*please note...the incident date is approximate. We have a 2005 chevrolet cobalt sedan that was involved in the recall for the power steering motor intermittent power steering failure. We had never had a problem with the steering prior to the recall being performed. After the recall was performed, we began having trouble with intermittent power steering failure - plus additional failures. Upon start-up, we have experienced no power steering, and had to shut the vehicle off and retry numerous times before the power steering returns. In addition to loss of power steering, we have experienced the following electrical problems: traction control light illuminating random clicking of the brake safety interlock relay / actuator (without touching the brake). Check engine light transmission going into "limp mode"..."slamming" into gear when shifting from park - or improper shifting while driving. Random dash gauge failure random failures of the "driver's information center" - flashing, etc. This was initially happening only upon start-up...but started happening while driving as well - nearly leading to an accident while my wife was driving on a busy urban street. She was fortunately able to drift into the turn lane and come to a stop to avoid a collision and likely serious injury to herself and others, as it was virtually uncontrollable. In addition to the loss of power steering (while driving), the transmission also went into "limp mode", causing very hard shifting and much difficulty in drivability. This has also happened while I was driving the vehicle. I am 6'3", 260lbs., and I was struggling to control the vehicle. I have also been in contact with other cobalt owners with the exact same set of "symptoms". It is clear that the motor replacement was not sufficient to repair the problem, and - in some cases - may be leading to further problems as in our case. This vehicle is very dangerous!
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt electrical complaints
Page 8 of 12: complaints 191 to 220 of 323, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Ignition key cannot be removed without using the release button in the hole under the column.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while trying to start the vehicle that the key would not turn in the ignition. The towing company attempted start the vehicle; however, the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the ignition needed to replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileage were unknown.
Tl* the contact owns 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that the key would become stuck in the ignition sporadically. The gear shifter could not recognize the key, allowing the gear to move at any time. The vehicle was not inspected or repaired for the failure. The failure and current mileage was 30,500.
The event leading up to this I would try to unlock the doors from inside to let family members in and I noticed that they unlock button did not work so I was like maybe its a fuse well my boyfriend checked the fuse and it was still in great shape. So then I started to notice that my locks would go up and down up and down by theirselves so I checked the fuse once again same thing great shape so it kept on doing this and finally I said im taking the fuse out so I did and now I have to hand lock all my doors I dislike that. This is what cuts the cake I was coming home from work as I was going down the hill my cars lights start to dim I was like what in the world is going on so then the car started to go haywire on me the cars gauges started to move up and down by theirselves my whole car went pitch black I did not have any lights back or front its like my cars was just a black ball I had no lights my blinkers did not work my flashers did not work. There were like 10 other cars behind me I was praying to god that nobody would hit me so I pulled over my symbols was coming on and going down on my gauges was stuck in downward mode gas hand MPH hand my cd player (factory installed with car) quit working it still does not work and im still have this problem......but before all this my check engine light came on so I took it to auto zone and had them put it on their machine and he told me that it wont read it so he said there is a electrical problem and you better get that fix before your car catches fire yea he scared me but hey my car is all I got and I don't have any other means of transportation so could you pleas tell me what the heck went wrong. Thanks
Lots of electrical problems with 2005 chevy cobalt, power steering fails (recall part replaced already), car stalls while driving (dangerous), transmission jerks, check engine and power steering lights come on. All problems are intermittent ,occur without warning, and have been ongoing for at least 6 months.
Chevrolet cobalt VIN [xxx] is involved in safety recall 10023 by gm. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
My 2005 chevy cobalt has an electrical problem since I bought it in may of this year. The gauges go haywire and power steering comes across the screen and then my car jerks. When it first happened I could just shut the car off and wait awhile and start it back up and then be fine. Now when I start the car and let it warm up before I even drive it the screen says power steering and gauges are going haywire again. Now my car just sits there and I can't drive it and still making payments. I went from a 1998 cavalier to this 2005 cobalt and have had nothing but problems with a newer vehicle. The chevy dealership told me I need a body control module.
