Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||||
| 3635 | 10016534 | No communication with anti-lock braking system after ebcm replacement. to include 2006 chevrolet hhr. *tt | 09/20/2005 | ||
| 702 | 02/01/2005 | 10016373 | Anti-lock braking system (abs) code u2108. gm tech links. *tt | 09/09/2005 | |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK - ABS WARNING LIGHT | |||||
| 3412 | 10017240 | Brake system warning light illuminates at times. *tt | 10/28/2005 | ||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SERVICE BRAKES | |||
| 08/29/2012 | 170000 | 1 | |
| The power steering message was on and the car ran like a dog and shifted roughly and traction control light was luminated and had no power is similar to all other accounts on this year and model? i need to know if gm is going to fix it and if it happens again am i going to loose control of the car? i understand it has a recall on it but considering the miles i have on it are they going to honor the recall? i don't have money to fix it so i don't know what to do if it happens again? i never seen or had anything like this before and i have always had gm products form oldsmobile, pontiac and mostly chevys i need reliable transporting on my job please tell me gm make this right by me [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr | |||
| 08/29/2012 | 170000 | ||
| The power steering messsage was on and the car ran like a dog and shifted roughly and traction control light was luminated and had no power is similar to all other accounts on this year and model? i need to know if gm is going to fix it and if it happens again am i going to loose control of the car? i understand it has a recall on it but considering the miles i have on it are they going to honor the recall? i dont have money to fix it so i dont know what to do if it havppens again? i never seen or had anything like this before and i have always had gm productss form oldmobile, pontiac and mostly chevys i need reliable transportion on my job please tell me gm make this right by me thnak you paul | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, ELECTRIC | |||
| 06/11/2010 | |||
| Chevrolet cobalt vin 1g1al52f157508866 is involved in safety recall 10023 by gm | |||
| 04/17/2010 | 60000 | ||
| My 2005 chevy cobalt has several issue with traction control, abs, and emergency brakes. i have taken this car to the chevy dealership for repairs multiple times and the same problem keeps reoccuring. all the warning light for tc, abs, and emergency brake are on again and when this sensor fails the car shifts gears and loses traction control. very dangerous especdially in wet weather conditions. i have heard this a a common problem with these types of chevy cars. so whats it going to take to get a recall! a fatality? someone do something about this. | |||
| 02/21/2010 | 64000 | 1 | |
| Brake pedal locks or gets hard to press. *tr | |||
| 08/03/2008 | 33200 | 1 | |
| My 2005 cobalt has had electrical and power steering problems ever since i leased it. intermittently, while driving, the instrument messages start flashing (usually power steering). the car then becomes very hard to steer and brake, the engine surges up and down. on aug 3rd the car was involved in a minor accident when it was steered into a curb, possibly caused by another equipment failure. i took the car in to a chevrolet dealer again, when it failed again two more times after the accident. both times the dealer found error codes. however, they said they had a tsb on this problem, from chevrolet which says to just clear the logs, give the car back to the customer and to perform no work. they are putting lives in danger by following this procedure. i have copies of the service orders to confirm my statement. *tr | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | |||
| 06/06/2011 | 32700 | ||
| The power steering light came on. i had no mileage or speedometer reading. i took it to mr. tire which was about 3 miles away. they put the car on a machine and found mil code u0101. they told me to take it to the dealer because there was a recall for this. i called the dealer the next morning and took it right over to them. they had the car for two days and finally called me and told me that they had to replace the tcm and reprogram it, clear the codes and retest. this was going to cost $500. i had taken this car to bob bell last june when i received the recall notice. it was repaired. after a few months i noticed that three or four times the signal came on about brakes but then disappeared and everything seemed fine. then this monday this happened. | |||
| 04/16/2011 | 153000 | ||
| I have a 2005 chevrolet cobalt 4 dr sedan. while traveling down the service road on i-35 i started to cough, i blacked out for a split second. after coming to i relised there was a sharp turn in the road. i hit the brakes hard, the abs did not work. i went through a sign, it tore up the front drivers side of the car then hit a concrete barrer on the passenger side of the front end.i hit my head on the steering wheel and the air bags did not deploy on either side of the car. with the abs locking up it caused the car to skid approx 300 feet, without safely slowing down. none of the airbags deployed. | |||
| 04/09/2010 | 87233 | ||
