Chevrolet Cobalt
Across 13 model years (1996–2017), the Chevrolet Cobalt has 10 NHTSA recall campaigns and 6,976 complaints on file.
The component named most often in complaints is steering (403.2 per 1,000 component mentions), followed by electrical system (153.2).
The 2006 model year has the most complaints (2,228). Recall campaigns peaked in 2014 with 3; complaints were received in the largest number in 2010 (1,560). Within Chevrolet, this line ranks 7 of 177 by total complaints.
Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Model years
| Model year | Recalls | Complaints | vs line average | Units in campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2000 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2002 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt | 5 | 1,604 | 299% | 5,532,922 |
| 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt | 5 | 2,228 | 415% | 5,600,683 |
| 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt | 5 | 1,450 | 270% | 5,551,744 |
| 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt | 4 | 707 | 132% | 5,482,605 |
| 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt | 5 | 552 | 103% | 5,759,334 |
| 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt | 5 | 426 | 79% | 6,865,488 |
| 2011 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 2 | 0% | — |
| 2012 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2016 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 0% | — |
| 2017 Chevrolet Cobalt NHTSA record | 0 | 1 | 0% | — |
"vs line average" is the model year's complaints as a share of the line's average per model year (100% = average). A campaign covering several model years counts once per year. Model years with one campaign and fewer than 25 complaints are listed but have no page of their own; the NHTSA link opens the agency's record.
Components most reported
Per 1,000 component mentions across all Chevrolet Cobalt complaints (9,184 mentions).
Campaigns by year reported
Complaints by year received
Other Chevrolet model lines
- Malibu 124 recalls · 14,112 complaints
- Silverado 1500 106 recalls · 9,478 complaints
- Impala 106 recalls · 9,165 complaints
- Silverado 78 recalls · 8,666 complaints
- Blazer 63 recalls · 7,448 complaints
- Tahoe 139 recalls · 7,324 complaints
- Cobalt 29 recalls · 6,976 complaints
- Suburban 149 recalls · 6,575 complaints
- Trailblazer 45 recalls · 6,520 complaints
- S10 60 recalls · 5,798 complaints
- Equinox 48 recalls · 4,844 complaints
- Cavalier 51 recalls · 4,643 complaints
- Corvette 86 recalls · 3,834 complaints
- HHR 22 recalls · 3,161 complaints
- Lumina 36 recalls · 2,949 complaints
- Silverado 2500 87 recalls · 2,930 complaints
- Astro 42 recalls · 2,786 complaints
- Camaro 88 recalls · 2,327 complaints
- Venture 43 recalls · 2,319 complaints
- Cruze 44 recalls · 2,301 complaints
- Traverse 67 recalls · 2,263 complaints
- Monte Carlo 72 recalls · 2,111 complaints
- Avalanche 39 recalls · 1,673 complaints
- Colorado 50 recalls · 1,595 complaints
- Suburban 1500 9 recalls · 1,359 complaints
- Aveo 9 recalls · 1,269 complaints
- Malibu Maxx 13 recalls · 1,051 complaints
- Avalanche 1500 6 recalls · 864 complaints
- Trailblazer EXT 13 recalls · 862 complaints
- Corsica 20 recalls · 836 complaints
- C1500 2 recalls · 821 complaints
- Silverado 3500 96 recalls · 734 complaints
- Caprice 85 recalls · 707 complaints
- Sonic 23 recalls · 637 complaints
- Uplander 8 recalls · 555 complaints
- Beretta 21 recalls · 547 complaints
- Express 136 recalls · 521 complaints
- Chevrolet Truck 21 recalls · 486 complaints
- Lumina APV 17 recalls · 478 complaints
- Pickup 0 recalls · 478 complaints
- Tracker 0 recalls · 403 complaints
- Volt 12 recalls · 384 complaints
- C/K Pickups 7 recalls · 382 complaints
- K1500 2 recalls · 377 complaints
- Malibu Classic 3 recalls · 295 complaints
- Cobalt SS 0 recalls · 294 complaints
- Trailblazer EXT 370 0 recalls · 287 complaints
- G20 34 recalls · 285 complaints
- Spark 19 recalls · 270 complaints
- 1500 3 recalls · 251 complaints
- C15 2 recalls · 225 complaints
- Captiva 1 recalls · 210 complaints
- C2500 2 recalls · 209 complaints
- Van 0 recalls · 199 complaints
- Celebrity 16 recalls · 190 complaints
- Silverado 1500 HD 0 recalls · 177 complaints
- C10 61 recalls · 168 complaints
- Suburban 2500 0 recalls · 165 complaints
- Prizm 0 recalls · 154 complaints
- Trailblazer 360 0 recalls · 149 complaints
Questions and answers
Which Chevrolet Cobalt model years have the most recalls?
2005 (5), 2006 (5), 2007 (5). Across model years 1996–2017 there are 10 distinct campaigns.
Which Chevrolet Cobalt model year has the most complaints?
2006, with 2,228 of the line's 6,976 complaints. Newer model years have had less time to accumulate reports.
What do owners of the Chevrolet Cobalt complain about?
steering (403.2 per 1,000 mentions), electrical system (153.2 per 1,000 mentions), fuel/propulsion system (86.8 per 1,000 mentions). Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Where does this data come from?
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint flat files, public domain, dated 29 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019.
Provenance
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall, complaint and investigation flat files, public domain, dated 29 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019. Model names are as NHTSA records them; variants such as "Accord" and "Accord Hybrid" are separate lines. See the methodology.