Cobalt Power Steering Failure

Has anyone resolved a problem with the 2006 Cobalt regarding the power steering? I'm driving the car and randomly the power steering flashes on the screen and my power steering stops working. Turn the car off and back on and the issue goes away to return at random intervals. Appears to be worse the hotter it is outside. Over 80 is when it is the worst.

wilsonATL wrote:

Has anyone resolved a problem with the 2006 Cobalt regarding the power steering? I'm driving the car and randomly the power steering flashes on the screen and my power steering stops working. Turn the car off and back on and the issue goes away to return at random intervals. Appears to be worse the hotter it is outside. Over 80 is when it is the worst.

Take it to the dealer, if your car is under warranty still. My girlfriend's 2005 Cobalt did the exact same thing. I was looking for the power steering reservoir to see if the power steering fluid was low, and to my surprise, I couldn't find it. I did research and found that the Cobalt doesn't have the standard hydraulic power steering system, but an electric power steering system. The dealer told us that the motor that drives the power steering was going out/shorting out, whatever, and it had to be replaced.

If it is not under warranty still, then I think you might be looking at about $2000 or above to fix it.

This goes to prove that changing something that doesn't need to be changed is a bad idea. The hydraulic system would have been fine, and probably wouldn't have posed a problem this early in the car's life. Hopefully it's not going to happen again. Good luck!

wilsonATL wrote:

Has anyone resolved a problem with the 2006 Cobalt regarding the power steering? I'm driving the car and randomly the power steering flashes on the screen and my power steering stops working. Turn the car off and back on and the issue goes away to return at random intervals. Appears to be worse the hotter it is outside. Over 80 is when it is the worst.

SORRY, I apologize, I am actually not sure what the dealer had to replace. I just talked to my girlfriend, and the dealer told her the entire steering system had to be replaced, so I'm assuming the entire rack and pinion (if that is what is still used) and all components had to be replaced, which would be why it'd cost over $2000 to replace without the warranty. Regardless, take it to the dealer if it is under warranty (obviously).

wilsonATL wrote:

Has anyone resolved a problem with the 2006 Cobalt regarding the power steering? I'm driving the car and randomly the power steering flashes on the screen and my power steering stops working. Turn the car off and back on and the issue goes away to return at random intervals. Appears to be worse the hotter it is outside. Over 80 is when it is the worst.

I'm having the same problem w/ my girlfriends 2006 Cobalt LT. My only problem is that the car is no longer under warranty. If it is going to cost $2000 it's definitely not worth the money to replace it. This car has given me nothing but headaches since we've got it. First the latch on the driver's side door broke which forced me and my girlfriend to enter through the passenger side door for about a week, now this. I'm gonna put up a huge stink and hopefully it will lead to a recall. It is too dangerous for something like the power steering to be going out randomly. I'm sure if enough people are having the same problem there will eventually be one. I'm going to trade this in for a Honda. It's just not worth the extra headache to own this car.

welcome to my life, im actually taking my POS Cobalt to the dealer today , if I get there without dying first , because as the first person said the power steering keeps going , this car is crap in my opinion , and to top it off my key gets stuck in the ignition , and it takes about 25 minutes to get it out

wilsonATL wrote:

Has anyone resolved a problem with the 2006 Cobalt regarding the power steering? I'm driving the car and randomly the power steering flashes on the screen and my power steering stops working. Turn the car off and back on and the issue goes away to return at random intervals. Appears to be worse the hotter it is outside. Over 80 is when it is the worst.

I'm having the exact same problem with my 2005 Cobalt. The power steering randomly comes and goes. I also have random problems with my key getting stuck in the ignition. Another problem I have with this car is that now my AC and HEAT only operate on the maximum level. Aside from getting from point A to point B, this car sucks and I regret buying it. I should have gone with the Civic.

my daughter has a 2005 cobalt that she purchased only about 6 months ago with only 20,000 miles on it. we are having the same problem with the power steering and it is very dangerous because she can just be driving down the road and all of a sudden the power steering stops working and all the lights on the dash come on and the whole car shakes. I agree this car is a piece of crap and there should be some kind of recall on it.

I have a 2005 cobalt, 44,000 miles, with the same power steering problem. Entire steering column has to be replaced to solve it according to the dealer. A recall from general motors is in order for as much as one pays for these pieces of junk. Whoever changed the design to this should loose their jobs. I agree this car is a piece of crap and there should be some kind of recall on it. Already replaced ignition for some 500 bucks.

Surely this would all b covered under the 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty?

I have personaly replaced the "electronic power steering assist" and it wasnt that hard. my car was acting exactley like "wilson from atlanta". i bought it off of ebay for 150.00 and got it in 3 days. it only took me a half hour or so to install. all you have to do is remove the plactic pieces under the stering wheel. then there are two bolts holding it up on eather side of the colum. there is also a third "pivot" bolt that is rather quite long and anoying that is located on the top of the colum but 3/4 the way down. and the head of the bolt faces the left. so thats there the bolts are. after you drop thoes first two bolts then you muct disconnect all of the wires, there are a lot different wiring harnests but they all fit only in there respected place, so you cant put it somewhere it shouldnt be. so after you have disconnected all of the wiring harnests and the three bolts all you have to do to rmove the colum is take the last bolt of the very bottom, you will notice there is pivot joint then you see a clamp, just remove the bolt and with a little force it will slide off. now you mst remove the steering wheel off the colum, on eather side of the wheel there are two holes, just place two allen wrenches in them to pop the air bag out, and under the air bag there is a bolt, just remove and slide the steering wheel off.(with some force) then you must remove your turn signals and just place them exactley like they were before. then place back together. i understand that was real confusing but its really not. and in the long run you save money. any questions hit me up, twismtool@hotmail.com

hi, i have to put my cobalt in for a 3rd time to replace the steering colume, it;s under warenty now but what happens in a year when the warrenty is out.It will cost me $1200. each time it as to be replaced, Im not impressed with this prob.I have only had it since last fall.Glad to hear from anyone having the same problem.whitewizard_69@hotmail .com

