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2005 Chevrolet Cobalt engine complaints

Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 120, newest first, as owners wrote them.

See the summary of 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt engine problems: which part fails, at what mileage and related recalls.

Filed May 7, 2014 · Airbags, Electrical · MI

2005 chevrolet cobalt. Consumer writes in regards to ignition switch recall notice. *smd the consumer stated the first week of owning the vehicle, it would not start. When she called the dealer, the told her to move the steering wheel up and down and tap on the accelerator pedal. There were times through out the years, where the vehicle would not start. Also, the vehicle would pull to the left, the oil pan was leaking, the ignition switch was replaced, the left turn signal was inoperable, and the oxygen sensor was replaced.

Filed Apr 23, 2014 · Engine · 80,000 miles · PA

Tl-the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that he attempted to have the vehicle repaired for under the federal safety agency campaign number:14v171000. The contact stated that he was made aware that parts were not available as a result repairs were unable to be performed for the recall. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The contact had not experienced the failure. Ml

Filed Apr 9, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · PA

Car simply stalled on I 376 at highway speed. Car won't start unless ignition key is "jiggled".

Filed Apr 9, 2014 · Airbags, Engine · 130,000 miles · TX · crash

My daughter was on her way to work and was unable to stop andhit the rear end of the vehicle in front of her. The car shut off... She did what the recall was told to do and had just the key in the ignition... Luckily she was able to turn on the car to get out of traffic and she was not going too fast the seatbelts did not work and the airbag did not work as well.. Also before we knew about the recall her ignition was messing up by not able to completely turn off while in park and key would not come out... We have to shift gears and turn off and on the car to get the key loose... So now we are down a car, I paid the car in full and its now not drivable... ??

Filed Apr 7, 2014 · Airbags, Electrical · 13,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact received a recall notice and was waiting for further notification. The contact stated that while driving 35 MPH the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel and the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and who made minor repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 13,000 miles. The current mileage was 13,252 miles. Updated 6/17/14

Filed Apr 2, 2014 · Airbags, Engine · FL · crash · 1 injury

My cobalt, which is now totaled, was in a highway accident and the car malfunctioned. The front end of the car collided into the rear end of pickup truck and then went out of control and the left side of the car smashed into the concrete guardrail. At some point during the crash, the car shut off and the airbags never deployed. When the car finally stopped, my fianc was unable to turn it back on and had to push it off the busy highway before someone else hit the car.

Filed Apr 1, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 115,000 miles · PA

The vehicle shuts off while running. I've stopped at stop lights and when I try to continue driving the car will shut totally off while in drive. The door locks are constantly running up and down and will not stay locked. Many times I've come back to the car thinking it was locked to find it unlocked itself. The electrical problem has created a problem with brand new batteries. I've replaced it twice since purchasing the car in 2010.

Filed Mar 27, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · IL

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. He received a recall notice in the mail and he was advised that the parts were not available. He was driving approximately 65 MPH and the vehicle shut off he hit a pot hole and his temperature light came on and gm stated they are not responsible. The contact occasionally had difficulty getting the vehicle to start and had to make several attempts with the key. He had to wait until the vehicle cooled down almost two hours and was able to drive very slowly to his residence. He advised them in 2005 that something was wrong with his ignition after he purchased the vehicle in july 2005. The failure occurred in november of 2005. The dealer drove 20 MPH to test drive the vehicle and was unable to reproduce the failure. The contact advised them that he was driving 65 MPH when the failure occurred. He cannot drive the vehicle because the anti freeze continued to leak out of the vehicle. He was advised that the struts, bushings, timing chain, link and the water pump was leaking because of the failure. The manufacturer made an appointment for him to have the vehicle diagnosed at a dealer and was told that it would take 20 days to a month before the manufacturer could send someone to diagnose the failure. The vehicle is currently at his residence. The dealer notified him today to ask if the manufacturer scheduled an appointment to diagnose the failure. The dealer where the vehicle was purchased and diagnosed are no longer in business. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was over 120,000 miles.

Filed Mar 15, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · NY

I know my car is involved with the gm recall for the ignition, as I called the chevrolet 1-800 number. Yet I have still not received a recall letter. Which concerns me very much. How do I get a letter? And when will I get this letter. Why is gm not moving faster with this recall and trying to get the cars fixed, when it is so dangerous to drive the car, but we have no choice too.

Filed Mar 14, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 60,000 miles · MI

I was traveling home with one other passenger in the car with me at 35 MPH, the car turned off, the steering wheel locked up. I was scared and didn't know what to do. I shifted the car from drive into neutral and then restarted it, then slipped it back into drive... I've never been more scared then when I had absolute no control over my car. Im just lucky I didn't panic. This has happened twice to me. I now don't feel safe driving my cobalt and very disappointed this problem has been fixed. To me I don't feel safe driving myself or my family in that car.

