2005 CHEVROLET COBALT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 1,619 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (995 complaints · 61.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 93
  • Fires 12
  • Injuries 65
  • Deaths 8
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NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 995 of 1,619 owner complaints (61.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 995 complaints, 61.5% of reports STEERING 995 · 61.5% · 43 crash reports 6 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 180 complaints, 11.1% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 180 · 11.1% · 6 crash reports ENGINE: 74 complaints, 4.6% of reports ENGINE 74 · 4.6% · 2 crash reports 2 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 60 complaints, 3.7% of reports POWER TRAIN 60 · 3.7% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 47 complaints, 2.9% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 47 · 2.9% · 2 fire reports SUSPENSION: 33 complaints, 2.0% of reports SUSPENSION 33 · 2.0% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 32 complaints, 2.0% of reports AIR BAGS 32 · 2.0% · 18 crash reports STRUCTURE: 28 complaints, 1.7% of reports STRUCTURE 28 · 1.7% · 5 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 25 complaints, 1.5% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 25 · 1.5% · 5 crash reports 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 333 complaints, 20.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 333 · 20.6% · 18 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 995 61.5% 43 crashes · 6 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 180 11.1% 6 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 74 4.6% 2 crashes · 2 fires
POWER TRAIN 60 3.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 47 2.9% 0 crashes · 2 fires
SUSPENSION 33 2.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 32 2.0% 18 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 28 1.7% 5 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 25 1.5% 5 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 333 20.6% 18 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2005. 2005-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2005-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2005-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2005-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2006-Q1: 18 owner reports 18 2006-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2006-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2006-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2007-Q1: 7 owner reports 7 2007-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2007-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2007-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2008-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2008-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2008-Q3: 35 owner reports 35 2008-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2009-Q1: 39 owner reports 39 2009-Q2: 50 owner reports 50 2009-Q3: 133 owner reports 133 2009-Q4: 109 owner reports 109 2010-Q1: 385 owner reports 385 2010-Q2: 40 owner reports 40 2010-Q3: 28 owner reports 28 2010-Q4: 17 owner reports 17 2011-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2011-Q2: 20 owner reports 20 2011-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2011-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2012-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2012-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2012-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2012-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2013-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2013-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2013-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2013-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q1: 58 owner reports 58 2014-Q2: 66 owner reports 66 2014-Q3: 35 owner reports 35 2014-Q4: 29 owner reports 29 2015-Q1: 25 owner reports 25 2015-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2015-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q4: 18 owner reports 18 2016-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2016-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2016-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2017-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2017-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2017-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2017-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2018-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2018-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2018-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2019-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2020-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2020-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2021-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2005 Jan 2026 Investigation PE10005 ● Investigation PE10005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2005-Q1 Owner reports 7
2005-Q2 Owner reports 7
2005-Q3 Owner reports 18
2005-Q4 Owner reports 12
2006-Q1 Owner reports 18
2006-Q2 Owner reports 12
2006-Q3 Owner reports 9
2006-Q4 Owner reports 11
2007-Q1 Owner reports 7
2007-Q2 Owner reports 8
2007-Q3 Owner reports 12
2007-Q4 Owner reports 9
2008-Q1 Owner reports 14
2008-Q2 Owner reports 14
2008-Q3 Owner reports 35
2008-Q4 Owner reports 31
2009-Q1 Owner reports 39
2009-Q2 Owner reports 50
2009-Q3 Owner reports 133
2009-Q4 Owner reports 109
2010-Q1 Owner reports 385
2010-Q2 Owner reports 40
2010-Q3 Owner reports 28
2010-Q4 Owner reports 17
2011-Q1 Owner reports 25
2011-Q2 Owner reports 20
2011-Q3 Owner reports 18
2011-Q4 Owner reports 14
2012-Q1 Owner reports 12
2012-Q2 Owner reports 11
2012-Q3 Owner reports 9
2012-Q4 Owner reports 11
2013-Q1 Owner reports 13
2013-Q2 Owner reports 11
2013-Q3 Owner reports 16
2013-Q4 Owner reports 11
2014-Q1 Owner reports 58
2014-Q2 Owner reports 66
2014-Q3 Owner reports 35
2014-Q4 Owner reports 29
2015-Q1 Owner reports 25
2015-Q2 Owner reports 16
2015-Q3 Owner reports 12
2015-Q4 Owner reports 18
2016-Q1 Owner reports 17
2016-Q2 Owner reports 10
2016-Q3 Owner reports 17
2016-Q4 Owner reports 12
2017-Q1 Owner reports 4
2017-Q2 Owner reports 9
2017-Q3 Owner reports 9
2017-Q4 Owner reports 8
2018-Q1 Owner reports 11
2018-Q2 Owner reports 6
2018-Q3 Owner reports 6
2018-Q4 Owner reports 4
2019-Q1 Owner reports 3
2019-Q2 Owner reports 5
2019-Q3 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 3
2020-Q1 Owner reports 4
2020-Q2 Owner reports 3
2020-Q3 Owner reports 5
2020-Q4 Owner reports 4
2021-Q1 Owner reports 5
2021-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 2
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2023-Q4 Owner reports 3
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE10005
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 1,619 complaints · page 1 of 65

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources