Steering Column problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt - part 2

I was driving for less than a mile at about 45mph when the car's driver information screen read "power steering" and the wheel locked up and found it very difficult to steer. I was able to make it home safely. I turned the car off and then on again and the problem went away. I also have a newer car of the same model that had this issue and the steering column had to be replaced. I have filed a separate complaint with your office for this vehicle; the conformation number I was given is 10283738 for a 2007 chevy Cobalt. I have not had my 2005 chevy Cobalt repaired yet as I can not afford it and it's warranty has expired. When the 2007 was repaired the service advisor told me that it was a very common problem with the Cobalts and the chevy hhr because they have electric power steering as opposed to hydraulic. I don't feel safe driving in these vehicles and I surely don't feel comfortable having my wife drive them either.

There was not any warning. The power steering message came on in the car and I loss power steering. Thankfully I was at a red light, but could have been traveling at 65mph on the highway going to/from work. Several complaints are out there online about the same issue. Paying almost $500 to replace power steering motor; but was also told that this may or may not be the true issue, that the steering column may be the culprit. . Cost of $940. 00 to replace!!! who has that kind of money???.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving approximately 50 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, then the steering column locked up. As a consequence the risk for vehicle crash increased. The driver pulled over to the side of the road with caution. The engine was turned off then restarted. The vehicle was able to resume normal operation. The vehicle was in the process of being taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The failure and current mileages were 29,200.

On Friday August 25th 2009 I was driving my car when all of a sudden the power steering indicator came on in my car and immediately the power steering went out while I was driving. On Tuesday August 29th 2009 I had my mechanic look at the problem and discovered that my 2005 chevy Cobalt has an electric power steering system and it can only be fixed by replacing the entire steering column. I immediately contacted gm Chevrolet to inform them and they stated that there has been no recall scheduled for the 2005 or 2006 chevy Cobalt. I did an internet search on the chevy Cobalt and discovered that power steering going out is a common problem among chevy Cobalt owners and chevy is failing to do anything about it. This is a safety matter because the power steering will go out at random and chevy says that it will cost $800. 00 just for the part not including labor cost. This is a manufacturing error that chevy needs to correct.

I had no power steering/power steering on my 2005 chevy Cobalt failed and the nearest place I could go was a local goodyear repair shop. They kept my car for 3 days, had to order new parts and take out the steering column assembly and replace cost to me was $956. 75. This occurred on Aug. 20, 2009. I had no idea that this was a defect until I just read about it now. 64,000 miles are on my auto and I am on a fixed income,cannot afford another auto.

I was driving on the highway, when my 2005 chevy Cobalt's power steering just cut out. I almost crashed into the car beside me because I was not expecting for the car to do that. When I got home, I tried to check the power steering fluid level in the car and found that there is no place to put it. I later found out that the power steering is electric and a simple fix such as filling power steering fluid ( much like I've done with previous cars I owned) was not possible. The steering column would have to be pulled out in order for the problem to be fixed. If I didn't have an extended warranty on my car it would have cost thousands to fix which is ridiculous.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving the warning lights illuminated on the dashboard and it became difficult to control the steering wheel. The failure occurred frequently. The dealer replaced the steering column at the owners expense for $894. The following day after the vehicle was repaired, the failure recurred. The dealer stated that a motor needed to be replaced for an additional $100. The manufacturer confirmed that there were no related recalls and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 79,000.

In Aug 2006 purchased a 2005 chevy Cobalt LS 4 door sedan. After having for 6 months, needed new front brakes, had replaced and was informed that the rotors were warped; had to replace two other times. Finally got another manufacturers installed. Since getting this car have also had the key stuck in the ignition whereas I couldn't get it out dealership can not reproduce (and it is out of warranty). Am still having this problem to date, more so now because of having to replace the steering column. (see below) in Mar 2010 because of recall had steering replaced. In Jul 2011 it was replaced again, and again (9/13/2013). I lost control of the car while making a turn almost hitting a parked car. Mechanic was able to reproduce this. But because gm is the only place that you can get these parts you therefore have to use them. (no after market parts made) it cost me $792 to get this replace this (out of pocket). . Since getting this car, have had to replace struts, springs, shocks, brakes, control arm bushings most of this as I understand it would normally with higher mileage. When I got the car it had I believe 22k miles on it. Now it has 54200 on it. . . That's roughly 5k/yr. All maintenance has been preformed and the car has not been abused. Gm needs to do something with these cars not just ignore the problems.

