NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
190 reports11,000 miles · May 3, 2010
Parking Brake
HAD TIRES ROTATED AT DEALER, THEY FOUND REAR BRAKE PADS WORN OUT COMPLETELY AND ROTOR SCORED AFTER ONLY 6000 MILES. HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER OWNERS WITH SAME PROBLEM. DEALER CLAIMS IT WAS CAUSED BY DRIVING WITH THE E BRAKE ON. THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR UNLESS PAID, CLAIMS WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER PADS WEARING OUT UNUSUALLY TOO SOON. *T…
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HAD TIRES ROTATED AT DEALER, THEY FOUND REAR BRAKE PADS WORN OUT COMPLETELY AND ROTOR SCORED AFTER ONLY 6000 MILES. HAVE FOUND MANY OTHER OWNERS WITH SAME PROBLEM. DEALER CLAIMS IT WAS CAUSED BY DRIVING WITH THE E BRAKE ON. THEY REFUSED TO REPAIR UNLESS PAID, CLAIMS WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER PADS WEARING OUT UNUSUALLY TOO SOON. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10328663
12,000 miles · Apr 27, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, DOING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS SHED IT'S INNER LEFT REAR BRAKE PAD, CAUSING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO SINK TO THE FLOOR, WHEN PRESSED, TO NO AVAIL. LUCKILY, NO ACCIDENT RESULTED. UPON INSPECTION, THE LEFT INNER PAD WAS COMPLETELY GONE, WHILE THE LEFT OUTER, AND BOTH RIGHT REAR …
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WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, DOING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH, MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS SHED IT'S INNER LEFT REAR BRAKE PAD, CAUSING THE BRAKE PEDAL TO SINK TO THE FLOOR, WHEN PRESSED, TO NO AVAIL. LUCKILY, NO ACCIDENT RESULTED. UPON INSPECTION, THE LEFT INNER PAD WAS COMPLETELY GONE, WHILE THE LEFT OUTER, AND BOTH RIGHT REAR PADS WERE WELL WITHIN NORMAL LIMITS. THE GM DEALERSHIP REFUSED TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, STATING THAT IT WAS "NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR". A MECHANIC AT THE DEALER WHISPERED TO ME THAT IT WAS A FAILURE THAT WAS LIKELY CAUSED BY THE CALIPER NOT RETRACTING PROPERLY, AND, WHILE IT SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO. THIS FAILURE OCCURRED AT ABOUT 12,000 MILES, WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS ONLY 4 MONTHS OLD. THE REAR BRAKE PADS, AS WELL AS, THE LEFT REAR ROTOR HAD TO BE REPLACED. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10327663
4,000 miles · Apr 17, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
I HAVE A 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS. AT APPROX. 4000 MILES THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL CHEVY DEALER DUE TO THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS DEEPLY GROOVED. THE DEALER TURNED THE ROTORS AND REINSTALLED THE BRAKES. AT APPROX. 7000 MILES THE ROTORS ARE STARTING TO GROVE AGAIN. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ROTORS AFTER A LENGTHY CONVERSATION WITH ALOT…
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I HAVE A 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS. AT APPROX. 4000 MILES THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO THE LOCAL CHEVY DEALER DUE TO THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS DEEPLY GROOVED. THE DEALER TURNED THE ROTORS AND REINSTALLED THE BRAKES. AT APPROX. 7000 MILES THE ROTORS ARE STARTING TO GROVE AGAIN. THE DEALER REPLACED THE ROTORS AFTER A LENGTHY CONVERSATION WITH ALOT OF RELUCTANCE. THE DEALER STATES AND HAS A BULLETIN FOR GMC THAT NOISE AND SQUEAL ARE TYPICAL WITH A HIGH PERFORMANCE BRAKE SYSTEM. PLEASE NOTE IT'S NOT THE SQUEAL THAT CONCERNS ME IT'S THE DEEP GROOVING OF THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS. ALTHOUGH IT HASN'T TURNED INTO A SAFETY PROBLEM YET IT IS A CONCERN. I HOPE YOU WILL INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM BEFORE IT BECOMES ANOTHER TOYOTA AND PEOPLE ARE HURT OR POSSIBLY KILLED BE CAUSE OF PREMATURELY GROOVING AND WEARING OF THE REAR BRAKES ON THIS CAR. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10326161
