NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
64 reportsClear category filter46,000 miles · Dec 18, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE REAR BRAKES 4 TIMES AND STILL HAVEN'T REPLACED THE FRONT I GET STOCK PADS AND ROTORS FROM CHEVY DEALER! AND WITHIN 500 MILES THE ROTORS ARE ALL SCORED UP AND LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE 20K ON THEM. I SEE THIS BEING A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD FOR SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT REALIZE IT BECAUSE THEY JUST REPLACED THEM! FIX…
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I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE REAR BRAKES 4 TIMES AND STILL HAVEN'T REPLACED THE FRONT I GET STOCK PADS AND ROTORS FROM CHEVY DEALER! AND WITHIN 500 MILES THE ROTORS ARE ALL SCORED UP AND LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE 20K ON THEM. I SEE THIS BEING A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD FOR SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT REALIZE IT BECAUSE THEY JUST REPLACED THEM! FIX THIS ISSUE PLEASE! I NOTICED THIS FOR THE 4TH TIME ON DECEMBER 1ST. I WAS BACKING UP AND IT MADE A HORRIBLE SOUND I GOT OUT TO CHECK AND THE REAR PADS ARE ALMOST GONE! I HAVE PUT MAYBE 8K ON THEM AND THE ROTORS LOOK LIKE A TIGER ATTACKED THEM, I DON'T BELIEVE I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THIS AGAIN SO SOON! *TR
NHTSA ODI #10440300
11,000 miles · Nov 10, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR BRAKE ROTORS ARE IRREPARABLY SCORED AND WARPED AFTER 11,000 MILES, PREVENTING THE REAR BRAKES FROM WORKING CORRECTLY AND DECREASING BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS. THIS IS COMMON ON 2008 COBALT SSES. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10435143
35,000 miles · Oct 25, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT SS. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 10 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE FAILED TO DECREASE IN SPEED AS THE BRAKES WERE DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000 AND THE CURR…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT SS. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 10 MPH WHEN THE VEHICLE FAILED TO DECREASE IN SPEED AS THE BRAKES WERE DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 35,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 35,300.
NHTSA ODI #10432787
Mileage unknown · May 25, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
BOUGHT MY COBALT SS NEW FROM DEALER, WITH LESS THEN 5,000 MILES REAR BRAKES WERE SQUEALING AND VERY OBNOXIOUS. UPON INSPECTING AND BRINGING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP WAS TOLD THAT MY BRAKES HAD GOUGES IN THEM AND NEEDED TO BE REFINISHED AND CLEANED AS WELL AS NEW PADS INSTALLED. THIS WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY AS THEY …
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BOUGHT MY COBALT SS NEW FROM DEALER, WITH LESS THEN 5,000 MILES REAR BRAKES WERE SQUEALING AND VERY OBNOXIOUS. UPON INSPECTING AND BRINGING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP WAS TOLD THAT MY BRAKES HAD GOUGES IN THEM AND NEEDED TO BE REFINISHED AND CLEANED AS WELL AS NEW PADS INSTALLED. THIS WAS NOT COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY AS THEY SAID IT WAS WEAR AND TEAR AND THE NOISE WAS NORMAL. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10402708
Mileage unknown · May 4, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR BRAKE ROTORS HAVE MASSIVE GOUGES CAUSING A GRINDING NOISE. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10399093
2,849 miles · Apr 26, 2011
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
1. BEGIN SQUEAKING AND E BRAKE BEGINS TO NO LONGER HOLD THE CAR 2. REAR BREAKS PADS WEAR OUT VERY QUICKLY ABOUT EVERY 10,000 TO 15,000 MILES 3. PUT NEW PADS ON. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10397951
18,000 miles · Oct 2, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
AT 8,000 MILES THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS WERE DEEPLY GROVED. THE FRONT ROTORS LOOKED FINE, NO GROVES. AT 18,000 WE HAD TO SWAP OUT THE PADS AS THE FRICTION SURFACE WAS COMPLETELY GONE. WE DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEALER ON BOTH OCCASIONS, BUT THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO AS THERE WAS NO RECALL. I ALSO TRIED T…
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AT 8,000 MILES THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS WERE DEEPLY GROVED. THE FRONT ROTORS LOOKED FINE, NO GROVES. AT 18,000 WE HAD TO SWAP OUT THE PADS AS THE FRICTION SURFACE WAS COMPLETELY GONE. WE DISCUSSED THE PROBLEM WITH THE DEALER ON BOTH OCCASIONS, BUT THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO AS THERE WAS NO RECALL. I ALSO TRIED TO QUESTION IF THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE ROTORS OR PADS OR CALIPERS, BUT THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. I'M JUST LOOKING FOR SOME ANSWERS AND SERVICE SUPPORT. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10358877
1,000 miles · Sep 28, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
THE REAR BRAKES ON THE 2008-2010 MODELS OF THE CHEVROLET COBALT SS WEAR OUT IMMATURELY CAUSING PULSATION, LACK OF BRAKING POOR, AND COSTLY FIXES. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10357976
15,000 miles · Sep 11, 2010
Parking BrakeService Brakes, Hydraulic
I HAVE NOTICED EXCESSIVE WEAR ON MY REAR BRAKES AND GROVES FORMING ON MY ROTORS TOO. I HAVE A 2008 CHEVY COBALT SS TURBO. THE DEALER IS SAYING IT IS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR BUT I BELIEVE IT IS SOMETHING MORE THAN WEAR AND TEAR. MY COMPLAINTS TO THE DEALER HAS GONE UNHEARD AND WILL NOT BE ADDRESSED. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10354987
5,000 miles · Aug 25, 2010
Parking BrakeService Brakes, Hydraulic
MY REAR ROTORS HAVE SCARRED SO BAD IT IS AFFECTING BRAKING, AND THEY HAVE ALREADY BEEN REPLACED ONCE. THEY ARE NOISY, DANGEROUS, AND VISUALLY UNPLEASING. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10351770
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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