The power steering continues to fail while driving on a 2005 chevy cobalt, there have been many complaints about this vehicle and power steering. It is very unsafe to drive. There needs to be a recall of this component.
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt steering complaints
Page 36 of 39: complaints 1,031 to 1,060 of 1,143, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While driving the car a "power steering" warning came on and the power steering stopped working. The car became very difficult to steer. This is the second the message came on in the last month but the first time it went off and there was no steering problems. The car was diagnosed by a local dealer as needing a new electric power steering motor. The car is scheduled for repair this week.
I was recently traveling on the highway when the steering wheel became stiff and hard to maneuver. I looked down at the warning panel and it had lighted up "power steering". My car is a 2005 chevy cobalt with 45,000 miles. I read on the internet about other 2005 cobalt owners having the same problem around 40,000 miles. I took it in to a chevy dealer telling them that it appears that this is a flaw with the 2005 cobalt but they said there has been no recall on the electric power steering system and that I would have to pay several hundreds of dollars to have the eps module replaced. I feel that it is unfair to have something so expensive to go out on your vehicle when it is still fairly new and have the same thing happen to others but yet we are left to pay for an apparently well know flaw in the chevy cobalt that gm does not want to admit exits.
Power steer cuts out and does not come back until car is restarted. Happens random timing every trip. Chevy quoted 800.00 to repair stating that the steering column needs to be replaced.
The incident date below was the fifth time this has occurred. First noticed traction control and power steering light coming on-the car "bucks" and power steering is lost-several times car will lose power and have to be restart. After restart warning lights will go away and power steering returns. Seems to come back to normal after restart, runs ok until the process starts again. The car was purchased may 08 and first incident was aug 15 2008-took to dealer and they reset the computer, second and third time the car seemed ok until the 4th incident and returned to dealer again and reset again. I was told that the computer codes were showing u2105 and u2100 u2107 and car returned. This last incident (12-11-08) the car was doing the same thing and drove right to dealer to show service what the car was doing. They claimed the car is equipped with electric steering column and it disengages from the computer and the steering column needed to be replaced and a computer module. Gave them permission to correct this because I can't let my son drive a car knowing at anytime he will lose power steering. He has been lucky he was traveling at low speeds when this occurs. If he was on a highway and in front of a tractor trailer and lost power he might be killed because he would lose ps and stall. This is a safety-related defect in the vehicle equipment (electric power steering column) when at any time with no warning you can lose your steering, stall and/or buck. Upon further research into the 2005 cobalt, I have found 805 complaints regarding the steering column and the problems of controlling the car when this happens. Upon further research the malibu is having the same issues with steering. Guess what kind of steering is in the malibu. Check "www.aboutautomobile.com" for complaints regarding steering column. Several people have described incidents where their safety was compromised. Please help gm rep claims can't recall column without you. Please help
Driving the car, and then, no power steering. Called mechanic told "didn't want to touch eps system. Called dealer told to bring in to look at.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. While driving 50 MPH, the contact changed lanes quickly to avoid another vehicle and the steering locked. The contact attempted to maintain control of the vehicle, but he spun out twice and eventually pulled off the road. The day before the failure, the power steering indicator illuminated for two seconds on the instrument panel. The contact found numerous complaints regarding this component. The dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The failure and current mileages were 35,300. Updated 12/30/08. *lj updated 01/05/09.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. While driving 25 MPH, the contact heard a chime from the instrument panel, which indicated that the power steering was failing and the steering wheel locked. The dealer stated that the power steering system was faulty. The vehicle has not been repaired due to the cost. She felt that the vehicle was very unsafe to drive because the power steering could lock at any moment while driving. The current mileage was 53,834 and failure mileage was 46,000.
'05 cobalt: failure of electric power steering while driving. Condition will clear by turning car off then restarting, but fails again while driving. This appears to be a common problem with cobalts, but gm won't issue a recall. Please don't wait for this to become an accident!
While driving at any speed, the power steering intermittently shuts off. The failure progressively worsened over time. This causes extreme difficulty in turning, especially scary in urgent situations with children in the vehicle.
