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.
While driving my 2009 Cobalt to work in September 2009 I was involved in a serious single vehicle accident which totally demolished my car. I was driving along the interstate on a clear dry morning with light traffic, around 70 mph when I went to change lanes while slightly braking. The car went out of control and I was not able to correct. I hit the cable barrier in the median going backwards and the car spun around after hitting the barrier repeatedly. From the minute the highway patrol arrived I have been asked what happened. I explained to the officer that the car just went out of control, like hitting sand or gravel but there was none on the highway. There was nothing on the road that we could see and he did not issue me a ticket. My insurance company wanted to know if I was texting or blacked out and if I was drug tested. No to all of the above! I have been driving for 30 years and have never had an accident. My driving record is clear. I believe now that I look back on the accident that the power steering my have failed sending me out of control. I own two other Cobalts that my children drive and this concerns me greatly. My Cobalt was replaced with a Chevy Impala.
After hearing of the problem with the Chevy Cobalt may now make more sense than before my daughter using my car, 2009 Chevy Cobalt, crashed into a guard rail. Was not sure at the time as to why and state patrolman was confused as why there were no skid marks at the time. But steering was sensitive then and she just lost control, per say. She now has bad nightmares from this. Though the car was repaired (almost $5,500.) she is a afraid to sit in my vehicle. To me it still acts sensitive. I drive it short distances, while driving my Ford truck longer distances(steering is much more steady in the 2006 truck). This happened in 10 Feb 2009.
Driver died in a solo car accident involving a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. After swerving from his to the next, the driver could not safely return to his lane. His car just went off the road and crashed. The steering on the car just did not seem to work together with the car braking system.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated as she was driving at 35 mph she lost control of her steering and the steering locked up on her. The contact stated she hit the brakes and the vehicle did a 360 and she crashed into a guard rail. There was $9,000 in damages done to the vehicle. The contact has cuts and bruises to her neck. There is a police report if needed. The vehicle was towed from the scene to a salvage center and is currently at the dealer being repaired. The manufacturer has not been called. The failure mileage was 6,000. Updated 3/24/10 updated 07/15/10
2009 Chevy Cobalt problem with power steering stops working when maneuvering at lower speeds causing you to have no ability to turn the steering wheel.
- Feasterville, PA, USA
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The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact states that while driving at 55 mph when braking the power steering locked up without warning. She then pulled over and turned the vehicle off and then back on and the vehicle drove normally. The dealer was contacted and they stated that this was normal and not a big deal and if it happened again to bring it in to the dealer. This failure has occurred one time. There have been no repairs done to the vehicle. The failure mileage was 5000 and current mileage was 12000.
2009 Chevy Cobalt ls, the odometer registers 1 mile, slightly before you actually drive 1 mile. I found this using mile markers on the highway after seeing major differences from older vehicles with analog odometers as I tried to measure miles I'd hit my stop watch running on the shoulder of the road. This makes the warranty expire I guess 3-4% sooner than it should and could quite possible !@#$%'. over the consumer whose not getting what they paid for. I wouldn't call this a safety issue but a sneaky way to screw their customer over. I just spoke to GM today about it but doubt anything will be done to resolve this. The car has about 17,000 miles on it which is really more like 16,500 or a little bit under and if something happens just after the mileage for warranty purposes, that's !@#$%'. over your customer. I know this is going on at least in my Cobalt and I find it interesting to hear today there are cases of power steering issues. I have yet to experience that thus far but will complain again is that comes up. GM is !@#$%'. it's customers over!!
I own a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. After having driven through a water puddle that was on the right side of the car I applied the brakes for a stop sign. I could not hold the steering wheel in my hands. The car made an immediate left turn.I could not believe it. It was like the steering had a life of its own.I knew I went through a water puddle and was prepared to countersteer because of wet brakes on only one side of the car but what the power steering did on its own, which I couldn't overide, was unacceptable steering ripped out of my hands and the car made a hard left.I bought this car with a federal guarantee. I believe this car has steering problems.the government needs to investigate Cobalt steering. The electric steering has an apparently short life span and it is subject to failure at any given moment and is unsafe.
The driver owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The driver noticed that the electric power steering failed whenever the steering wheel was turned. The steering wheel became disabled and the driver experienced extreme difficulty when turning the wheel. The failure eventually corrected itself after driving. The dealer stated that it was engineered that way to save fuel and it was changed from a hydraulic steering wheel for that purpose. She was told that there was no "fix" for the problem since there was nothing to repair. She called the manufacturer and it was reinforced that the vehicle was designed to perform that way. The current mileage was 27,933. The failure mileage was approximately 27830.
Power steering on my 08 Cobalt shuts down and it locks up even when im driving. It is very dangerous and one time on a turn it locked up and I almost got into a accident.
Background: I have a Chevy Cobalt ('07) and currently having a serious problem with power steering. I did some research and noticed hundreds of owners experienced the same or similar problem all over the country(us). 1. problem occurs after start driving for couple hundreds feet or less. Regardless of speed or turning the steering wheel, problem will occur. 2. how often? varies from couple minutes to couple seconds, but problem occurs every time the car runs. 3. shutting down the engine and reignite it again. This will restart the programming of the vehicle but does not solve the problem. After couple of hundred of feet, problem arise.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving the contact loss control of the steering wheel and was forced shut the engine off so that it could reset itself. The dealer was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer has not been notified. The failure mileage was 650.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Festus, MO, USA