Events that lead to failure: 2006 chevrolet cobalt randomly shut off, instrument gauge needles randomly flicker/twitch, bad smell that in my opinion resembled a burnt food/sulfur combination. It started out lightly and randomly for a few weeks, but became heavier and constant over a week. A knocking noise came from the rear of the car, idle surged, and cruise control failed to disengage. Failure & consequences: fire! Component that failed was a canister/sending unit rear of the gas tank with the consequence of a fire and the total loss of my 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The evening prior I contacted my local dealer about the smell and I told them I have no warning lights on. The next day driving to the dealership the smell/odder intensified. My thoughts were, we'll at least they can't say they don't smell it or give me the "can't duplicate it" decision. I only made it halfway when my car had a major electrical/mechanical failure. I was assisted by cars traveling behind me as one pointed out my car was on fire and the car shut down, all without any warning lights! The fire severely burned the entire back half of the car. After being inspected by a very well seasoned fire inspector the fire was diagnosed to come from a canister/sending unit malfunction. Again no warning lights gm! In my opinion the random shutting down of the car, the gauges twitching/flickering, the strange knocking noise and the smell/odder was all part of the same problem. Corrected failures: in reference to the fire, that will be up to gm however, after reading the federal safety agency alarming number of 2005-2007 chevrolet cobalt complaints and technical service bulletins one would be LED to believe that there should be more than just a couple of recalls.
2006 Chevrolet Cobalt acceleration complaints
Page 3 of 3: complaints 41 to 48 of 48, newest first, as owners wrote them.
(1) car shuts itself off while I was driving down the freeway. During@ rush hour I veered away ( w-no power to car ),from traffic behind me. Parked ,shut car off, took key out of ignition, then replaced and started it back up, and proceeded enroute. (2) after market cruise control failure to shut off and turn on. (3) result of above (2)after market cruise control takes its own mind and decides to fully accelerate until gearing down in hopes it 'awakes' the computer (automatic transmission),then cruise control will finally shut off. (consequence ) passenger had a heart attack. I called a taxi. "he's ok" (4) service air bags light have been on since 20,k miles I now have 47,xxx miles. (5)stock tires and rims wobble with irritating continous noises -can't ge rid of it. (6) stock seats driver and passenger sides both were installed incorrectlythey are really slantedlike this ( / \ ). (7) a clunking bucket sounding noise fills very slowly, (health problems) an odor is always present leaving me light headed ,nautious while driving, dizzy exiting car,and with breathing problems -like shortness of breath. I have severe back problems now, and can not sit in the car for more than 20 min, upon a break of fresh air and a walk for the spine. (8) brakes sound and feel (when applied),scratchy.@5,000 miles the chevy dealership had to turn and shave allready my disc brakes saying they were worn in. (9) my heater makes a lot of noises when using it. (10) acceleration hesitation.
2006 chevrolet cobalt sedan had 2 incidents of going out of control 9 days apart. First time was when car was put in reverse and slight tap of gas pedal resulted in car rapidly reversing until hit mud area on grass and light pole. Second incident was when car was in forward and stopped to open trunk. Car lunged forward with such force that it went through garage wall. Air bags did not deploy either time. Car towed to dealership. Parts ordered to replace damage but not yet checked out mechanically to see what went wrong with forward & reverse incidents and why air bags did not deploy.
Dt*: the contact stated upon initial acceleration onto the highway, the accelerator pedal stuck to the floorboard without warning. The contact quickly pulled to the side of the road and turned off the ignition which stopped the sudden acceleration. After restarting the engine, the problem persisted. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who was unable to duplicate the problem. The manufacturer was not alerted. Updated 12/15/2006 -
Dt*: the contact stated while traveling various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The dealership cannot duplicate the problem.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 55 MPH on the highway with the cruise control engaged, the brake pedal was depressed and the vehicle lurched forward without warning. Multiple attempts were made to disengage the cruise control by constantly applying brake pressure, but the vehicle continued to accelerate. The vehicle suddenly careened through two lanes of traffic, struck a guardrail, and rolled over into an embankment where it finally came to a stop. The contact was wearing a seat belt, but minor injuries were sustained. Due to the extensive body damage, the vehicle was deemed totaled. The police were alerted and a report was taken. The manufacturer was also alerted. Updated 9/20/2006 - the air bags did not deploy.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 75 MPH the cruise control would not deactivate. To deactivate the cruise control the brakes were applied at least 4 times each time harder than the time before in combination with turning the cruise control off. When it deactivated there was a loud grinding noise that was heard. Within the next 20 minutes of driving the cruise control activated without being turned on, this occurred on 2 occasions. It was deactivated in the same manor as stated before. The vehicle was taken to dealer for inspection. The dealer test drove the vehicle however the problem could not be duplicated therefore no repairs were made.
2-incidents of sudden acceleration at freeway speeds: the first time the cruise was activated and on hitting resume the car took off on it's own. The coast function did not slow the car and turning off the cruise did not slow the car. I was in fairly light traffic and was able to steer and brake out of trouble until the accelerator returned to normal[the brakes only partially slowed the car because of the high speed involved]. About an hour later I was entering a freeway and at about 40-45 MPH the accelerator went to the floor on its own again and I had only partial control of the car's speed. The cruise was off this time and again after a few minutes and miles the engine revved down to normal on its own. Again traffic was fairly light so I was able to steer and brake through without a crash but in heavier traffic this would be a serious problem. The dealer test drove the car for about 18-miles but could not replicate the incident which is random and intermittent and their diagnostic tests showed these incidents never happened but believe me this is a real problem when these computers or electronic systems malfunction. General motors has opined that this is impossible which is a cover up since everything is controlled electronically. This is particularly dangerous since it happens at freeway speeds and the pedal goes to the max.
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