Steering Column Problems of Chevrolet Cobalt - part 2

2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. Consumer writes in regards to steering wheel column recall. The consumer stated in 2010 he steering motor was recalled, and corrected. Recently, the consumer had to replace the steering wheel column, which was part of the key ignition that has been in the media. The consumer spent $1200 for repairs and notified Chevrolet about the situation and reimbursement.

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Tl - the contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering warning lamp illuminated and the steering wheel became very hard to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 107,000. Pm.

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Tried to back out of my parking spot at home to go to work. Could not turn wheels at all. Had car towed to chapman Chevrolet because my bother, who is a mechanic, advised me that there was a recall for this model and year. After chapman received the car they blamed problem on steering column and wound up charging me $960. 73 to replace it. My brother advised me that power steering unit is part of power steering operation. Information system on dash board said power system failure. Fortunately this did not happen while driving to work as I could not have handled the car and would have has a serious accidebt.

I purchased a 2006 Cobalt from a private owner this week. I test drove it 3 times with no problems. After bringing it home, I attempted to turn off the car and remove the key. It would not turn off all the way and the key would not come out. I was very upset and scared. The car would restart so I was able to put it in the driveway and park it next to the garage. Since I could not remove the key I put a car club on it and locked the door. Then I parked another car behind it. I did not think about it but since the key was in the accessory position the battery went dead. The next day I was not able to remove the key and I was not able to start it. I called a local Chevrolet dealer. He checked the VIN for recalls and said there was not one on the 2006 Cobalt related to the starting solenoid binding up. He did tell me it is common and most cars that have the problem have a recall issued. This problem has caused me major distress and could be very unsafe if the car had experienced this problem somewhere away from home. I found out how to fix it by reading articles on the internet. Many people have reported this problem and Chevrolet has not listened to the consumers by issuing a recall and repairing the problem. There is a button in the steering column that needs to be pressed by a rod to tell the car that the car is in park and it is ok to turn it off and remove the key. The cars with problems have a rod that does not depress the button. People have to remove a cover on the steering column and reattach the rod when they can not remove their key. However, over time the rod slips to far that this is no longer a solution and the parts need to be replaced. Why should the consumer have to suffer this stress and worry about getting their car stolen because their key is stuck in it? Chevrolet needs to immediately take care of this ongoing, long standing issue.

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My 2007 colbalt was recalled in 2009 for the steering column motor. I took it in to have the recall fixed. Well today it was making the same sound as it was in 2009 and I was told that I would have to pay out of pocket to replace the exact same part that was replaced in 2009. I know I am not the only one to have to have this done. I really think that general motors needs to further investigate on this issue. I was given an estimate of 950. 00 to repair. Why should I have to pay to have shotty workmanship replaced.

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I bought car used and wasn't told of recalls so I had car one wk before it just broke down. . . The steering colum is defective said the gm dealer but they said I'd have to pay out of pocket even though it is a factory installed part it being of poor quality has cause the steering gear to go bad and the half shaft that goes into transmission. . . If they know it's just a poorly designed steering column why aren't they being held responsible for the lack of responsibility as a car maker who know of this issue but they haven't been forced to offer a recall on the steering column. . . . Instead they expect the consumer to pay for their total lack of safety!!!! what am I suppose to do with a car that's unsafe to drive and my only car??? not to mention after the recall on electric power steering they just put in has gone bad due to the steering gear & bad steering column . . .

The power steering went out and the car became extremely hard to steer. This has happened at multiple times since the initial time. I called regarding the recall for power steering and found out that the previous owner had the power steering motor replaced at 58,400 miles. This is a huge safety concern, and the power steering going out twice on this model is indicative that the real problem was not addressed. The power steering column may be to blame for this continuous safety concern. The real core problem was not address by gm in their recall.

