2005 Chevrolet Cobalt

THE 05 COBALT, REGULARLY SERVICED BY THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS BOUGHT CRASHED AFTER GOING OUT OF CONTROL WHEN THE IGNITION SWITCHED OFF ON THE INTERSTATE AT 60 MPH. THE STEERING LOCKED, THE ABS DID NOT FUNCTION, WHEN IT CRASHED INTO THE GUARD RAIL THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE ONLY WARNING WAS THE DASH WARNING LIGHTS ALL LIGHTING UP AND THE ALARM SOUNDS. THE ONE SECOND OR SO DID NOT ALLOW ANY CHANCE TO THE DRIVER TO REACT BEFORE THE CRASH. AFTER THE ACCIDENT, WHEN THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED, WE WERE ADVISED TO CONTACT THE GM PERSON. THE GM PERSON WAS FRIENDLY AND NICE, BUT VERY FIRM IN STATING THAT WE NEEDED TO HAVE PROOF THAT THE CAR FAILED, RATHER THE DRIVER AT THE WHEEL. THE CARS COMPUTER WAS NOT ANALYZED BECAUSE THE WRECKING YARD DEMANDED OVER $700 TO TOW THE CAR OUT OF THE WRECKING YARD SO ANY INVESTIGATOR COULD LOOK OVER THE CAR. GM TOLD US THAT IT WAS OUR PROBLEM TO PAY THE BILL TO ALLOW THEIR INVESTIGATOR TO LOOK AT THE CAR. WE DID NOT HAVE THE MONEY. AFTER READING NUMEROUS COMMENTS ON THE NHTSA SITE AND BLOGS, PEOPLE NEVER HEARD A WORD FROM GM AFTER THEY RETRIEVED THE COMPUTER. THE SALIENT POINT IS THAT MANY OF THE OVER A THOUSAND COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE COBALT AND OTHER SIMILAR GM CARS THAT IDENTIFIED THE POWER STEERING AS THE PROBLEM THAT CAUSED A CRASH ARE WRONG. THE POWER STEERING WAS NOT THE CAUSE OF THE CRASH. THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE IGNITION SWITCH TURNED OFF. THE GM RECALLS ABOUT THE POWER STEERING PROBLEM HIDE THE FACT THAT THE IGNITION SWITCHES WERE TURNING OFF WHILE THE CAR WAS MOVING DOWN THE ROAD. WE KNOW THAT THE LACK OF POWER ASSIST ONLY AFFECT THE CAR AT A STOP OR VERY SLOW SPEEDS. EXPERIENCED DRIVERS DO NOT CRASH THEIR CAR INTO GUARD RAILS, DITCHES, TREES OR OTHER CAR SIMPLY BECAUSE THE POWER ASSIST FAILS. THAT STORY IS WHAT GM HAS BEEN SELLING IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET COBALT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED ACCOMPANIED BY THE ILLUMINATION OF THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT. THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. IN ADDITION, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 13,000. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET COBALT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AS THE VEHICLE STALLED, CAUSING THE CONTACT TO CRASH INTO THE REAR OF ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES HOWEVER, A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND RULED AS DESTROYED. THE CONTACT REFERENCED NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 14V047000 (AIR BAGS , ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) AND STATED THAT THE RECALL NOTIFICATION WAS NOT RECEIVED UNTIL AFTER THE CRASH HAD OCCURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE STALLING OR AIR BAG FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 103,000. *TR

