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 power steering on my 2005 Chevy Cobalt stopped working resulting in me not being able to steer my car safely, also at times locking in one fixed position. I called Chevrolet and was told there was no recall for the power steering and so I took my car to lannon Chevrolet and had the power steering fixed at my own expense costing $1090. In March Chevrolet announce a voluntary recall for the 2005 Chevy Cobalt, but has not made the recall official and will not reimburse me.
My vehicle has had multiple issues gas tank replaced sensors replaced, cd player is always locking up, cds get stuck, vehicle vibration issues never fixed and a rotating noise along with road noise never fixed. Current would be the power steering which works for about five seconds giving me enough time to get out of my parking spot, then a power steering warning lights up and the steering wheel gets stiff and is really hard to turn. I have contacted GM and a dealer both have denied to fix the problem. It is very hard to park reversing into a parking is impossible.
My 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt has been having problems with it's power steering. This first happened in the beginning of 2009. I was driving my Cobalt down a steep hill going approximately 15-20mph and out of the blue my driver message center flashed the words 'power steering', a chime sounded and my vehicle lost all steering ability. I was barely able to control my car. I was luckily able to use my brakes to stop the vehicle but again had no ability to steer the vehicle at all. Once I stopped, the vehicle lost all power and shut off. I started the vehicle up again (it struggled) and it did the same thing, flashed 'power steering' on the message center, a chime sounded and I was unable to steer the vehicle. This incident also happened again over the past two days (March 13, 2010 and March 14, 2010. This time I was coming out of my parking space at my apartment complex and the car again flashed 'power steering' in the message center, a chime sounded and I again lost all ability to steer my vehicle and the vehicle then lost all power and shut off. I started the vehicle back up several times and finally on the 4th or 5th time, the power steering was restored but the 'check engine' light has remained lit ever since. I am currently not driving the vehicle due to this issue. I have also researched and found other people with Chevy Cobalts to have this problem. This is a serious safety concern and needs to be addressed by GM immediately.
Power steering fails often. We looked to see if the power steering fluid was low and found out nothing to fill. It is all electric powered. It is very difficult to drive. Young daughter driving car to work and college. Very concerned for her safety. Took it to dealer had the steering motor assembly replaced at a cost of $377. The car has only 59,000 miles on it.
We have taken our daughters Cobalt to the dealer 3 times because the power steering keeps going out. It is placing our daughter is serious danger. We have spent close to $1000 on this issue. It went out in December and we took it back to the dealer and they said nothing was wrong with it. It went out again today.
- El Paso, TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While the contact was traveling at a speed of 60 mph he noticed that the power steering light had appeared on the dashboard and at the same moment the vehicle suddenly became very difficult to steer. The dealership was contacted and informed the contact that NHTSA recall 10V073000 was not official and no repairs could be made on his vehicle. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and the failure has occurred on 6 different occasions. The failure mileage was at 45800 and the current mileage is 47800.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving at speeds of 60 mph, the vehicle began veering to the left, without warning. The power steering failed without warning. The vehicle was unable to steer in a straight direction which resulted in a crash into the median and a small ditch. The vehicle began spinning out of control, and rolled over at least three times. The driver suffered very minor injuries. However, the passenger suffered several major injuries. The police arrived to the scene and the passenger was air lifted from the scene. The passenger's pelvic bone was broke in three places, a fractured vertebrae and tail bone, right hip was broken, left hip injury, and all five ribs on the right side were broken. The vehicle was completely destroyed. The failure mileage was 95,000.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact was driving approximately 20 mph with a loss of power steering. The vehicle was able to continue in operation with caution. Additionally, the transmission slipped and the speedometer fluctuated and displayed inaccurate readings. The manufacturer was notified; the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction. The VIN number was unavailable. The failure mileage was 70,000. The current mileage was 72,000.
The power steering on my 2005 Chevy Cobalt went out while I was driving, luckily it didn't result in an accident. I could have just as easily been in an accident due to the fact I couldn't turn my wheel at all. I took the Cobalt to a shop, and it turns out it was the motor. Apparently this happens to a ton of Chevy Cobalts all the time. This is sooo dangerous! also, occasionally my driver side door won't open from the inside or outside. This could be a huge safety risk if I needed to get out of my vehicle in a hurry.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While traveling at approximately 20 mph, the driver noticed the power steering indicator light illuminated on the warning panel immediately followed by a loss of power steering assist. The driver shut off the engine and upon restarting, the power steering assist would reset itself. Within minutes, the failure would occur again. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed. The dealer verified the power steering as well as another unknown part had failed. Repairs were made to the vehicle at the owners expense. There were no recalls on the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 57,500 and the current was 58,000.
