Problems with 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt STEERING

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact was driving approximately between 35 mph into a curve on normal road conditions. the vehicle steered uncontrollably out of the lane and crashed into another vehicle on the driver side. there was a loss power steering without warning. the police, fire department and ambulance were called to the scene. there were no personal injuries. the vehicle was towed to an independent auto shop. the vehicle was completely destroyed. the cause of failure has not been determined at this time. the failure mileage was unknown.

Power steering on my 2005 chevy cobalt (67,000 miles) keeps failing, without warning. this makes for a dangerous situation, especially on the curvy, rural roads i drive. i can hardly imagine what would happen on a highway. i understand this is a common problem with these cars and several similar models. *tr

Power steering goes out randomly. key gets stuck in ignition. *tr

On january 10th, 2010 our daughter [xxx] 21 yrs. old was killed in a car accident. we received a recall notice from gm in april 2010 on the car a 2005 chevy cobalt for power steering failure. the recall involves removing entire power steering mechanism built by a partially owned toyota factory. i knew the minute i got the news that my daughter was killed so violently and that it did not involve another car that it had to be mechanical failure. it was too late to save our daughter [xxx] but not too late to save others, i contacted gm who sent three representatives to the coparts scrap yard in duryea where the cobalt was stored in july to investigate the car accident. a photographer, an accident reconstructionist and a mechanical engineer that flew in from detroit, the objective was to remove the black box, computer from the car and analyze the data. we went to the scrap yard and for the first time saw the wreckage that was once a beautiful red sports car. all the windows including the sun roof were blown out, the cobalt had flipped, rolled, ejecting[xxx] on to the highway where she was run over. we are not sure if [xxx] was killed on impact. the cobalt burst into flames melting the instrument panel, shift, upholstery. at the coparts scrap yard in duryea, myself and my husband [xxx] father saw the car for the first time the cobalt told the story of an extremely violent wreck. i was told by [xxx] that i would know the results from the black box data the next day. when i tried to contact gm through [xxx]that they would not communicate with our family. gm has my property and they will not release the data without us providing proof that the car was defective. this is not possible since they took the most valuable piece of information from the car. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

The steering went out on the car with 42,000 miles on it. happens all the time some one is going to get hurt if this problem does not get rectified. *tr

2005, while driving down a paved doing about 45mph the steering went out causing my car to run into a ditch; resulting in body and mechanical damage. *tr

My 2005 chevy cobalt lost power steering while driving down the road, and my wife narrowly avoided a head on collision. rather than head into on-coming traffic, she swerved toward the shoulder hitting a mailbox. i wish a gm engineer was standing there instead of the mailbox. *tr

2005 chevy cobalt car. power steering failure, speedometer and rpm needles jump up and down like crazy, engine stalls, when press gas and brake pedals, car jerks forwards and backwards, warning lights on dashboards go on and off. when steering wheel failure happens, very very difficult to turn the wheel, almost locked up. this happens almost every day now and it's almost undrivable. only 55,000 miles on the car. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated her daughter perished in a violent car crash on january 10, 2010 and believed the crash was a result of a defective power steering module. the police officer who handled the crash stated the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed, the vehicle flipped several times and the driver was ejected from the vehicle and run over. a police report was filed accordingly. on april 10, 2010, the contact received notification that the vehicle was recalled (nhtsa campaign id number: 10v073000: steering: electric power assist) due to a defect in the steering module. the vehicle was totaled. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure and current mileages were 50,000. .. updated 08-07-12 *bf the consumer also stated the vehicle burst into flames, melting the instrument panel and other components.

Tl*the contact has a 2005 chevorlet cobalt. the contact stated that the power steering locked while driving approximately 45 mph. the problem has occurred while driving various speeds. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 75000 and the current mileage was 75212.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated while driving at 60 mph the power steering light would flash and the power steering would go off on the vehicle. the contact has to turn off the vehicle and then restart it for the power steering to work again. this happens while the vehicle is making turns as well. the manufacturer informed the contact that since their is not a recall the manufacturer is not responsible for the repairs. the contact feels a recall should be issue regarding the power steering. failure mileage was 106,000.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. while driving approximately 45 mph on normal road conditions the "power steering" warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. immediately, there was a loss of power steering. the driver continued operation with caution which required higher effort to turn the steering wheel. the warning indicator remained illuminated until the engine was turned off. the vehicle was able to resume normal operation whenever the engine was turned off and restarted. the vehicle has not been repaired at this time. the failure occurred intermittently. updated 02/17/10. *lj updated 02/17/10

