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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2006 Cobalt continued to carry the torch first lit by the 2005 model year. To be clear, that torch is burning bright with widespread power steering issues, electrical curiosities and a dangerous ignition switch defect which led to a massive recall by GM. This isn’t a great torch to carry.

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.

Between this car stalling while driving, giving owners fits with power steering failure and having it be a potential tinderbox because of gas leaks, we felt we had no other option than to award it our “Avoid Like the Plague” badge.

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
70 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
129 / 3
Average Mileage:
64,228 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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 Chevrolet Cobalt steering problems

steering problem

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2006 Chevrolet Cobalt Owner Comments (Page 49 of 62)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #270

Oct 162009

Cobalt

  • 652,222 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Im having so much trouble in my electric power steering in my 2006 Chevy Cobalt it jus quit on me all of a sudden an I ran into a ditch no warning lights had came on till after I was pulled out of the ditch I found it hard to turn and everyone I take it to cant find the codes to tell what's wrong with the car but the only place that did was the dealer ship N they said that as soon as I told them about it they did one check after that and confirmed it.

- Idabel , OK, USA

problem #269

Oct 212009

Cobalt

  • 26,000 miles
My daughter was driving her 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt last night and the power steering light on the dash came on and the power steering went totally dead. She was turning into a parking lot and almost didn't make it. After shutting the engine off and then restarting, the power steering started to work again but a few minutes later she was back to no power steering. I checked in the internet and found hundreds of such incidents reported on 2005 and 2006 Cobalt vehicles. I called the dealer today and the service department indicated they have serviced a few of these problems. Expected remedy is to replace the steering column for about $1200. This car has been on the road for 39 months and has 26,000 miles on it. This situation poses a serious safety hazard and a recall for this defect needs to be initiated.

- Sterling, VA, USA

problem #268

Sep 302009

Cobalt

  • 67,000 miles
I own a 2006 Chevy Cobalt lt and recently while I am driving the T/C, security, and power steering lights come on and my power steering goes out and my car starts bucking and jumping like crazy. The last time it happened while I was driving 70 down the interstate and I almost crashed into the divider wall trying to pull over. It has been brought into the dealership 3 times and they have no idea what is causing it. I have already paid for a new transmission module which was not the problem. It seems to reset after the car is turned off for a while but if it happens it could cause serious crashes. There are already thousands of reports on the same incident with this particular car.

- Metairie, LA, USA

problem #267

Oct 202009

Cobalt

  • 20,890 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

There was no warning im driving about 55 mph down highway and all of a sudden I lost my power steering very hard to drive I pulled over turned car off and looked under hood didn't see no problem got back in started car up and power steering was back got it home and parked it I had my mechanic come and look at it put machine on it no problem showed so I took it about 10 miles from home and it did it again shut off car and restarted it and problem was gone for awhile but keeps recurring over and over so afraid im not going to be able to handle this car everytime it decides to do this its got me stunned I did some research and im not the only one experiencing this problem I've seen a least 25 to 40 others whom have same problem its going to cause a accident and I hope its not me but I have complained about this already and I got it recorded where I have complained so it needs to be resolved before someone gets hurt and then there will be lawsuits for Chevy Cobalt makers to deal with.

- Normalville, PA, USA

problem #266

Oct 202009

Cobalt

  • 44 miles
The power steering for my 2006 Cobalt will stop working at random times. This has happened up to 5 times during a given day including in stopped traffic waiting at a red light and driving at 70 mph on the interstate. The solution is to turn the car off and turn the car on and it will reset the power steering. This has resulted in me driving at anywhere from 25 to 70 mph and then having the driving conditions of the car change instantly which is very dangerous. I have called a Chevrolet dealer about this issue. They are aware of it and their solution is for the customer to replace the entire steering column which will cost approximately $900. This is a widespread issue from what I have been reading on the internet and demands a recall.

- Pittston, PA, USA

problem #265

Oct 172009

Cobalt

  • 10,313 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 35 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then there was a loss of power steering. The vehicle was restarted and he resumed normal vehicle operation. The dealer stated that the power steering motor should be replaced at the manufacturers expense. The current and failure mileages were 10,313.

- Jeanntte, PA, USA

problem #264

Aug 102009

Cobalt

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt with power steering that stop working.

- Medford, NY, USA

problem #263

Oct 202009

Cobalt 4-cyl

  • 20,694 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 55 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then there was a loss of power steering. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealership. The current and failure mileages were 20,694. Updaetd 11/13/09. Updated 11/16/09

- Normalville, PA, USA

problem #262

Oct 162009

Cobalt

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 35 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel, and then there was a loss of power steering. The vehicle has not been diagnosed by the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 110000.