With little warning, power steering went out as I was leaving my driveway; I barely could turn the steering wheel; when the engine was shut off, I was able to drive short distance and then the power steering light came on. Fortunately, the car was still under warranty; my steering column had to be replaced. Now I continue to have problems with the front end, with the engine light coming on!!!! I thought chevy cobalt had good consumer reports. What happened chevrolet??? Did you all decide that quality just isn't worth a [xxx]! How about public safety!!! I am an rn and am outraged at the number of complaints regarding this same issue, and yet no public recall has been announced. Does someone have to die first? *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The vehicle in question was being driven at the time when (with little warning), the power steering went out and caused the driver to almost have a car accident. Thank god he was driving slow (in city limits) and not 65 MPH on a highway! A local dealership did the repair work which meant the steering column in question was fixed with the same kind of steering column replacement. I have received information that not only this make and model have this particular problem with the power steering going out, but also another chevy make and model as well. Our concern is that this "should" be a recall for the vehicles in question. We feel it is a definite safety issue and we don't want to see this happen again to us or anyone else. God forbid there be a tragic accident and/or fatality because of this issue!
I almost wrecked my car 2 weeks ago because my 2005 chevy cobalt's power steering just stopped working in the middle of a slight bend causing me to almost side-swipe another vehicle. What's happening now is when you start the car, within a few seconds you hear a clicking sound & the power steering just stops working. I think there's a service bulletin but not a recall. I just purchased the car used in january but it was only a 30 day warranty. I have already been to our local dealer & they stated that the steering column needs replaced but I would cost me $800 plus tax. I have also been in touch with gm in order to get this fixed under a warranty repair but have been getting nowhere with them. They stated that they were unaware of the issue but meanwhile I have found numerous blogs on the internet where people have also contacted gm & gm has told them the same thing. "this is the first time we are hearing about this problem." I have refused to drive the car as it is unsafe, so my husband has to be unconvinced by taking me where I need to go because I cannot steer it. It's not safe for us or other people, while this car is going down the road.
I've had my cobalt for a little bit over 3 years and my 'power steering' warning light started to come on. If I stopped and restarted the car it would go away for a bit but the warning would come back. I took it to a dealer and they said the steering column needs to be replaced and of course my warranty just ran out so I have to pay for it. My dealership is aware of the problem because they have had to repair it on other cobalts. From what I have read on the internet a lot of other people are having the same problem as I am. Why hasn't something been done about this?
While driving the vehicle the power steering light on the dic will come on and power steering will be lost. You can pull over to the side of the road and turn the engine off and back on and the problem will go away for 5 minutes, 5 hours or a day before occurring again. This has occurred intermittently for the last two weeks. The dealer has said the whole steering column must be replaced to repair the problem.
I am having an issue with my power steering failing in my 2005 chevrolet cobalt. There were really no events leading up to the failure that I see as possibly having an effect on the failure. The failure occurs quite randomly. Some days it will fail up to 4 times, and then it may go a week or two without failing. It does seem to occur more frequently in warmer weather. I am obviously concerned because the failure of power steering in the middle of a turn or while driving at high speeds could certainly be fatal for not only myself but any other drivers and passengers involved. I am extremely upset by the fact that chevy will not replace this electronic part at no cost to me since I do not consider it normal wear and tear on the car. I find this to be more an issue of chevrolet using a less than satisfactory part for the car. They have responded that my warranty does not cover it. I've researched numerous forums and it seems that this is not just a problem in my 2005 cobalt but one faced by at least 100-200 others. The problem was diagnosed by a chevy dealer, but for the $1000 repair cost they quoted me I have been forced into driving an unsafe car until I can find a more reasonable price or chevy issues a recall.
I own a 2005 chevy cobalt which I purchased new in 2005. Tonight while driving home a 'power steering' message displayed on my dash at the same time that my power steering went out. I was able to pull off to the shoulder of the road and turned my car off. I turned my car back on thinking maybe it was just a glitch in my computer and it drove fine for another 5 miles then the message popped up again and again I lost power steering. I was able to pull into a nearby gas station to attempt to see if I was low of fluid but found out its electronic power steering. Since I was only a few more miles from home I was able to, with hazards flashing, drive the rest of the way home having to stop once more to turn off and on my car to remove the warning and to re-engage my power steering. I've read online about multiple other cobalt owners having this same issue and I think it is deplorable of chevrolet to not have recalled this by now.
Power steering warning light goes and on off. Sometimes lose power steering during driving. When car is turned off and re-started problem goes away.
Power steering failure while I was on a curve going at a high speed. The steering wheel locked up and I was unable to resume driving. Something has to be done about this or someone is going to be killed! It is not the first time this has happened.
I was driving to work when the power steering when out, luckily I was paying attention and driving on a straight road. No accidents or injuries occurred. The car is being looked at now by the dealership. I researched this topic online and there are many people having the same problem.