Ongoing obvious electrical issues with an '05 chevy cobalt -- key won't come out of ignition, lights & radio go off at will, new battery dies every 3rd day in all weather. Bought car used in '08 with 45,000 miles. Problems started almost immediately and have been consistent every since.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. He referenced the federal safety agency recall campaign number 10v073000, steering electric power assist system and stated that the recall work was performed in april 2010. The failure recurred again within three weeks. While driving approximately 10-12 MPH the power steering became difficult to control. He also stated that after the recall work was performed the temperature indicator no longer functioned properly and the fuel sensor no longer made a beeping sound. When he opened the door, the outside temperature was displayed, then the mileage and now the service air bag light was illuminated. The dealer asked him to bring the vehicle back but the contact had not taken the vehicle back. The failure mileage was unknown. The current mileage was 96,309.
After having the recall work done on my 2005 chevy cobalt for the power steering assist less than 2 hours later all of the lights on the dash start flashing ( brake, ABS, traction control, security ) the transmission starts acting up and you could hear a clicking noise coming from the shifter and the dash LED said power steering......and sure enough the power steering failed, pulled to the side of the road shut the car off for a few minutes then restarted the power steering re-set but the rest of the problems persisted, finally got the car to the house by manually shifting the transmission because if I didn't it shifted very hard like it was going to tear something up, got on line found that this problem is found in other cobalts, one suggestion was to remove the battery cable over night and that should re-set everything, I did that and sure enough it re-set it, however this has happened about 15-20 times since the re-call work so it's not the assist motor at fault it is g.m. At fault for not re-calling this problem.
2005 chevy cobalt: the key continuously gets stuck in the ignition and does not release. It requires numerous attempts and time to either turn the car back on and try again or work the shift lever release until the key is released. It is very frustrating and several times I had to leave the key in the ignition because I was in a hurry to get to work and prevent from being late. I am also concerned that this may be related to other problems that could cause a safety issue.
The problem began when my 2005 chevy cobalt would shut off on its own when sitting at a stop light/sign. I took it to the dealer and they told me there was nothing wrong with the car. Several months later. The car began to jerk as I would drive at low speeds (below 25 MPH). If I turned the car off and back on it would be fine. Then several weeks later as I drove down the highway (65 MPH) all the gauges on the dash began to go crazy and the power steering light came on. As I slowed the car down it began to jerk as it did before and then I could not turn the wheel. My car was broke down on the side of a very busy highway during morning rush hour traffic. I had to have the car towed to the dealer. They then told me that they can't find anything wrong with the car. I had the power steering pump replaced per the recall several months ago. Several other people with the same car are experiencing the same problem. The chevy dealer will not fix the car because they say they cannot find anything wrong with it. The is unsafe to drive because it will brake down at random times.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. While attempting to turn the vehicle off, the key would not come out of the ignition. The gear shaft would not go in park and the vehicle began to roll backwards. The contact took the vehicle to the dealership and was advised this was a known problem and had happened several times. The contact was advised to pay $397 for the repair. The contact spoke with the manufacturer who advised the problem had happened several times. The contact filed a complaint and received a call from the manufacturer who closed the case. No further assistance was given by the manufacturer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure miles were 50000. The VIN was not available.
I have a 2005 chevy cobalt. 59000 miles on it. Had the whole power steering problem right after I financed the car, the recall that went out in march was replaced immediately, 3000 miles later (I drive about 2500-3000 a month) power steering started acting up again, took it to a mechanic, it wouldn't act up for him, he said to bring it back when it was actually acting up. It worked fine for a few weeks, happened again, check engine light came on, took it in still wouldn't give him any problems, mechanic advised to have chevy check the power steering motor recall to see if maybe they replaced it with a bad motor. Called chevrolet to get the power steering recall looked at again to see if maybe the replacement was a bad one..... Chevy dealership looked at it, checked the car and said he didn't know what was going on with it, and that he could change a few things.... Power steering column, new battery...etc. $1000 dollars + worth of work and not knowing the whole time if it was even the problem. Worked ok again for a couple more weeks and now it doesn't want to shift in and out of gears and gain speed on the highway, check engine light came on, took it to a mechanic as soon as it happened, he took it out to test drive and the darn thing wouldn't act up on him. This car is a lemon, even the idiotic chevrolet people at the dealership don't know what it is going on with the car and don't know how to fix it. I just want the thing off my hands, don't want to have to pay anymore into it, it's unreliable and unsafe.