THIS SUBMISSION IS AN ADDENDUM TO THE REPORT THAT I SUBMITTED ON AUG 15, 2011; REFERENCE NUMBER 10419491 WITH THE ATTACHMENTS THAT INCLUDE THE POLICE REPORT, MAY STATEMENT AND PHOTOS. I SUBMITTED MY REPORT TWO DAYS AFTER THE ACCIDENT. NOW, AFTER READING THE NEWS ARTICLES AND THE GM STATEMENTS REGARDING THE FAULTY IGNITION SWITCH, IT IS APPARENT THAT WHAT I THOUGHT WAS A STEERING MALFUNCTION (PER THE RECALLS I RECEIVED AND THE STATEMENTS MADE TO ME BY GM REPRESENTATIVES) WAS CLEARLY THE IGNITION SWITCH. WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE FREEWAY AT 60 MPH MY DASH LIGHTS TURNED ON, I IMMEDIATELY LOST STEERING CONTROL (I COULD NOT TURN MY STEERING WHEEL) AND SWERVED HAD TO THE LEFT CRASHING INTO THE GUARD RAIL. THE ACCIDENT REPORT SHOWS MY SKID MARKS ACROSS THREE TRAFFIC LANES THAT CLEARLY INDICATE THAT MY ABS SYSTEM ALSO WAS NOT WORKING. MY AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY EVEN THOUGH MY FRONT END WAS CRUSHED AND THE CAR TOTALED. NOTHING ON MY CAR WORKED BECAUSE THE IGNITION SWITCH HAD TURNED OFF. MY ORIGINAL REPORT SHOULD INDICATE THAT MY CAR SUFFERED AN IGNITION SWITCH MALFUNCTION THAT CAUSED THE ACCIDENT. I WAS BELTED IN SO AFTER BEING RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM (I WAS TAKEN BY AMBULANCE FROM THE CRASH SITE) I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A CERVICAL SPRAIN, MULTIPLE CUTS AND BRUISES, SPRAINED ANKLE AND KNEE. MY HEAD IMPACTED THE WINDSHIELD EVEN THOUGH I HAD MY SEAT BELT ON. *TR

WHEN I ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR, NOTHING HAPPENS. THIS HAPPENS RANDOMLY. SOMETIMES AFTER A FEW MINUTES IT WILL START, SOMETIMES IT TAKES A FEW DAYS. THERE ARE ALSO TIMES WHERE IF I GO OVER A BUMP THE CAR WILL JUST DIE AND I WILL HAVE TO RESTART IT. IN TRAFFIC, THIS IS DANGEROUS. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY A MECHANIC THAT THIS IS AN IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM. THERE IS CURRENTLY A RECALL FOR THIS ON MY MODEL CAR, BUT I AM TOLD THAT MY VIN ISN'T COVERED BY THE RECALL. *TR

THIS HAPPENS TO ME ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS I WHEN I PARK MY CAR OR STOP DRIVING I TRY TO SHUT MY CAR OFF AND I CANNOT MY KEY WILL BE STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND STILL RUNNING FOR ABOUT UP TO 30 MINS MY LAST TIME THIS PROBLEM HAPPENED TO ME. MY OTHER PROBLEM I AM HAVING IS I CAN START MY CAR PERFECTLY FINE BUT I TRY TO SHIFT THE GEAR FROM PARK TO DRIVE AND I CANNOT ITS LIKE ITS STUCK I PUT MY FOOT ON THE GAS AND TRY TO SHIFT IT BUT ALL I HEAR IS A CLICKING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL AREA SOMETIMES I HAVE TO SIT WITH THE CAR RUNNING FOR ABOUT 15-20 MINS UNTIL I CAN FINALLY GET THE CAR IN DRIVE. *TR

CAR HAS SHUT OFF TWICE IN THE PAST 4-5 WEEKS. IT HAPPENS ON ROUGH ROAD. ENGINE DIES AND CAR SHUTS OFF. CAR HAS TO BE RESTARTED. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE ON THE ROAD. RECALL HAS BEEN NOTED ON MEDIA AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLE FOR 2005 CHEVROLET COBALT. THESE INCIDENTS WHEN CAR SHUTS OFF ACTUALLY HAPPENED BEFORE I SEEN THE RECALL ON THE NEWS. WHEN I CALLED CHEVROLET TO REPORT ISSUE I WAS TOLD I WOULD NEED TO WAIT FOR RECALL LETTER BEFORE I COULD GET THE REPAIR DONE. I FEEL THAT DUE TO SAFETY ISSUE AND MY CAR ACTUALLY HAVING THIS PROBLEM THAT I SHOULD NOT WAIT UNTIL APRIL FOR RECALL LETTER. I WAS TOLD RECALL LETTERS WOULD NOT GO OUT UNTIL APRIL 2014. THIS SAME PROBLEM ALSO HAPPENED TO MY COBALT LAST YEAR ON 3-4 OCCASIONS DURING WINTER MONTHS WHEN ROADS ARE MORE ROUGH. GM'S NUMBER FOR INITIAL RECALL IS 13454 AND 14063 FOR THE EXPANSION RECALL. I DO NOT WANT TO PAY OUT OF POCKET FOR THE REPAIRS. I AM REPORTING THIS DUE TO SAFETY ISSUE ON THE ROAD. NEED THIS CAR FOR WORK! *TR