After several contacts and attempts to seek assistance from local dealership & gm with the ignition and gear shift problems, both concluded that vehicle VIN number was not part of any current recall. Owner (55 year old) repeated contact due to concerns of mechanical symptoms identical with existing Cobalt recalls. Family was involved in a single vehicle accident at 10:00 am on 3/2/2013. Gear shift and steering simultaneously locked while navigating a corner on local highway. Vehicle crossed centerline, launching over a snow bank and continuing air-born for 30 to 40 yards. Only 1 of the 2 air bags fully deployed. Total loss of vehicle and several ongoing injuries with three occupants of vehicle. (29 year old, 55 year old, and 79 year old) neither the local dealership or gm ever acknowledged vehicle defects. The local dealership had removed the dash cover, console cover, and steering column cover and make some type of adjustments prior to accident. Law enforcement was on scene and no citations were issued. Damage exceeded the value of the vehicle.

My entire column shakes and makes a dragging sound when driving.

See all problems of the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt 🔎.

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that there was a clicking noise heard from the vehicle intermittently. Additionally, the contact had to apply force to turn the steering wheel on multiple occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 10v073000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while turning, the steering wheel felt abnormally loose. In addition, an abnormal clunking and rattling noise was heard from under the hood. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic was performed. The failure was located at the steering column and steering shaft. The steering column and steering shaft were replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 105,696.

Battery died in car, had to jump the car. Car started fine, steering seemed to be a little tight. After a few minutes of driving the tightness in the steering went away. However upon arriving at home the key would not come out of the ignition, and the shifter would shift into any gear easily without having to press in the shifter button. Also in attempts to remove the key the steering wheel is now locked all the way to the right with the wheels locked in the right position. Was able to remove key from ignition by locating the emergency key release switch under the steering column but car will not start now as key wont turn all the way, and shifter still shifts into any gear without having to press the shifter button. Car was parked front first against building so I have no idea how I will get it towed out of there to a shop to fix it! I suspect the shifter cable assembly at the end of the shifter which is made out of plastic is broken. Will verify when its taken apart. I have seen at least 50 other cases on the internet where this piece breaks and causes the car not to register it being in park and will not release key from ignition. Gm recalled certain years for shifter problems but not the 2007 unfortunately!.

Tl- the contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the key became lodged in the ignition and he was unable to remove it. Also, the contact stated that on a separate occasion while driving 45 mph the steering wheel seized and the air bag warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer six times who diagnose that the ignition module, steering wheel column and driver side air bag module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 82,600. Pmb.

Vehicle's automatic door locks began to engage and disengage on their own, possibly locking the steering column as vehicle entered into a curve. Caused driver to loose control go into ditch, bounce out of ditch and log roll the vehicle. Air bags did not deploy. Door locks were still going up and down several hours later at the vehicle impound yard and was observed by the police officer and noted in his report. Additional. This problem is much bigger than beleived! I have a 2011 hhr and have had the ignition switch turn off when I have dropped the adjustable steering column to the down position while moving. I have a heavy keyring and when I brought it up to the dealership they told me the keyring was the problem. My other daughter's 05 impala had the same problem when she hit a bump.

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph he noticed a rattling sound coming from the steering column. After inspecting the vehicle the contact noticed the connection between the steering shaft and the steering column was about to fracture. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

While backing car up steering went out. Steering wheel would spin around. Found out that the lower shaft in steering column and the gear coming out of steering rack separated. Had to change steering rack / lower shaft / clock spring. Cost $1200. 00 if this had happened while driving @ 65 mph with no control things would have been a lot more serious. I have my 24 month old baby in the car most of the time. Checked recalls and there seems to be none for this year car, but there is a recall for 2006 with similar problems.