I had left my driveway and started heading down the road when my powersteering shutdown. Turn the car off and start it again and I have powersteering for a short time. Now it does it at least once a day. Waiting for GM to come up with a fix before I see a mechanic. Hard to steer but still drivable.
Power steering failure at random. I bought a 2005 Chevy Cobalt brand new in 2005. After driving 40,000 miles I would get a power steering failure. When I first turn the car on I have power steering, but after a random moment of time it cuts out and the light on the dash comes on. It will go out in mid turn or while going straight & both forward and in reverse. Most reports I can find about the problem say it will cost about $2000 to fix and the problem recurs. The only way to get a part to fix it is to take it to the dealership and some dealerships are saying its the steering column while others say its a motor. I think its a scam from GM to make a part that goes out and charge an arm and a leg to fix. The failure happens daily now. Its difficult to turn the steering wheel. It is unsafe to turn into busy traffic in the city and driving around mountains. It was the cheapest new car I could find at the time because I'm poor, so forking over $2000 for a part that will go out again in another 40,000 miles is never going to happen. Even though there is a light on the dash to indicate a power steering failure, it does not show up on diagnostics. It is an electrical issue and not mechanical, so its not under warranty. I have not yet been in a crash, but I have come close many times. Many owners I have spoke with have this problem, and have crashed or come close to crashing on many occasions.
I bought a used 2005 Chevy Cobalt about 2 years ago. A few months after the purchase the power steering started to fail at seemingly random intervals, but on an all to regular basis. I don't believe I had anything to do with the problem as I was simply driving down the road when it chose to first fail. It occurs numerous times daily and has nearly caused me to crash several times (especially when it fails mid-turn). Nothing has been done to correct seeing as they told me to fix the power steering I would have to replace the entire steering column costing me up to 2500 dollars. Something that I just cannot afford to pay for.
Vehicle would not turn right steering issue. As a result the car continued straight, over median, over 2 curbs before driver could stop vehicle just shy of gas meter. Filed complaint with GM > the dealership where I purchased the vehicle informed me of a recall on GM Cobalt and the parts to fix problem will not be available. And it appears that is what happened why the vehicle would not turn. And my vehicle cannot be repaired.
We have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt. Issue 1: the power steering has failed intermittently while driving. The power steering has failed completely for the last 4 months but, now starting to work intermittently again. We called several dealers back in May 2009 about this issue. Some dealers were are very aware of the problem. The dealers told me the entire steering column has to be replaced because it is a electronic failure. The power steering is controlled by an electric motor instead of hydraulics that are found in most cars. The cost to replace the steering column is $1,200+. I would like this issue fixed because it has almost caused several accidents when it initially started. We want to sell the vehicle but, we do not want to pass this lemon on to another consumer who may not be aware of these issues. Issue 2: the wheel well covers and interior molding are attached to the vehicle with cheap plastic gromets that fail from fatigue and poor engineering. The wheel well covers have come off while driving. I reattached a partially attached wheel well cover with sheet metal screws and removed the rest. These items are accidents waiting to happen. I am disappointed in GM's quality and engineering practices.
My wife and I got into the car, we started to pull off from her parent's house and before we made it off their street, the car chimed and "power steering" was displayed on the dash. The power steering immediately became extremely difficult to manage, as we almost got into an accident on the street. It chimes as soon as we start the car and begin pulling out of our driveway, or pulling away from anywhere we are. It takes maybe 5 seconds from the time we start the car before we hear the chime. It is immediate. We have researched this online and found that GM has done a recall, finally, on these cars due to the malfunction of the chip for the power steering. We are contacting our local Chevy dealer today to see what steps we need to take next to fix the problem. We have only had this car for 2 years now.
I had no power steering/power steering on my 2005 Chevy Cobalt failed and the nearest place I could go was a local Goodyear repair shop. They kept my car for 3 days, had to order new parts and take out the steering column assembly and replace cost to me was $956.75. This occurred on Aug. 20, 2009. I had no idea that this was a defect until I just read about it now. 64,000 miles are on my auto and I am on a fixed income, cannot afford another auto.
The power steering on my 2005 Chevy Cobalt all of a sudden went out while I was driving. I could barely control the car. I am a 22 year old female and this scared me half to death since I almost crashed and could not turn the wheel.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Chelmsford, MA, USA