On january 10th, 2010 our daughter [xxx] 21 yrs. old was killed in a car accident. we received a recall notice from gm in april 2010 on the car a 2005 chevy cobalt for power steering failure. the recall involves removing entire power steering mechanism built by a partially owned toyota factory. i knew the minute i got the news that my daughter was killed so violently and that it did not involve another car that it had to be mechanical failure. it was too late to save our daughter [xxx] but not too late to save others, i contacted gm who sent three representatives to the coparts scrap yard in duryea where the cobalt was stored in july to investigate the car accident. a photographer, an accident reconstruction and a mechanical engineer that flew in from detroit, the objective was to remove the black box, computer from the car and analyze the data. we went to the scrap yard and for the first time saw the wreckage that was once a beautiful red sports car. all the windows including the sun roof were blown out, the cobalt had flipped, rolled, ejecting [xxx] on to the highway where she was run over. we are not sure if [xxx] was killed on impact. the cobalt burst into flames melting the instrument panel, shift, upholstery. at the coparts scrap yard in duryea, myself and my husband [xxx] father saw the car for the first time the cobalt told the story of an extremely violent wreck. i was told by [xxx]that i would know the results from the black box data the next day. when i tried to contact gm through [xxx], miss price that they would not communicate with our family. gm has my property and they will not release the data without us providing proof that the car was defective. this is not possible since they took the most valuable piece of information from the car. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

On jan.9th while i was driving, power steering light came on briefly. all of a sudden lost power steering. could not control car. luckily, i was able to get car off the side of the road. i turned call off. restarted it and while driving it again it was hard to steer. took car to dealer. they fixed it. they replaced ps electric assist motor. *tr

I had just taken an exit off the interstate and was going to make a left turn. as i was beginning to turn the power steering failed in my 2005 chevy cobalt. an eighteen wheeler was also making a left turn in the lane to the right of me. it took all the muscle i had to keep the car from veering in front of the truck which would have caused a very serious accident. i pulled into a parking lot and turned the car off. when i started it again the steering worked fine again for about a mile, then went out again. i sent gm an email to inform them of this problem and to let them know how concerned i was that someone could be seriously injured or killed. i contacted my local chevy dealership and they said that they had seen this problem happening in cobalts. i took it in to be repaired, but since there had not been a recall i had to pay the $768.12 to have the steering column replaced. i have heard that this is a common problem with cobalts and i have asked gm to do the right thing and recall these cars before someone is injured or killed. *tr

Tl-*he contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated that when she was driving down the road at approx 55 mph and the power steering failed. she tried to turn around a curb and had no power steering which made for a difficult time turning. she stated that the longer the vehicle had no power steering, the more she felt as if the entire steering system was locking up altogether. she noticed the problem every time she drove the vehicle. she took the vehicle to the dealership and was told that they could not duplicate the problem and the vehicle was alright to drive without the power steering. they told her that it just made the vehicle harder to drive. she had not spoken with the manufacturer to-date. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage was 46,503. the failure mileage was approximately 42,000.

My power steering went has gone out on my 2005 chevy cobalt while i was driving many times. *tr

I was driving down a very busy road when suddenly the reader suddenly said power steering. then the power steering stopped working. i couldn't turn the wheel with out a very hard turn with both hands. i finally got to safe spot and called for help. when help came it was working . then when the car got to about 40 miles per hour it suddenly stopped working again & didn't begin working again. i called the dealer. they were going to charge $100 just to check it. so i took it to a car shop that said it was the motor in the power steering. he said it would cost between $500 to $1000 dollars to fix. i went ahead and got him to order the new power steering motor. it ended up costing around $600 to fix. then i saw on the news that it may be being recalled & alot of other people where having the same problem. this car is only 5 years old & only has like 80,000 miles on it. *jb

Power steering failed suddenly while driving the vehicle. the first warning sign was approximately 2 beeps from the dash followed by the words "power steering" on the driver information display. power steering failure resulted in a significant increase in force to steer the vehicle especially at low speeds. the failure occurred at a slow rate of speed while traveling straight. this particular failure resulted in no loss of control, however, it easily could have should i have been trying to maneuver the vehicle in traffic. after shutting the vehicle off and immediately starting it again, the power steering worked as expected. this was repeated several times after power steering failure and every time the vehicle was shut off and restarted, the power steering would work as expected. the vehicle is currently at the dealer being repaired. i was told the failure was in the power steering motor and the power steering control module. i have asked for the old parts back. *tr

Power steering failure. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact was driving approximately 20 mph on normal road conditions. a chime sounded inside of the vehicle, followed by the "power steering" warning light indicator which illuminated on the instrument control panel. immediately, there was a loss of power steering. the driver pulled over to the side of the road which required higher effort to turn the steering wheel. the engine was turned off and restarted. the vehicle was able to resume normal operation. the failures occurred intermittently. the vehicle is in the process of being repaired for the malfunctions. the vin was unavailable. the failure and current mileages were 82,200.