When maneuvering the vehicle my steering wheel seizes up over and over again while making a turn. Consequently it must be turned hard to overcome this resistance. Often this causes the driver to over steer. It does this repeatedly even when going through the same turn. Correcting the over steer is also plagued by these same spots of hard resistance. If you turn the steering wheel while the car is not moving you can feel the same problem. Had the front end of the car inspected and those components are in good shape. You can hear a sound coming from the steering column when resistance is felt. The car had safety recall # 10023 repair done on 6/14/2010 at dutch Chevrolet in belfast, maine (repair order 25485). I called chevy and they said that the recall repair was warranted for 12 months or miles which ever came first. I have an appointment today 5/1/12 to have it looked at by the same dealer. The representative from chevy said they will follow up on this however they did not offer to cover the cost of the repair. Bad enough that the problem is chronic, a real safety concern, but worse yet chevy won't even take responsibility for a lifetime warranty on a recall repair. This is unconscionable. The consumer stated he went to the local dealer to have the steering problem diagnosed. It turned out the problem was not directly related to the original repair of the electric steering assist unit after all. Rather, the intermediate steering shaft u-joint needed to be replaced. The charge was slightly under $250. After discussing the problem with the warranty division, the consumer was given a discount of $150. 00. The consumer no longer wished to pursue his complaint. Updated ivoq 06/15/12.

I went outside and started my car. As I attempted to drive off, the car would not steer. I learned that there had been a recall on my power steering. The Cobalt has electric power steering, and can only be fixed at the dealership. The problem was fixed on 4/16/2012. On 2/26/2014, I went outside to start my car. Again, as I attempted to pull off, the car would not steer. After taking it to the dealership, I learned that the entire steering column had gone out. Gm knows this car is defective, and refuses to do anything about the problem. My car has been in the shop for 2 weeks, and I am getting the run around. I have had numerous problems out of this car. I've had trouble with the ignition switch, fuel problems, ratting noises, shaking, the windows going out, and the steering system. Something needs to be done. Gm needs to be held accountable. I make regular repairs and have routine maintenance done on my car. I should not have to continue to suffer with these issues that gm know exists. There response is always "due to the mileage and year of your car, we can't offer you any assistance. ".

I bought this car fairly new. At first there were no problems with it. But after a couple thousand miles I started to hear a rattle noise. I have since taken it to the shop 6 + times. They keep sending me around with their bull crap saying its this, its that, when in fact its most likely the steering recall/problem. When they replaced the steering column it stopped, but only to come back after a couple more thousand miles.

See all problems of the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt 🔎.

Vehicle has been having problems with steering since the power steering assist motor was replaced per the recall. Vehicle was serviced about 6 months ago by a Chevrolet dealership because the steering wheel was locking up, and the front end was rattling. The following parts were replaced: front stabilizer end links, steering column, and serpentine belt. The steering has since developed a delayed response and requires full turns from center to end to turn right or left around corners. The turning radius has significantly declined. The car also pulls right or left when braking if the steering wheel is off center. The rattling from the front end also has resurfaced and is bad when going over bumps. Current mileage is 83,000.

I own a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt, the power steering and traction control lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle then began to jerk and become difficult to drive. The vehicle had to be towed to an authorized dealer and repaired under NHTSA campaign id number 10v073000 (steering:electric power assist system); but the dealer told me that there no recall for my vehicle, apparently they was base on the vehicle VIN # instead of model/made/year of the car. The dealer told me I need to replace steering column which will cost me close to $1000 w/part, labor & taxes. Pickup my car on the same day late afternoon, was able to drive home with no incident. However, the failure recurred the next day, again towed the car back to the dealership, the manufacturer was aware of the failure. The vehicle was awaiting further inspection at the dealership, in the meantime I'm driving the rental that was provided by the dealership. This is mfg defected problem, I should not have to paid to fix the steering column.

Purchased vehicle brand new in 2007 and no problems till now. 22 year old daughter driving vehicle, she is a college student. She drives in major city daily and driving home from school gauge cluster went crazy and power steering went out. Scaring her, she parked the car in a church lot and I sent the car to a dealer the next day. I had found on the internet that there was a recall on the power steering assist motor and informed the dealership of such when the work was to be done. They replaced the motor under the recall but also charged me $780. 00 to replace the steering column which they said was bad. I have found 1000 + complaints on the internet of people saying their steering columns were supposedly bad as well with 1 person having theirs replaced 3 times now. She picked the car up and 2 weeks later the same thing occurs again. The dealership looks at it for 4 days and claim they can't find anything wrong so do nothing but investigate. They claim the codes were erased on the computer because we drove it after the fault but the car was parked and immediately hauled to the dealer on a flatbed truck. As I said before there are well over 1,000 complaints on the internet that I have found myself so I am sure there are a lot more. As soon as I can afford it this car will be put in town square with a big lemon sign on it and she will be driving something other than gm.