| Traction control warning light comes on then my daughters' car jerks violently at times and she has trouble maintaining control of her car , (2005 chevy cobalt). this problem almost caused her to loose total control of her car this past spring , comming too close to causing a serious accident. this happens periodicly , no set time span , it has happened about 6 or 8 times since last spring. our gm dealer said she should bring the car in while the warning light is on so they can pull the code. unfortunatly , when the car is stopped and put into park , the light goes away. and all of these times except one , this problem has occured after the dealership is closed or well before they open , or she is nowhere near any gm or chevy dealership. this problem is not isolated , i have read of other cobalt owners experiencing the same traction control problem with some of the same results or results that are different from my daughters car. the point being (at least in this case) i believe that gm or chevy should be held responsible for taking care of the problem , before there is an accident that causes severe injury or death . i read about all the others with this problem on the repair pal website. the model years seem to be between 04 and 07. the one time my daughter was able to get her car into the gm dealer while the light was on , she had to put the car in park so she could go in to get someone to hook up their computer and pull the code. when they came back out , the traction control warning light was out , as i stated earlier about putting the vehicle in park. therefor the technician was unable to do anything since there was no warning light ergo , no code to pull. | |||
| 01/20/2010 | 1 | ||
| Rear brakes wear out too quick and they are starting to get super noisy. *tr | |||
| 09/15/2009 | 1 | ||
| Electronic equipment in 2005 cobalt that was going crazy while driving my car. all the testing at repair shops could not detect the problem but when i would drive, radio and front panel lights would go off and on; brake problems, and engine would cut out, even at high rates of spead, then die when car slowed. replacing ignition cylinder and removing all electronic codes finally resolved the issue but was only a guess on part of many different repair people. why should toyota be the only one to take the blame for auto parts that aren't reliable? *tr | |||
| 01/21/2009 | 50000 | 1 | |
| I purchased a 2005 cobalt in april 2008, started having violent shaking in front of car while trying to find the problem my mechanic discovered a defective strut which chevy replaced even though warranty had just run out. this did not correct violent shaking occurring on a regular basis. had front end, tires, wheels, rotors, axle checked with no outcome of finding the problem. when the shaking occurs unable to steer and have to reduce speed and pull to shoulder of road, after complete stop normally can resume driving. since my daughter does not do any long distance travel i hoped that it would not occur as often as it does while i was driving it to work, however in january of 2009 while my daughter was driving car around a curve t/c light came on shaking and inability to control the car left her straightening the curve out spinning around and after weeks in a body shop and 5000 dollars in repairs, several trips back and more money, high insurance rates we still have a car that has a serious defect with no answers to what causes it and what can be done to correct it. now that she is venturing further from home i am in fear for her life but i have no funds to replace this car or it would have already been gone although i am sure that nobody else would want it due to the publicity that these cars have been getting. luckily my daughter was not killed in this accident but does someone have to die before chevrolet steps up to the plate and fixes these cars. i have been constantly been researching trying to find the problem even though i can find other people with the problem nobody seems to have the solution. the cars or in warranty or just out of warranty and we couldn't get answers and as the autos get older they don't feel it is there problem. our car gets regular maintenance with the same mechanic each time so therefore he has firsthand knowledge of every step it has had,and now that it has hit the news i am seeing some direction to take to get help. *tr | |||
| 04/10/2006 | 20000 | 1 | |
| Several incidents involving steering of 2005 cobalt 2-door. each incident occurred on the freeway while driving straight at 55 to 65 mph. front end of vehicle jumped side to side and steering wheel responded only with considerable effort. last occurrence was witnessed by highway patrol who escorted me from the freeway with lights flashing. eventually, dealer did replace entire steering mechanism (2006) and problem has not recurred. also have had to have braking system replaced as well as components related to the computer system. *tr | |||
| 08/31/2009 | 59000 | 2 | 08/26/2009 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. while driving 25 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control, and then the gears in the transmission began slipping. he had to exert great force to the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and shut the engine off. he was able to restart the vehicle and resume normal operation. the vehicle was taken to a dealer and repaired. the failure mileage was 59,000 and the current mileage was unavailable. updated 11/17/09 *bf after all the failed attempts of fixing the vehicle, the consumer was told the body control module needed to be replaced. the power steering would go out occasionally. all of the gauges were acting erratically. updated 11/18/09 | |||
| 10/04/2008 | 1 | ||