21,700 miles · Apr 15, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR BRAKES ON 2009 COMPLETELY WORN AFTER ONLY 35,000 KM. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10325892
5,044 miles · Apr 14, 2010
Parking BrakeService Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR BRAKES WEARING OUT AFTER 4000-5000 MILES. NEW AT 0, CHANGED AT 5044, NOW BAD AGAIN AT 10,600 MILES. MANY MANY MORE PEOPLE REPORTING SAME THING AT WWW.COBALTSS.NET. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10325584
11,800 miles · Apr 4, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
2009 COBALT SS - REAR BRAKES WORN. THE DEALER HAS ORDERED NEW ROTORS BUT NOT PADS. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10323661
480 miles · Apr 4, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
480 MILES ROTORS REPLACED 1200 MILES BRAKES BAD AGAIN SQUEALING AND GRINDING I AM IN FEAR EVERYTIME I DRIVE IT OF BRAKE FAILURE THIS SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF CNN AND THE BBB. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10323646
13,000 miles · Apr 2, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR DISC BRAKES ON MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS TURBOCHARGED HAVE FAILED AFTER ONLY 15,000 MILES. THIS HAS CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY CONCERN. THE DISC BRAKES HAVE SINCE WORN INTO THE ROTORS, CAUSING PROPERTY DAMAGE. ON TWO OCCASIONS, I VISITED A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AND ASKED ABOUT THE SQUEAKING IN THE BRAKES. ON BOTH OC…
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REAR DISC BRAKES ON MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS TURBOCHARGED HAVE FAILED AFTER ONLY 15,000 MILES. THIS HAS CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY CONCERN. THE DISC BRAKES HAVE SINCE WORN INTO THE ROTORS, CAUSING PROPERTY DAMAGE. ON TWO OCCASIONS, I VISITED A CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AND ASKED ABOUT THE SQUEAKING IN THE BRAKES. ON BOTH OCCASIONS, I WAS TOLD THAT "UNDER CERTAIN...CONDITIONS, OCCASIONAL BRAKE SQUEAL, SQUEAK, OR OTHER NOISE MAY BE HEARD..." [CHEVROLET #08-05-22-004: INFORMATION ON BRAKE SQUEAL/SQUEAK NOISE - (JUL 15, 2008)] [XXX] [XXX] *TR
NHTSA ODI #10323472
10,500 miles · Mar 25, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
I BOUGHT A NEW 2009 COBALT SS TURBO ON APRIL 15TH 2009, ABOUT 8 MONTHS LATER MY REAR BRAKES HAD GROOVES IN THE ROTORS AND MY LEFT REAR CALIPER WAS STICKING. THIS CAUSED VERY POOR BRAKING PERFORMANCE. I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE LEFT REAR CALIPER, NEW REAR PADS AND THEY MACHINED THE ROTORS. I HAV…
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I BOUGHT A NEW 2009 COBALT SS TURBO ON APRIL 15TH 2009, ABOUT 8 MONTHS LATER MY REAR BRAKES HAD GROOVES IN THE ROTORS AND MY LEFT REAR CALIPER WAS STICKING. THIS CAUSED VERY POOR BRAKING PERFORMANCE. I TOOK THE CAR INTO THE DEALER AND THEY HAD TO REPLACE THE LEFT REAR CALIPER, NEW REAR PADS AND THEY MACHINED THE ROTORS. I HAVE HAVE SINCE HAD TO TAKE THE VEHICLE BACK INTO MY DEALER DUE TO A RING OF RUST BUILDING UP ON THE LEFT REAR ROTOR. I HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THE REAR BRAKES ON THESE CARS HAVE DEFECTIVE PARTS FROM THE FACTORY. THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF OTHER 2008-2010 COBALT SS OWNERS HAVING THESE ISSUES.