I own a 2005 chevy cobalt, the car is 3 years old and the power steering is out. Unfortunately the warranty is out and by the looks of it there is hundreds of people out there with the same problem. I took it to the dealership and they said that a cost of over $1000.00 will need to be paid totally replace the steering problem. They are aware of the manufacturers defect and hoping this will be recalled. I think if they company is aware of this problem we should not have to pay for their mistake. I do not have this money to fix this mistake by the manufacturer. Please help!
I purchased a new chevrolet cobalt ls (4 door) in 2005 from my local dealer. I drive it very little - it now has slightly less than 13,200 miles. Last week when driving near home I rec'd a sudden flashing message on the dash "power steering." immediately, the steering failed completely. It took all my strength to turn the vehicle and I was only going 20 miles per hour - had it been different - and as I've since found it this has occurred thousands of times to other drivers of this car - it cold have killed me. My local dealer told me that the entire steering mechanism had to be replaced - rather odd for a car, perfectly maintained, with so few miles on it! The head technician at my dealer informed me that there was a design flaw in the 2005 and 2006 cobalt's steering mechanism. Both relied entirely on an electronic system that can fail instantly and leave the car with no steering control - while it's being driven! The repairs were largely covered by my extended warranty - I've had it for 38 months. (repair copy: "internal motor failure." and "replace steering column" = $804.00) but, as the repair service itself noted, this just restores the same, ready to fail system! The problem can't be fixed because it's a basic design flaw! According to the head technician, beginning in about 2007, the cobalt was altered to include a back-up hydraulic steering mechanism to make up for this recognized problem. There are over 12,600 lists of this problem on the internet today, some noting that a second failure occurred only two weeks after having the same "repairs" that I had. I'm still paying for this car and it's a death trap. My wife won't ride in it and I won't drive it more than a few blocks and only in daylight. This must be addressed!!!!!! Gerald j. Davey, ph. D.
Power steering problem with my 2005 chevy cobalt. Three attempts by gm dealer to fix a problem, the problem is still there. This should lead to safety recall. During the driving power steering warning light comes on, the car starts to shake and is not safe to drive. I filled complaint with bbb, chevy, but they said that the safety recall must come from the federal safety agency. Looks like thousands of power steering columns have been replaced on two or three yr old card, which is unacceptable. This is not normal wear-an-tear part, and someone should run statistics on this part with gm, and consider the safety of customers/drivers. This is a typical highschool/college students car, inexperienced drivers in totally unsafe cars... Do not wait until someone gets killed to have recall on chevy cobalts power steering issues. Thank you!
At 57,000 miles, the power steering light came on in my car while driving down the highway. It became very hard to steer and seems very dangerous. After turning off the vehicle and then turning it back on the problem seemed to go away, but it came back on shortly while I was in the middle of turning onto a busy street. I almost hit a truck. I have since taken the vehicle to the dealership where I have been told it will cost $1000 to fix and they said that there is no sign that it was my fault.
05 chevy cobalt ss power steering was lost during merging on to highway, has happened twice now. Almost hit another car and construction cones not being able to turn the vehicle fast enough. Dealership said they found nothing wrong with the actual power steering. But if they were to order a new part it is on back order, so there must be something pretty messed up with the power steering in chevy cobalt to need the parts so much.
2005 chevy cobalt - 09/20/2008 - while driving straight at approx. 10 MPH on a residential street, car chimed, dic displayed "power steering" and power steering was lost. With difficulty, pulled car over to the side of the street, put car in park, turned car off, and re-started car. On re-start, dash display was normal, power steering was normal. On 09/23/2008, while driving straight at approx. 30 MPH on a busy road (2 lanes each direction), same thing happened (chime, "power steering" display, loss of power steering, difficulty steering the car); slowed to a stop on approach to a red light, put car in park, turned car off, re-started car, back to normal. On 09/26/2008 (today), while driving straight on a city street at approx. 20 MPH, same thing happened (chime, "power steering" display, loss of power steering, difficulty steering the car), no place to pull over, had to turn left on a side street to park, very difficult to control the car while making the turn, parked, turned car off, re-started car, back to normal. I have an upcoming service appointment at my chevy dealership, but service department advises me there is no recall for this issue, and they will only be able to find/fix problem if it occurs while it is in their possession, and I am out of warranty (44,000 miles on odometer). I am now afraid to drive the car, but have no other way to get to work and back. I will not drive it on the highway. I did an internet search on 09/23/2008, and see complaint after complaint from cobalt owners about this very same problem. Also see that there was a "special coverage adjustment" (dated 12/03/2007) for 2005 chevy malibus and 2005 pontiac g6s for what appears to be the same power steering problem (remedy for this was for dealer to replace the steering column assembly; special coverage was for 7 years or 70,000 miles). Driving a car that suddenly loses power steering on an on-going basis is not safe, why is there no recall for this problem for cobalts?