2005 chevy Cobalt with 81k miles on it. First time it happened was today. While driving to the store from work I heard a ding, looked at the dash, and saw the power steering message. I immediately noticed that my power steering was out. I pulled off into a parking lot, restarted the car, and things were fine again. After stopping at the store, the same thing happened two more times during the drive home, each time requiring that I pull over and restart the car in order to regain power steering. Everything I have found online says that it will cost 1100 dollars to fix as the entire steering column needs to be replaced.

I have an 05 Cobalt and have had several issues. I have has the steering column replaced and my power steering has had to be fixed along with a few other issues. The place I purchased and had my car serviced was closed due to doing shady business(bill heard in buford GA). I bought this car because I thought it was a good name brand and it was safe as I just had a baby. As it turns out this car seems to be a death trap and no one will do anything as these are safety issues and issues on things that were supposed to have been fixed!.

About six months ago the power steering started randomly shutting off while I was driving. When it first started it was very sudden and shocked me. The jolt of the wheel, when it happened the second or third time, sprained my wrist. Now, every time the car is turned on the power steering goes off within about two to three seconds and remains off. I already sustained injury from this and I'm very upset that no one is doing anything to fix it even though this seems to be a very large scale problem creating safety hazards for thousands of people. Unfortunately, the warranty on my Cobalt has long been expired and I don't have enough money to replace the whole steering column (more than $2000. 00). I'd like this issue to be taken care of with a recall as soon as possible. I will be contacting a lawyer if this problem causes me another injury or accident.

Power steering on my 2005 chevy Cobalt went out while driving 45 mph on a highway. No injuries occurred. Power steering returned when I drove car to mechanic shop, but went out again as mechanic was test-driving. Had to have power steering column replaced at a cost of about $980. Mechanic informed me at the time that this was a common problem with Cobalts, but it had not become an official recall or concern yet.

The electric power power steering on my 05 chevy Cobalt has failed on numerous occasions, when the car is started it works and turns off shortly after aprox. 1-3 minutes. The repair cost about $1000. To replace the motor and steering column. I'm finding many reports of premature failure on the web for several gm models that use this same design.

I was at a stop sign and pulled out to negotiate a turn when my car seemed to stop. The car then started to move slowly, but I had a difficult time turning the wheel. The words "power steering" appeared in the service messages area. . I was able to reach home but negotiating the turns was like driving a manual car. I called my local dealership who told me to bring it in. I took it to my local dealership this morning, and the steering seemed normal, with no error messages appearing. This afternoon, I was told that the code indicated I needed a new steering column. Car is in the garage now and a new steering column will be put in by tomorrow. Cost quoted to replace the column is $500 plus change. I also e-mailed general motors and hope for a response.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving between 25-30 mph, the power steering warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. Immediately, a chime sounded inside the vehicle. There was a loss of power steering and the steering column locked. The driver experienced extreme difficulty steering the vehicle, which resulted in greater effort to turn the steering wheel. The warning indicator remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. The contact pulled the vehicle over into a parking lot and then turned off and restarted the engine. The vehicle restarted and resumed normal operation. The failure recurred on a separate occasion. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 50,000.

The steering wheel locked up in the car and the dic/ instrument panel displayed 'power steering' . The steering system shutdown completely with no prior warning of any kind. This happened in the middle of a very busy intersection and I was unable to steer the car in any manner. This is a safety issue that poses risks and threat of property damage, severe injury or death to the car owner, other car drivers on the road, others cars on the road, pedestrians and other building structures. This could happen again at any given time. Research indicates that this safety issue progressively increases. Repair requires the replacement of the steering column, pscm (power steering control module) and power steering motor unit estimated to cost upto $2000. Research on the internet also indicates a number of customers whose vehicles have electric power steering (as this car does) as opposed to conventional hydraulic steering systems have experienced this issue. Gm has issued the following communication on this topic, but this particular bulletin does not refer to owners of 2005 Cobalt car model. Bulletin gmp07-217 - 07126 special coverage adjustment message #:vsu20071643 special coverage adjustment #07126 dated: December 3, 2007 since this is a serious safety issue resulting from a manufacturing defect, I am requesting that Chevrolet reimburse me or pay for the cost of repair even though my car is past the standard manufacturers warranty period.

