At a speed of about 5-10 MPH the steering failed. The recall number n100023 was preformed on 7/15/2010 at 63,057 miles. The part seems to have failed again. My wife was in the middle of teaching our daughter how to park and now we are afraid to even let her drive the car with the recall for the ignition switch, there has to be a solution fix for this problem reoccurring.
2006 Chevrolet Cobalt steering complaints
Page 11 of 44: complaints 281 to 310 of 1,299, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2006 chevy cobalt. Consumer writes in regards to ignition switch recall notice. *smd the consumer stated the power steering light illuminated on the dashboard. The dealer informed the consumer, rodents had made their way underneath the hood. The consumer stated the dealer never mentioned the ignition switch problem. The consumer received the recall notice, the following day. When the consumer called the dealer to inquire about the recall, she was informed the parts were not available.
I had become aware of the recall, just the week prior and was planning on making arrangements to have the car fixed, once the parts (3-4 weeks out from what I was explained) arrived. I was also explained via the dealer and what I read on line that the car should be ok to drive so long as there was nothing on the key. So I requested my daughter to only use the key with absolutely nothing on it, when using my car. At approximately 2pm on a clear sunny day, my daughter was exiting the freeway. As she was slowing down, the car suddenly shut off on her. Before she had time to react she hit another vehicle. She was fortunately not injured, mainly because she was already slowing down and had it been a few minutes earlier, things may have been drastically different. I have had this car for 7 years and I drove it quite a bit and let my daughter do so as well. I am angry that gm has allowed my daughter and I to be at risk for such a long period of time and even as I am writing this (2 weeks later) the only answers I have really been given from gm are answers I have had to call and press them on, which for the most part is almost no information at all. I am sure they are being inundated with complaints and having to deal with the media, congress, the federal safety agency, but I cannot feel any empathy or sympathy for that matter, when they have had years to deal with this and simply swept this under the rug. Harsh and swift action must be taken to punish them and set an example to all others. Enough with the bail outs. Time to start being accountable.
About 3 years ago I started to get a thumping noise in the front end of the 2006 cobalt. I asked a mechanic what it could be and they gave me a couple things it might be also gave me idea on cost. Being a single mom of two and the thumping was not to bad I did not have the money to repair. As time went on got louder and worse. So, I brought it in to have problem fixed it was the lower tie arms and something else went bad and cost me almost $1000 to fix. I looked online and found many 2006 cobalt owners say they have the same issue but was told by gm was not a safety issue so they were not recalling car it was our problem. I have noticed the lights on the dash sometime dim so low you can not see them then they will brighten again even after replacing the battery. Over this winter I started to get a humming in the steering column and asked my mechanic to look he told me I have electric power steering they could not fix. I got the recall about the ignition switch and was doing as they said and only driving with key and nothing else. But now every time I stopped I was checking key to make sure it was in place and a few times it had moved slightly but did not kick it out of the on position. If I had not checked it, it probably would have with all the pot holes. Then on april 6th 2014 on my way home from work (which is 24 miles away from home). When I was turning to go on the highway the steering wheel was humming again(I had no clue that there was any problems with steering columns at this point) I got onto the highway and the dash light came on and a dinging sound started and I had to fight, the car to the side of the road. I turned the car off then turned it on to see if it stopped and was able to get home. Looked online to see if others where having this issue and found tons of 2006 cobalt owners having issue. That is when I saw they are recalling 2010's for it not 2006.
This vehicle is not safe to drive and was not built right. The manufactures knew for many years that the chevy cobalt 2006 would have a leaking gasoline system, and they kept this faulty defect to themselves for many years before bring this issue to the customer. I was driving the vehicle leaking gas for a few years unit the crack was large enough for me to smell it, while not driving, the ignition switch; with the key in it while the car was in park has started the car engine without turning the key. The key wont come out of the ignition switch. The car has turned off on me on the freeway more than 9 times. The car turned off on me going in reverse, couldn't control the brake and steering power to move out of the pole . While driving in the freeway I have had to quickly react; putting my emergency lights on and praying to god a car doesn't hit me, while with the left had side is quickly waving at the vehicles coming from behind to stop. Please help me. I have two children and im tired of being exposed to the dangers of this m defected life threatening vehicle. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that an abnormal chiming noise was heard from the steering wheel area when suddenly, the power steering assist malfunctioned and the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electric power steering motor was faulty and needed the be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the defect was not remedied. The manufacturer was notified and no solution was offered. The failure mileage was 45,000.
My electrical issue: I have had my car diagnosed so many times because I could not find the reason why my car RPM keeps going up and down. Than it came down to an electrical issue. Power steering: while I am driving my power steering completely goes out therefore it is causing me not to be able to control the car and have had multiple times where I almost wrecked my car due to this issue. I could be driving and or turning and all of a sudden it just completely goes out causing me not control the car especially when the roads are wet. I saw there was a recall back in 2010 but so many people are having the same issue now that it's 2014...it is not worth having death on their hands I just don't understand why nothing is up to date.
I own a 2006 chevy cobalt that yes is involved in the ignition switch recall. Just putting the key in the ignition I am sure helps a bit. But I have been checking the ignition position when I stop at lights and stop signs and a few times the key has slipped a little not enough to bounce it into the off position. But enough that if I did not push it back into position and I hit a bump it would have. However it has not been recalled in the steering column recall. I have for months off and on had a whining noise in the steering wheel and when it does this the car is hard to steer. On the way home from work the other day the steering wheel started to whine when I was turning onto the highway and steering got harder. When I hit the highway the warning light came on and car started to ding at me. I pulled over and turned car off for a minute and turned it back on and car was fine. When I got home I looked to see if there were other cobalt owners having this issue. And there are hundreds of 2006 owners and even more for 2005 having the issue. That is when I found they were recalling cars for this issue but only 2010 cobalt's which they had recalled in 2010 for the same issue. But the rest of us are not included in the recall but are having the same problem. There is also another problem with the 2006 cobalt's front end. I brought my car in a couple months ago because it was making a banging noise in the front end. And found that the lower tie rods and the bearing were bad on both sides of the car. I again hit the internet to see if other owners where having this issue and I found again hundreds of 2006 cobalt owners where having this same issue. And many of them stated that they contacted chevy to talk to them about the issue and they were told that it was not a safety issue so therefore chevy was not going to recall the car and fix the problem it was our issue.
Starting the car and pulling out, the power steering not working, car hesitating when accelerating and then I pull over and shut the car off. I wait a few seconds and start the car again, and its running fine. This started a month or so after our purchase (used) on may 15,2009. The dealer did not have any weekend service. The date above is when we 1st reported for service. But turning the car off/on always fixed the problem. Service dates-10/8/09,10/15/09,8/28/10,5/19/11.3/27/12. Dealer couldn't find any dialogistic problems. I brought the car in & running, on 7/2/13, while running a mechanic drove it, said he knew the problem. Dialogistic showed 2- cost $430. To repair. 2wks. Later, happened again, dialogistic showed 6. Estimate $6-$800 plus. Too much to fix it. In the past 3 yrs., four times while driving at 60mph,on hwy., no power steering, gas hesitating, & down shifts to 25+/-while flooring the gas, car bucking, & speedometer bouncing b'twn.30-50. Very freighting and once there was no place to stop.
The power steering went out. Airbag light and power steering light came on.
Yes I was at a friends house then I came back down turned my key and the power steering sign came on I drove it to auto zone I went in to get power steering fluid and I had no place to put the fluid in I looked at m manual and it was not even listed in the book at as a part of my car I asked a specialist at auto zone where does the fluid go they told me my power steering is electrical so I need to go to my closet dealer then I turned it back on and it went away but a reminder it was hot that day so when it cooled off im guessn it went away.
On 9/13/2012 my niece was driving her 2006 chevy cobalt. It was a clear night with light traffic. All of a sudden her car veered to the right and crashed into a tree. She died of blunt force trauma to the head. There were no brake marks and the air bags did not deploy which you would have expected with such a violent collision.
