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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.

The power steering failed so often that GM was forced to issue a recall in March, 2010. Great, but what about other problems like the key getting stuck in the ignition or all the other electrical demons this car possesses?

And, oh yes — then there’s the terribly dangerous issue where the Cobalt randomly shuts off while driving. As it turns out, that problem is related to GM’s massive 2014 recall for a dangerous ignition switch defect. A recall that eventually ballooned to 2.6 million vehicles in one of the automotive industry’s biggest scandals.

2.3

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
67,814 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.

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt body / paint problems

body / paint problem

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2005 Chevrolet Cobalt Owner Comments

problem #6

Sep 262014

Cobalt

  • 65,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated the door locks would independently unlock and lock in a loop which causes the vehicle alarm to activate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

- Chattanooga, TN, USA

problem #5

Apr 012013

Cobalt

  • 65,000 miles
Can not open door from inside or outside. Vehicle is not locked, will not open. Huge safety concern.

- Aurora, NE, USA

problem #4

Feb 012011

Cobalt

  • 80,000 miles
At multiple times, the driver side door will not open from either the inside or the outside latch. This seems to happen mainly when it gets very cold outside. When I pull the latch it doesn't feel like it catches anything inside the door. This problem will go on for a couple weeks, and then suddenly the latch will begin to work again.

- Beaver Falls, PA, USA

problem #3

Dec 282011

Cobalt

  • 90,000 miles

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

I was in town with my 5 month old baby and my door handle messed up. I had parked, and exited the car and went around to passenger side of car to open the door and get my son but the door wouldn't open. I locked and unlocked the car door and it was still stuck. It was as though the door handle wasn't latched to anything. It was just there, it wouldn't do anything. I beat and bang on the door for almost an hour until the passenger side door finally opened. The driver side door still won't open, inside or out. This car needs to be recalled. I have read of many others with same problem. My child who is only 5 months old was screaming and I couldn't get to him. This could have been very tragic had it been hot outside. Someone needs to do something about this!!

- Vicksburg, MS, USA

problem #2

Mar 172010

Cobalt 4-cyl

  • 45,000 miles
My 2005 Cobalt has problems with the doors getting stuck shut. They will not open from the inside or outside. I feel that this is a major safety issue due to the fact that if I need to get out of my car in a hurry that this will not be possible. Something needs to be done about this problem.

- Elkton, MD, USA

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problem #1

Oct 142009

Cobalt

  • 61,882 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact was driving approximately between 15-20 mph on normal road conditions. A chime sounded inside the vehicle; followed by the power steering warning light indicator illumination. Immediately, there was a loss of power steering. The driver pulled over to the side of the road. The engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was able to resume normal operation for a short period of five seconds. In addition, the front driver door caused an extremely intense electrical shock whenever accessing the door. The front driver side seat belt buckle failed to function. The failure occurrences were whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The technician refused to perform a diagnostic testing without a service charge. The vehicle has not been inspected for the failure or repaired at this time. The contact had concern of the potential safety hazard. The failure mileage was 61,882.

- Glasgow , KY, USA

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