The problem I am reporting is with my 2005 chevy Cobalt LS. The power steering quit working suddenly with no warning. This failure happened while driving down a major road and cause all power steering to go out. Once the car is shut off it starts working again, but each time the mean time between failures decreases. The failure happens so often now that I can't drive the car. The steering column has to be replaced now since gm does not sell individual parts.

2005 Cobalt with about 40,000 miles on it. Steering column went out.

I have a 2005 Cobalt LS and the power steering goes out now within 5 minutes of driving the car. I use to be able to turn the car off and it would correct the problem, but now turning off the car doesn't correct the problem. I know what part needs to be replaced, but no one sells just that part, they want to try to sell you a whole steering column for $1500. 00 or more. I think it is disgraceful that gm is asking for bail out money, but they will not recall this model of car to fix the problem. I cannot afford to go to a gm dealership and pay to have this problem fixed. I am not responsible for paying for this it is gm's responsibility! gm wouldn't be in financial trouble if they built cars that didn't have problems or if the cars they built that had problems they took responsibility for fixing them. I don't think I can trust gm anymore. Eventually someone is going to get seriously hurt or worse.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 20 mph on normal road conditions, the steering wheel locked and the power steering warning indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. The warning indicator remained lit until the engine was turned off. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and the engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was able to resume normal operation; however, the failure recurred three times while driving. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for diagnostic testing and the steering column code was reprogrammed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for identical failures. Currently, the steering column is being replaced. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were 54,000.

I just purchased a 2005 chevy Cobalt as my wife drove it to the store the power steering locked up & shut off she almost got into a wreck she had to force car off the road. Spoke to a chevy mechanic said this was a common problem with 2005-2006 chevy Cobalts, this is a defect in the steering column. Looked on the internet & there are lots of people with this model having the exact same problem yet there is no recall from gm. This is a safety hazard my wife could have been killed should these vehicles be on the road? please investigate this problem. We had the car for 3 days now and it happened 4 times it is now in the hands of a mechanic.

In April of 2009, the power steering on my 2005 chevy Cobalt started going out whenever I would get slower than 50 mph. On April 22, 2009, I had to have my steering column replaced. I understand now that there has been a recall on this vehicle model due to this steering problem. I would like to be reimbursed for the amount I had to pay for the repair job. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving and attempting to make a right turn the steering wheel locked and wouldn't move. She turned the vehicle off and within a few minutes she was able to drive the vehicle manually to her residence. She did not see any warning lights on the instrumental panel. The dealer replaced the power steering column at the owners expense for $1,387. The failure mileage was 45,481 the current mileage is 58,200 updated 03/19/10. Updated 08/18/jb.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving approximately 60 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument control panel. A technician from the dealer concluded that the steering column needed to be replaced. He then added that the failure was common for his model type. He purchased the power steering column and replaced the part himself. The failure mileage was 60,000. The current mileage was 102,633.

While driving my car the power steering just turned off making the car extremely difficult to drive. When I turn my car off then turn it back on the steering comes back for about a min then turns off again. I am told that the whole steering column needs to be replaced which will be over $800. My car is not even 4 years old. I've already had to have the computer updated twice due to safety lights going off with no reason. Along with replacing both control arms at the rear of the car due to bad bearings. I also had to replace a motor for the heating that was broken. For a car that only has about 41,000 miles on it this seems like too much to go wrong with a "quality" car.

A clunk in my driver side front tire, when going over small bumps while turning. Also loose steering, rattling sound from the steering column. Gm replaced the intermediate shaft, it did absolutely nothing. Im now being told I need to replace the whole steering column at 50,000 miles! this will cost about 2 thousand dollars. . . . . Problem not caused by driver. Inside the steering column there is a "backlash" form the gears causing this problem.

