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.
Traveling along at 55 mph, vehicle began to pull toward right, brake was applied, vehicle travel straightened momentarily then suddenly veered hard to right resulting in a collision with concrete bridge wall.
I was driving in town and the power steering warning flashed across the dashboard reader. I assumed I would need to go get some power steering fluid to fix the problem. The next day I was descending rapidly down a very steep curving hill when the power steering went out completely and I could not control the vehicle! I narrowly avoided a collision with another car and some trees! since then I have done some research an found innumerable complaints about this very issue across several model years of the Cobalt. It is well documented that this is a serious and chronic issue and GM has largely ignored the safety of those who keep them in business!! what a bad business model! we are a one car and one income family and now I simply cannot let my teenagers drive at all because I don't have $1000 to fix my car right before the holidays! thanks GM!!
On Friday, when I tried to back out of my parking space, my wheel was extremly difficult to turn. At first I thought it was because the weather was changing and it was cold outside. Throughout that day, the wheel began to loosen up, but it was still a little stiff. The next day, Saturday, I tried to turn my wheel and it would not turn. The wheel felt like it was stuck. I let my car warm up and eventually I was able to drive the car. On Sunday, I took my vehicle to pep boys to see what was wrong. They diagnosed that my struts were cracked and that was causing the problem. And they quoted me about $600! so I took it to precision auto tune for a second opinion. At precision, they told me that there was nothing wrong with the struts! and that I needed a new power steering motor, which costs me $423. They replaced the motor on Sunday. Monday morning, I went to drive to work and my wheel would not turn at all! I had the vehicle towed back to precision. So now they're telling me that its the steering column that needs to be repaired. And that would cost over $1000. I do not have that kind money and I'm still waiting on GM to fix the ignition switch from the recall. I'm taking the car to a dealership and hopefully they can fix the ignition and the steering free! inorder for precison to refund my money back, they took out the new motor and put the old one back in.
Had power steering replaced 2011 recall. In Dec 2013 power steering locked up again going down the road. Took to the GM dealership next day. They stated that I had to replace power steering column. I asked them if this was ordinary for these cars he said no that he would contact GM. Later that day he called to say GM would not fix the problem I would have to pay. I drove the car slowly and pray it didn't do it again. Today power steering went out again but this time all the gauges on car went crazy. Fuel gauge dropped to empty but I have full tank security light came on and when I tried to make it down driveway it was making funny noises.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer stated that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V047000 (air bags, electrical system) and NHTSA campaign number: 14V171000 (electrical system); however, the parts needed to repair the vehicle were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was 116,000.
- Coal Grove, OH, USA
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The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving at an unknown speed, the vehicle lost power steering and the power steering, service engine, and service air bag indicators illuminated. The vehicle stalled and was able to be restarted; however, the indicators remained illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle would not shut off, but the key was able to be removed from the ignition. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostic testing and the transmission module was replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle never experienced ignition failure until it was repaired according to NHTSA campaign number: 14V047000 (air bags, electrical system). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 95,000.
2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. Consumer writes in regards to trouble with vehicle starting. Also, during accident steering locked up and brakes malfunction. The vehicle was totaled.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving in reverse at approximately 5 mph, the steering wheel seized as the power steering light illuminated. The contact turned the ignition off and restarted the vehicle which resumed normal operation. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000.
Car's power steering failed. This is my 22 year old daughter's car. Luckily she was not going at a high speed or on the highway when this occurred. I took the vehicle to the dealer and was told this was a $1200 repair. Even though a recall was made on this model, it apparently affected only models built at certain factories. GM should recall all these vehicles since this is a known issue with this model.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at 40 mph, the power steering failed and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 100,018.