My name is freddie brown I am a firefighter/emt I am filing this complaint in regards to a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The power steering (electronic on this car) goes out 2-3 times a day which causes the steering wheel to lock up while driving. I have done research on the internet and I am not the only one experiencing this with this model year cobalt. Thank god it has not done it while I am turning or it will result in a crash. Chevrolet wants $2000 to have it fixed. The car is 3 years old and is a factory default. In order to reset it you have to throw the car in neutral and turn it off while rolling and turn it back on and it resets itself. Please look into it. I typed in cobalt steering recall in google search engine and there are plenty of complaints. Thank you, freddie brown firefighter/emt marion county fire-rescuer
I've just bought a 2005 chevy cobalt 23 days ago. This past weekend the power steering light came on. Upon research I have found that the electronic power steering on this and other models is an ongoing issue. I, as of this morning, have no power steering now. I have found many discussions online concerning this matter, yet no info. From gm/chevrolet. According to discussions, it will cost between $600.00 and $2,000.00 to fix and then some of these people had it happen again anyway. This is a major safety issue and I don't understand why it has not been addressed. I, at this point, don't have the money to get it fixed, as I had scrimped to buy it in the first place just 23 days ago.
I have a problem that I would like to issue that has to do with safety. I bought a 2005 chevy cobalt back in july of 05. The power steering on the cobalt's is an eps system (electrical power steering). The power steering has been going off and on when I am driving (I have only 68,000 miles). It started on friday when I was driving into town it went out and I had to pull over, turn the car off then back on. After doing this the car was fine then a few minutes later the power steering went off again! Ever since then the power steering has been going out, even on the highway going 55 it goes out which causes it to be very hard to turn or steer my car. I went on the internet and looked up 'issues with power steering on 2005 chevy cobalt's' and I came across hundreds of complaints about the power steering going out on people that own a cobalt or a malibu which also has a eps system. I'm not sure why gm has not recalled this issue when it is a safety issue! To fix this problem the part its self is $500 not including labor. As I did my research people have been paying about $1,200 to fix the eps system. I really think it is very irresponsible of gm to not have a recall on this part due to the hundreds of complaints I have seen! Someone please help me on getting gm to wake up and see that when the power steering goes out while you're driving 55+MPH on the highway its not easy nor safe for anyone in the car and that they need to do a recall to fix all of the problems on the eps system. I don't know what it will take for them to wake up and recall the part; maybe a death due to eps system failure is what they are waiting for. In that case they have no heart for their customers or appreciation. I also contacted gm customer service and they were not able to help me with anything but tell me I am going to have to pay for the problem to get fixed. I am also not sure if there has been any crash related incidents due to the eps system. Thank you! Lp
I have a problem that I would like to issue that has to do with safety. I bought a 2005 chevy cobalt back in july of 05. The power steering on the cobalt's is a eps system (electrical power steering). The power steering has been going off and on when I am driving (I have only 68,000 miles). It started on friday when I was driving into town it went out and I had to pull over, turn the car off then back on. After doing this the car was fine then a few minutes later the power steering went off again! Ever since then the power steering has been going out, even on the highway going 55 it goes out which causes it to be very hard to turn or steer my car. I went on the internet and looked up 'issues with power steering on 2005 chevy cobalt's' and I came across hundreds of complaints about the power steering going out on people that own a cobalt or a malibu which also has a eps system. I'm not sure why gm has not recalled this issue when it is a safety issue! To fix this problem the part its self is $500 not including labor. As I did my research people have been paying about $1,200 to fix the eps system. I really think it is very irresponsible of gm to not have a recall on this part due to the hundreds of complaints I have seen! Someone please help me on getting gm to wake up and see that when the power steering goes out while you're driving 55+MPH on the highway its not easy nor safe for anyone in the car and that they need to do a recall to fix all of the problems on the eps system. I don't know what it will take for them to wake up and recall the part, maybe a death due to eps system failure is what they are waiting for. In that case they have no heart for their customers or appreciation. I also contacted gmac customer service and they were not able to help me with anything but tell me I am going to have to pay for the problem to get fixed. I am also not sure if there has been any crash related incidents due to the eps system. Thank you! Lauren phillips
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history