Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 163 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 163, in the owner's own words
I WAS DRIVING THE OTHER DAY AND NOTICED THAT ONE OF MY BACK BRAKES WAS STICKING AND SO I TOOK A LOOK AT IT AND FLUID LEVEL WAS FINE AND THERE WAS NO AIR IN THE BRAKE LINE. I FEEL THE CAUSE OF THIS IS BAD CALIPERS AND SOME OTHERS I HAVE TALKED HAD THE SAME ISSUE.
FUEL LINE RUSTS THROUGH CAUSING FUEL TO LEAK OUT NEXT TO EXHAUST PIPE. HAPPENS TO EVAP LINE AS WELL. POOR DESIGN IN THE HEAT SHIELDING TRAPS MOISTURE WHICH RUSTS THROUGH THE LINE. FUEL LEAKS OUT WHEN THE CAR IS RUNNING, PARKED, MOVING OR NOT. REAR BRAKE CALIPER STICKS OUT FROM USING THE PARKING BRAKE AND PAD STICKS TO ROTOR CAUSING EXCESSIVE WEAR.
REAR BRAKES WEAR OUT WAY TOO QUICKLY
ABOUT THE THIRD TIME THAT I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE REAR BRAKES WITH IN LESS THAN 30000 MILES. THE PARKING BRAKE DOES NOT HOLD THE CAR. THE PADS WEAR UNEVEN, ONLY THE INTERIOR PAD IS BEING WORN. GM DEALERSHIP CONTINUES TO STATE THAT THIS IS NORMAL WEAR, WHICH IS IMPOSSIBLE. AND BRAKING PERFORMANCE IS COMPROMISED BY THIS UNEVEN AND PREMATURE WEAR OF THE REAR BRAKES.
I DRIVE A 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS, MANUAL TRANSMISSION WHEN I PARKED AT A FRIENDS APARTMENT COMPLEX I APPLIED MY E-BRAKE ON A SLIGHT HILL AND THE BRAKE DID NOT HOLD AT ALL. I HAD TO RE PARK MY VEHICLE ON A COMPLETELY FLAT SURFACE AND THEN PLACE IT IN FIRST GEAR. A FEW DAYS LATER I DECIDED TO TEST SOMETHING. SO I PARKED MY CAR ON A FLAT SURFACE AND ENGAGED THE E-BRAKE. THE LEVER WAS ABLE TO BE PULLED ALL THE WAY UP WITH VERY LITTLE RESISTANCE. I THEN GOT OUT OF MY VEHICLE AND WAS ABLE TO PUSH MY VEHICLE FORWARD WITH LITTLE RESISTANCE. I THEN TOOK MY VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY FIXED IT UNDER WARRANTY. I THEN BEGAN TO APPLY THE E-BRAKE AND PUT MY CAR IN FIRST GEAR EVERY TIME I PARK. THEN A FEW MONTHS AGO, ABOUT ON 01/05/2014 I EXPERIENCED THE SIMILAR ISSUE. I NOTICED THAT I WAS ABLE TO PULL MY E-BRAKE LEVER ALL THE WAS UP WITH LITTLE RESISTANCE. I THEN PARKED MY CAR WITH IT IN NEUTRAL AND THE E-BRAKE ENGAGED AND WAS ABLE TO PUSH THE CAR FORWARD WITH VERY LITTLE EFFORT. THE DEALERSHIP STATED THAT THE PART IS NO LONGER UNDER WARRANTY AND THAT THEY WOULD NOT FIX IT FOR FREE. WHILE LOOKING ONLINE I NOTICED THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. I FOUND THAT THE BRAKE CABLE GET STRETCHED OUT VERY EASILY AND THAT ONE OF THE TWO BRAKE CABLES IS OFTEN MORE STRETCHED THAN THE OTHER. *TR
REAR BRAKE CALIPER PISTON DRAGGING CAUSING EXCESSIVE INNER PAD WEAR. REAR BRAKES FREEZE UP. DAMAGED REAR ROTORS. INADEQUATE BRAKE PEDAL OPERATION. *TR
REAR BRAKES WEAR OUT VERY FAST FOR A NEW CAR, ALSO VERY NOISY AND DESTROY MY ROTORS. OUTTER PAD SEEMS FINE, INNER PAD IS DETERIORATING AT AN ALARMING RATE. *TR
REAR BRAKES NOISY AND PIT VERY EASILY. *TR
THE REAR BRAKE CALIPER SEIZED AND CAUSED ME TO LOSE ALL REAR BRAKES. THE REAR BRAKE PADS WILL WEAR DOWN TO BARE METAL ON THE INSIDE SO NO WEAR BAR NOTIFIES THE DRIVER YOU HAVE AN ISSUE TILL YOU NO LONGER HAVE REAR BRAKES. THIS COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT! *TR
