— Rusted fuel lines in 2008-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2008-2009 Chevrolet HHR vehicles caused a federal investigation in July 2020 which has now been closed three years later.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened the investigation following more than 200 complaints about fuel leaking from the metal fuel lines that had corroded. The fuel lines are located under the vehicles, but the metal can rust from road salt and other deicing agents.
"The metal fuel lines are corroding and leaking fuel in the area between the front and rear wheels on the driver's side of the vehicle before the muffler. Most consumers allege a fuel odor and/or an observable fuel leak that alerts them to the condition." — NHTSA
General Motors says the metal fuel lines have a protective "AGE" coating and near the left rear wheel the lines are wrapped in foil heat shields.
But water and corrosive road deicing agents may enter a crevice between the heat shield and the AGE coating, causing the coating to degrade.
A corroded metal fuel line can eventually develop a leak and cause fuel odors, spots or puddles on the ground. A customer will notice fuel leaks near the rear portion of the vehicle along the driver's side rear wheel.
Safety investigators closed their GM investigation based on multiple findings.
According to NHTSA, the majority of complaints (85%) were reported for Chevrolet Cobalt and Chevrolet HHR vehicles operated in "salt belt" regions. Additionally, the average failure mileage is about 111,000 miles.
NHTSA closed its GM investigation because of the low manufacturer complaint/warranty rates for fuel line replacements and due to the fact the majority of failures are concentrated in "salt belt" states.
NHTSA also notes the high failure mileages and the "highly detectable and progressive nature of this failure over time, the potential safety consequences of this issue are very low."
And even though there have been two reported fires, GM says there have been no crash or injury reports.
