NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
95 reports18,000 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
20,000 miles · Aug 17, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR BRAKES WEARING OUT, PARKING BRAKE DOES NOT HOLD, SQUEALS WHEN STOPPING. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10350029
8,000 miles · Jul 28, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
REAR BRAKES ON 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT SS WORN SIGNIFICANTLY. PARKING BRAKE HAS VERY LITTLE TENSION. GRINDING NOISE ALSO COMES FROM REAR BRAKES. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10345988
13,209 miles · Jul 4, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
UNDER NORMAL DAILY DRIVING CONDITIONS (MAJORITY IS COMMUTING), MY REAR ROTORS AND BRAKR PADS WERE REPLACED AT 21,259KM, QUOTE FROM SERVICE ORDER FROM MY DEALERSHIP, "REAR BRAKES AT SQUEALERS, CONFIRMED SQUEAL NOISE FROM REAR. FOUND REAR BRAKE PADS AT SQUEALERS. BOTH ROTORS BADLYSCORED. MACHINED ROTORS LR19.0MM AND RR19.10MM REPL…
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UNDER NORMAL DAILY DRIVING CONDITIONS (MAJORITY IS COMMUTING), MY REAR ROTORS AND BRAKR PADS WERE REPLACED AT 21,259KM, QUOTE FROM SERVICE ORDER FROM MY DEALERSHIP, "REAR BRAKES AT SQUEALERS, CONFIRMED SQUEAL NOISE FROM REAR. FOUND REAR BRAKE PADS AT SQUEALERS. BOTH ROTORS BADLYSCORED. MACHINED ROTORS LR19.0MM AND RR19.10MM REPLACED REAR BRAKE PADS". THEN AT 42,465KM BROUGHT VEHICLE TO DEALERSHIP AS I COULD SMELL BURNING BRAKES FROM THE REAR END AFTER ONLY 20 MIN OF DAILY AVERAGE DRIVING . FOLLOWING IS A QUOTE FROM MY DEALERSHIP WORK ORDER, "CAUSE: SEIZED/BINDS/STICKS. FOUND REAR BRAKES @ 2MM REMAINING ON REAR INBOARD PAD. CHECKED COMPLETE HYDRAULIC SYS. CHECKED FOR ABS CODES. CHECKED FOR BULLETINS ON REAR BRAKES. CHECKED E BRAKE NO PROBLEMS FOUND. REMOVED REAR CALIPERS AND FOUND CALIPERS STICKY. NEED TO BE REPLACED BOTH REAR CALIPERS STICKY. NEED TO REPLACE BOTH REAR CALIPERS, ROTORS AND PADS. INNER PADS 2MM OUTBOARD 6MM AND ROTORS UNDR MIN. REPLACED BOTH REAR CALIPERS, ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS. BLED BRAKE SYSTEM". THEN MY DEALERSHIP FOLLOWED WITH "THIS WILL BE THE LAST TIME GM WILL REPLACE REAR BRAKES". AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED IF THE REAR BRAKES ARE INADEQUATE FRO THE APPLICATION AND ARE BEING WORN OUT AND DAMAGING BRAKE PARTS EVERY 20,000KM OR SO THEN A RECALL NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH REPLACEMENTS OF AN ADEQUATE BREAKING COMPONENTS. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10341400
Mileage unknown · Jun 24, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
THE REAR BRAKES ON THE CHEVROLET COBALT SS ARE PURE CRAP. THEY SQUEAL PRETTY BADLY WHEN YOU COME TO A STOP, NO MATTER IF IT'S A FAST STOP OR A SLOW STOP. IT GETS EVEN LOUDER WHEN THEY GET HOT. I'VE TAKEN TO MY CAR TO THE DEALER SINCE MY 08 COBALT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY'VE TOLD ME THAT HIGH PERFORMANCE BRAKES ARE SUPPOS…
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THE REAR BRAKES ON THE CHEVROLET COBALT SS ARE PURE CRAP. THEY SQUEAL PRETTY BADLY WHEN YOU COME TO A STOP, NO MATTER IF IT'S A FAST STOP OR A SLOW STOP. IT GETS EVEN LOUDER WHEN THEY GET HOT. I'VE TAKEN TO MY CAR TO THE DEALER SINCE MY 08 COBALT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND THEY'VE TOLD ME THAT HIGH PERFORMANCE BRAKES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD...I'M SORRY GM, BUT NOT THIS LOUD! SO THEY ROTATED MY ROTORS, AND GAVE ME NEW BRAKES ABOUT A MONTH AGO, AND IT'S STILL AS BAD AS WHEN I GOT THE CAR BACK IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10339916
12,500 miles · May 24, 2010
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
1) I DROVE MY CAR AND USED THE BRAKES. 2) SCORED BRAKES, SOUNDS LIKE A 747 COMING IN FOR A LANDING EVERY TIME I STOP. 3) NOTHING YET, CALLED THE DEALERSHIP TODAY (05/24/10). *TR
NHTSA ODI #10331958
Mileage unknown · May 22, 2010
Service Brakes, Electric
REAR BRAKE ROTORS AND DISCS WEAR OUT FAR TOO QUICKLY IN AVERAGE DAY TO DAY USE. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10331686
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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