SHORTLY AFTER BUYING THIS CAR, THE PARKING BRAKE STOPPED WORKING COMPLETELY. THE REAR CALIPERS HAVE LOCKED UP AND DO NOT DO ANYTHING WHEN THE HANDLE IS PULLED UP. THIS IS A TERRIBLE DESIGN WHICH CAUSES, AT BEST AN INCONVENIENT, AND AT WORST, POSSIBLY DANGEROUS SITUATION AS, FOR A CAR EQUIPPED WITH A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, THERE IS NO PARK TO PUT THE CAR IN SO I HAVE TO BLOCK THE WHEELS WHEN PARKING UNTIL I CAN GET THIS PROBLEM FIXED. THE GM DEALER SAID THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM BUT THERE IS NO PERMANENT FIX. HOW CAN SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS PROBLEM BUT NOTHING IS BEING DONE ABOUT IT? WHAT IF I HAD PARKED ON A HILL AND MY CAR ROLLED DOWN INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE OR A PEDESTRIAN? *TR
I PURCHASED MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS SEDAN A LITTLE OVER A YEAR AGO. WITHIN THE FIRST SEVERAL MONTHS, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE STARTED TO GET EXTREMELY LOOSE. IT THAN COMPLETELY STOPPED HOLDING WITHIN 6 MONTHS AND 40,000 TOTAL MILES. AFTER THIS INCIDENT, THE REAR BRAKES AND ROTORS BEGAN TO PREMATURELY WEAR OUT EXTREMELY QUICKLY. SINCE THESE ARE NOT COVERED UNDER ANY WARRANTY AND DEALERSHIPS REFUSE TO FIX THE ISSUE FOR FREE, IT'S VERY COSTLY OUT OF POCKET FOR THE REPAIRS. I CAN'T PARK ANYWHERE NEAR ON OR A HILL, DUE TO THE EMERGENCY BRAKE BEING COMPLETELY BROKEN. AND THE REAR BRAKES AND ROTORS NEED EITHER REPAIRED OR RESURFACED CONSTANTLY EVERY SEVERAL THOUSAND MILES. MY OTHER MAJOR ISSUE IS WITH THE TPMS (TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM) THIS HAS BEEN GIVING ME AN ERROR CONSTANTLY FOR AROUND 10,000 MILES, ON HOW IT NEEDS TO BE SERVICED. MY CAR IS GARAGE KEPT WITH MAINTENANCE DONE ON TIME, AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF. *TR
NOTICED PARKING BRAKE NOT HOLDING ANYMORE. THEN CHECKED REAR BRAKES AND FOUND REAR PASSENGER SIDE INNER BRAKE PAD (NOT THE OUTER PAD) COMPLETELY WORN OUT....ALL OTHER PADS ON CAR HAVE ATLEAST 70% PAD LEFT. NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE WITH THIS LOW OF MILEAGE WITH NOT BEING DRIVEN IN ANY WINTERS. HOPE THERE IS A FIX FOR THIS! MAY BE PROPORTION VALVE DESIGN PROBLEM? *JS
BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS DID NOT LAST. MY BRAKES NEEDED REPLACING WAY EARLIER THAN THEY SHOULD. IT'S A SAFETY HAZARD. *JS
THE REAR BRAKES FAILED ON MY CAR AT AROUND 28,000 MILES. AS SOON AS I GOT THE NEW ONES INSTALLED THEY STILL ARE TERRIBLE, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THERE WOULD BE SUCH BRAKES THAT FAIL SO EARLY AND COULD CAUSE HARM TO PEOPLE. THERE NEEDS TO BE A RECALL ON THESE BRAKES, THEY ARE ENTIRELY TOO UNSAFE. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS TURBO. THE CONTACT STATED HIS REAR BRAKE PADS WERE PREMATURELY WEARING OUT RAPIDLY. THE ROTORS AND BRAKE PAD NEVER MADE ANY NOISE ALERTING THE CONTACT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS BEING SERVICED THE MECHANIC SHOWED HIM HOW THE ROTORS AND BRAKE PADS WERE WORN. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 31,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 40,000.
