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.
I had been having trouble with a 2008 Chevy Cobalt; the power steering would go on and off but even when the computer said the power steering was off it might still be working or it might not. This past week I was driving home and started to go across the line in the middle of a curve. The computer said the power steering was off but it wasn't. it caused me to over-correct, hit a ditch and flip my car. The car was totaled.
The contact owned a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact was driving approximately 25 mph when the power steering failed. The vehicle abnormally swayed back and forth and the contact was unable to regain control of the vehicle. The vehicle independently veered into another lane and crashed into a vehicle. There were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact stated that there was no prior indication of a steering failure. The police responded but did not file a report. The manufacturer was contacted but could offer no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.
The contact owns 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 45 mph the power steering failed and she lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over. She was taken to the hospital with injuries. The police towed the vehicle and stated that it was destroyed. A police report was filed. There was only one occupant who was wearing a seatbelt when the crash occurred. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that they will contact with him within a few days. The failure mileage was 17,200.
2008 Chevy Cobalt, I bought it brand new in Jan. 2008! I have had nothing but problems with the passengers side front end and front brakes. In the beginning, the car was under warranty, now it is not, but the problems keep happening and I have had it back in for service many, many times! always for the same issues, front end and brakes! you will see when you pull the service reports! I contacted GM and I had a wonderful lady working with me and she said she was putting someone on my acct, a guy called me said they accepted my acct, now today he called and said they were not able to do the buy back program with the car and just to keep servicing the car! im telling you they service it and then in a matter of a short period, its back in the service dept. The car should in no way shape or form, have all these issues and for gods sake front end or brakes, its still fairly new! I pray nothing seriously happens to me or anyone riding in this car due to something being broke or breaking! the service dept where I bought the car says they fix it, but shortly there after its back! now, they treat me like I don't know what im talking about and I am furious! please check out the service reports and you tell me! I believe this is a defective car! there also has been others who have had issues with the front ends and brakes with these cars even the owner of the dealer I bought it at admitted that! there are several bulletins out on it also, I know for a fact! I am one very dissatisfied customer!!! right as I speak, when you are driving 40+ mph the steering wheel shakes and you can feel it in your seat and on the floor board..is this normal? it also wants to sway to the left or the right...ya just never know! the brakes have this horrible grinding loud sound as you brake, it is sometimes, not always! I will put down the first incident date because too many to list! there were other issues with this car as you will see in reports!
Have an 2008 Chevy Cobalt.. driving and power steering message comes on dash and cannot hardly turn vehicle... can turn off car and it will start working... it will go off randomly sometimes 2 times daily other times 8-10 times daily... will reset everytime car is turned off and started back up... noticed it will also go out when using blinker to turn.
- Bridge City , TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt lt. While driving approximately 15 mph, there was a complete loss of power steering. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the engine was turned off and then restarted. The failure would occur every three minutes when the vehicle was in operation and would function correctly after the engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired for the power steering failure. The contact was no longer driving the vehicle due to the safety risk involved. The failure mileage was 46,500.
My son was taking me to work on May 25th 2010 in our 2008 Chevy Cobalt. On the return home the steering wheel locked it would not move. In which caused us to run off the road into a ditch and turned on its side. Also none of the 6 air bags deployed..we did not know of a recall on the power a steering until almost 2 weeks later. The car was a total loss. Our 2 insurances companies paid the car off. The insurance company took the car so we do not have the defective part. We contacted General Motors and they will not take responsibility for not sending us the recall. If we would of received the recall the wreck would not had happened it would of been fixed and our sons would not had gotten hurt.. consequences 2 hurt no vehicle gap paid car off.
2008 Chevrolet Cobalt only 16,000 miles and power steering is gone when driving on city or highway, this is a high risk problem I cannot believe it has not been solve in a 30 minutes research on the internet I have seen hundreds of this cases.
The contact rented a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving at 60 mph and then applying the brakes, the power steering locked up. The contact loss of control of the steering wheel, which caused a front end collision with another vehicle. There were minor injuries and front end damage to the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The vehicle had not been inspected at the time of the complaint. The current and failure mileages were unknown.
