When purchased my 2007 Cobalt it was brand NEW only 4 miles which I put on for test drive. I have replaced the control arm's 3 times since I purchased it in 2007. First 2 times under warranty. 3rd time out of pocket. They need to be replaced again for the 4th time this is definitely a recall situiation.
The car was making a rattling sound and the steering wheel was shaking bad. Mostly at speeds above 40 miles/hour or going slower. Sometimes the sound would get worse or stop as I turned the steering wheel a little.
Mechanic took it for a ride and replace both front lower control arms. He said he could only change the bushings but it would certainly come back. I paid an extra $200 and got everything changed.
I have repaired the bushing and arm 3 times in the 6 years that I have owned the car. This seems like a major issue or a defect in the Cobalt that should be looked into. As of right now, I can feel the bushing going bad on the car and trying to figure where I am going to get the money to get it repaired again.
With less than 55,000 miles, I had to replace the struts and control arms. Given the low mileage on the car, thought the wear was very premature. Had the work done at an area vocational school. Got quotes from $1500 to $3000 from private mechanics. Pretty ticked; not expecting any major problems with such low mileage. Owned a Toyota Celica prior to this car; 1993 and put on 186,000 miles on it. On disability and wanted to support American manufacturers, but given the opportunity, will definitely switch back to Toyota.
This is the 3rd time that I'll have this issue remedied. The first happened at 15k miles. The second at 80k miles. Now at 167k miles, I'm gonna have to get the control arm bushings replaced again!!! This time, I am advised that I need to replace the whole control arm along with new bushings! Buy American!!! Let's do our fair share to help boost the economy! Piece of crap, but its all American!
- Tom V.,
Detroit, MI, US
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GM should Warranty tis issue it seems very common and this control arm bushing should no way fail after 4years and only 10,000 Miles. Should we still by USA Made Vehicles?
These colbalts are replicas of the Dodge Neons! Junk! I have read numerous complaints & talk to several colbalt owners w/same problem. Lower/upper control arms/bushings need replacement-not part of the warranty. Dealers are aware of the number of complaints!!! Shouldn't they have to report these to the National Hwy Traffic Safety Commission?? There would definately be a recall if people knew who to report this defect to. Thats the problem whey there's no recall. Consumers are reporting to complaints to different agencies i.e. att. general, nhtsa.gov, dealer, mechanics..This is unacceptable! No car w/15,000-20,000 miles on it should have to have bushings/control arms replaced, and i think it's more than that! possible steering rack or something. These cars are not cheap-average $16000!!! They're going after Toyota--but they need to get some balls and go after GM too!
This is a very dangerous situation..Consumers need to file complaint w/www.nhtsa.gov (National Hwy Traffic Safety Commision to be heard. The A.G. aren't going to do anything. GM is totally at fault for using crap parts and poor engineering of this model!! Please help me get them to pay by filing a complaint!!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
When purchased my 2007 Cobalt it was brand NEW only 4 miles which I put on for test drive. I have replaced the control arm's 3 times since I purchased it in 2007. First 2 times under warranty. 3rd time out of pocket. They need to be replaced again for the 4th time this is definitely a recall situiation.
- M L., York, PA, US