WHEN BRAKING SOFTLY, REAR BRAKES MAKE A LOUD NOISE AND I'VE STARTED TO NOTICE SLIGHTLY UNEVEN WEAR ON ONE OF THE REAR BRAKE PADS. ALSO OCCASIONALLY WHILE MOVING IN REVERSE WITH FOOT BRAKES APPLIED I CAN HEAR A VERY VERY LOUD SOUND SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT AND WAY LOUDER THEN THE SOUND WHEN MOVING FORWARD. *TR
REAR BRAKES ARE DRAGGING ON THE ROTOR AND GRINDING AT STOPS. *TR
WITHIN THE FIRST 15000 MILES OF MY CAR THE REAR BRAKES FAILED. IT WAS METAL ON METAL. READING THE FORUMS ON COBALTS SS I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT HAD REAR BRAKE FAILURE WITHIN 15000 MILES. I DO NOT RACE THE CAR, AND MOST OF MY MILES ARE HIGHWAY. I BELIEVE THERE MAY BE A FACTORY DEFECT. *TR
AT 20,300 MILES, THE INNER REAR BRAKE PADS HAD WORN COMPLETELY DOWN TO THE METAL AND SCORED THE ROTORS TO THE POINT THEY HAD TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALERSHIP MAINTAINS THIS IS NORMAL WEAR. THE FRONT BRAKES WERE FINE AND THE OUTER REAR PADS WHILE WORN, WERE STILL WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LIMITS. AFTER SEEING NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ON THE NHTSA WEB SITE (144 OUT OF 168 TOTAL COMPLAINTS, OR 86%) NEARLY IDENTICAL TO MINE, THIS IS CLEARLY A GLARING SAFETY ISSUE - 144 COMPLAINTS FOR A LOW-VOLUME 2-YEAR OLD VEHICLE. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE NHTSA HAS NOT INITIATED AN INVESTIGATION ALREADY. PERHAPS THEY ARE WAITING FOR FATALITIES CAUSED BY THIS OBVIOUS DEFECT BEFORE TAKING ACTION. UPDATED IVOQ 12/01/11. UPDATED IVOQ 01/05/12 *TR
I HAVE A MANUAL COBALT SS 2009 AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKES ARE NOT WORKING. I HAVE TO HAVE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO PARK MY CAR. I BEEN HAVING TO REST MY CAR IN A GEAR SO IT WILL NOT GO ANYWHERE. *TR
I BOUGHT A USED 2009 COBALT SS. THE CAR HAD 3200 MILES ON IT. AFTER BRING THE CAR HOME I FOUND SOME PITTING IN THE REAR ROTORS. AFTER DRIVING THE CAR TO 3800 MILES IT HAD GOTTEN BEYOND THE POINT WHERE THE ROTORS COULD BE TURNED. I TOOK IT IN TO THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THIS IS NORMAL EVERYTHING IS FINE. NOT BEING BORN YESTERDAY I KNOW THIS IS NOT THE CASE. AFTER FIGHTING WITH THE DEALER FOR OVER AN HOUR I LEFT MAD AND WITH NO FIX FOR THE PROBLEM. I HAVE SINCE REPLACED THE ROTORS WITH DRILLED AND SLOTTED ROTORS, AND CERAMIC PADS BUT NOW IT SEEM AS IF THE REAR CALIPERS ARE NOT RELEASING ALL THE WAY WHICH IS CAUSING THE CAR TO MAKE RATHER LOUD NOISES WHILE DRIVE. ONCE AGAIN NO HELP FROM THE DEALERSHIP AS THEY CLAIM EVERYTHING IS NORMAL AND EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED AS I KNOW OF AT LEAST A DOZEN PEOPLE IN MY AREA WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I FEAR THAT IF THIS IS NOT CORRECTED QUICKLY SOME ONE MAY GET HURT, OR WORSE YET KILLED TO PARTS FAILURE. *TR