NHTSA ODI #10322218
18,600 miles · Mar 22, 2010
Unknown Or Other
2009 CHEVY COBALT SS 4DOOR CAR HAS ONLY BEEN PUT UNDER STANDARD DRIVING CONDITIONS CITY/HIGHWAY AND BEFORE 20000 MILES THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS WERE GROVED AND WARPED BEYOND REPAIR AND THE INSIDE REAR BRAKE PAD WAS DOWN TO METAL. THE OUTSIDE PAD STILL HAD OVER 70% LIFE LEFT ON IT BUT WAS GROVING THE ROTOR ALSO. FRONT BRAKES ARE …
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2009 CHEVY COBALT SS 4DOOR CAR HAS ONLY BEEN PUT UNDER STANDARD DRIVING CONDITIONS CITY/HIGHWAY AND BEFORE 20000 MILES THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS WERE GROVED AND WARPED BEYOND REPAIR AND THE INSIDE REAR BRAKE PAD WAS DOWN TO METAL. THE OUTSIDE PAD STILL HAD OVER 70% LIFE LEFT ON IT BUT WAS GROVING THE ROTOR ALSO. FRONT BRAKES ARE FINE WITH NO ISSUES.
NHTSA ODI #10321334
NHTSA investigations
2PE20011 · Fuel Line Leak
Opened Jul 5, 2020 · Closed Aug 17, 2023
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Fuel System, Gasoline; Fuel System, Other:delivery:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings; Fuel/propulsion System
On July 5, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE20-011 to investigate instances of metal fuel lines under the vehicle corroding and leaking fuel in model year (MY) 2008 through 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2008 through 2009 Chevrolet HHR passenger cars manufactured by General Motors (GM). The metal fuel lines are corroding and leaking fuel in the area between the front and rear wheels on the driver's side of the vehicle before the muffler. Most consumers allege a fuel odor and/or an observable fuel leak that alerts them to the condition.The subject metal fuel lines have a protective AGE coating and, in the vicinity of the left rear wheel, are further wrapped in a foil heat shield. The AGE coating consists of an annealed zinc aluminum alloy metal coating with extended corrosion protection paint. Under certain conditions, water and corrosive road deicing agents may enter a crevice between the heat shield and the AGE coating. With extended environmental exposure in high corrosive environments, the AGE coating can degrade. If it degrades enough, the base metal lines may begin to corrode beneath the heat shield.Corrosion to the fuel lines may eventually cause a perforation to develop in the line, allowing fuel vapors to escape from between the line and the heat shield, emitting a fuel odor that will be detectable to the vehicle operator. If the corrosion progresses, fuel may begin to weep from the line. Further metal degradation due to corrosion could create a drip or a mist of fuel. If this occurs, vehicle owners may see drips, spots, or puddles on the ground near the rear portion of the vehicle, primarily along the driver's side rear wheel.The majority of allegations (85%) were reported for vehicles that are operated in the salt belt region of the United States. This area includes states in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions. Additionally, the average failure mileage in the subject vehicles is approximately 111,000 across all data sources.Considering the low manufacturer complaint/warranty rates of fuel line replacement, the fact that the majority of failures are concentrated in salt belt states, high failure mileages, as well as the field exposure time for the subject vehicles, and the highly detectable and progressive nature of this failure over time, the potential safety consequences of this issue are very low. To date, there have been no reported crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this issue. There are two reported fires in ODI data and no reported fires in GM data. Both ODI reported fires were minor, occurred after the vehicle was parked, and were extinguished utilizing fire extinguishers.In view of the progressive failure occurring at high mileages, the age of the subject vehicles, the high detectability of the leak, and the majority of failures occurred in salt belt states, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.Review the ODI reports cited above at nhtsa.gov under the attached identification numbers.