Power steer cuts out and does not come back until car is restarted. Happens random timing every trip. Chevy quoted 800. 00 to repair stating that the steering column needs to be replaced.

The vehicle in question was being driven at the time when (with little warning), the power steering went out and caused the driver to almost have a car accident. Thank god he was driving slow (in city limits) and not 65 mph on a highway! a local dealership did the repair work which meant the steering column in question was fixed with the same kind of steering column replacement. I have received information that not only this make and model have this particular problem with the power steering going out, but also another chevy make and model as well. Our concern is that this "should" be a recall for the vehicles in question. We feel it is a definite safety issue and we don't want to see this happen again to us or anyone else. God forbid there be a tragic accident and/or fatality because of this issue!.

I almost wrecked my car 2 weeks ago because my 2005 chevy Cobalts power steering just stopped working in the middle of a slight bend causing me to almost side-swipe another vehicle. Whats happening now is when you start the car, within a few seconds you hear a clicking sound & the power steering just stops working. I think theres a service bulletin but not a recall. I just purchased the car used in January but it was only a 30 day warranty. I have already been to our local dealer & they stated that the steering column needs replaced but I would cost me $800 plus tax. I have also been in touch with gm in order to get this fixed under a warranty repair but have been getting nowhere with them. They stated that they were unaware of the issue but meanwhile I have found numerous blogs on the internet where people have also contacted gm & gm has told them the same thing. "this is the first time we are hearing about this problem. " I have refused to drive the car as it is unsafe, so my husband has to be unconvinced by taking me where I need to go because I cannot steer it. Its not safe for us or other people, while this car is going down the road.

I've had my Cobalt for a little bit over 3 years and my 'power steering' warning light started to come on. If I stopped and restarted the car it would go away for a bit but the warning would come back. I took it to a dealer and they said the steering column needs to be replaced and of course my warranty just ran out so I have to pay for it. My dealership is aware of the problem because they have had to repair it on other Cobalts. From what I have read on the internet a lot of other people are having the same problem as I am. Why hasn't something been done about this?.

On Saturday, August 16th, 2008 I was driving on the highway going about 55-60 mph and as I was slowing down to approach a left turn, a chime noise sounded and the "power steering" message came on and as I was in my left turn, the power steering completely went out and made my car almost impossible to turn the wheel. I pulled into a service/gas station right down the road and tried turning off my car to see if that would help. Once I restarted my car the power steering message was no longer on and the steering wheel went back to normal. This same problem occurred once the next day. As the days went on, the problem got more and more frequent to the extent of now it happens like four or five times a day. To get the power steering to work once it goes out, I have to either restart my car at redlights, stop signs, or sometimes even in the middle of the road. This is a very dangerous problem that needs to be addressed by gm. I took my car to a gm dealership last Friday and I was told my steering column needed to be replaced. I have researched this issue, and I see it is an ongoing problem with gm. I have notified the customer service department at gm and am awaiting a call back from them to see how they can accommodate me with this situation.

I was driving to work and my power steering went out and then as I was going around a curve, the steering wheel locked. I went into the oncoming lane and was able to turn my car off and restart it again. I drove for another 30 seconds or so before the steering went out again. The steering continued to go out after driving a short distance after everytime I started to drive. The steering column had to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 45 mph, the power steering light illuminated and the power steering failed. The failure occurred approximately three times while driving. The dealer stated that the steering column needed to be replaced and the power steering will need to be reprogrammed at a 50% off discount. The current mileage was 59,950 and failure mileage was 56,322.

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 45 mph, the contact noticed that the power steering light illuminated on the dashboard. Shortly after, the power steering completely failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the steering column needed to be replaced. Two months after the vehicle was purchased, the power steering column was replaced. The current mileage was 93,606 and failure mileage was 45,000.

While driving to work, the steering wheel indicator lit up. When continue driving, notice resistance while turning the steering wheel. As I proceeded further, when making turns, the steering wheel was even harder to turn. Call roadside assist. To tow car to nearest dealer. Dealer informed me the steering column was bad.