Since this car was new, the car locks and unlocks itself regularly. If you get out of car, then return to car even within seconds, when you open door the alarm goes off. You cant do anything with car, without having keys in hand ready to shut off alarm. Even driving down the road the doors lock and unlock regularly. Have taken to dealer and they say nothing wrong. Car now has just over 100k miles, and am leaning towards never buying gm again.
Approximately 15 occurrences of warnings lights randomly going off. Such as the power steering and traction control. The power steering had been repaired over a year ago so, it was not associated to the recall that just now was issued. After that it started happening more often and more warning lights would light up -- for no apparent reason. It would never happen when I took it to the shop. Then everything went "haywire" one night coming home from work at 1 am. Dials and lights went wild and the car was hesitating, the gear shift was clicking and the car was "slamming" in and out of gear. I took it to my local chevy dealership and they could not find anything wrong. They told me maybe my fuel injectors needed cleaning!!!! One month later and it happened again. This time they said it was my body control module. Quoted a price of $619 and it turned out to be $729!!!! I have checked on line and have found multiple comments from other cobalt owners who have experienced the same problem. This if very dangerous and chevy needs to recall the part!!!!
I have a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. Since I purchased the car december of 2004, I have been having problems with the key getting stuck in the ignition when I put the car in park and try to turn the engine off. I have to restart the car several times, turn the steering wheel, and move the gear shift from park to drive several times to release the key. This problem occurs several times a week. I am taking in my car for service tomorrow.
I have a 2005 chevy cobalt ls with power steering problems and switch problems. My husband took it to auto zone and told him that the power steering was good so we took our car home with danger. Since that day we have alots of problems. He had to replace several parts to the car. I wanted to give my report because I feel unsafe on my vehicle for me and my kids and others people life.
Power door locks and remote will not work replace battery still not working, can not drive over 40 MPH because car jumps and steering is all over the place and made me hit a giant pot hole and cause damage under the car and I think it bent by rim on passenger side front and four about a year or more drivers headlight light is pull of moisture and has a bad glare in it. Called chevy and they refuse to do anything about all of it.
I own a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. Gm did replace the power steering motor, but I still do not have the power steering back. The service company told me that it was the power steering module that has gone bad and it is not covered by the recall or the warranty. It is causing my vehicle to jump and sputter. When this occurs I loose all my safety gauges like my speedometer, gas, etc. The vehicle even cuts off completely when I come to a stop at intersections. What do I do now? Oh yeah, I even had the transmission worked to make sure it wasn't that either.
The key is stuck in the ignition.
Chev 2005 cobalt 63000 mile on the clock , I purchased the car in december 2008 . In jan 2010 I was driving on a highway at 50 miles an hour when a chime sounded and the console flashed power steering . I did not feel much difference in the car at that time . This next happened 2 days later. It seemed that turning the car off would rectify the problem. With in the month, the car was experiencing the problem on each drive I took with in the first 15 min. I had a problem while in the school car park that it failed and I lost all control I was able to stop the car with the brakes. Almost hitting a small child and the car mounting the curb as I was unable to turn the wheels. I contacted gm in late february when the incident happened and was told the problem is not something they are aware of and that maybe a patch on ice caused the loss of control. It was the following day that while driving on the highway at 50 miles an hour the chime sounded and the console flashed power steering . The car lost all power. It did not stall or run out of gas it quick working . I was unable to get the car to restart. I was lucky that I was in the right hand lane of traffic and was able to pull over to the hard shoulder. The car would not start for over an hour . When the car started I returned home . I had a mechanic look over the vehicle while it was working and no problem other than the failure of the power steering could be found . The car has lost all power and shut down with in 5 mins of the car running . The car will not start . It will be days before the start. It now when it starts,the chime sounds and flash power steering flashes and the car shuts down . This is an unsafe car . The problem is serious and life threatening . To think I could have taken the life of a child if the car had not stopped when it did . The car is sat in the garage I am not able to drive .
