Chevrolet Cobalt owners have reported 33 parking brake related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common parking brake problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's parking brake (33 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Parking Brake problems |
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated the emergency brake failed to engage. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 70,987 and the current mileage was 71,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the air bag warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the clock spring was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 75,000. Updated 11/25/cn the emergency lever would not hold the emergency brakes in place. A piece in the lever would not let cables hold tension. The consumer had the brake lever assembly replaced. The steering wheel coil had to replaced, to rectify the air bag light problem.
Noticed parking brake not holding anymore. Then checked rear brakes and found rear passenger side inner brake pad (not the outer pad) completely worn out. . . . All other pads on car have atleast 70% pad left. Never seen anything like this before with this low of mileage with not being driven in any winters. Hope there is a fix for this! may be proportion valve design problem?.
I brought my 2009 Cobalt ss into the dealer for routine maintenance, 20k mileage check. It has a 5-speed manual transmission. They informed me that my rear rotors were scored badly possibly from the emergency brake being on while driving. The dealer informed me the surface was too far gone to turn them. I'm the only person that drives the car and I know I don't drive with the e-brake on, not even once. However, I do pull the e-brake when I park my car with the trans in gear. Let me say also I do not drive the car hard like racing or drifting. I did pull the tire and rotor from the left rear to find that the inner rotor surface was indeed scored badly within 3/4-inch of the outer rotor diameter. The outer rotor surface was clean and smooth. The outer brake pad looked like it had 2x the material left versus the inner pad. I did not pull the right side rotor yet. (my new brake rotor order got fouled up. Still waiting. ) like many of the other people who have complained, my car has slightly over 21k miles on it so why should it need rear brakes so quickly? most of the wear should be on the front brakes due to weight and momentum during braking. Something doesn't add up. Will it happen again with the new rotors?.
I drive a 2008 chevy Cobalt lt, I have had to take it in twice to get the turn signals to turn themselves off after turning. The most recent incident is my parking brake, the rachet from what I was told broke off, I asked how they said they did not know. I asked how common this happens they said they have never seen it happen before, yet somehow I am responsible for it. I believe it was a manufacturing defect, parking brakes do not just break like that. I drive a manual and my parking brake is kind of imperative to prevent from rolling when it sparked.
Car was acting normal, just took a 200 mile round trip, the next morning the roads had some snow and a bit of ice. I backed out of the driveway and drove on the side streets (2 blocks) to the highway, as I was driving down the highway I began to feel a drag, I shut off my radio and listened soon my tire gage came on so I looked in my mirror and seen sparks flying, I pulled over immediately at an available safe location only to find my rear drivers side tire was shredded. I changed the tire and began to drive again, once I hit dry pavement I heard a screeching noise. Called for a tow truck. The gm dealer called me today and said my parking brake was locked up. My car is an automatic and I have never engaged the parking brake (have owned the car over a year). The dealer is now telling me the parking brake line was off and shredded . They also stated the tire was not going to be covered under warranty and the brakes may not be either since the line that apparently locked one side of parking brakes up could have just fallen off and locked one set of parking brakes up which have never been used.
I last checked my brakes when I took off my snow tires in March with 18,000 miles on my car. Everything looked fine, front and rear pads looked almost new with plenty of meat on them. In July, I noticed that the rear brakes were starting to groove, so I mentioned this to the dealer when I went in for a recall and they resurfaced them for me (22,885 miles). I asked about the pads and they told me that they had looked at them and they were fine and everything looked normal. In October, I noticed the grooving coming back. I took it back to the dealer, and they charged me to replace the rear disks and pads at 29,170 miles (they did throw in the rotors for free due to the abnormal wear). After the service, they gave me the old rear pads as per my request. Upon receiving them, I couldn't help but notice that the inner rear pad, which had been wearing identically to the outer rear pads when I checked at 18,000 miles, were worn almost to the backing plate! the outer pads still had 1/4" material left, so it seemed clear that something was not right. The dealer could find no reason for this wear and stated that everything was normal besides the brake wear. It seems incredible that a front-heavy, front-drive car would wear through its inner rear brake pads while its front pads (which do most of the braking) and outer rear pads still have plenty of life left without there being some kind of problem. I still have the pads and also have pictures. I am concerned that if these pads wear down so quickly, I could be put in a situation where I unexpectedly have no e-brake and compromised braking ability despite frequent inspections. I am also concerned that gm is more interested in selling me parts than in diagnosing and correcting the root of the problem. I have heard from the both chevy dealers and other owners that this is a somewhat common problem with my car, and I would like to see it resolved. Thank you.
