2005 Chevrolet Cobalt problems
Owners have filed 2,231 complaints about the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt with NHTSA. Steering accounts for 51.7% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of electrical system at 14.7%.
Complaints2,231
Crashes150
Fires17
Injuries115
Deaths16
What owners report breaking
Steering 51.7% · 1154
Electrical system 14.7% · 327
Power train 4.5% · 100
Air bags 3.2% · 71
Engine 3.1% · 69
Engine and engine cooling 2.3% · 52
Suspension 2.2% · 50
Structure 2.1% · 46
Severity
Of those complaints, 150 describe a crash, 17 describe a fire, 115 report an injury and 16 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 6 model years of the Chevrolet Cobalt in this data, 2005 ranks 2nd by complaint volume — 2006 draws the most.
Filings have fallen off, 5 in the last three years against 26 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 63,000 miles.
In owners' own words
I can be driving down the road at any rate of speed, and the power steering warning light will come on & chime, by the time the chime stops the power steering has gone out. I can stop the car, turn it off, turn it back on and it fixes the problem for about 2-5 minutes then the situation repeats itself. It happens constantly to the point the car is almost not drivable. It has progressively gotten worse over time. Steering · reported at 91,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact was driving 5 mph when the power steering began to malfunction. The power steering light flashed while the contact was attempting a turn as the power steering system fully failed. The contact stated that the power steering was no longer operational. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer for diagnosis or repairs. The failure mileage was 45,000. Steering · reported at 45,000 miles
2005 Chevy Cobalt car. Power steering failure, speedometer and rpm needles jump up and down like crazy, engine stalls, when press gas and brake pedals, car jerks forwards and backwards, warning lights on dashboards go on and off. When steering wheel failure happens, very very difficult to turn the wheel, almost locked up. This happens almost every day now and it's almost undrivable. Only 55,000 miles on the car. Steering · reported at 54,000 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…