2009 CHEVROLET COBALT — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 705 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (254 complaints · 36.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 58
  • Fires 7
  • Injuries 41
  • Deaths 5
Compare with 2008 →
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 FUEL SYSTEM appears in 254 of 705 owner complaints (36.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 254 complaints, 36.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 254 · 36.0% · 2 crash reports 4 fire reports STEERING: 178 complaints, 25.3% of reports STEERING 178 · 25.3% · 21 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 104 complaints, 14.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 104 · 14.8% · 4 crash reports AIR BAGS: 35 complaints, 5.0% of reports AIR BAGS 35 · 5.0% · 8 crash reports ENGINE: 26 complaints, 3.7% of reports ENGINE 26 · 3.7% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 17 complaints, 2.4% of reports POWER TRAIN 17 · 2.4% · 2 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 17 complaints, 2.4% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 17 · 2.4% · 9 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 12 complaints, 1.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 · 1.7% · 3 crash reports WHEELS: 8 complaints, 1.1% of reports WHEELS 8 · 1.1% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 127 complaints, 18.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 127 · 18.0% · 16 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)
FUEL SYSTEM 254 36.0% 2 crashes · 4 fires
STEERING 178 25.3% 21 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 104 14.8% 4 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 35 5.0% 8 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 26 3.7% 2 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 17 2.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 17 2.4% 9 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 1.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 8 1.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 127 18.0% 16 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 Jul 2008. 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2009-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2010-Q1: 20 owner reports 20 2010-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2010-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2010-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2011-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2011-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2011-Q3: 19 owner reports 19 2011-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2012-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2012-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2012-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q4: 23 owner reports 23 2013-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2013-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2013-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2014-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2014-Q2: 57 owner reports 57 2014-Q3: 46 owner reports 46 2014-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2015-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2015-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 2015-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2016-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q2: 11 owner reports 11 2016-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2016-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2017-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2017-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2017-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2017-Q4: 14 owner reports 14 2018-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2018-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2018-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2018-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2019-Q1: 15 owner reports 15 2019-Q2: 9 owner reports 9 2019-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 2019-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2020-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2020-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2020-Q3: 27 owner reports 27 2020-Q4: 15 owner reports 15 2021-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 2021-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2021-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2021-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2022-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2022-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2022-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2023-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2008 Jan 2026 Investigation PE10005 ● Investigation PE10005 Investigation AQ10001 ● Investigation AQ10001 Investigation PE20011 ● Investigation PE20011
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q3 Owner reports 5
2009-Q4 Owner reports 7
2010-Q1 Owner reports 20
2010-Q2 Owner reports 5
2010-Q3 Owner reports 7
2010-Q4 Owner reports 14
2011-Q1 Owner reports 5
2011-Q2 Owner reports 11
2011-Q3 Owner reports 19
2011-Q4 Owner reports 4
2012-Q1 Owner reports 9
2012-Q2 Owner reports 11
2012-Q3 Owner reports 3
2012-Q4 Owner reports 23
2013-Q1 Owner reports 15
2013-Q2 Owner reports 4
2013-Q3 Owner reports 13
2013-Q4 Owner reports 8
2014-Q1 Owner reports 11
2014-Q2 Owner reports 57
2014-Q3 Owner reports 46
2014-Q4 Owner reports 14
2015-Q1 Owner reports 17
2015-Q2 Owner reports 12
2015-Q3 Owner reports 12
2015-Q4 Owner reports 14
2016-Q1 Owner reports 10
2016-Q2 Owner reports 11
2016-Q3 Owner reports 16
2016-Q4 Owner reports 10
2017-Q1 Owner reports 9
2017-Q2 Owner reports 8
2017-Q3 Owner reports 13
2017-Q4 Owner reports 14
2018-Q1 Owner reports 11
2018-Q2 Owner reports 14
2018-Q3 Owner reports 25
2018-Q4 Owner reports 21
2019-Q1 Owner reports 15
2019-Q2 Owner reports 9
2019-Q3 Owner reports 13
2019-Q4 Owner reports 6
2020-Q1 Owner reports 11
2020-Q2 Owner reports 7
2020-Q3 Owner reports 27
2020-Q4 Owner reports 15
2021-Q1 Owner reports 17
2021-Q2 Owner reports 7
2021-Q3 Owner reports 3
2021-Q4 Owner reports 6
2022-Q1 Owner reports 6
2022-Q2 Owner reports 7
2022-Q3 Owner reports 4
2022-Q4 Owner reports 3
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 6
2023-Q3 Owner reports 2
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 2
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
2025-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE10005
Defect investigation 1 AQ10001
Defect investigation 1 PE20011
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 705 complaints · page 1 of 29

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