Rear brakes wear down to quickly. . I have had only 20,000 km on it and one day I was going to bring my kid into day care with it. . Put on the on hand brake. . And then my car started to roll back with my kid in it. . . Almost brand new car. . Who would of thought my brakes would have been already worn out. . My kid almost gotten to an accident because of this. . . Now an other thing. . We have to pay new pads every 20,000 km? that is just insane. . Again. . I see repetitive post on here with comments they have the inside pad worn out to the metal and the outside one to 70%. . I have never changed the front ones once yet. . And they are still at 65%. . Now where is the logic in all this??? front ones should be more badly hurt then that. . Also the back brakes eats my rotors like crazy too. . Guess what more money. . . Arrrggg. . This is really a safety issue and I think a recall should be made on this. . Thank you for listening.
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.
This written complaint is in regards to the mechanical defect of an emergency parking brake within a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt with a manual transmission. Events leading up to the incident were & remain as unnoticeable by driver and owner of vehicle. The driver had vehicle parked with the emergency parking brake in the up locked position prior to driving it. The vehicle was turned on and driven approximately two miles before being parked again. As driver of vehicle went to use emergency parking brake to park the vehicle, they immediately realized that the emergency parking break had no resistance when pulled upward and would not remain locked in the "up" position needed in order to safely park the vehicle. All other brakes within the vehicle remained as normal and functional. No other defects were detected by driver. The failure of the emergency parking brake failed to return to a normal status of function. The vehicle was taken by owner to local Chevrolet dealership within 24 hours of incident on may 18, 2010 to be evaluated by dealership and be promptly fixed. The dealership's mechanics found that the emergency parking brake handle would not lock in place when pulled upward due to "the mechanism being stripped. " the parking break handle was stated as being replaced and vehicle was returned to owner within 24 hours of being taken to dealership.
Purchased the car new. At about 3,000 miles I noticed scoring on the rear brake rotors. After about 12,000 miles my emergency brake started failing to hold the car on even the slightest hill. At about 14,000 miles the rear brakes started to grind. At this point the brake pads needed to be replaced, and the rotors turned. Only the inside pads were worn completely down, the outside pads looked relatively good.
My 2005 chevy Cobalt has several issue with traction control, abs, and emergency brakes. I have taken this car to the chevy dealership for repairs multiple times and the same problem keeps recurring. All the warning light for tc, abs, and emergency brake are on again and when this sensor fails the car shifts gears and loses traction control. Very dangerous especially in wet weather conditions. I have heard this a common problem with these types of chevy cars. So what's it going to take to get a recall! a fatality? someone do something about this.
Rear brakes wearing out after 4000-5000 miles. New at 0, changed at 5044, now bad again at 10,600 miles. . Read more...
2009 Cobalt ss with disc rear brakes. Mileage 16588. The rear brakes are getting extremely scored (look like a record with groves) and it sounds like the parking brake is dragging. I noticed this started 2 days ago when it felt like the parking brake was still engaged when I went to pull out of a parking spot. The rear of the car squatted down, to me indicate the brake was hung up. Then I heard a "twang" sound followed by a pop. It sound like a bring that was hung up finally let loose. After that incident I started to notice that at speed less than 10 mph you get a noticeable scraping sound from the rear brakes. It sound similar to when you turn rotors on a brake lathe.
Driver was changing lanes on highway in a 2007 chevy Cobalt when her steering wheel froze up on her. She could not correct steering and her brakes seemed to lose power as well. She hit a concrete barrier, her car went airborne and started rolling. She was ejected about fifty feet. Vehicle was a complete loss. The auto insurance company won't investigate due to her car being just 12,000 miles over warranty. (economic loss rule) the car is still being held for further investigation per request of the driver. Vehicle never had trouble before this. Driver was severely injured spending 10 days in hospital, 2 of those in icu. Driver had complications due to injuries, now on round the clock iv's at home.
Rear brake pads are no good and need to be replaced. I have 15xxx miles and I am a very good driver and never have abuse the car. It is being replaced under gm warranty gm stated that all Cobalts ss from 08-09 have this problem.
Noticed multiple times that my parking brake seemed to "hang up" when released. Took to dealer and they found nothing wrong . I am at approx 10,500 miles now and have no parking brake to hold my car. I was told both the inner pads on both sides for my rear brakes were gone and will need the rotors replaced also. Have yet to have brakes due to lack of available parts to replaced them.
Rear brakes wearing.