After several contacts and attempts to seek assistance from local dealership & gm with the ignition and gear shift problems, both concluded that vehicle VIN number was not part of any current recall. Owner (55 year old) repeated contact due to concerns of mechanical symptoms identical with existing cobalt recalls. Family was involved in a single vehicle accident at 10:00 am on 3/2/2013. Gear shift and steering simultaneously locked while navigating a corner on local highway. Vehicle crossed centerline, launching over a snow bank and continuing air-born for 30 to 40 yards. Only 1 of the 2 air bags fully deployed. Total loss of vehicle and several ongoing injuries with three occupants of vehicle. (29 year old, 55 year old, and 79 year old) neither the local dealership or gm ever acknowledged vehicle defects. The local dealership had removed the dash cover, console cover, and steering column cover and make some type of adjustments prior to accident. Law enforcement was on scene and no citations were issued. Damage exceeded the value of the vehicle.
These cars are notorious for the electrical steering mechanisms to fail, parts break inside of the steering column making rattling sounds constantly while driving, my master mechanic father couldn't even figure out how to fix it, the stability is wobbly, hard to keep in a strait line while driving. These model year vehicles are terrible and needs to be part of the gm recall pertaining to the electrical steering. Look at any cobalt complaint forum, its insane, these cars are dangerous and have had nothing but problems since I bought the car.
Randomly the electric power steering goes out, it went out while turning a corner and bounced off a oncoming car in a turn lane, this happens constantly and I just got the car , they want me to pay just to look at it I don't have 200 to look till I hear a large number of other owners are having the same issue.
On 7/05/12 my daughter was in a 2006 chevy cobalt that was involved in a major accident. She stated she lost control of the vehicle because the steering would not allow her to steer & regain control of the vehicle. As a result of this the car left the road and flipped several times and landed approximately 25ft into a wooded area. No air bags deployed. Injuries sustained: loss of consciousness, concussion and several lacerations.
I was driving on the highway, and my cobalt suddenly lost power steering. I received flashing warning messages for power steering and another one saying "service air bag." I am worried that if I am in an accident, the air bags will not deploy. These two things happened simultaneously.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while traveling various speeds, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact also mentioned that the power steering ocassionally failed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted about the failure. The failure mileage and VIN was not aviailable.
I purchased my 2006 cobalt in february of 2007 with mileage of +/- 30000, within the first 2 weeks I had to have the steering column and power steering assist replaced and had to pay for front end alignment caused by the steering a) steering wheel shaking when driving at highway speeds and very violently when breaking and b) the power steering going out. The car now has 107000 miles on it and have had trouble with this same shaking when driving and it being violent when breaking. The dealership states gm is aware but I still have had to redo my front brakes twice (which helps temporarily)..the last time being in june or august of 2013. The shop tells me the problem the first time was the front rotors were sticking and the ground them down smooth. Then the shaking started again. I had to take my car in to have the rotors ground down again and have a serpentine belt replaced. So here I am again 7 months later and will have to do this again because the shaking has started again and is becoming so bad it will have to go to the shop again at my cost for something they know about but will not fix. I have already received a recall letter regarding the ignition problem but am told that the parts are not available and will be informed when they are. This steering/braking problem is serious and I some times fear that either something will break inside the car or I will not be able to hold on to the steering wheel and will wreak. I am afraid to drive my car any distance or speed because I fear it will fail and I see that this has been an ongoing problem since 2007 and people have complained but have received no satisfaction.
Driving down the road and all items on gauge cluster die and come back on over and over again. Security light pops on ABS light comes on air bag light comes on. I lose power steering when this happens and sometime vehicle wont start and my security light pops on. Sometimes nothing in my gauge cluster wont work and all warning lights will appear when driving down the road or as soon as I start my vehicle.
When the accident happen, my son and his friend were going to his other friend house to stay. His friend that lived said he was having trouble controlling the steering they ran off the road hitting the side of the road flipping the car, my son was thrown out of the car and was dead on the scene.