Vehicle is making weird front end noises, knocking, rattles, shakes in the steering column, vibrations when driving on the driver side behind the steering wheel and in the floor, tires are making a noise whn driving like something is hanging.

Chevy Cobalt have had power steering motor replaced twice, still no power steering, now dealership says it needs a new steering column for 1000. 00,which I cant afford, have hadt o replace computer module for motor, replace rims that were out of round,head lights bulbs come loose and dont work , loses power and the car feels like it has run into a wall it jerks so hard, steering locks up without notice, key gets stuck in ignition. All of these have happened to my fine chevy product, when is chevy going to do something about it.

I have a new 2010 Cobalt and I now find that there is a problem with the steering , my Cobalt is not part of the power steering assist recall . I started noticing the problem while turning , I seem to loose power steering from time to time and I don't get a warning light . This happens at low speeds as well as at high speeds and when it does happen turning right or left is harder and the steering wheel seems stiff like I say seems like I loose power steering . I had it into the dealer to confirm that it was not part of the recall and they say there mechanics where unable to reproduce the issue so they say there is no problem and they checked the power steering assist and they did not see a problem with it . The tight steering happens on and off and does not seem to follow any pattern . I started noticing this problem at about 15k km . There was a noise in the front end and the gm mechanics says there was a problem with something in the steering column however it did fix the noise but the loss or what seems to be a loss of power steering control still there .

I was pulling out of a dairy queen when the car veered into the left lane. Out of my control. Was very difficult maneuvering turns. The power steering recall was replaced but now they are saying the steering column needs replaced. Another $800. I have a infant so I am terrifired to drive it at all.

About 3 years ago I started to get a thumping noise in the front end of the 2006 Cobalt. I asked a mechanic what it could be and they gave me a couple things it might be also gave me idea on cost. Being a single mom of two and the thumping was not to bad I did not have the money to repair. As time went on got louder and worse. So, I brought it in to have problem fixed it was the lower tie arms and something else went bad and cost me almost $1000 to fix. I looked online and found many 2006 Cobalt owners say they have the same issue but was told by gm was not a safety issue so they were not recalling car it was our problem. I have noticed the lights on the dash sometime dim so low you can not see them then they will brighten again even after replacing the battery. Over this winter I started to get a humming in the steering column and asked my mechanic to look he told me I have electric power steering they could not fix. I got the recall about the ignition switch and was doing as they said and only driving with key and nothing else. But now every time I stopped I was checking key to make sure it was in place and a few times it had moved slightly but did not kick it out of the on position. If I had not checked it, it probably would have with all the pot holes. Then on April 6th 2014 on my way home from work (which is 24 miles away from home). When I was turning to go on the highway the steering wheel was humming again(I had no clue that there was any problems with steering columns at this point) I got onto the highway and the dash light came on and a dinging sound started and I had to fight, the car to the side of the road. I turned the car off then turned it on to see if it stopped and was able to get home. Looked online to see if others where having this issue and found tons of 2006 Cobalt owners having issue. That is when I saw they are recalling 2010's for it not 2006.

2006 chevy Cobalt steering column is falling apart and making all kinds of clunking noises while driving, chevy already replaced the power steering motor because of a recall but refuses to do anything about the actual steering column which is falling apart and destined for failure with less than 80,000 miles.

My Chevrolet Cobalt 2006 has a steering column problem. It makes noises, like a rattle and I bougth the car on 03/16/2011, used and since the first week after purcharsed ive taken the car to get fix every day except for saturdays and still can not get it fix. It also shakes violently at times and its very, very scary.