I am the owner of a 2005 chevy cobalt with 26,000 miles on it. recently the power steering goes out at random while i am operating the vehicle. i have found that hundreds of other people have posted the same problem on the internet and i am sure that there are many more people experiencing the same issue. i am not sure why this has not been recalled yet due to the fact that this could seriously injure someone. the steering wheel becomes almost impossible to turn when it goes out, so an elderly person could easily lose control of the vehicle. does someone have to get injured or killed before this problem is fixed? *tr

My 2005 chevy cobalt suddenly lost power steering while driving. it would occur everyday on and off. i would have to re-start the car in order for the power steering to come back on. if the power steering was off i couldn't turn the car (being 7 months pregnant). we had to take it in to a dealership to fix the problem and it cost an outrageous amount. i have heard this is common in these vehicles and is unacceptable. although it did not lead to a crash in my case it very well could've. *tr

Driving down the road and at any random point the power steering light goes on, now the steering wheel is extremely hard to turn. this occurs on a daily basis. the amount of times this happens is very random. the most times it has happened in a day is 7 driving within a 30 mile radius. the only temporary thing to fix it is try to safely pull off the road and shut the car off and start it back up, but it can go out again within the next mile. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated that the power steering assist failed. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and repairs were made accordingly. on a separate occasion while driving at speeds of 60 mph, the power steering assist failed a second time. the contact later received notification of a recall (nhtsa campaign id number 10v073000: steering: electric power assist system) but has not taken the vehicle to the dealer to be repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 49,000 and the approximate current mileage was 66,600.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated the power steering had failed. as she was driving, it locked and the steering could not be turned to the left or to the right. the vehicle had to be turned off and back on to reset itself. the contact had not called the dealer. she stated she will be calling on the day this compliant was filed.the failure mileage was 56,000.

My 2005 chevy cobalt power steering went completely dead on me a couple days ago. it just all of a sudden stopped steering and had to stop in the middle of road and call wrecker to tow it home. i went to a autoparts store so they could take a look at it and they said to call my dealership because it was a electrical problem. i called the dealership and they said it would cost me $1800.00 to fix. i did research and found that hundreds of people have had this problem on their cobalts as well. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact was driving approximately 40 mph on normal road conditions. a chime sounded inside of the vehicle. immediately, the "power steering" warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel, followed by a loss of power steering. the driver pulled over to the side of the road which required higher effort to turn the steering wheel. the engine was turned off. the vehicle restarted and resumed normal operation. the failure occurred intermittent. the vehicle has not been repaired at this time. the failure mileage was 120,000. the vin was unavailable.

2005 chevy cobalt power steering failure. can not steer car if this happens. this is an on going problem with several complaints this needs to be addressed. problem occurs daily and is a safety hazard for car to be driven. however you have to drive to keep your job to make the payments on the car. in the process of trying to find affordable solution. *tr

2005 chevy cobalt 32 587 miles. driving on icy roads after shopping for a new couch, the power steering warning flashed and then i had no power steering. i pulled into a service station. i tried to check the fluid level to notice that my car has no power steering fluid, it has electric power steering. i turned the car off, it reset itself. less than a mile down the road it repeated the warning and again no power steering on icy roads. i came home and looked online to see if there was a solution to this problem or a recall. i then found out that this is a frequent occurrence on the chevy cobalt. i contacted gm and was told take it to a service center, there is no recall and that i was out of warranty so any costs would be on me to pay for. this is a major safety problem. i cannot believe that this has not been addressed by a recall, and i am respectfully requesting this matter be looked into. all i had to type in was "chevy cobalt power steering" and found numerous pages of people who have had the same problem. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated that the power steering constantly goes out, which has happened since he purchased the vehicle new. the contact stated that he has had three crashes due to these failures. while driving about 10 mph going down a hill the contact was trying to avoid a parked car when the power steering failed. the contact crashed into the parked vehicle. the dealer was contacted about the failures and the contact was told the the repair would be expensive. the urrent mileage was 54,542 miles.