Additional source detail variants (3)
Fuel/propulsion System
On July 5, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE20-011 to investigate instances of metal fuel lines under the vehicle corroding and leaking fuel in model year (MY) 2008 through 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2008 through 2009 Chevrolet HHR passenger cars manufactured by General Motors (GM). The metal fuel lines are corroding and leaking fuel in the area between the front and rear wheels on the driver's side of the vehicle before the muffler. Most consumers allege a fuel odor and/or an observable fuel leak that alerts them to the condition.The subject metal fuel lines have a protective AGE coating and, in the vicinity of the left rear wheel, are further wrapped in a foil heat shield. The AGE coating consists of an annealed zinc aluminum alloy metal coating with extended corrosion protection paint. Under certain conditions, water and corrosive road deicing agents may enter a crevice between the heat shield and the AGE coating. With extended environmental exposure in high corrosive environments, the AGE coating can degrade. If it degrades enough, the base metal lines may begin to corrode beneath the heat shield.Corrosion to the fuel lines may eventually cause a perforation to develop in the line, allowing fuel vapors to escape from between the line and the heat shield, emitting a fuel odor that will be detectable to the vehicle operator. If the corrosion progresses, fuel may begin to weep from the line. Further metal degradation due to corrosion could create a drip or a mist of fuel. If this occurs, vehicle owners may see drips, spots, or puddles on the ground near the rear portion of the vehicle, primarily along the driver's side rear wheel.The majority of allegations (85%) were reported for vehicles that are operated in the salt belt region of the United States. This area includes states in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions. Additionally, the average failure mileage in the subject vehicles is approximately 111,000 across all data sources.Considering the low manufacturer complaint/warranty rates of fuel line replacement, the fact that the majority of failures are concentrated in salt belt states, high failure mileages, as well as the field exposure time for the subject vehicles, and the highly detectable and progressive nature of this failure over time, the potential safety consequences of this issue are very low. To date, there have been no reported crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this issue. There are two reported fires in ODI data and no reported fires in GM data. Both ODI reported fires were minor, occurred after the vehicle was parked, and were extinguished utilizing fire extinguishers.In view of the progressive failure occurring at high mileages, the age of the subject vehicles, the high detectability of the leak, and the majority of failures occurred in salt belt states, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.Review the ODI reports cited above at nhtsa.gov under the attached identification numbers.
Fuel System, Gasoline
On July 5, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE20-011 to investigate instances of metal fuel lines under the vehicle corroding and leaking fuel in model year (MY) 2008 through 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2008 through 2009 Chevrolet HHR passenger cars manufactured by General Motors (GM). The metal fuel lines are corroding and leaking fuel in the area between the front and rear wheels on the driver's side of the vehicle before the muffler. Most consumers allege a fuel odor and/or an observable fuel leak that alerts them to the condition.The subject metal fuel lines have a protective AGE coating and, in the vicinity of the left rear wheel, are further wrapped in a foil heat shield. The AGE coating consists of an annealed zinc aluminum alloy metal coating with extended corrosion protection paint. Under certain conditions, water and corrosive road deicing agents may enter a crevice between the heat shield and the AGE coating. With extended environmental exposure in high corrosive environments, the AGE coating can degrade. If it degrades enough, the base metal lines may begin to corrode beneath the heat shield.Corrosion to the fuel lines may eventually cause a perforation to develop in the line, allowing fuel vapors to escape from between the line and the heat shield, emitting a fuel odor that will be detectable to the vehicle operator. If the corrosion progresses, fuel may begin to weep from the line. Further metal degradation due to corrosion could create a drip or a mist of fuel. If this occurs, vehicle owners may see drips, spots, or puddles on the ground near the rear portion of the vehicle, primarily along the driver's side rear wheel.The majority of allegations (85%) were reported for vehicles that are operated in the salt belt region of the United States. This area includes states in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions. Additionally, the average failure mileage in the subject vehicles is approximately 111,000 across all data sources.Considering the low manufacturer complaint/warranty rates of fuel line replacement, the fact that the majority of failures are concentrated in salt belt states, high failure mileages, as well as the field exposure time for the subject vehicles, and the highly detectable and progressive nature of this failure over time, the potential safety consequences of this issue are very low. To date, there have been no reported crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this issue. There are two reported fires in ODI data and no reported fires in GM data. Both ODI reported fires were minor, occurred after the vehicle was parked, and were extinguished utilizing fire extinguishers.In view of the progressive failure occurring at high mileages, the age of the subject vehicles, the high detectability of the leak, and the majority of failures occurred in salt belt states, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.Review the ODI reports cited above at nhtsa.gov under the attached identification numbers.