THE REAR BRAKES FAILED ON MY VEHICLE. AFTER TAKING IT TO A MECHANIC FOR INSPECTION THE REAR BRAKE CALIPERS DID NOT HAVE LUBRICATION ON THE SLIDING PINS WHICH RESULTED IN THE ROTORS FAILING AND THE BRAKE PADS BEING DESTROYED. MY REAR BREAKS NO LONGER WORK. AFTER RESEARCHING ONLINE THIS IS A DEFECT ON ALL 2008-2009 CHEVY COBALT SS MODELS. *TT
I HAVE A 2009 CHEVY COBALT SS AND MY REAR BRAKES HAVE FAILED- AT 15000 I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID ITS STILL WITHIN FACTORY SPEC- AT 26000 MY REAR BRAKES ARE COMPLETELY SHOT AND WORN DOWN TO THE METAL AND I HAD TO REPLACE MY CALIPERS AS THEY WERE STICKING- CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP TO GET FIXED, WILL SEE IF THIS HAPPENS AGAIN. *TR
THE COBALT BRAKES HAVE ALWAYS MADE A SCREECHING SOUND, WHICH GM HAS ADDRESSED AS BEING NORMAL. CHEVROLET #08-05-22-004: INFORMATION ON BRAKE SQUEAL/SQUEAK NOISE - (JUL 15, 2008)] HOWEVER, I HAD TO PREMATURELY REPLACE THE REAR BRAKES AND HAVE THE ROTORS CUT AFTER ONLY 27,039 MILES, WHILE THE FRONT BRAKES STILL HAD 50% LIFE LEFT. THIS IS NOT A NORMAL OCCURRENCE, SINCE THE FRONT BRAKES SHOULD HAVE WORN OUT BEFORE THE REAR ONES. WHILE I WAS ABLE TO GET 27,039 MILES OF WEAR, THE FACT THAT THERE IS DEFINITELY A DEFECT IN THE SYSTEM MEANS THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THE CONDITION WILL NOT WORSEN IN TIME. THERE IS ALSO THE CHANCE THAT THE SYSTEM COULD FAIL COMPLETELY CAUSING A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. FINALLY, THE SCREECHING SOUND IS GETTING WORSE. THIS SOUND, ALONG WITH THE BRAKE WEAR, WILL VIRTUALLY REDUCE THE VALUE OF THE CAR CONSIDERABLY, MAKING IT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TRADE OR SELL, UNLESS GM CORRECTS THIS ISSUE.
I BROUGHT MY 2009 COBALT SS INTO THE DEALER FOR ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, 20K MILEAGE CHECK. IT HAS A 5-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. THEY INFORMED ME THAT MY REAR ROTORS WERE SCORED BADLY POSSIBLY FROM THE EMERGENCY BRAKE BEING ON WHILE DRIVING. THE DEALER INFORMED ME THE SURFACE WAS TOO FAR GONE TO TURN THEM. I'M THE ONLY PERSON THAT DRIVES THE CAR AND I KNOW I DON'T DRIVE WITH THE E-BRAKE ON, NOT EVEN ONCE. HOWEVER, I DO PULL THE E-BRAKE WHEN I PARK MY CAR WITH THE TRANS IN GEAR. LET ME SAY ALSO I DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR HARD LIKE RACING OR DRIFTING. I DID PULL THE TIRE AND ROTOR FROM THE LEFT REAR TO FIND THAT THE INNER ROTOR SURFACE WAS INDEED SCORED BADLY WITHIN 3/4-INCH OF THE OUTER ROTOR DIAMETER. THE OUTER ROTOR SURFACE WAS CLEAN AND SMOOTH. THE OUTER BRAKE PAD LOOKED LIKE IT HAD 2X THE MATERIAL LEFT VERSUS THE INNER PAD. I DID NOT PULL THE RIGHT SIDE ROTOR YET. (MY NEW BRAKE ROTOR ORDER GOT FOULED UP. STILL WAITING.) LIKE MANY OF THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMPLAINED, MY CAR HAS SLIGHTLY OVER 21K MILES ON IT SO WHY SHOULD IT NEED REAR BRAKES SO QUICKLY? MOST OF THE WEAR SHOULD BE ON THE FRONT BRAKES DUE TO WEIGHT AND MOMENTUM DURING BRAKING. SOMETHING DOESN'T ADD UP. WILL IT HAPPEN AGAIN WITH THE NEW ROTORS? *TR
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