I am reporting this complaint on behalf of my sister[xxx]. she owned and operated a 2008 Cobalt that was involved in fault wreck, where she was killed. She lost control of her car on 6-35 North in Kansas City, Missouri. There was a reinactment of the wreck but it was inclusive. I checked for recalls back in 2009 but there were none to speak of until the recent recalls of her car. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
My son was driving my 2008 Chevy Cobalt, trying to make a turn into a parking lot when he got the chiming noise and at that point was without power steering. Traveling @15-20 miles per hour and a 6ft man at 200lbs had everything he could do to navigate the vehicle off the road. Two days after the incident when my son could not move and was in immeasurable pain he was brought to the er and diagnosed with a cervical spinal sprain. The vehicle was taken to jeff wyler Chevy in springfield Ohio after the crash. In response to my request for service on the vehicle known to be part of a recall for this exact situation I was told that the they determined the code for loss of power steering was never triggered. I explained of the chiming described by my son and was told by there service manager tj that there was nothing they could do until directed by GM. I have spent four days trying to get GM to handle this issue, I was actually told I could put it through my personal insurance and request reimbursement" seriously? at this point my son is hurt and out of work, we have no vehicle and no rental which I have requested since this began. I was actually told by their customer service rep on the phone that she did not see a recall on my vehicle. I advised her I had received via mail the notification and would not accept that as an answer. How can GM continue to have this vehicle on the road does someone have to die before they are accountable. I have been working on this issue for four days and I am no closer to getting an answer from GM than I was the day I started. Can anyone help with this?"
My son and his friend was taking me to work. On the way home about a mile from home, the steering wheel locked up. Which caused them to wreck. They were hurt and the car is a mess. 2008 Chevy Cobalt. It had 42,000 miles on it.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 65 mph and attempting to slow down, the power steering warning light illuminated when the steering wheel locked. The power steering failure caused the contact to crash into a concrete barrier. The contact sustained neck and head injuries and was taken to the hospital. The vehicle was destroyed and a police report was filed. The contact filed a claim with the manufacturer. The VIN was unavailable when the complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 68,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact was driving approximately 45 mph when the contact lost control of the steering wheel. The vehicle rolled over approximately two times. The driver was injured and transported to the hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an impound lot. The manufacturer was notified and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was 14,000.
I have a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt that I purchased in January of 2008 with about 64,000 miles on it. Recently I had an incident that kept repeating itself in the same day where my wheel would lock and I could no longer steer. This problem I have never had and recently there have been other complaints of friends of mines who have the same problem. I'm just making this issue known and making someone aware of it, because it could get serious.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 10 mph, the contact noticed a chiming sound inside of the vehicle and then the power steering light illuminated on the dashboard. A few minutes after the warning light illuminated, the steering wheel became difficult to turn; however, after restarting the vehicle she noticed that the power steering had begun to operate normally. The failure has occurred on 7 occasions. The failure mileage was 54000 and the current mileage was 55000.
I am just driving along and all of a sudden the power steering goes out on my 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, and it has done it at least 20 times within the last 4-5 days. Since I bought the car two and a half weeks ago.
December 21,2008 changed my life forever. Driver was killed in a one car crash, where her and her car were thru to the street below on 6-35 and high dr. The car went airborne she was thrown out the car but was saved enough to be transported to the hospital where she later died. The car was not so lucky it landed and rolled to a stop at the bottom of the bridge, in which the car was scatter in many pieces. There was physical not much left of the car. The car would have been going the speed limit it would have by passed the opening and landed on the other side but because it was slow going it resulted in her death. There was a reenactment done but the finding were in conclusive on how she died. She lost control after getting on the highway. I checked for recall on her 2008 Cobalt and there were none at the time of her death. Her older sister want to know if this could have been a result of the power steering problem. I started looking for recall right after her death and did not find any and did not know what to do but now this national recalls for the Toyota then the voluntary recall done with GM recently opened our eyes that this young woman death could be the result of faulty car. Please let me know what is need to be done to file this complaint. We have suffered a great loss. She was a good drive and the conclusion that has been made has been none. We just don't know what happened.
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven approximately 40 mph when the power steering failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer three times; however, the power steering reset itself whenever the vehicle was restarted. The dealer stated that nothing could be repaired unless they were able to duplicate the failure. The service manager stated that Chevrolet does not have a history of power steering failures. The dealer replaced the power steering motor prior to the related recall, 10V073000, steering:electric power assist system. The VIN was not available. Updated 5/17/2010 * cn updated 06/11/10
Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) my daughter purchased a 2008 Chevy Cobalt in May 09. On March 3, 2009 she was in an accident caused by loss of steering control. This problem was reported to the dealer in July 2009, said no problem. On nonday colonial Chevrolet in va beach 23502 was asked about the recall related to the accident, and to check the system. They first stated no recall on Cobalt steering, and now are stonewalling the repair of the vehicle, and the recall problem. I was told we MA be without vehicle 90 days. Not satisfactory, no ownership of problem. [xxx]
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- Bardstown, KY, USA