The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the key was stuck in the ignition. The contact had to use the key release to remove the key manually. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found, and the failure persisted. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal, and the vehicle stalled. The contact was unable to coast to the side of the road. The steering locked up after the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure persisted while driving a short distance. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found, and the failure persisted. The check engine warning light has been illuminated since the vehicle was purchased. The exhaust system, fuel lines, brake lines, and the engine had been replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Chevrolet Cobalt stalling problems
428 of the 7,681 owner complaints about the Chevrolet Cobalt describe engine stalls while driving, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 428
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical repair cost reported
- $579
- typical mileage
- 80,000
By model year
Often reported together
Check engine light 55Power steering loss 39Loss of power 28Fuel pump 24Won't start 23Jerking 23Steering lock-up 16Engine failure 14
Trouble codes mentioned
U2105 3U2107 2U2100 2U2108 1U2106 1U0121 1U0100 1P0700 1P0651 1P0641 1
What owners say
The ignition doest work right n want release the key the car dies n stalls while driving we was almost hit by a trooper n he called we spoke to 2 people n they had a gm call us n they said that this has been a big concern of these cars n we tried n tried to get it fixed n they say sorry can't can they when something they built wrong kills me or my family my vin [XXX] 2008 CHEVY COBALT [XXX] IS MY NUMBER INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that there was a fuel leak due to corrosion in the polymer blocks that attached the fuel lines. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Action Number: PE20011 (Fuel System, Other). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
While driving the car, it will suddenly stall w the engine running but won’t react the use of the brakes, steering or gear shifter. It’ll suddenly jerk and the following lights will appear on dash :ABS, Power steering, no brake fluid warning, low fuel warning and check engine. All of the areas have been check and have all their fluids so this doesn’t make sense. We bought this car for our 16 year old daughter and the first time she drive it, a truck almost wrecked into her
My car had a fuel pump go, then within MONTHS, another. We then dealt with the SAME problem symptomatically, and was told it was the fuel pump sensor. Within the last few weeks, I am having all the same issues-including the car intermittently not starting, gasoline leaking from the vehicle, both noticably missing from the gauge (i.e 1/8 tank less than night prior), odor of gas in the car, stalling out while driving and trying to start it, but also now dripping gas from the car. A new issue popped up, which is the dash light coming up saying "check gas cap". This past Thursday, my car wouldn't start again, and has not started since. It's concerning that the Chevy Cobalt has had recalls for the same exact problems, literally thousands of complaints that mirror mine- for every model year EXCEPT the 2010. It's also interesting that they also stopped producing the Cobalt entirely in 2010 too, but considering the amount of faults and issues I've seen documented in every year model it's not a shock. I'm concerned that despite the amount of complaints that include 2010 models, they were excluded from the recall and seeing that my situation is another one that won't be covered, fixed, or made right by GM is something that doesn't make sense. I have also seen, that in 2021 an investigation was launched specifically into this exact issue with the 2010, as well. I'm carless right now, with no answers from Chevy other than that it's not part of the recall, yet it's part of the problem. Something is VERY wrong here. It's shocking they wouldn't recall a vehicle knowing it's dripping gas, pooling gas, it's such a hazard for not only anyone driving them, but anyone driving near us or even PARKED near us. Please help do something! Also I have videos of my car dripping, 2 days prior to it not starting, if there is somewhere I could send those as well.
ABS light lit, Traction light lit, power steering light lit, car jerking, not shifting. Stalling.
I was driving down the road and I used my blinker then my car shut off while driving, its turned back on in seconds then when I came to a complete stop the car shut off while on drive and it lost communication to the Tcm and it was displaying messages such as “low fuel” and the rpms was at zero
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact’s mother stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle would stall without warning. The contact stated no warning lights was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the ignition switch replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 14V047000 (Air Bags, Electrical System) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 107,000.
The vehicle will often lose power steering and begin to "buck" or "jolt" when braking. The door chime will sound and the display will flash "POWER STEERING" when this occurs. The speedometer and other gauges will go crazy and won't accurately state how fast you are driving. Sometimes when this happens, the steering wheel will become very difficult to move and it is almost impossible to turn. Sometimes the car will just buck when braking, sometimes the steering completely gives out. My car has even stalled and stopped running while driving - I am unsure if this is related to the problem. Any of these issues are extremely dangerous and could cause an accident. There is a recall on this vehicle for the power steering system, but Chevrolets own website claims my vehicle does NOT have any recalls (according to my VIN). I have never brought this car in for repair (for the recall) and to my knowledge, none of the previous owners have either. Upon researching, many others seem to have this problem as well with GM telling them their car does not have a recall. This has been going on for a long time, and no mechanic or anyone I bring it to can tell me what's wrong.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. The contact stated that the transmission failed. The contact stated that the transmission shift point failed and caused the vehicle to shift gears incorrectly and causes the vehicle to jerk and stall. The contact also stated that the power steering warning light illuminated and caused the steering wheel to be difficult to turn. The contact stated that extra effort was needed to steer the vehicle. The contact also stated that the vehicle speedometer failed to operate as designed while driving, providing speed readings of 40 MPH, 20 MPH, 50 MPH intermittently. The contact took the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The mechanic replaced the transmission control module however, the repair failed to correct the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was also taken to several dealers and independent mechanic however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 100,000.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Chevrolet Cobalt stalling
Which Chevrolet Cobalt years have engine stalls while driving problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (155 complaints), 2006 (122 complaints) and 2007 (52 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix engine stalls while driving on the Chevrolet Cobalt?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $579 (median of 8 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used Chevrolet Cobalt?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history