2005 chevy cobalt- in the last two weeks my cobalt has become a death trap. how is it the chevy can get away with allowing a known issue that can cause death or serious injury continue? i have had my cobalt to the mechanic for a power steering issue. you drive down the road the red light indicating power steering comes and an you then loose the ability to control your vehicle. i plan to take this to the media and do whatever else i can to make chevy accountable for the crap they build. *tr

This scenario has happened numerous times: start engine, engage in driving after giving time for engine to idle down, begin to drive, all gauges go to 0 or blank out, power steering is lost, fuel gauge shows empty when driving with a full tank or less, rpm gauge states 0 when engine is still noticeably running, cid displays "pwr steering" indicating it is out. the only fix? turn off car, unplug battery terminal, wait 5 minutes, attach terminal, drive again. but the check engine light remains on for a day or two. this normally happens once a week and no dealers say there's a problem reading on my ecu/pcm. i'm so fed up with this. my car is a 2005 model and this has never been corrected.

My power steering on my 2005 chevy cobalt goes out. i have about 23,000 miles on my car. when i drive, the power steering just goes, it's very hard to continue to drive. it basically is a constant problem as well. *tr

I own a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. i bought the car used with 37,000 mi. it now has 49,500 mi. a few weeks ago the alarm sounded while driving and the power steering failed. i pulled over checked under the hood and found no power steering belt. checked the manual to find it to be electronic. started the car and the power returned. it has been failing intermittently. i planned to take it for repair, but found on the web that it cost $1,000.00. as i save up for the cost it fails every few days or so. i would think this could be very dangerous in a curve or defensive driving incident. inexperienced drivers could have serious difficulties. the alarm does not sound every time. i felt the wheel tug to the left looked down and saw the power steering warning on the dash. *tr

1. driving at speeds of 45-55 mph. 2. 2005 chevy cobalt electronic power steering problem. my car out of no where will constantly feels like the car is going to die, jerks like i was driving over huge potholes and rumbles. so far it has happened 4 times but i haven't driving the car much since i just delivered my first child in november. i'm afraid to drive my newborn in my car! 3. i have not fixed my car since i do not drive it much until i go back to work. this chevy cobalt problem should be recalled since it is the most popular problem over the internet. youtube, automotive problem and forum sites have multiple owners with the same problem. the part is the electronic power steering in the steering column which costs over a $1000! as a concerned new mother who doesn't have $1000 laying around to spend on my car, please force gm to make a recall. thank you. *tr

Power steering indicator comes on while driving and the power steering goes out. *tr

The power steering on my 2005 chevy cobalt randomly shut off. the light will come on and give an indication of "power steering". once the light comes on the wheel is extremely difficult to turn. if i turn the car off, and then back on it works again for approximately 20 minutes then shuts off again. the first time this happened i was driving home from work, pulling into my driveway, and the power steering light comes on. as i turned into my driveway the wheel became extremely difficult to move, and i crashed into a telephone pole. i am relatively fine from the crash except for some back and neck pain, but my car is cracked in the front. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact was driving approximately 45 mph on normal road conditions; there was a loss of power steering. suddenly, the "power steering" warning light indicator illuminated on the instrument panel. the driver continued operation with caution. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. the steering column and motor kit were replaced at an estimated cost of $1,000. the failure mileage was 109,000. js

My 2005 chevy cobalt power steering will fail without warning at random times. there is nothing that i do as a driver to cause it so far has i can tell. it will fail at any speed and in a curve or on a straight road. i've had this problem for about five weeks now. the first week it did it once a day, the second week it only failed once. the following two weeks it would fail anywhere from twenty seconds to one hour from starting the vehicle. the fifth week i only drove it once and the power steering stopped working in the middle of a sharp corner on a country road and i had to have the car pulled out of a ditch. if i shut the car off and restart it the power steering works again. maybe for the rest of the day, maybe for only five seconds. there is no rhyme or reason for the timing of the failures. after the second day i called the dealer where i bought the car. they said that it was a common problem with the cobalt and said that the entire steering column would need replaced with a price between $1500.00 and $2200.00. very pricey! then after the first week i searched "chevy cobalt power steering" on the internet, and was shocked by what i saw. over one hundred hits on the issue with page after page of horror stories of the same problem with power steering failure. so this issue is hardly unknown. and with tonight's mention of it on the cbs nightly news, it will hopefully gain some more attention. please do not let this end up like the toyota recall and let people die before it gets fixed, because it's only a matter of time. i have since stopped driving the vehicle that i still owe several thousand dollars on, and have been borrowing rides from friends and family. being in the same position has 14.8% of america, unemployed, there is no way that i can currently afford the cost of the repair. and from what i've read online from other victims, even if i was still under my extended warranty, i would still have to pay since it doesn't cover the steering column. help!!! *tr

Power steering would fail at any time. i couldn't steer the car. it was very dangerous especially on the highway. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated that while it was parked with the engine running, the power steering light illuminated and the steering locked. this has occurred about a total of 6 times. the vehicle has not been driven ever since it locked up. the failure only occurs whenever the vehicle is turned on . the dealer was contacted and they asked the contact to bring in the vehicle, however the contact has not taken the vehicle to the dealer because the power steering will lock up . there have been no repairs done to the vehicle. the failure and current mileage was 55493.

Tl*the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. while driving, the power steering failed both at low speeds and high speeds including approximately 35 mph. the failure occurred 7 to 8 times beginning on 12/26/09. the steering wheel became very difficult to turn and suddenly; the problem would correct itself and occasionally it could take longer. he has not taken the vehicle to the dealer at the time of the complaint nor had he spoken with the manufacturer. the vehicle has not been diagnosed or repaired to-date. the current mileage was approximately 38,000. the failure mileage was approximately 35,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated while driving, she lost power steering capabilities making it extremely difficult to turn on two different occasions. the power steering light illuminated on the dashboard and then the power steering would fail. she turned the vehicle off and re-started it; the problem seemed to correct itself after she re-started it. she took the vehicle to a repair shop and was told that they could find nothing wrong with the vehicle. she called the dealership and was informed that there was no recall for the problem. she had not called the manufacturer to-date. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the current mileage is 94,000 and the failure mileage was approximately 93,000. updated 03/04/10 *bf re-mailed 04/20/2010 added vin. updated 04/29/10/*jb updated 5/6/10 *cn

Power steering failed without warning while driving,almost resulting in crash. the vehicle beeps and displays "power steering" on the screen in the dash when it fails.turning the vehicle off then on restores power steering,but after approx. a quarter mile of driving it fails again. there are hundreds of similar complaints listed online from other owners of the same vehicle. *tr

2005 chevy cobalt lt power steering repeatedly goes out while driving. news reports of your investigation today are saying this happens at low speed. it consistently happens to me while driving at highway speed on my daily commute to/from work, usually in heavy traffic on the dallas freeways. it first began to happen on christmas eve 2009, and now happens daily. it is very frightening, dangerous and expensive to repair. this is a safety problem that chevrolet should take responsibility for. it is not caused by normal wear and tear... it is happening to too many people. go to: http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-cobalt/t8fmsuqb7v2dth5jh thank you very much for investigating this matter. *tr

The power steering on my 2005 chevrolet cobalt failed two days ago while driving the vehicle. *tr

2005 chevy cobalt sudden power steering failure while driving on freeway in dallas, tx. there was no warning or problems prior to power steering going out, and we were in heavy traffic in an area with several curves in the road. this was very frightening and extremely dangerous. after turning vehicle off and back on, ps worked for a few minutes then went out again and continued like this for remainder of trip. there are many reports of this exact same issue from other cobalt owners on the internet forums. see http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-cobalt/t8fmsuqb7v2dth5jh this is an electrical issue and a design flaw in the cobalt. i was told by dealership service department that the steering column would most likely need to be replaced and was quoted repair cost ranging from $1000-$2000. my warranty has expired, and i cannot afford this at this time. chevy needs to do something to fix this before there are injuries/deaths. *tr

My wife was driving to pick me up from work. when the car ding and the power steering message flashed across the dash. then when she tried to make the turn she realized that she couldn't move the steering wheel. the vehicle only has 58,000 miles. she turned the car off and it worked for a minute then it went out again when another turn was made. luckily she wasn't in really bad traffic but something. this is a big problem for a lot of people and needs to be looked into before someone gets into an accident which could have been prevented. *tr

I have a 2005 chevy cobalt and while driving down i-26 my power steering alarm came on, and i no longer had power steering. i got the car off the highway and called the dealer. they told me that the entire steering column has to be replaced. *tr