2007 Chevrolet Cobalt: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed May 19, 2021 · Fuel system · IA

In mid 2017 I went for a drive in my 2007 Chevy Cobalt. (just over 100,000 miles). When I was approximately 4 blocks from my home the engine began sputtering and died. I was able to pull in a parking lot, put it in park and jumped out of my car. An overwhelming smell of gas was immediately noticed, as well as a huge puddle of fuel on the ground. I began to walk the 4 blocks home and saw a huge continuous trail of gasoline upon the road leading from my car ALL the way to my home! In this 4 block distance my Cobalt leaked out over 3/8ths of a tank of fuel- nearly 5-6 gallons. The fuel vapor in the air was most assuredly at a very dangerous explosive level this entire distance home. I am a self taught mechanic with many engine re-builds and repairs under my belt. Upon inspection I found that the steel fuel line had a major rupture above the driver rear wheel within the foil wrapped "joke" of a heat shield- (just above the exhaust pipe). Upon further inspection this steel fuel line was badly rusted & corroded all the way to under the driver seat. Overall the Cobalt fuel line system is a very poor design, poor quality materials, with bad design & placement. I ordered a complete new fuel & return line set and replaced all the rusty junk fuel lines. My experience with the instantaneous fuel line failure could have had a very bad ending. No warning lights or previous leaks were detected. Then there is the front suspension and front wheel bearing issues. I have installed 2 complete front suspension kits, ball joints, struts, as well as 2 wheel bearing failures- all these replaced with less than 80,000 miles on the odometer. Then there is the bad window switches, bad moon roof seal, bad wiper arm assemblies, front stereo speaker failure at 39,000 miles, on & on. A very poor quality vehicle After purchasing this Cobalt I would be very hesitant to purchase another GM product.

Filed May 29, 2018 · Steering · 149,000 miles · PA

While driving at 40 MPH getting off exit 100 off of route 81, the power steering to the right wasn't working, being very hard to turn. As I turned the steering wheel a little to the left, the steering loosened and allowed me to turn right very slowly. I returned to driving as the steering seemed to be working properly as a few tests in the parking lot indicated that it was working properly. Fortunately, I made it home but as I turned to the street to take me home, I heard a loud clunk from the front. As I turned into the driveway, I heard the clunk again. I let the car sit overnight. When leaving the next morning, the steering wheel, nor the tires themselves, would turn to the right at all! The steering motor had been replaced by a recall and then I had to replace the replacement 3 years later! I had to have the tie rod ends replaced under warranty with only 15,000! Now I don't know if I want to put more money into it. It wasn't a horrible car and it did well, but seeing all these posts makes me think this was a design flaw that they turned a blind to.

Filed Jan 9, 2016 · Suspension · 86,000 miles · WI

When braking, the tires bounce causing a serious vibration which makes steering difficult when braking hard. There is no visible damage or lose suspension parts but I'm guessing it's either bad struts or control arms? I'm replacing the parts today as a guess and hope it fixes the issue. This is my daughters car and she's afraid to drive the vehicle.

Filed Jul 28, 2015 · Acceleration, Brakes · GA

Replaced all of the following components since purchase: both front lower control arms due to bushing failures; both front shock and strut assemblies due to shock failures/leaks; both sway bar links due to failed components; both front sway bar bushings due to dry-rot; both front rotors due to failed/warped components caused by defective brake calipers; harmonic balancer due to defective/weak component; both rear shocks due to failures/leaks. Still need to replace rear coil springs due to weakness, all wheel hub bearings due to unstable driving/steering and the vehicle speed sensor causing high idle and erratic idling after warm-up.

Filed Jul 2, 2015 · Suspension · 120,000 miles · IL

My cobalt has had issues with the lower control arms on multiple occasions since my purchase in 2012. I finally found a mechanic who told me it was the control arms and had them replaced, and within the year was told to have them replaced again. Now I have been told my suspension is gone. These complications seem like reoccurring issues with not only cobalts but many chevy vehicles.

