2008 Chevrolet Cobalt: hesitation when accelerating

Filed Jul 30, 2020 · Fuel system · 107,000 miles · TN

While the car is running or while the fuel system is still under pressure, for example after having been driven there is a steady fuel leak in front of the drivers side rear tire. I have parked the car only to have lost 1/4 of a tank of gasoline to the leak. There is a very very strong odor of gasoline that permeates the car. Sometimes the car will hesitate to start, the engine continues to crank after I release the key and then it finally catches and starts .I understand this has been recalled in only certain states.

Filed Dec 27, 2019 · Driver assistance, Fuel system · NN

Increasingly the vehicle is not operating properly. The lighting is not consistent and the smallest addition of extra features requiring power (ex: using one or more window controls, heater and or defogger, lighting in dash at full capacity, musical performance, radio and bass, etc) will cause the power of existing devices to flutter or surge for example the headlights will dim out when turning the windows down or the vehicle will begin to vibrate and shake even more almost as though it is overpowering and wanting to shut down or quit. Also the rpms will feel like they are hiccuping or bouncing down and up more than usual and at random times and speeds at times seems like its going to red line even if you take your foot off the gas. This is also a bit of the same type of issue but it is the opposite when you push the gas it hesitates or something like that glitches or jolts and gains power very slowly and has a hard time accelerating and gaining speed (seems gutless?) . And at stop lights and whenever parked its rumbles and shakes all together let alone if you are using the radio or heat etc it's loud enough to have to get the people in vehicle to almost yell when talking over it or if you are in a drive through the person can't hear you and either have to stut off the engine or speak to them in person at the next window. Also when you are slowing down to stop it almost seems the engine will be faster than the body or something like that (I know sounds crazy but I don't know how to explain it any other way) . I've come to the conclusion that it will be fuel and or electricity related or both. Its also randomly showing a few different codes and then suddenly they go away all to do with fuel pressure or syster or evap type thing. Without clearing them they resolve themselves without any work or anything witch also seems very oddto me. Thankyou in advance for reading.

Filed Nov 26, 2018 · Acceleration, Transmission · 35,000 miles · NE

When driving at a constant rate, with constant accelerator pressure, between approximately 25 to 50 MPH, the rpms jump/fluctuate causing the car to lurch and hesitate. This can be a safety hazard, particularly in icy conditions. The only way to avoid the hesitation is to actively accelerate or decelerate. There are numerous owners that have posted an identical issue on message boards and have stated that their vehicles had similar issues that were remedied by similar repair processes and that chevrolet has altered the process used to make replacement parts as the initial parts were defective. In addition to being a safety hazard, it is also an excessive and costly burden on vehicle owners. My vehicle has only 40,000 miles on it and has been doing this since under 35,000 miles. It cannot be documented without a video. The rpms jumping is a constant and unrelenting issue when driving at a constant rate of speed between approximately 25-50 MPH.

Filed Dec 8, 2017 · Fuel system · 35,000 miles · VA

Strong smell of gasoline coming from vehicle. Hesitation upon first starting vehicle. Obvious signs of a gasoline leak from cracked fuel pump modulator which posed a fire risk.

Filed Nov 6, 2015 · Electrical, Fuel system · 80,000 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet cobalt. While parked, the contact noticed a strong smell of fuel and also noticed a small puddle of fuel on the ground. The vehicle hesitated before it would start. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it could not be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.

Filed Oct 1, 2015 · Acceleration · 175,000 miles · IN

While driving the car, the service traction control light, the service engine light and the eng pwr reduced notification came on. When this happened, there was a thump sound, the car hesitated and lost acceleration for a couple seconds and the car had obvious performance issues after that. At the time that this occurred, I was merging into moving traffic and was almost hit by the car behind me, since the car hesitated for a moment, reducing my merging speed at a time that I needed to be accelerating. This could have been a very bad situation!

Filed Aug 10, 2015 · Airbags, Electrical · 92,500 miles · OH

The air bag switched turned on and does not cut off and now the car hesitates to start up. All my recalls have been due to either electrical, steering and ignition problems. Now their is an issue witj the air bag and ignition. It chokes them starts after turning the key all the way to the right but it hesitates to start. This dudnt not happen unitl the air bags light started to stay on.

Filed Jun 16, 2015 · Fuel system · 81,000 miles · AR

Car hesitates when trying to start. Strong smell of gas but no sign of leaks. Updated 09/01/2015*lj the consumer stated the vehicle was repaired at no charge to the owner. The fuel pump and lines were replaced. Updated 10/27/2015

Filed Oct 11, 2012 · Fuel system · 110,000 miles · TX

Upon parking my 2008 cobalt, I could smell raw (unburned) gas. I did not see any drips on the ground but when I inspected underneath the vehicle; the fuel pump area near the gas tank, I could see liquid gas trails coming down and a build up of dirt which had coated the surrounding area due to the gas that had leaked and dried. The cobalt was hesitating, the engine was surging and I also noticed a small drop in fuel mileage. I took my cobalt to a local repair shop and they told me there was a crack in the fuel pump assembly and showed me the fuel pump assembly and I observed a leak at the connection where the fuel lines are attached to the fuel pump. They were unable to repair the leak because it is all plastic so they replaced the fuel pump assembly. It appears that in time this new assembly will fail again due to its design and I will have a recurring problem.

Filed Apr 20, 2011 · Electrical · 44,113 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that the vehicle would hesitate to start intermittently. The contact would have to attempt to start the vehicle several times, toying with the key until the vehicle would start. The failure progressed to the point where the vehicle would not start at all. The contact stated that the failure did not appear until after the vehicle was repaired under the federal safety agency campaign id number: 10v073000 (steering:electric power assist system). The vehicle was not inspected for the failure. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 44,113.