| We own a 2005 chevy. cobalt. the vehicle went in for a standard front brake repair, normally you should be able to turn the rotors once , however we we're told that they we're rusted out and could not be turned under normal inspections and would have to purchase new ones. the vehicle has normal wear with odometer reading 43,923 miles on it, so it was not due to not driving it. the dealer said they had been seeing a lot of this lately and don't know why they should be rusted out, i decided to get a second opinion and took the vehicle elsewhere. the service center said the same thing and think it is a manufactures defect, as they also said they should have at least been turned once in the rotors, (cars) life time. they also said they had been seeing alot of this on gm products and had another vehicle in for the same problem, as did the dealership. unfortunately, i needed the brakes repaired and had to by new rotors for the car. the service center charged me $84.48 plus labor for the new rotors installed. i feel this is a manufacture defect and needs to be looked into as i am not the only consumer that has had this problem. i should also should be reimbursed for this defect. i have retained the rotors of inspection. please contact me with any results you may find regarding this problem. sincerely, constance e wallace *tr | |||
| 05/01/2007 | 37000 | 30 | 03/07/2005 |
| I have a 2005 cobalt i purchased new. i have had numerous problems with the brakes, headlights, a.c., signal lights etc. but the newest problem is the power steering it goes out without any warning. it does this every day at no certain time. and this is very dangerous as it is very hard to steer when this happens.when the steering goes out it says power steering on dash, most of the time i can pull over and turn the car off wait a minute and restart the engine and it steers fine for awhile. the car has 37,500 miles on it and the warranty just ran out. this could easily cause a loss of control and or a collision. feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.....thanks. *tr | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 1 | ||
| 2005 chevy cobalt with brake failure customer states that her brakes didn't work when applied after traveling 30+ minutes a speed of 55+ miles which resulted in totaling her car and the car she hit**cc *jb | |||
| 02/12/2007 | 49900 | 1 | 05/15/2005 |
| After driving for 30 minutes at a speed of 55-60 mph on the interstate, i was on the off ramp merging from one interstate to another, when the cars ahead of me starting slowing down. i applied a sudden pressure to the brakes to slow down also; however, the brake pedal went soft and then it seemed like the brakes locked, but did not slow down. the car made a sudden jolt to the right bringing me into the on coming traffic in the next lane. this resulted in a collision with another car. resulting in a total loss to the cobalt. the air bags did not deploy eventhough the front end of the car was destroyed. *nm | |||
| 06/09/2006 | 18000 | 3 | 05/20/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 30 mph on normal road conditions, the engine stalled, all dash board indicators blacked out and there was no power braking. no warning signals alerted the contact prior the incident. the vehicle was able to be restarted. the problem recurred on two other occasions. the manufacturer opened a case and referred the contact to the dealership. the vehicle was taken to the dealership who reset the electronic module, however the defect persisted. *ak the windows would go down slow, the intermediate steering shaft was replaced. updated 11/30/06. *jb | |||
| 05/26/2006 | 6800 | 4 | 04/17/2005 |
| Dt*: the contact stated while driving 10 mph the power steering and power brakes failed. the power steering and t-c lights on the dash illuminated. this happened three times. the vehicle was towed to the dealer were an unknown computer part was replaced. updated 06/23/06. *jb | |||
| 01/28/2005 | 2717 | 1 | 01/26/2005 |
| 2005 chevrolet cobalt developed problems with the brake light equipment.*mr two days after the vehicle was purchased brake light illuminated on the dash. the consuemr contacted the dealer but they explained that there was not a problem. the vehicle has been taken back and forth to rectify the problem. the dealer has had the vehicle since april 23, 2005. the a/c would not work due to a short in the a/c pressure sensor. | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - ANTILOCK | |||
| 06/13/2007 | 19860 | 3 | 08/10/2006 |
| Brake failure/brake pedal went down when applied and vehicle accelerated at a high rate of speed,traveled 20-25 feet struck truck in front of me causing over $4,000 in damage to my 2005 chevy cobalt since the june 13th 2007 accident the brakes failed 2 more times the last time the brake pedal collapsed to the floor with no brakes(bushing &clip missing from brakes, i think this was done at the factory). i had to stop it using the emergency brake. i refused to drive it again. my wife had it do this to her, with the brakes failing and accelerating at a fast pace, luckily no cars were near her at the time,because i traded the cobalt general motors refuses to do anything about the problem reference number 71-562139648 talked to several people one was jake ext 22795. *tr | |||
| 01/01/2007 | 6 | 01/21/2006 | |
| Severe steering and braking problems. mechanics can't find problem. a lot of times, on the highway or at speeds greater than 40 mph the steering starts to shudder and make a machine gun noise with each rattle. the rattling slows down as the speed slows down. there have been times where i had to pull over because it felt like a flat tire, only to get out of the car and inspect the car and see that the tires were fine. the problem goes away after shutting the car off and restarting it. when braking while going at speeds 40 mph or higher the brake gets soft and mushy feeling, and doesn't appear to slow the car down enough, and the shudder starts in the steering wheel again with the rat-a-tat sound for every shudder. i brought this car to dealer several times, and the mechanics could not get the car to do the same for them. the last time, one of the staff members mentioned that there may be a problem with the electronic steering/suspension system ,and that gm was trying to figure it out. recently, i took the car in for a brake check at another shop - the mechanic said the brakes were fine, nothing' was wrong with them, but the car still did its shuddering. i' had two front end alignments, and rotation of wheels, still the same problem. i feel that one of these days the shuddering is going to cause a potentially fatal problem, when the brakes, steering or suspension go out. i also noticed on 6 different occasions that the brake light came on just for a second. it's never stayed on, and it didn't come on during the shuddering moments. the car stalled a couple times, but they were so far and few between. the back light on dashwas hard to read when headlights were automatically on during the day. *ak | |||