Filed Mar 13, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 22,000 miles · CA

After stopping at a light, I proceeded into the intersection and the car just turned off, locking the steering and would not restart. I coasted over the lanes of traffic and attempted to restart the car three times. Eventually I was able to restart it.

Filed Mar 13, 2014 · Engine · 93,000 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning and caused the contact to crash into another vehicle. The contact sustained bruising and contusions to the face and hands. A police report was filed of the incident. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 93,000.

Filed Mar 11, 2014 · Engine · 500 miles · NM

Was driving on 1-40 at highway speed and suddenly engine shut down - dashboard lit up. Managed to reach shoulder safely. Could discern no problem by checking under the hood. Vehicle restarted with no problem. Approximately 60 miles further the same thing happened but I was able to restart the engine while moving and continue without further incident. Technician at chevrolet dealer in santa fe, nm told me the problem was too weighty a key chain - he also gave me a printout indicating the problem, which I still have. I lightened the key chain and never had the problem again.. Very scary to have your car konk out at 70 mgh with 3 lanes of traffic on your tail.

Filed Mar 10, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 13,000 miles · MS

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the vehicle stalled accompanied by the illumination of the check engine warning light. The failure was recurring. In addition, the instrument panel failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 13,000.

Filed Mar 10, 2014 · Engine · GA

My 2005 chevy cobalt cuts off on me whenever I am on hills, going through curves, stopping at red lights or stop sign and sometime when I am simply driving down the street. If I am in rush hour traffic it cuts off on the highway as well. Once or twice a week my power steering will go completely out while I am driving. I just read in the newspaper that if you only have the one key that it will not cut off but that's not true either. My car cuts off weather I use mu key on the key ring or the key that I have that is not on the key chain. Not knowing what was causing the car to cut off all of the time, I have changed the battery, ignition switch, and the throttle something or another. I have invested a lot of money into this car trying to figure out what the problem is. I am at my wits end t this point and was just about to give up when I read the article in today's (03/09/2014) paper. Maybe I can get some kind of help with this issue now.

Filed Feb 26, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · OH

Car has shut off twice in the past 4-5 weeks. It happens on rough road. Engine dies and car shuts off. Car has to be restarted. This is a safety issue on the road. Recall has been noted on media and newspaper article for 2005 chevrolet cobalt. These incidents when car shuts off actually happened before I seen the recall on the news. When I called chevrolet to report issue I was told I would need to wait for recall letter before I could get the repair done. I feel that due to safety issue and my car actually having this problem that I should not wait until april for recall letter. I was told recall letters would not go out until april 2014. This same problem also happened to my cobalt last year on 3-4 occasions during winter months when roads are more rough. Gm's number for initial recall is 13454 and 14063 for the expansion recall. I do not want to pay out of pocket for the repairs. I am reporting this due to safety issue on the road. Need this car for work!

Filed Feb 19, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 174,000 miles · UT

Driving 45 on a state road and my car just powered down. No previous issues.

Filed Feb 19, 2014 · Engine · 119,000 miles · PA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the vehicle suddenly lost power. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

Filed Feb 19, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 64,200 miles · NC

Complete power failure at random while traveling at 50 MPH.

Filed Feb 12, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 150,000 miles · MI

The ignition on the car is loose and just through the weight of the key chain and by hitting a bump, the key can shift out of the "on" position, causing the car to turn off. This has happened on several occasions, typically on the highway - the car will completely shut off. Fortunately, each time my wife was able to coast to the side of the road and restart the car. The dealership said that this is a common problem in this model year. The dangers of this condition are obvious.

Filed Nov 27, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 47,500 miles · IL

Vehicle was parked inside garage, filling tires with air. A cigarette lighter powered air compressor was being used to fill tires. Was only in use for a few minutes, when air compressor stopped. The fuse for the cigarette lighter was blown. This was a common problem with the car. On several occasions the fuse for the cigarette lighter would be blown for no apparent reason. I have only used it in the past to use my obd ii scanner, being that the obd diagnostic port is powered by the same fuse as the cigarette lighter. Besides using the obd scanner, no other things have been used via the cigarette lighter. Regardless the fuse would be blown. After the fuse was blown with the air compressor, I unplugged it from the cigarette lighter, only to see smoke coming from under the hood. The fuse melted in the fuse block. From there, the window wipers began operating, as well as the windshield wiper fluid being shot out from the nozzles. Smoke began pouring from the inside of the car, from under the dash. I quickly ran to the trunk where the battery is located, and disconnected the battery as soon as I could. Garage was filled with smoke, with the ominous burnt electronic smell.

Filed Nov 12, 2013 · Engine · GA

Car stalls out when you stop or even on the highway!! My car stalled on the highway. Will not start again. No engine light came on!!!. Needs new engine!!!! After googling my car. Numerous same issues. This should be a recall!!

Filed Nov 4, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 125,668 miles · MI

Sitting at a turn light, cars started to move and I started to accelerate when I heard a loud pop noise (was not going over more than 10mph). So I pulled over and looked opened the hood to find my oil cap, filter, a black piece, and spring had popped out of the oil filter location which was in the block. Oil had been spewed all over. I took the oil cap to a chevrolet dealership and the service guy said he had never seen the oil cap and filter pop out of the block, he examined the cap and only noticed one minor break in the threads of the cap. He said that the black piece and the spring that go in the cap must have failed which in turn cause the cap to pop out of the block, he also told me to look at the block to make sure it was not cracked. I then inspected block to make sure it was not cracked, which it was not, and had a new cap, filter and oil installed.

Filed Oct 28, 2013 · Engine · 205,510 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH , the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and repaired but the contact did not know what was specifically repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 205,510.

Filed Aug 18, 2013 · Engine, Transmission · 89,465 miles · OK

While driving, the check engine light came on and the information display on the dashboard flashed "power steering." the car began shifting in and out of gear. The shifts are very rough and cause the car to jerk. There is also a rapid clicking sound that comes from the area of the gear selector. The code for the check engine light relates to the transmission control module.

Filed Aug 14, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · NC

After starting the cobalt or even if I am driving down the interstate at 70 MPH, the t/c lights, brake lights, power steering lights all light up on the dash. The speedometer and RPM gauges start going crazy. The radio will also go in and out. Usually on the interstate, the car will continue to drive, which is very scary. But if I am in town or slowing down to stop, the car will cut off. Then after I crank it again and start to move, the transmission changes gears really rough and feels like it is going to fall out. The only thing I have found to fix this (after weeks at different dealerships) is to turn the car off and flip the key on and off several(20 plus) times.

Filed Aug 5, 2013 · Engine, Steering · 101,000 miles · NC

At random times, my 2005 chevy cobalt will pop up a "check engine" light and a "traction control" light, where I lose my power steering, the motor shifts hard into each gear, and the motor runs very rough. Also, there are clicking sounds at the shifter, like it is trying to shift into a gear or something. This is a serious hazard and as I've read online, I am not the only one this has happened to. There are thousands of others. This entire car needs to be recalled because no one knows what is doing this!

Filed Jun 26, 2013 · Engine · 170,000 miles · IL

I was driving to work one morning in december at approximately 55mph. All of a sudden my tachometer went from about 2 to 0 and I was coasting to a stop. I made it to the side of the road where the car then just turned off. 55mph and my car just turned off!!! When I would try to restart it would start, but then turn off again when I would put it in gear. The car had approximately 170,000 miles, but anytime I would stop at a stop light it would die. I took it to my mechanic who was unable to diagnose anything wrong. I contacted chevrolet, but they said that there wasn't a recall to be issued. I was always afraid to come to a complete stop because of the car turning off. I was also in the parking lot at work and was coming around the corner to pull into a parking space, the car died again! Mind you this was the same day that I was going 55mph down the road and the car died. It took 11 tries to get the car to stay on so that I could get it to a parking place. Once I had it in a parking place and stopped, it died again. A recall needs to be issued before someone gets killed in an accident you peace of crap car people.

Filed Jan 27, 2013 · Electrical, Engine · 85,000 miles · CA

For no apparent reason and without any warning (no check engine light or anything), I received an "engine power reduced" warning and my car's engine completely shut down while I was completing a turn in a busy intersection. Luckily, I was able to coast to safety and park in a nearby parking lot. The car refused to turn back on for several minutes. Once it did, I drove my car to my office and was able to start it and drive it without further incident for several weeks. Then, without warning it happened again while I was on the freeway and has been happening intermittently since then. When I took it to the dealership, they claimed they are not aware of other people having this problem, but I have found numerous complaints and reports from other owners online, so I'm not convinced of their honesty or concern regarding this matter. They say they *think* the problem might be the master computer or at least that is their "best guess" (their words, not mine). I will be replacing it later this week. Unfortunately, I'm not confident the repair will fix the problem. After gm's repeated and explicit denial of the power steering problem and how long it took them to admit there even was one, I have decided to appeal to you. At present, when driving this car, I am a danger to myself and everyone else who might be around me on the road...as are all other cobalt drivers. Please, investigate this matter before someone has this happen at the wrong place and the wrong time and someone gets seriously hurt, or worse. Gm knows it created a car with a faulty electrical system which could result in catastrophic failures and they need to take responsibility for it and fix it. Just because they stopped making the car, does not absolve their responsibility to make them safe for everyone on the road.

Filed Jan 25, 2013 · Engine · 89,000 miles · LA

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact shifted into neutral and attempted to restart the vehicle and the vehicle was started after several attempts. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic, who performed a diagnostic test but was unable to duplicate the failure. The check engine warning light illuminated after diagnosis. The manufacturer was notified who advised the contact that there were no recalls for the vehicle and offered no further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 89,000.

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