I have a 2006 Cobalt. Have had many problems. Most recently I had it towed to the shop on 11/24/2007 because when I turned on the car the Power Steering messaged appeared. We drove it down the street and it "hopped" all the way. We turned it off and when I turned the car back on I could not turn the steering wheel. The dealership worked on this car beginning on 11/27 and returned it to me on 12/7 saying it was fixed. This was after admitting several times that they did not know what was wrong with it. This morning I got in the car to come to work, and guess what? The power steering is out again. Funny thing, once the car arrives at the dealership the problem is gone. Do not purchase this model vehicle.

My oh my where do I start. Bought a new 2006 Chevy Cobalt in Aril 2007.(car was a new leftover). Love the car when I'm not having problems, for which I have had a few. 1. To start with a little more than one month old the ignition cylinder broke so the key would not come out of the ignition that was at 1300 miles. Two weeks to wait for parts. Fixed under warranty. 2. At 2900 miles drivers door would not latch. Dealership told me to bring it in. I tied the door shut with rope and rags to get it to the dealership. 4 days later it was fixed. Had rental for free for 4 days. Ok figured it was just a fluke these problems.Car was good for a few more thousand miles then 3. At 6300 miles POWER STEERING failure. My daughter just passed her driving test and took the car for the 1st time alone. Need new electric power steering. 5 days later (had a rental for those days) it was fixed. I asked the dealership what would be next. They smiled and said we don't know. I asked for a list they just laughed. Chevy has a real problem with these cars, lousy parts manufacturing and a new design. All the problems with the car have been under warranty (whew!). Anyone with problems with their Cobalts should call Chevy's customer service and complain. The number is in your vehicle book or get it from your dealership. I also called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and filed a report about the power steering failure. Chevrolet is aware of these problems but really doesn't want to admit to it. Everybody neesds to report any trouble with the Cobalt so they wake up! I'm not just being a _rick here, I own 2 other Chevy vehicles a p/u and an Astro van. The Cobalt is great when I'm not having problems. I love Chevy vehicles. My dealership has been very good to me and I told them for the next 2 1/2 years they will see me whenever there is the slightest problem with my Cobalt. Everybody out there report your Cobalt problems to Chevy and any safety concerns to the NHTSA.

I have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt, well after only having the car for a week the key began to get stuck and i had to take it in. I have had the vehicle a year and now the screen is saying power steering. I took it to the dealership today and they didnt even know it was electrical thanks to yall now i know it doesnt use fluid.

Sadly to say, I too have joined the power steering failure crowd. I have a 2006 Cobalt SS and as I was turning, I felt the steering wheel hard. I love my little car, yet this is not the first problem I've had with it in just 5 months. First,@ 30,000mi. the check engine light went on. Dealer said it was my fauly because the air filter was dirty. The car is not driven in sandy storms to be replaced so early. Second,@35,000mi. the check engine light went on again! Dealer again tried to blame me for the "lack of maintenance" to the fuel injectors. Hello I just bought this car and the fuel injectors have to be replaced! Argued my case and ultimatly won the $400.00 cost of replacement and labor. Then, took my car home and two days later I place the key in the ignition and to my amazment it does not start or do anything. I figure the battery is dead and "I'll just pop the hood and jump start the battery". The stupid key gets stuck and the damn engineers at GM figured placing the battery in the truck compartment was a good idea. My key transmitter and all electrical components are dead. So the truck does not open. Called the Dealer and to my surprise they sent a tow truck. They took alook at it and concluded nothing is wrong. I leave the Dealership for the millionth time and now the right passanger side window does not work. Adding to the frustration the power steering incident. And I also have to mention that in order for my car to get fixed, I have to bring it to the service department before 7:30AM or it sits there until the next day. At the moment the car is at the Dealership so we'll see what happens. Will keep everyone posted.

My daughters car does the same thing. It is at the dealer for the 4th time now, with no fixing. I work at this dealer, so she has a nice loaner but would sure like the car she is making payments on :)

A law suit will come from this for sure. I called chevrolt and told them I wanted to record the convrstaion the said why then no. Theyknow these systems suc, and it is going to take someone to get killed for them to issue recall. Shame on you chevrolet.

hmmmm didnt know about any of these problems til the warrenty ran out...our problem is the same colum went out...quote price to fix from dealer almost 2,000 and quote for new 2 tires were 661.00..just think i have another 14 months worth of payments to go....also there is like a chirping noise sounds like in the air condition..when under warrenty they could never fine the noise...like to know what the number is to call and complain to...was hoping this car would last since we are on a fixed income..

can anyone tell me where the power steerin reservoir is?

This is why I waited for the cobalt to be out for a few years. I always takes a few years for a manufacturer to work out the "bugs" in a new model. my freind has an 07' and I have and 08' and we both have yet to have any problems.