You know when my son bought this car, I know he thought he had the best, this is part of your reviews. New for 2006 are ss sedan and coupe models with normally aspirated engines. These new ss models fit between the lt and ss supercharged models. Their price, power and performance and body work are all toned down from the ss supercharged coupe, but they're sporty cars and possibly the best choice in the lineup, boasting 171-horsepower engines and sports suspensions.this car was suppose to handle good. But now he is dead because of this car. Do you people at chevorlet even know how people feel or what kind of emotion a parent goes through with losing a child and how my life has changed. I will never see him get married, have children. I will never be able to talk to him, feel him, tell him I love him. Yes, I'm hurt. I want you to pay for the mess you have done for my son's life and the life of others. Because you guys hid this mess for years you knew. How many people have too get injured or die. Just look at all the recalls just for this car. Just to think chevrolet has been the choice of vehicles we have always driven.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the front end of the vehicle would shake and become unstable. The contact indicated that repairs to the power steering were performed. No further information was available. The contact also stated that he was unable to remove the ignition key from the ignition switch. The ignition defect was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 90,000.
I was traveling on a 2 lane road that I travel most every day, the road is not busy most times.as I was entering a sharp curve suddenly the car engine quit and next thing I knew I was raking the guardrail on the right side of the road,.damaged the car more than it was worth,this was only the 2nd time the car had done this but I had only owned it about 11/2 yrs.the guardrail saved us from going over a 300 ft.mountain into the river.thankful for that guardrail, but left without anything to drive.
I went outside and started my car. As I attempted to drive off, the car would not steer. I learned that there had been a recall on my power steering. The cobalt has electric power steering, and can only be fixed at the dealership. The problem was fixed on 4/16/2012. On 2/26/2014, I went outside to start my car. Again, as I attempted to pull off, the car would not steer. After taking it to the dealership, I learned that the entire steering column had gone out. Gm knows this car is defective, and refuses to do anything about the problem. My car has been in the shop for 2 weeks, and I am getting the run around. I have had numerous problems out of this car. I've had trouble with the ignition switch, fuel problems, rattling noises, shaking, the windows going out, and the steering system. Something needs to be done. Gm needs to be held accountable. I make regular repairs and have routine maintenance done on my car. I should not have to continue to suffer with these issues that gm know exists. There response is always "due to the mileage and year of your car, we can't offer you any assistance."
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact was able to restart the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle would exhibit a stalling noise when the key was first inserted into the ignition. The failure was recurring. The contact also stated that the key became stuck in the ignition repeatedly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 40000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated while driving approximately 34 MPH, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned, which caused the vehicle to crash into a cement block, then jump the curb and crash into a fire hydrant. The air bags did not deploy on impact. The contact and passenger were injured. The contact had a cracked skull and a concussion. The passenger sustained a concussion and a broken arm. A police report was filed. The vehicle destroyed.the vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. The contact was driving approximately 5 MPH when the power steering assist failed, making the steering wheel difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who advised the contact of a recall pertaining to the same failure under the federal safety agency campaign id number 10v073000 (steering). An authorized dealer was contacted and advised that the vehicle was previously repaired under the recall in 2010. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 82,000. *tr updated 09/05/14*lj updated 09/8/2014
My wife and her mother were driving on a street in the city that we live in. This street does have a mild to moderate amount of traffic depending on the time of day. It is a two lane road that for the most part goes through the residential area of the city that we live in as well as the neighboring city. The speed limit predominately is 35 MPH. At the time of the incident, my wife was traveling to the south in which the roadway proceeds down a short, mild downgrade in to a natural wash or stream bed and then back up an upgrade to the south side of town and the neighboring city. My wife was traveling downhill when suddenly she lost power to the vehicle and the steering locked up. The engine was still running but all the electrical components of the vehicle such as the gauges and the car stereo ceased to work.due to the steering locking up and my wife being unable at the time to control the vehicle, she drifted in the opposite lane, bounced off a curb on that side of the road and then drifted back into the appropriate lane before coming to a stop. Fortunately for the safety and well-being of my wife and her mother, no other vehicle was in or approaching the opposite lane. When the vehicle came to a stop, the engine stalled when the key ignition was in the run position. My wife proceeded to switch the key in the off position and then proceeded to restart the vehicle. The vehicle then started up like normal. My wife proceeded to drive the vehicle to her original destination which was only a couple of miles away. She then notified me by cellphone in which we started the process of trying to get this issue resolved.
I was attempting to turn into a drive and the steering became hard to turn. Afterwards power steering appeared to work normal.
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