| 02/07/2006 | 6 | 06/21/2005 | |
| The 2005 chevy cobalt we purchased for my daughter has a violent vibration that is intermittent. the vibration usually happens on long trips, when the car is at highway speeds of over 65 mph for 45 minutes or longer with the cruise control on. then when coming up on slower traffic, you touch the brakes to disengage the cruise control, a violent vibration proceeds. if you apply more brakes the vibration gets worse. this vibration requires the driver to maintain both hands on the wheel to control the car. this vibration will last from a few minutes to 15 miles. usually when the vibration stops the cruise control will not work for a minute of 30 minutes and up to 3 days. we have take the car to the dealerships 5 times. 2 dealerships in or around tampa florida and the dealer we purchased it from in jonesboro georgia. each time they dirve the car a few miles at highway speeds over 60 mph and declare nothing is wrong. as we stated above and to the dealerships, it takes a minimum of 45 minutes or longer at speeds over 65 mph for this vibration to happen, and sometimes it will not happen. we have started the lemon law process in georgia and have asked for a replacement car or purchase back by gm. we are awaiting there actions. since the manufacturer's last attempt to fix the car, in which my daughter drove 2 hours and the vibration started as they were existing the express way to the dealership, she over heard the service manager acknowleged the problem is in the brakes' they contacted the gm rep in atalanta area, and decided to do nothing to fixe the car. now yesterday, when my daughter was about to slow down on the connector in atlanta, due to slower traffic, the brake pedal went soft and then hard as a brick causing the car not to stop and hitting the pickup truck in front of her. the air bags did not deploy and she now has a mild concusion. she had to miss work yesterday and today. what can be done to force gm to fix this brake problem or replace the car?*jb | |||
| 07/21/2005 | 569 | 3 | 07/15/2005 |
| Dt: the contact had several problems with a vehicle he previously owned. the vehicle stalled while driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealership for inspection. the dealer determined that the key chain was too long and touched his knee. the second problem concerned the brake light coming on momentarily. the dealership could not duplicate the problem. the third problem was that the door handle stuck one eighth of an inch from the door. as a result, he returned the vehicle back to the dealership.*ak the ignition switch was replaced to hold the consumers heavy key chain. updated 01/19/06. *jb | |||
| 08/15/2005 | 5500 | 1 | |
| Dt: the consumer states that the 2005 chevrolet cobalt was having two problem. the abs malfunctioned the abs locked the tires. the main issues with the car was the steering column. the tilting of the steering wheel was making the vehicle stall. the steering wheel was brought down to the bottom with force and the vehicles stalled. this has been happening for around a month. the vehicle has not been in the dealership for this problem. the manufacturer has not been contacted. the dealer and the manufacturer were contacted over the abs , and they denied having a problem.*ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - FOUNDATION COMPONENTS - DRUM | |||
| 03/09/2005 | 1 | ||
| While applying the brake pedal rear brakes locked up. driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and pulled over. the cause had not been determined. driver will contact the dealer in the near future. this information was provided by olesha's boy friend billy.*ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - PEDALS AND LINKAGES | |||
| 05/01/2005 | 3 | 12/21/2004 | |
| Dt: while driving down the road powering steering locked, vehicle would throw consumer forward and backward in the seat. coming to a stop light and press the brakes it was like the car lunged forward. just got the vehicle back from the shop yesterday and it started doing the same thing. power steering was locking but was not actually locked. will stop and restart the vehiclwas and its like having foot on the gas pedal and brake pedal at the same time. *ak | |||
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC - POWER ASSIST | |||
| 02/07/2006 | 10819 | 1 | 06/21/2005 |
| 1) months prior to the accident at high way speed (65 to 75 mph) after several hour (from 1 to 4) with the cruise control engaged, when disengaging the cruise control, the car would vibrate violently. gm claims they can not duplicate the problem. 2) brakes failed - applied brakes in traffic, pedal was soft and then went hard like the power brakes was not working, but the car did not slow down, causing the impact in the rear of a pick-up truck. 3) according to the air bag report the car was traveling over 30 mph, but the air bags did not deploy on the frontal crash. *jb | |||