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.
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
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while her son was driving and his cousin in the passenger side seat at 78 mph, the brakes failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. The contact stated that while her son was driving the vehicle caught on fire, lost control of the vehicle, hit a fire hydrant and crashed into a tree. The air bags did not deploy. It was unknown the origin of the fire. The driver was injured which resulted with laceration on the anterior right side, there were bilateral wrist fracture, fracture to the right femur and left knee. There was an aortic laceration and multiple bilateral lung lacerations and cardiac contusions, autopsy also reveled first to forth degree firms burns with charring on approximately 70% of the body surface area, there were thermal fractures to the skull and both the hands. The driver was reported dead at the scene and the front passenger sustained a head injury that required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously included in a recall for the air bags. The vehicle was repaired. The air bag warning indicator was illuminated, which indicated that the passenger side air bag was deactivated despite the passenger seat being occupied. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The recall details were not provided. The approximate failure mileage was 17,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While the vehicle was stationary, the air bag sensor stopped working. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 135,000.
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle was involved in a crash while trying to avoid another collision. The air bags partially deployed and did not function as designed. The driver sustained liver injuries. The passenger was taken to his residence where he later succumbed to fatal injuries. The passenger was taken to the hospital where it was determined that the cause of death was due to blunt force trauma to the chest and internal bleeding. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The failure mileage was unknown.
- Aberdeen, WA, USA
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I just bought 2008 Chevy Cobalt. The seller reported the mileage initially as 112,000. At time of purchase, 150,000 approximately. However there was/is no way to view mileage on dash of car, with the exception of briefly prior to starting the vehicle. It actually shows approximately 159,000 km. Conversion of km into miles says 98,000. In addition to mileage discrepancy, there is a very strong smell of gas inside the car, the steering wheel is upside down, 2 or 3 motor and or transmission mounts are broken or not attached, right front rotor bad, no functioning blinkers or brake lights, dash lights indicate svc tire monitor needs attention, air bags need serviced, brake light stays on, the trunk release isn't working, the wiring is questionable, only one speaker works, no stereo antennae, no horn, no way to view critical engine information, such as temperature or battery life. Service engine light on constantly, seller indicated all recalls had been addressed and he was supposed to be responsible for taxes on vehicle which were included in price, but I wound up paying back registration fees from 2014. All attempts to right this have been ignored. Seller implies that the Chevrolet dealership left the car in the current condition.
Power steering went out while I was driving at a speed of 45 mph. I checked fuse and it was blown. I then but new fuse in and started car. The second I started the car the fuse blew again. The strang thing was that even tho the fues had blown the power steering continued to work until the car was shut off. Also my radio started changing stations by itself and airbag warning came across the dash then a couple days after that started I went to start the car and it wouldn't. radio, outside lights and blinkers, interior lights, and dash lights would all still work, but it seemed that no power was getting to the starter nor the fule pump. At this time the car still won't start
Airbag warning light illuminated. Dealer states B0081 71 code found when scanned and passenger presence code 23 set. Found bulletin 09-06-40-003A covering this issue. Checked wiring, modified sleeve and recommended replacing passenger side seat belt tensioner. Research shows this to be a known defect and dealership acknowledged this by modifying the connector sleeve. This is a safety concern and should be recalled for repairs at no cost to the consumer.
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 15 mph, there was a loss of steering, which resulted in a driver side impact collision. The air bags did not deploy. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where the vehicle was deemed destroyed. Prior to the failure, the vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 14V047000 (air bags, electrical system). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. A police report was filed. There were no injuries reported that required medical attention. The failure mileage was 138,000.
Airbag : warning intermittently comes on.. then resets on the next ignition start. Then will reappear again. Suspension: Severe clunking in front end only when turning or maneuvering. This vehicle has done 46K miles total.
One morning when I started my 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt with the 2lt trim package, the airbag readiness light came on and stayed on the whole time I was driving, and at the same time the passenger airbag status indicator off symbol was lit. The car had never been involved in an accident and the approximate millage on my car at this time was 50,577. There was a person setting in the passenger seat that weighed approximately 140 pounds, so the airbag should have been on. Ever since that day, every time I start my car the airbag readiness light and the passenger airbag off lite come on and stays on. I checked the connectors under the passenger seat and all were connected. I took my car, paid out of pocket to have diagnostic testing to get the error codes for this but no codes were shown. Recently I took it to the dealership for the ignition switch safety recall repaired. After reading Chevrolet Cobalt technical service bulletins about airbags, numerous complaints from other Cobalt owners about this exact problem, recalls that had the term airbags mentioned, I decided to tell my concern to the service employees and was told this wasn't covered, that I could pay for them to do testing on it. Seeing as I had already paid for the exact same testing before with no results as to what was wrong, I declined to have it done again. I contacted Chevrolet by email concerning this. They emailed me back asking for additional information. I replyed with that information and have never heard anything back from them. What do those of us who have safety concerns associated with the airbags need to do to get Chevrolet to acknoweledge that this is a problem that needs their attention seeing as this is a common problem with the Cobalts? seeing as Chevrolet has put out technical service bulletins concerning this exact problem proves they are aware of it but have yet to do anything about it.
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While merging approximately 35 mph, the front and rear exterior lights failed without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into a concrete wall. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained a concussion that required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 117,048....updated 01/20/16 the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired.
The air bag switched turned on and does not cut off and now the car hesitates to start up. All my recalls have been due to either electrical, steering and ignition problems. Now their is an issue witj the air bag and ignition. It chokes them starts after turning the key all the way to the right but it hesitates to start. This dudnt not happen unitl the air bags light started to stay on.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated when there was a passenger in the vehicle. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact was advised that the sensor was defective and the air bags needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
I got the car new, with 13 miles on it, in 2008. The " service airbag " light came on and stayed on. I did get it checked when I went in for service, and the light went off for 4 days, and then it has been on ever since, when I went again for service, I mentioned it, they said they would look at it. They did nothing.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the air bag warning light illuminated. The failure recurred multiple times. The failure was not diagnosed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 168,000.
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving at approximately 40 mph, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained head injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 143,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact was driving approximately 35 mph and crashed into another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy and the passenger's side seat belt fractured. The contact sustained shoulder and neck injuries from the seat belt restraints and required medical attention. The front passenger sustained abrasions to the neck. A police report was filed of the incident. Additionally, the contact had been involved in a second crash while driving 55 mph. The contact crashed into a deer and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained lower back injuries but a police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 30,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the air bag light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed of repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 59,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbus, OH, USA