I have a 2005 chevrolet cobalt I think I got the car in like february of 2007 I'm not sure on the dates but I say a little bit after I had got it like about 6 or 7 mouths after I had bought the car it stated to do what it wanted to do like the power steering would lock up on me on a turn or when I would turn the wheel really sharp. My sister was driving the car and she was like you need to get this fixed before you have a wreck or something bad happens. I'm like I cant get it fixed the warranty has ran out on the car. Then I would turn the car off and turn it back on and it would work fine. Then on one occasion me and my 2 friends was going shopping and I let her drive my car and we was in the middle of the intersection when she adjusted the steering wheel and the car shut completely off on us while going down the intersection cars were everywhere around us. All the gauges went down all the light went off everything just cut off and shut down so we let it coast to the gas station that was on our right we could not do anything the steering wheel was hard so it took 2 of us to turn it. I think that something in the electrical system has a short in it or is felling because my lights when I put it in gear or out of gear the light dim on me and then my power locks don't work so I cant lock my car any time I want to. The locks sometimes you can hear them going up and down in the car. My car got broken into the other night and I have a police report for that because my locks did don't work there for somebody got in my car and stole something from me. If my locks would not keep going up and down then I could keep my car locked. But about a month ago my light on my gear shift just quit working. I have to like tap on it or put the gear shift up in park then back down to drive for it to come on and then it will go right back off. Then I have to change headlight and bulbs around my car every other day cause they just go out. But it has to be electrical cause they short out.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact was driving approximately 20 MPH with a loss of power steering. The vehicle was able to continue in operation with caution. Additionally, the transmission slipped and the speedometer fluctuated and displayed inaccurate readings. The manufacturer was notified; the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction. The VIN number was unavailable. The failure mileage was 70,000. The current mileage was 72,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. While driving approximately 35 MPH on normal road conditions, the power steering warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. Immediately, there was a loss of power steering. The driver applied excessive force to the steering wheel and was able to pull over to the side of the road. The engine was turned off and after 20 minutes, the vehicle restarted and resumed normal operation. The failure occurrence was consistent whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer on four separate occasions for the identical failure with replacement of the steering column and motor. There was a recall under the federal safety agency campaign id number 10v073000 (steering: electric power assist system); however his VIN was excluded from the recall. The failure mileage was 15,000 and the current mileage was unknown.
Power steering column and motor replaced for over 1,000 dollars also bushing. Engines stalls when pressing gas and brake pedal. Key wouldn't come out ignition and my car wouldn't stay in park. Had to pay a locksmith to remove the key. Headlights keep having to be adjusted. Wheel bearing and struts need to be replace but I don't have the money for all of these repairs for a 2005 vehicle. Its to many problems for such a newer vehicle. What is chevy going to do about this, how many more people have to die or get injured.
Tl*the contact owned a 2005 chevrolet cobalt coop. The contact was driving 25 MPH over the train tracks when the vehicle shut off completely and coasted to the side of the road. The contact restarted the vehicle drove it to a dealer. The dealer inspected the vehicle and stated that there was nothing wrong with it. Eight weeks later the contact was driving 45 MPH and tried to switch lanes and the vehicle did not respond when he turned the steering wheel. The steering wheel and the vehicle eventually began to respond normally. The contact took it back to the dealer who was irate and stated that they would not fix the vehicle. The contact returned the vehicle to the dealer three months after he purchased it. The manufacturer was contacted in 2005 and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 3000. The current mileage was unknown. According to the invoice, the vehicle has a low torque ignition cylinder. Updated 09/21/10
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. She stated that while driving at speeds of 40 MPH over a railroad track, the vehicle stalled without warning. Within a few seconds, the power steering warning light illuminated and flashed across the instrument panel. She was able to restart the vehicle moments later and took the vehicle to the dealer. The dealer replaced the power steering column due to electrical failures. The repairs were covered by her factory warranty. The repairs did not correct the failure and the problem persisted. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where they replaced the power steering column a second time. The failure occurred again and the power steering column was replaced a third time. She also stated that most of the electrical components on the vehicle had failed; upon opening the driver's door, the horn would blow. The power locks would not operate, the electrical trunk release would not operate and the catalytic converter also failed. The catalytic converter was replaced under warranty. There were no additional power steering failures after the third repair, however the steering wheel would feel hard at times. There were no recalls for any of the failures. The failure mileage was 20,000 and the current mileage was 79,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. While pulling into a parking spot the contact took the key out the ignition. The vehicle remained on until the contact depressed the brake pedal and put the vehicle in first gear. The vehicle was still engaged after putting the key back into the ignition. Several times the vehicle would not start instead it stalled. The contact did inform an authorized dealer and they installed a new ignition switch at the contacts expense. The contact was concerned since she has only owned the vehicle for one month. The failure mileage was 79200 and the current mileage was 80129.
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