In my words and experience that happened on the day of 03/13/2013, appx 4:30 pm on my way home from work, like any other day over crowded traffic hour, stop and go, I started to experience loss of power in my vehicle. Twice it started loosing power then the vehicle veered towards oncoming traffic I steered to the right and vehicle would not steer back into normal position causing me to go over a dirt embankment and off a cliff, at that point I do not think the engine was running, I literally thought this was the end of my life, going through trees, hitting rocks. There was nothing I could do but to wait to die. Then the vehicle hit something real hard causing the vehicle to roll over and come to a stop. I just remember wanting to get out of the car as fast as I could. I had to crawl out of the passenger side to get out. I didn't see anyone I couldn't see the roadway I was so far down. I heard people yelling if I was ok. I then remembered I needed my purse and my phone to get help so I crawled back into the car I found my purse but no phone or keys until the vehicle was recovered by chp recovery. At the time I didn't feel I needed medical attention, but since the accident my back and my balance are not the same as they use to. I've also been having difficulties with my memory.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the power steering failed without any warnings. The vehicle was merged to the side of the road, where it was turned off for two hours and then restarted. The vehicle resumed its normal operations. The failure recurred on two separate occasions. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 9,000.
While driving along, getting off of an exit ramp onto a main hwy, I reached over to turn my defroster off, when the wheel jerked to the left, I attempted to gain control but never got total control although I did get back onto the road. A few seconds later the car jerked again and this time I realized the steering wheel was not moving-it was locked up and I could not turn it. I then hit the guard rail on the North side of the hwy and then came across to the South side hitting the concrete bridge railing. The ignition switch recall had supposedly been corrected but the ignition locked up on this vehicle.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 35 mph, the loss of power warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was previously repaired according to NHTSA campaign numbers: 14E021000 (electrical system: Ignition switch) and 10V073000 (steering), but the failures recurred. The contact also stated that the key would not turn in the ignition and the steering wheel was still difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the computer module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 127,000.
In 2012, my 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt was recalled for a power steering. I took my vehicle to a dealership in Nebraska where they performed the work but stated that they did not know how to fix permanently. About a week later, my power steering went out again. I returned to the same dealership and ended up paying to have the repairs done again only to have the power steering go out again within a week or so. I tried talking to the dealership so I could get this issue fixed but they just said they didn't have a way to fix the problem and there was nothing I could do except pay to replace the entire steering column / rack and pinion. When the ignition recall came out, I took the vehicle to hendrick's Chevrolet in cary, nc. They provided a rental car and I waited for 3 months to have that repaired. I assumed they were going to go ahead and fix the power steering since it was involved in another recall and the recall was not ever handled correctly. However, GM stated that the recall had fixed the issue and that they could not do anything for me. I let them know that the car was unsafe and that between the current power steering recall and the one from 2012, there has to be a connection that this car's steering was defective and was not ever properly fixed. GM asked that I come pick my car up and is refusing to do any further repairs because they feel the car is too old and that I waited too long (I wasn't waiting on anything - I had been expecting GM to honor the recall at some point in time. I believe that GM has taken advantage of me because I am a young woman and do not know much about the automotive industry.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated while driving approximately 20 mph, the steering wheel became very hard to turn. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 122,000.
As I turned the corner the steering wheel stuck and I was unable to turn back and I hit a parked car which caused $800 in damage to their car and $5400 in damage to my car and also caused my insurance to go up. When I had asked the people who fixed my car if they checked the power steering like I asked they said they did not.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired according to NHTSA campaign number: 10V073000 (steering). The contact began experiencing steering failure in may of 2014, after the recall repair was performed. The dealer informed the contact that a diagnostic fee would be charged for having the recall repairs performed again. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000.
The power steering, in this 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, started failing intermittently at low speeds, progressively getting worse while my daughter was driving, thoroughly frightening her. When I was at the dealer for the ignition switch recall I asked them about it and was told that since the power steering was replaced in the 2010 recall, (less than 4 years and about 46,000 miles ago) that there was nothing they could do because the recall was closed. As you know, a component this critical to the operation of a vehicle should not be failing at these frequent rates. This constitutes not only a major expense to repair a problem which shouldn't be occurring in the first place, but a major safety issue to the operator, passengers, and other motorists and pedestrians as well. This is a known problem with these vehicles and I suspect that the replacement parts used weren't any better than the originals, as evidenced by this failure and based on the number of complaints that I have since read about. A new recall has also been issued for the 2010 model year for this same issue, yet, this model year was included in the prior recall. It is my belief that General Motors should stand behind what is an obvious design flaw issue that has yet to be perfected. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Altus, OK, USA