My 2005 chevy Cobalt has been having some issues with a knocking sound while driving. Almost sounds as if something was loose and hitting something else is the only way I know to descrive it. People who have drove in my car thought it was bad shocks or struts, but those have been checked and working fine. It makes the noise while driving, hitting normal bumps in the road, etc. I had a mechanic look at it and he replaced some lower arm bushings in the front end. But that did not fix the problem. He looked at a service bulletin and narrowed my problem down to two things. One being the electric motor in the steering column. This part was supposedly replaced by my local dealer when chevy put out a recall on it. The other part was the steering gear that turns the wheel. He said this could could cost up to $500 to replace and didn't want to take a chance and that not be it. I did not have the money to replace it any way. He said he did not see a safety issue driving the car as is for now. But I wanted to report the problem in case others with this vehicle are having the same issues so a recal can be done.

Steering column is faulty. Causes your steering wheel to tighten or completely lock up when making turns.

The car was taken in on 6/3/10 as a part of the recall of the electric power motor. Prior to that time there had been two incidents where all of a sudden the steering column would lock, the car would shut off and after stopping, and restarting the car would start. We thought the problem was solved. The week of February 15, 2011 two incidents happened with my daughter 21 years old in the car. The first was after she hit a small pot hole, the steering column locked she pulled over restarted the car. The same week she was driving on I-94 at 60 miles per hour the steering column locked, she was able to get to side of the road, and restart the car. On February 22 or 23, 2011 we took the car in to george matick Chevrolet to ask them to check the recall work because it was the same problem. The representatives there said that we had to pay $95. 00 for an inspection. They indicated that there was no problem with the recall work that they did, and more then likely it was an ignition switch that would have to be replaced and the cost for that would be approximately $500. 00 I would not pay for an inspection because this is exactly the same problem that we had previously and this is extremely dangerous as you can not tell when or how it will happen. The inspection of the recall work that they did was simply sitting behind the wheel of the car and attesting that there was no problem. I took the car to my normal mechanic who did a diagnostic and he could find nothing wrong and said we would have to wait until it failed again. The problem is that someone can get killed with this. This recall did not solve this problem or the motor I received in the car is still defective. I would like a definitive answer to this problem before someone gets hurt.

The power steering motor had a recall and when my car started having problems a short time later we took it in to have it replaced. A year and 2 days later, or 20,000 miles later, the power steering stopped working while driving again. We took the vehicle to the shop and was told by my mechanic that his supplier sells so many motors for the power steering that they had 64 on stock because they sold at least 10 a week. A week later the power steering went out again. We took the car back and was told that they investigated the problem and a site for mechanics where they can put in problems and try and get solutions from other mechanics that may have had the same problem had over 1,000 cases of the same problem and no resolution. We have since replaced the steering column because when they were putting the car back together they accidentally hit the steering column and everything went dead and they hit the steering column again and everything came back normal. We were told there is a short, there is a known problem (and yes, gm knows because they have had mechanics call them about the problem repeatedly) and still no resolution or recall to completely overhall the power steering system. There are 1,000's of Cobalts on the road from when we were told by the sales people that the car was safe that are not safe and no one is fixing it. There are known cases from where people have died due to the problem and still no resolution. . Read more...

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that after taking the vehicle into the dealer for NHTSA recall campaign id number: 10v073000 (steering: electronic power assists system) the vehicle started making a clicking sound whenever he made a left turn. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was taken to the dealer four times before it was determined that the steering column needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the vehicle was not experiencing the problem until after the recall repairs. The vehicle did not have a problem before the recall repair was done. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who refused to provide any assistance since they do not believed the failure was cause by the recall repairs. The failure mileage was 8,530 and the current mileage 19,000. Updated 12/5/12 updated 12/10/12.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the vehicle began to vibrate and veer to the right. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,859 and the current mileage was 100,000.