Fuel System, Other:delivery:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
On July 5, 2020, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE20-011 to investigate instances of metal fuel lines under the vehicle corroding and leaking fuel in model year (MY) 2008 through 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2008 through 2009 Chevrolet HHR passenger cars manufactured by General Motors (GM). The metal fuel lines are corroding and leaking fuel in the area between the front and rear wheels on the driver's side of the vehicle before the muffler. Most consumers allege a fuel odor and/or an observable fuel leak that alerts them to the condition.The subject metal fuel lines have a protective AGE coating and, in the vicinity of the left rear wheel, are further wrapped in a foil heat shield. The AGE coating consists of an annealed zinc aluminum alloy metal coating with extended corrosion protection paint. Under certain conditions, water and corrosive road deicing agents may enter a crevice between the heat shield and the AGE coating. With extended environmental exposure in high corrosive environments, the AGE coating can degrade. If it degrades enough, the base metal lines may begin to corrode beneath the heat shield.Corrosion to the fuel lines may eventually cause a perforation to develop in the line, allowing fuel vapors to escape from between the line and the heat shield, emitting a fuel odor that will be detectable to the vehicle operator. If the corrosion progresses, fuel may begin to weep from the line. Further metal degradation due to corrosion could create a drip or a mist of fuel. If this occurs, vehicle owners may see drips, spots, or puddles on the ground near the rear portion of the vehicle, primarily along the driver's side rear wheel.The majority of allegations (85%) were reported for vehicles that are operated in the salt belt region of the United States. This area includes states in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest regions. Additionally, the average failure mileage in the subject vehicles is approximately 111,000 across all data sources.Considering the low manufacturer complaint/warranty rates of fuel line replacement, the fact that the majority of failures are concentrated in salt belt states, high failure mileages, as well as the field exposure time for the subject vehicles, and the highly detectable and progressive nature of this failure over time, the potential safety consequences of this issue are very low. To date, there have been no reported crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this issue. There are two reported fires in ODI data and no reported fires in GM data. Both ODI reported fires were minor, occurred after the vehicle was parked, and were extinguished utilizing fire extinguishers.In view of the progressive failure occurring at high mileages, the age of the subject vehicles, the high detectability of the leak, and the majority of failures occurred in salt belt states, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.Review the ODI reports cited above at nhtsa.gov under the attached identification numbers.
PE10005 · Electric Power Steering Failure
Opened Jan 27, 2010 · Closed Jul 19, 2010
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Steering:electric Power Assist System
In a March 1, 2010 letter, General Motors Corporation (GM) provided a defect information report to NHTSA regarding a problem that could result in sudden loss of power steering assist in certain model year (MY) 2005 through 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt and MY 2007 through 2010 Pontiac G5 vehicles equipped with electric power steering (EPS).The letter indicates that the loss of steering assist could occur at any time while driving and that, once assist is lost, a message is displayed on the Driver Information Center (DIC) and a chime sounds to inform the driver.The letter further states that steering control is maintained in manual mode, but would require greater driver effort at low vehicle speeds.In the next ignition cycle, power assist is typically regained and the DIC message is no longer displayed.GM's letter identifies the root cause of the EPS failure as the EPS motor and indicates that production of a new motor started in December 2009.GM's recall repair procedure instructs dealers to replace the EPS motor in all recalled vehicles. ODI's analysis of all information available related to sudden loss of EPS assist while driving in the MY 2005 through 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt vehicles shows current complaint and warranty rates of 323/100,000 vehicles and 0.4% respectively.In response to ODI's request for information, GM identified 81 complaints where a crash was claimed that may be related to loss of EPS assist.ODI's analysis of all crash claims was based on verifiable factors such as; whether a loss of EPS was indicated at the time of the crash by a chime or malfunction indicator lamp or if a EPS related component malfunction was identified after the crash occurred.With this method ODI identified 36 possible crashes related to EPS failure.GM assessed crash claims based on the available facts and excluded crash claims that indicated that the vehicle was travelling at speeds in the range of 30 mph or greater.GM said that it believes if power assist is lost while a vehicle is moving at speeds in the range of 30 mph or greater there is a small difference in steering efforts perceived in subjective evaluations at those speeds and it is unlikely to lead to loss of vehicle control. Based on GM's safety recall, this investigation is closed.
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