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.
Driving up hill on freeway. Gas petal stuck to floor increasing speed. Could only stop by pressing hard( brake petal almost all the way down). Tried to duplicate scenario again but couldn't. temperature was cold <30F outside.
When driving at a constant rate, with constant accelerator pressure, between approximately 25 to 50 mph, the rpms jump/fluctuate causing the car to lurch and hesitate. This can be a safety hazard, particularly in icy conditions. The only way to avoid the hesitation is to actively accelerate or decelerate. There are numerous owners that have posted an identical issue on message boards and have stated that their vehicles had similar issues that were remedied by similar repair processes and that Chevrolet has altered the process used to make replacement parts as the initial parts were defective. In addition to being a safety hazard, it is also an excessive and costly burden on vehicle owners. My vehicle has only 40,000 miles on it and has been doing this since under 35,000 miles. It cannot be documented without a video. The rpms jumping is a constant and unrelenting issue when driving at a constant rate of speed between approximately 25-50 mph.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 40 mph, the vehicle accelerated rapidly without warning and crashed into a concrete guardrail three times. The air bags deployed partially. A police report was filed. The contact stated that she could not move and was taken to the emergency room to receive medical attention. The vehicle was not destroyed. The local Chevrolet dealer was made aware of the crash. The manufacturer was made aware of the crash and performed a diagnostic test which found no failure. The failure mileage was 134,000. Updated 07/18/17
While driving at low speeds (30mph) the power steering light came on. The car stalled, the wheel tightened up, the symbol with a locked car turned on. The speedometer started moving up and down crazyly. Check engine light came on as well. I moved to the side because it was really difficult to control and as I did the car just kept stalling worse and worse. Once I pulled over I turned off the car. I wasnt as freaked out as the first time this occurred since this has happened numerous of times and I've taken it to 3 different mechanics who don't know how to fix it at all. It's very scary it also happened while going at 60mph and all I do is pull over and then call the tow or drive it at low speeds home. I'm sure I fall in the category for a recall but have never gotten a recall letter. Its extremely dangerous and scary to drive with fear of this happening at anytime specially when you carry passengers. Alot of other people have the same problem as me and it's annoying hopefully GM fixes this problem for us all.
- Royal City, WA, USA
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Some times the car will not start, reduced engine power, can not go long distance on turn pike, car will stall out. Fuel/propulsion system, has a problem also, but will not let me click on box above.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck to the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who drove the vehicle and was able to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 25 mph, the accelerator pedal became stuck when depressed. The contact depressed the brake pedal, but the vehicle failed to stop. In order to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal and the emergency brake needed to be engaged. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who did not diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 96,025.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle decelerated violently. In addition, the contact had to apply force to the accelerator pedal in order to increase in speed. In addition, the low tire pressure warning light illuminated. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 96,000. Updated 1/12/16
While driving the car, the service traction control light, the service engine light and the eng pwr reduced notification came on. When this happened, there was a thump sound, the car hesitated and lost acceleration for a couple seconds and the car had obvious performance issues after that. At the time that this occurred, I was merging into moving traffic and was almost hit by the car behind me, since the car hesitated for a moment, reducing my merging speed at a time that I needed to be accelerating. This could have been a very bad situation!
Clutch is losing pressure, can not shift gears to drive the 2008 Chevy Cobalt ls (manual). Must pump clutch over 200 times to get pressure back. The clutch pressure goes out while driving on street and the highways, making it no way to downshift/ slow down. Could cause injury to all passengers.
My car ran into 3 times (2012 - 2, 2014 -1) lost control when I drive to high way and car lost power and control. Luckily I don't have any injury. But it's huge dangerous when my family also in the car. I don't know exact reason at beginning. I always send car to full maintenance after the incident. They always charged me different fix as well. Recently I continuously received GM safety recall letter to fix the GM safety recall 14115. I tried to make appointment with different dealers. They always told me the parts is not ready and there is no estimated time, maybe take very long time (months) to wait, even GM urge me to fix it at the same time. Until now, I have already received 4 letters from GM Chevrolet and tell me fix as soon as possible, parts available. However, I don't understand why their branches take so long time and it seems put into a such a low and slow priority. A manufacturer may have flaw in their products. However, if they could not fix it for customer as soon as possible, they should not deserve customer satisfaction and respect. They regard customer safety as nothing. I won't buy any cars of this vender, nor my friend. I and my friends discussed this and they are all surprised and suggested me sell cars. And also share the comments and feelings in this channel. Thanks.
I was in my driveway I was attempting to just back up and turn around I no sooner put the car in reverse and just touched the gas pedal when they car accelerated out of control with both feet on the brake the car still would not stop and crashed into a another family car was behind me and backed into it hard. The only thing that saved it from being more serious was the short distance that I traveled maybe 20ft god knows how bad it could have been if it had more distance to accelerate even more than it did. Not once did I ever have a problem like this before. GM need to fix my car and my family members car well for there faulty parts they have been using on there cars I am thankful I was the only person in the car.
Ignition switch jams; air bag light stays on; cruise control stopped working; airconditioner stopped working; tire light stays on; engine light stays on; and now heater is barely working.
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the vehicle suddenly accelerated without warning. The contact was able to apply the brakes and slow down the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for a diagnostic test. The vehicle was currently destroyed due to a crash, but the contact stated that the crash was not related to unintended acceleration. No one was injured during the crash. The failure mileage was 55,000. Updated 08/01/12 the consumer stated that it is unknown whether or not the crash was caused by the spontaneous acceleration. The spontaneous acceleration happened 4-6 times. The acceleration would occur on level ground, highway, and uphills at a speed of 25 mph and 55mph. The airbags deployed on the drivers side of the vehicle. The impact was on the passenger side. The consumer states that the accelerator would stick. Updated 08/02/2012
Cruise control works intermittently turn signals turn off on there own once in about every 10 time use. If your don't hear turn signal still blinking and keep driving other driver think you going to turn, came close to wreaking couple of times that's when I notice they weren't turning off after making the turn.
My 2008 Chevy Cobalt just started giving me problems April 2, 2011. I purchased it on March 15, 2011. I went to leave work and my car wouldn't start. All my electrical components shut down on me and my key wouldn't come out the ignition. When I turned the switch it just made a clicking noise. So I just sat there trying to figure out what was wrong. So I walked away trying to get help. When I returned the radio was on and the car just started right up. Also it doesn't pick up speed on the highway. At 65mph it seems as if I'm just barely moving. I feel as though this is an inconvenience to me because I have to sit and wonder if my car is gonna start everytime I turn the switch. It has occurred several times in one day and I haven't even had my car for a month. I am highly upset.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle accelerated without warning. The dealer was notified and stated that the floor mats needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified, but offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 42,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Harrison, MT, USA