2006 CHEVROLET COBALT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 2,317 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (1,147 complaints · 49.5%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 162
  • Fires 14
  • Injuries 196
  • Deaths 8
Compare with 2005 →
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 1,147 of 2,317 owner complaints (49.5%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 1,147 complaints, 49.5% of reports STEERING 1,147 · 49.5% · 58 crash reports 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 425 complaints, 18.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 425 · 18.3% · 4 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 247 complaints, 10.7% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 247 · 10.7% · 22 crash reports 4 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 95 complaints, 4.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 95 · 4.1% · 7 crash reports ENGINE: 80 complaints, 3.5% of reports ENGINE 80 · 3.5% · 5 crash reports 2 fire reports AIR BAGS: 76 complaints, 3.3% of reports AIR BAGS 76 · 3.3% · 42 crash reports 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 35 complaints, 1.5% of reports SUSPENSION 35 · 1.5% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 31 complaints, 1.3% of reports STRUCTURE 31 · 1.3% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 24 complaints, 1.0% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 24 · 1.0% · 4 crash reports 1 fire reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 521 complaints, 22.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 521 · 22.5% · 37 crash reports 5 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 1,147 49.5% 58 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 425 18.3% 0 crashes · 4 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 247 10.7% 22 crashes · 4 fires
POWER TRAIN 95 4.1% 7 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 80 3.5% 5 crashes · 2 fires
AIR BAGS 76 3.3% 42 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 35 1.5% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 31 1.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 24 1.0% 4 crashes · 1 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 521 22.5% 37 crashes · 5 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 Oct 2005. 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2006-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2006-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2007-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2007-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2007-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2007-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2008-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2008-Q2: 15 owner reports 15 2008-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2008-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2009-Q1: 39 owner reports 39 2009-Q2: 52 owner reports 52 2009-Q3: 150 owner reports 150 2009-Q4: 176 owner reports 176 2010-Q1: 413 owner reports 413 2010-Q2: 68 owner reports 68 2010-Q3: 62 owner reports 62 2010-Q4: 39 owner reports 39 2011-Q1: 30 owner reports 30 2011-Q2: 33 owner reports 33 2011-Q3: 59 owner reports 59 2011-Q4: 35 owner reports 35 2012-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2012-Q2: 26 owner reports 26 2012-Q3: 66 owner reports 66 2012-Q4: 41 owner reports 41 2013-Q1: 39 owner reports 39 2013-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2013-Q3: 20 owner reports 20 2013-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2014-Q1: 80 owner reports 80 2014-Q2: 108 owner reports 108 2014-Q3: 62 owner reports 62 2014-Q4: 43 owner reports 43 2015-Q1: 43 owner reports 43 2015-Q2: 23 owner reports 23 2015-Q3: 41 owner reports 41 2015-Q4: 31 owner reports 31 2016-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2016-Q2: 24 owner reports 24 2016-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2016-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2017-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2017-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2017-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2017-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2018-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2018-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2018-Q3: 15 owner reports 15 2018-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2019-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 2019-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2019-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2019-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2020-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 2020-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2020-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2021-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2021-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2021-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2022-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2022-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Oct 2005 Jul 2025 Investigation PE10005 ● Investigation PE10005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 10
2006-Q2 Owner reports 7
2006-Q3 Owner reports 5
2006-Q4 Owner reports 13
2007-Q1 Owner reports 10
2007-Q2 Owner reports 8
2007-Q3 Owner reports 15
2007-Q4 Owner reports 12
2008-Q1 Owner reports 9
2008-Q2 Owner reports 15
2008-Q3 Owner reports 27
2008-Q4 Owner reports 15
2009-Q1 Owner reports 39
2009-Q2 Owner reports 52
2009-Q3 Owner reports 150
2009-Q4 Owner reports 176
2010-Q1 Owner reports 413
2010-Q2 Owner reports 68
2010-Q3 Owner reports 62
2010-Q4 Owner reports 39
2011-Q1 Owner reports 30
2011-Q2 Owner reports 33
2011-Q3 Owner reports 59
2011-Q4 Owner reports 35
2012-Q1 Owner reports 29
2012-Q2 Owner reports 26
2012-Q3 Owner reports 66
2012-Q4 Owner reports 41
2013-Q1 Owner reports 39
2013-Q2 Owner reports 23
2013-Q3 Owner reports 20
2013-Q4 Owner reports 12
2014-Q1 Owner reports 80
2014-Q2 Owner reports 108
2014-Q3 Owner reports 62
2014-Q4 Owner reports 43
2015-Q1 Owner reports 43
2015-Q2 Owner reports 23
2015-Q3 Owner reports 41
2015-Q4 Owner reports 31
2016-Q1 Owner reports 24
2016-Q2 Owner reports 24
2016-Q3 Owner reports 27
2016-Q4 Owner reports 21
2017-Q1 Owner reports 21
2017-Q2 Owner reports 16
2017-Q3 Owner reports 12
2017-Q4 Owner reports 15
2018-Q1 Owner reports 11
2018-Q2 Owner reports 12
2018-Q3 Owner reports 15
2018-Q4 Owner reports 10
2019-Q1 Owner reports 13
2019-Q2 Owner reports 8
2019-Q3 Owner reports 5
2019-Q4 Owner reports 10
2020-Q1 Owner reports 8
2020-Q2 Owner reports 7
2020-Q3 Owner reports 13
2020-Q4 Owner reports 6
2021-Q1 Owner reports 6
2021-Q2 Owner reports 4
2021-Q3 Owner reports 4
2021-Q4 Owner reports 8
2022-Q1 Owner reports 4
2022-Q2 Owner reports 2
2022-Q3 Owner reports 6
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 3
2023-Q3 Owner reports 3
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 3
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
2025-Q3 Owner reports 3
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 2,317 complaints · page 1 of 93

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