2006 Chevrolet Cobalt problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Steering (1178) · Fuel/Propulsion System (239) · Electrical System (141)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Cobalt model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
1,944 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (4)
Electrical System:ignition:switch 2014-04-30 · campaign 14E021000 · 14,529 vehicles
Defect: UCI-FRAM Group is recalling certain LS1328 ignition Switches sold as Wells LS1328, Duralast LS1328, Airtex 1S6097, and Carquest 53-27479, and LS1497 Ignition Switches sold as Wells LS1497, Duralast LS1497, Airtex 1S10961, and Carquest 53-27967, for use on various General Motors model and model year vehicles during repair and replacement of the original ignition switch. The weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the affected ignition switches to move
Risk: If the ignition switch moves from the run position to accessory, the car would stall and the air bags will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of personal injury to the occupants.
Fix: UCI-FRAM Group has notified its purchasers to quarantine and return all inventory. Any switches already installed in vehicles will be replaced by GM dealers as part of NHTSA recall 14V-047, free of charge. UCI-Fram's purchasers should contact UCI-FRAM Group at 1-800-890-2075. GM vehicle owners requiring additional information on that recall campaign should contact GM at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac) or 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn).
Electrical System:ignition 2014-04-10 · campaign 14V171000 · 2,191,014 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2005-2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 2006-2011 Chevrolet HHR, 2007-2010 Pontiac G5, 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice, 2003-2007 Saturn Ion, and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the key can be removed from the ignition when the ignition is not in the "Off" position.
Risk: If the key can be removed from the ignition when the ignition is not in the "off" position, the vehicle could roll away: (a) for an automatic transmission, if the transmission is not in the "Park" position; or (b) for a manual transmission, if the parking brake is not engaged and the transmission is not in the "Reverse" position. This potential for rollaway increases the risk for a crash and occup
Fix: General Motors will notify owners, and for vehicles that were built with the defective ignition cylinder and have not previously had the ignition cylinder replaced with the redesigned part, dealers will replace the ignition cylinder and cut and, if necessary, re-learn two ignition/door keys for each vehicle. For vehicles that were built with the redesigned ignition cylinder or had the ignition cylinder replaced with the redesigned part, dealers will cut and, if necessary, re-learn two ignition
Air Bags 2014-02-10 · campaign 14V047000 · 2,190,934 vehicles
Defect: This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on February 10, 2014 that they are recalling 619,122 model year 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, and 2007 Pontiac G5 vehicles. On February 25, 2014, GM increased the recall to include an additional 748,0
Risk: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ignition switch, free of charge. An interim notification was issued to owners of 2007 and earlier models on March 10, 2014, informing them of the safety defect. Owners of 2008 and later vehicles will be mailed an interim letter on April 21, 2014. All affected owners will receive another letter once parts are available. The recall began on April 18, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, Pontiac at 1-800-762-2737 or Saturn at
Steering:electric Power Assist System 2010-03-03 · campaign 10V073000 · 1,050,889 vehicles
Defect: GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2005-2010 CHEVROLET COBALT AND MODEL YEAR 2007-2010 PONTIAC G5 VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. THE DRIVER MAY EXPERIENCE A SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST THAT COULD OCCUR AT ANY TIME WHILE DRIVING.
Risk: IF POWER STEERING ASSIST IS LOST, IT WOULD REQUIRE GREATER DRIVER EFFORT AT LOW VEHICLE SPEEDS, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Fix: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MOTOR FREE OF CHARGE. OWNERS ARE BEING NOTIFIED ON A ROLLING BASIS BETWEEN MARCH 29 THROUGH NOVEMBER 2010. A COPY OF THE MAILING SCHEDULE IS LOCATED IN THE RECALL FILE. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438 AND PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
Service bulletins (796)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-02-20 · PIP5358D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an unusual noise and is difficult to identify, isolate or pinpoint. technician should get record a sound clip or take a video of the noise for assessment by engineering. technician will need to
Unknown Or Other 2024-12-07 · PIT5074Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads. the j-35616-64b is the latest test probe released for checking tension or probing the .64 series terminals. the test probe
Showing the 6 most recent of 796 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-09-18 · Unknown Or Other“all of these failed again after repair, the car hes been disabled for over 2 years with the same failures. < dealer recalls 14115 dec 5, 2014 product safety - electric power steering assist 14113c jul 17, 2014 product safety - replace ignition lock cylinder and ignition key 14113 jul 17, 2014 product safety - replace ignition lock cylinder and igni…”
2025-07-25 · Fuel System, Gasoline“the contact’s wife owns a 2006 chevrolet cobalt. the contact stated there was an abnormal fuel odor inside the cabin of the vehicle. while exiting the vehicle, the contact became aware that there was an oil leak underneath the rear end of the vehicle, and the fuel odor was more evident. there were no warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was jerk…”
2025-07-13 · Fuel/Propulsion System“the fuel tank has an evap leak that somehow breaks on top the tank so it leaks the gas vapors and could potentially start a fire but the part that breaks is a non serviceable part so it can’t be fixed without purchasing a whole new gas tank that isn’t cheap. my other concern is the infamous grounding issue with the wires on the ground g105 i believ…”
2025-06-19 · Steering“i have been experiencing the loss of steering assist. this occurs at any time while driving and that, once assist is lost, a message is displayed on the driver information center (dic) and a chime sounds. steering control is maintained in manual mode, but requires greater driver effort at low vehicle speeds. in the next ignition cycle, power assi…”
2024-09-26 · Steering“my power steering is going out and then coming back in to use. today is the second time it has happened. it went out just now, i reversed down the road to my house, and turn it off once i crank it again the steering is back. i haven’t gotten any pictures of it as i’m more worried about making it back to my house so i’m not in the road but will be m…”
2024-09-07 · Steering“was driving home from work on i70 through the canyon when out of no where i wasn't able to steer my car...was able to stop the car, turned it off .waited a minute then started back up that is when power steering came across my dash .nothing was wrong with my car ,drove normal then out of nowhere going the speed limit 75mph. i'm not able to steer m…”
2024-07-24 · Unknown Or Other“the car idles very low when stopped and sputters/putters like it's going to die. it has now actually died on me twice while driving, luckily when you put it in park and turn the car off and back on it starts right back up but you can see how this is a severe safety hazard. the first time it died i was stopped in the turning lane waiting on traffic …”
2024-02-22 · Steering“strong smell of fuel affraid to drive the igntion get stuck and locks so you cant turn the car on…”
2023-08-31 · Unknown Or Other“i took the vehicle in for a recall repair to the ignition. after the repair, my key did not open my trunk. this is a huge problem because the battery is located in the trunk. you need power to open the trunk without a key. if your battery fails, you have no way to access it for repairs. i e-mailed the dealer who responded by advising me to c…”
2023-07-21 · Steering“while driving the car, it will suddenly stall w the engine running but won’t react the use of the brakes, steering or gear shifter. it’ll suddenly jerk and the following lights will appear on dash :abs, power steering, no brake fluid warning, low fuel warning and check engine. all of the areas have been check and have all their fluids so this doesn…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.