Filed May 18, 2015 · Driver assistance, Steering · 100,000 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that the front end of the vehicle shook intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and it was determined that the front bushings, electronic stability control, steering column, and the front driver and passenger side lower control arms needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed Jan 2, 2015 · Steering · 100,000 miles · MI

I purchased the car brand new in 2007. The front suspension started to make lots of clunking noises and rattling whenever I went over bumps in the road. It continued to get worse. Took the car into the chevy dealer and they said nothing was wrong with the car. I've taken the car to a mechanic and he replaced l front control arm twice. The mechanic said the car should not be having those problems with the cars current mileage. I also have very dangerous sound in steering column every time I turn the steering wheel. I have complained about this to dealership. Of course, they initially did not hear anything. I had my steering lock on me and couldn't get the key out, thus I had the car towed to the dealership in april 2011. They fixed the ignition switch. The noise in the steering column has only got worse since that time. December 16, 2014, I took car in for the recall on the ignition. The dealer told me that the steering column was falling apart and wanted to charge me $1100.00 to fix. They insisted that this has nothing to do with the ignition switch. The car sounds like it is barely holding together like on squeaky hinges.

Filed Mar 14, 2014 · Airbags, Body · 45,000 miles · NY · crash

4/22/13 approx 7:30 am, approached red-light, gently applying brakes. Car started to lose power! Dashboard lights dimmed while I was slowing down. This has been happening for over a yr. As soon as light turned green,car felt like it was losing power and was going to stall out! (like if you were to run out of gas. Stepped on the gas, as soon as I saw the light turn green, to try to prevent the stall out, and about 1/4 into intersection, another car was running a caution light, which turned to red... My car regained power with a thrust of the engine, which took me into the path of the other vehicle who hit me at about 35 MPH, which caused us to spin completely around in the middle of intersection. Airbags did not deploy. The police report stated I failed to yield the right of way. In part that is true, as I felt I had to apply the gas to the car to keep it from "stalling! Heavy damage to driver's side, front end, hood, bumper and support beam by engine. There are many recalls on this car. 5/9/2012, fuel odor or spotting on ground; 9/16/10-loss of power steering assist; 3/1/2010-recall 10v073000 power steering motor replacement; 1022/2009-fuel pump module replacement. In the pass three yrs I advised east syracuse chevy dealer that my dashboard lights,lighted areas radio, etc; go in and out like the car has an electrical problem, door left-open, lights, low-fuel, single lights chimes all don't work. Dealer advised me there is a short in the dash somewhere causing all these problems,radio speakers are all connected I would have to pay to repair which was over $2,000. Remotes don't work. I have had many front end problems with this vehicle, I.e. Sway bar, steering column bushings; struts;steering components, linkage/cv drive axle boots, control arms; repairs;11/30/11, 2/16/2011.

Filed Mar 6, 2014 · Steering, Suspension · 10,000 miles · OH

Noisy broken stabilizer links, control arm bushing broken. Quick internet search shows this to be a wise spread problem.

Filed Nov 11, 2013 · Suspension · 42,220 miles · OH

I am writing because I did get the recall on my vehicle of the power steering , the motor kit was fixed on 8/12/10.I took my car to midas on 10/24/2009 for a noise bumping noise coming from my vehicle and fuel/oil leaking. They said it was my struts, and they had to be replaced. I paid $500.31 for that repair all receipts and invoices on hand. On 4/25/2011 I took my car to tire discounters only to find that I needed 2 lower control arm bushings(7) labor for suspension service. My total cost was $339.12. I just pulled up recalls on my vehicle and I noticed that people where saying there struts had to be replaced to and the had problems with their power steering suspension. From what I have seen a faulty power steering is a component of a larger the larger suspension and if left unfixed it could lead to other major problems. If this is true why are we not getting reimbursed for these very expensive repairs? I saw where they may have recalled the whole suspension, so does that mean that I can get these repairs reimbursed?

Filed Jun 28, 2013 · Steering, Suspension · 32,000 miles · OH

I took my vehicle to get it checked due to a popping noise while turning, I was told the control arm brushing (bushing) was broken. The part was replaced. Then 4 months later the popping noise returned. When taken to the dealership, it was again the control arm brushing (bushing). Again, it was replaced. In about 8 weeks, the popping noise returned again. I knew what it was by then and I left it go for awhile. It was replaced in december of 2012. Again it is broken as I file this report and has been for a couple weeks.

Filed Apr 22, 2013 · Brakes · 69,000 miles · CA

I have an extreme vibration and some clanking noise in the front end of my 2007 chevy cobalt whenever applying my brakes on a downhill slope. I do mostly freeway driving and fortunately there aren't a lot of hills , so my brakes are not under much stop and go strain. I was told the my control arms and bushings will have to be replaced and that it may cost $900 or more after labor. Due to the cost, I have not been able to do the repairs and after looking online, I see that several other people have had the same issue and replaced these parts only to find they need to be replaced again in as little as a year. My last chevy had nearly 300,000 miles on it and there was never an issue with the control arms, so this definitely should not be happening.