IllustrationREAR BRAKE ROTORS SCORED HORRIBLY WITH ONLY 10K MILES. *TR
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt Ss
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Cobalt Ss years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
1330–25K
2325–50K
950–75K
675–100K
2100–150K
1150K+
174 reports with mileage · 16 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 133 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Parking Brake. Review the 18 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes. Review the 13 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
8 crash reports2 fire reports3 injury reports
Service Brakes, Hydraulic complaints
133 reportsTL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL THE CONTACT HEARD A GRINDING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO EXCESSIVE BRAKING. THE DEALER ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE REAR ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS NE…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL THE CONTACT HEARD A GRINDING NOISE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHO STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO EXCESSIVE BRAKING. THE DEALER ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE REAR ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 21,000.
I JUST BOUGHT A 2009 COBALT SS THAT ONLY HAS 3289 MILES ON IT AND THE REAR BRAKES ARE ALREADY GOING BAD, AND THE REAR ROTORS ARE GETTING DEEP GOUGES. THIS COULD BE A VERY BAD PROBLEM. WOULD HATE TO SEE THIS TURN INTO ANOTHER TOYOTA THING SPECIALLY WHEN THE SS IS SUCH A GREAT CAR. I THINK A RECALL SHOULD BE DONE AND BETTER ROTORS…
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I JUST BOUGHT A 2009 COBALT SS THAT ONLY HAS 3289 MILES ON IT AND THE REAR BRAKES ARE ALREADY GOING BAD, AND THE REAR ROTORS ARE GETTING DEEP GOUGES. THIS COULD BE A VERY BAD PROBLEM. WOULD HATE TO SEE THIS TURN INTO ANOTHER TOYOTA THING SPECIALLY WHEN THE SS IS SUCH A GREAT CAR. I THINK A RECALL SHOULD BE DONE AND BETTER ROTORS AND PADS SHOULD BE PUT ON THE SS COBALT. *TR
MY CAR HAS ONLY 11,000 MILES ON IT AND THE REAR ARE BRAKES ARE WARPED, WHICH IN TURN CAUSES MY CAR TO NOT STOP AS FAST IT SHOULD. THE ROTORS ARE ALL WARPED AND THE PADS ARE VERY CHEAP. I CALLED GM AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE BRAKES ARE COVERED TO 12,000 MILES, BUT ONLY 12 MONTHS. IT'S BEEN 14 MONTHS AND THEY WON'T EVEN HELP ME OUT…
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MY CAR HAS ONLY 11,000 MILES ON IT AND THE REAR ARE BRAKES ARE WARPED, WHICH IN TURN CAUSES MY CAR TO NOT STOP AS FAST IT SHOULD. THE ROTORS ARE ALL WARPED AND THE PADS ARE VERY CHEAP. I CALLED GM AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE BRAKES ARE COVERED TO 12,000 MILES, BUT ONLY 12 MONTHS. IT'S BEEN 14 MONTHS AND THEY WON'T EVEN HELP ME OUT. THIS PROBLEM OCCURS VERY OFTEN AND I AM AFRAID I AM GOING TO GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. *TR
A TERRIBLE GRINDING COMING FROM REAR BRAKES. THE BRAKES WEAR OUT TOO QUICKLY (AND THE ROTORS ARE BEING SCORED AT 100MILE-20,000MILE CARS) ALSO INSIDE REAR PADS START TO GET NOISY. *TR
PREMATURE REAR BRAKE WEAR. *TR
THE STOCK ROTORS ON MY CAR STARTED GETTING SEVERELY WARPED WITHIN THE FIRST 3-4 MONTHS OF OWNING THE CAR. THE CAR WAS BRAND NEW WHEN I PURCHASES IT. I REPLACED THE BRAKES AFTER OWNING THE CAR FOR 10 MONTHS AND THE CAR HAD ABOUT 14,000 MILES. I SHOWED THE DEALER THE ROTORS AND THEY RESURFACED THEM. I'VE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR WITH …
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THE STOCK ROTORS ON MY CAR STARTED GETTING SEVERELY WARPED WITHIN THE FIRST 3-4 MONTHS OF OWNING THE CAR. THE CAR WAS BRAND NEW WHEN I PURCHASES IT. I REPLACED THE BRAKES AFTER OWNING THE CAR FOR 10 MONTHS AND THE CAR HAD ABOUT 14,000 MILES. I SHOWED THE DEALER THE ROTORS AND THEY RESURFACED THEM. I'VE BEEN DRIVING THE CAR WITH NEW BRAKES SINCE JUNE 2010, THE NEW BRAKES ARE ALREADY SQUEAKING AND ROTORS HAVE SEVERE GROOVES ON THEM. I PURCHASED THE CAR JUNE 2009 BRAND NEW. *TR
UNEVEN AND EXCESSIVE WEAR ON THE REAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS. WHEN THE DEALERSHIP PULLED THE PADS THERE WHERE CHUNKS OF METAL THAT APPEARED TO BE ROTOR MATERIAL EMBEDDED IN THE PADS. *TR
I BOUGHT A 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS USED WITH 9000 MILES ON IT. FROM THE DAY I BOUGHT IT I CONSISTENTLY HEARD REAR BRAKE NOISE WHENEVER I STOPPED THE CAR. THERE IS EXCESSIVE PAD WEAR ON THE REAR BRAKES AT 11000 MILES NOW. WAY TOO MUCH WEAR THAN NORMAL. DEEP SCORING IN THE ROTORS. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED IT FRO…
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I BOUGHT A 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS USED WITH 9000 MILES ON IT. FROM THE DAY I BOUGHT IT I CONSISTENTLY HEARD REAR BRAKE NOISE WHENEVER I STOPPED THE CAR. THERE IS EXCESSIVE PAD WEAR ON THE REAR BRAKES AT 11000 MILES NOW. WAY TOO MUCH WEAR THAN NORMAL. DEEP SCORING IN THE ROTORS. TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP I PURCHASED IT FROM AND THEY RESURFACED THE ROTORS BUT THE PROBLEM WAS STILL THERE AFTER I DROVE THE CAR HOME FROM THE SHOP. SO FAR NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM BY THE DEALERSHIP OF CHEVY. *TR
HAVE 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS AND HAS HAD TO TURN MY REAR ROTORS FOR THE 5TH TIME SINCE I GOT THIS CAR BRAND NEW, AT 36,000 MILES NOW. *TR
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
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.