this due to safety issue on the road. Need this car for work!
Went to start the vehicle and my ignition was locked. Worked an hour trying to do be able to turn key over. This has been just out of nowhere popped up one day. Has happened every time I shut off car and pull keys out of ignition.
Since purchasing this car, I've been able to remove the key from the ignition. I was prompted by the recent recall, but my car was apparently not affected.
On January 10th, 2010 our daughter [xxx] 21 yrs. Old was killed in a car accident. We received a recall notice from GM in April 2010 on the car a 2005 Chevy Cobalt for power steering failure. The recall involves removing entire power steering mechanism built by a partially owned Toyota factory. I knew the minute I got the news that my daughter was killed so violently and that it did not involve another car that it had to be mechanical failure. It was too late to save our daughter [xxx] but not too late to save others, I contacted GM who sent three representatives to the coparts scrap yard in duryea where the Cobalt was stored in July to investigate the car accident. A photographer, an accident reconstruction and a mechanical engineer that flew in from detroit, the objective was to remove the black box, computer from the car and analyze the data. We went to the scrap yard and for the first time saw the wreckage that was once a beautiful red sports car. All the windows including the sun roof were blown out, the Cobalt had flipped, rolled, ejecting [xxx] on to the highway where she was run over. We are not sure if [xxx] was killed on impact. The Cobalt burst into flames melting the instrument panel, shift, upholstery. At the coparts scrap yard in duryea, myself and my husband [xxx] father saw the car for the first time the Cobalt told the story of an extremely violent wreck. I was told by [xxx]that I would know the results from the black box data the next day. When I tried to contact GM through [xxx], miss price that they would not communicate with our family. GM has my property and they will not release the data without us providing proof that the car was defective. This is not possible since they took the most valuable piece of information from the car. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
The ignition on the car is loose and just through the weight of the key chain and by hitting a bump, the key can shift out of the "on" position, causing the car to turn off. This has happened on several occasions, typically on the highway - the car will completely shut off. Fortunately, each time my wife was able to coast to the side of the road and restart the car. The dealership said that this is a common problem in this model year. The dangers of this condition are obvious.
I had the ignition cylinder replaced about a year ago, due to the key not being able to release. This was a common problem with 2005 model year Cobalts. Well, the vehicle is doing this again. The key is not being released from the ignition cylinder. However, this time I believe it is the shifter assembly that has gone bad. There is no reverse lock out. I can freely cycle through the gears without applying the brakes which is a safety hazard. I can put the car in reverse without applying the brakes by simply moving the shift lever. Little to no force is needed, I can accidentally knock the lever into reverse with the littlest of force. I have yet to contact the dealer about the issue since I am sure it will cost a fortune to fix even though it is a documented problem with a few technical service bulletins on the issue.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Granville, NY, USA