- Kissimnee, FL, USA

problem #261

Oct 192009

Cobalt

  • 60,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. Intermittently while driving he lost power steering. He had to restart the vehicle to resume normal vehicle operation. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility and a mechanic concluded that the electric power steering motor needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 60,000.

- Wake Forest, NC, USA

problem #260

Oct 192009

Cobalt

  • 67,649 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I own a 2006 Chevy Cobalt. I am having a power steering fail. While driving specifically while making a turn the power steering suddenly fails. The information center displays power steering. If you shut off the vehicle it seems to reset the computer and cause the power steering to return. I have had it read by a mechanics computer but they are unable to identify the specific issue. I have seen several hundred other Cobalt owners with this exact complaint. Chevy does not care because it is after the warranty. This is a major safety issue. If you lack even a little upper body strength you could crash! I was coming around a corner on the freeway stack! please help us force Chevy to do what's right before someone does get seriously hurt or killed.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

problem #259

Oct 132009

Cobalt

  • 41,000 miles
In summer, 2009, problems began to arise with steering and cruise control on 2006 Chevy. Cobalt. A light in the dash would come on then steering becomes very hard, uncontrollable as if the car had no power assist at all. The power assist failures became more frequent so car was taken to Chevy. Dealer on 9/25/09. The service dept. Charged $181 and made some corrections but were reluctant to advise the problem had been corrected. On 10/20/09, a collision almost occurred during a right hand turn being made and the power steering failure coinciding.

- Wilson, NC, USA

problem #258

Oct 102009

Cobalt

  • miles
I have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt and I am having issues with the steering, it keeps going out on me while driving. When U turn it off and turn it back on it works for a short period of time and goes out again. I took it to the garage and he could not find anything.

- Springfield, OH, USA

problem #257

Oct 182009

Cobalt

  • 60,000 miles
My daughter just got a 2006 Cobalt and the power steering light came on a she couldn't turn the wheel and she was pulling in the parking lot to cheer at her football game and she had a little accident noone was hurt but she was very scared and didn't understand why it would do that. It is going to the shop Monday the 19th and when they put all new parts for the power steering and if it does it again I will have my attorneys in court with General Motors. I guess it is going to take someone getting killed or seriously injured before someone will take all of this seriously and recall this.

- Burleson, TX, USA

problem #256

Oct 172009

Cobalt

  • 80,700 miles
I was coming down a road about 500 feet before I was to turn off the main road, this light pops up on my dash showing "power steering" and when I slowed to turn right, my power steering was gone! this is crazy! I had some friends look over it and the fuses looked fine. They decided I had to take it to the dealer, because in the owners manual under power steering, if the light comes on, it states, return to dealer. Nothing else. Later when I got in my car to go home, the power steering worked fine. This is crazy. (this is on a Saturday evening) Sunday evening, I am heading to church, the power steering goes out again!!! the guys at work check it out, they switched up the relay switches, the one for the power steering is dead! they pick a new one at auto zone and replace it. Power steering again, yea!!! I didn't get a half a mile from the church and the power steering goes out again!! and you cannot turn on a dime either!! very dangerous!!!

- Philadelphia, MS, USA

problem #255

Oct 172009

Cobalt

  • 33,000 miles
2006 Chevrolet Cobalt, will not start. Power steering comes on dashboard. This occurs at random times, leaving me without a car sometimes for days. Already took it to dealership, said it was a wire, they replaced it, it still continues with the same problems.

- Tracy, CA, USA

problem #254

Oct 162009

Cobalt

  • 76,427 miles
Powersteering light comes on without warning while driving and then the car gets hard to steer, which is very unsafe because it almost caused me to wreck. Once you shut off the car, it resets and then it will do it again a while later. I checked online and the easiest fix is to replace the whole steering column and this costs just under 1,000$. I've looked online and there are hundreds of people with the same problem. How can this be? it is very dangerous. It should be a recall.

- Sturgis, MI, USA

problem #253

Oct 032009

Cobalt

  • 56,000 miles
The power steering light came on in my 2006 Chevy Cobalt and then my power steering went out. I could barely keep the car on the road! I pulled over, turned the car off and the light went off but now the power steering goes off randomly all the time. I feel like it will definitely make me have an accident and it is so dangerous.

- Fuquay Varina, NC, USA

problem #252

Oct 172009

Cobalt

  • miles
Driving down the road in my 2006 Chevy Cobalt with only 40,000 miles and the power steering message appears and the power steering went out and caused me to run off the road right after I almost hit another car head on this is very dangerous and could cause someone to be hurt or even killed.

- Ashland, AL, USA

problem #251

Oct 012009

Cobalt

  • 46,000 miles
2006 Chevy Cobalt lt power steering goes out intermittently. Must turn off car and restart to regain power steering.

- Campbellsville, KY, USA

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