I have had a series of problems with my 2007 chevy Cobalt in the last 4 months. First in November of 2009 my wheels were too bent up and needed to be replaced. Then in December 2009 my clutch burned out after only 47,000 miles. Everyone I ever spoke to never heard of a clutch burning out so soon. I was on the highway going 65mph when no more power was being supplied to the vehicle after pressing down on the gas. I rolled into a nearby gas station and had the car towed to the dealership and the diagnostic confirmed my suspicion. I had it replaced two weeks later when I had the money. Now its February and my parking brake will not engage. The car was bought brand new in 2007 and had regular maintenance done on the car, ie brakes, oil, filters. I could have been injured and I fear driving the car thinking something else will break down. No warning signs of any of these problems were noticeable.
Vehicle rolls for/aft when "parked". . .
1. Before purchasing this vehicle new in 2008, I was made aware of an issue with the rear brake wearing abnormally. I had made at least two inquiries to the service department at the dealership about the possibility of a TSB (technical service bulletin) being released on the problem. At the time there had not been, but I had neither experienced the problem up until then. 2. The failure occurs with the parking brake mechanism. The parking brake functions by engaging the inside brake pad on the rear brakes. There is a return spring that is suppose to disengage the brake pad when the parking brake is released. This spring is failing to disengage the inside pad causing the pad to wear abnormally. The result is that the inside pad will wear thin very quickly and eventually begin to damage the brake rotor. 3. I have returned the vehicle to the dealership for service and I was deferred to gm customer service. They informed me that they do not believe there to be a defect and will not perform the replacement work under their warranty. To solve the problem, I will be replacing all of the rear brake pads and rotors and installing a higher tension spring on the parking brake return.
2008 chevy Cobalt ss under normal driving and braking conditions the rear disk brakes wear unevenly and fail prematurely. Incident 1: 0% pad material on inner linings on both left and right rear wheels with >80% material outboard pads. Failure occurred with about 17k miles. On inspection it was observed that gm had failed to apply lutricant to the guide pins of calipers. Replacement of rotors and pads was required. Incident 2: same failure as incident 1. 0% pad material on inner linings of both left and right rear wheels with >80% material on outboard pads. Failure occurred within 20k miles. Replacement of rotors and pads was again required.
My Cobalt was purchased 3/5/2009, and has only 5400 miles on it as of 9/8/2009. I do not drive aggressively and the car is pretty much just daily driven to work/home. The rear brakes are already exhibiting what I'd consider to be abnormal wear, especially when compared to my other vehicles. The rotors are becoming deeply scored and the inside brake pads are worn much more than the outside. Have been told me this is "normal" (along with a host of other issues, including oil leaks from the engine). There are several hundred people on a national Cobalt forum also experiencing this issue. The root cause appears to be the parking brake not fully allowing the caliper to retract, but I'm not an engineer.
Premature brake wear on rear brakes. They squeal loud at only 5000 miles and the rear rotors scarred. The rotor is not smooth but has ridges from the damage.
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.
Reason for inspection was due to rear brake grinding sounds. After 12,000 miles the rear brake pads were completely gone, and the rear rotors severely grooved and warped. Gm agreed that there was a problem and replaced the pads and rotors under warranty stating that they've seen it on 3 others and were taking the same action.
The emergancy breake locking plate failed. This parking breake has a locking plate that is spotwelded on not bolted on or achweldedon this plate falls off causing the brake handle not to beable to lock when used! it has happened twice to me about 18 months apart the thing can be fixed by putting a welds on the plate before this happens but gm hasn't put a fix out on this problem the mechanch at the dealership where I got my Cobalt knew about this problem the first thime I had to have it fixed the covered it under warrinty the first time the second time it was under my extended warrinty I have to find a weld bshop before this happens agian!.
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.
Attempted to engage parking brake on my chevy Cobalt, the brake handle would not stay in the up position. The vehicle has a standard transmission so other than placing the car in gear, there is no other means to keep the car from rolling. Because the brake will not stay engaged at all the car must be shut off and placed in gear to keep it from rolling even while engaging in such short term functions as opening the garage door. The brakes themselves work, it is only the hand brake that will not stay in the up position.
Rear brakes are wearing too fast.
Had tires rotated at dealer, they found rear brake pads worn out completely and rotor scored after only 6000 miles. Have found many other owners with same problem. Dealer claims it was caused by driving with the e brake on. They refused to repair unless paid, claims warranty does not cover pads wearing out unusually too soon.
Rear brakes have been developing grooves being cut into the rotors. Makes metal scraping/rubbing/screeching noise during braking.
The rear brake rotors on both sides are severely grooved on the inner and outer surfaces. The inner brake pads on both sides are worn noticeably more than the outer pads. The brakes make a grinding noise. The parking brake doesn't hold the car in place. This is at 4k miles.