10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 3
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 81,125 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 50 mph, a strong odor of fuel entered the vehicle. The contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road and noticed fuel leaking from the bottom of the fuel tank. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 114,000.
- Porterville, CA, USA
Fuel line leak
- Columbus, OH, USA
I was driving and smelled gasoline. I parked and found it dripping from under the car. Took it to a Firestone auto repair and they showed me that the fuel lines were rusted through. They told me that this was happening to a lot of GM cars and trucks. A web search confirmed this to be true. I believe that fuel lines should not rust and leak gas on a car with only 96,000 miles on it. The cost for this repair is $992. I believe this is a hazardous and life threatening problem and General Motors should pay to have it repaired by a national recall. Thank you.
- Reynoldsburg, OH, USA
Gas smell omitting from under the body into the car. Car is stationary the majority of the time, unless on my way to work. Usually taking city streets to work. Car is parked at home in the garage.
- Romulus, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving at 30 mph, there was an odor of fuel emitted into the vehicle. The contact coasted over to the side of the road and noticed fuel leaking under the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump line was cracked and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,788.
- Hays, KS, USA
We have a 2006 Chevy Cobalt with 81000 miles. This vehicle belonged to my father who in turn saved it for my son. The problem that I'm having is that we saved this vehicle so that it would be a good starter car for my son but we have since found out that it is unsafe. We took the car to a local auto repair shop for some work to be done on the car for the front struts to find out that it has a gas leak. Unknown as to how long the leak have been going on. Once finding that information out we took the vehicle to the Chevrolet dealer to see about a recall on the car. Turns out that there is a recall #090226 for the leak but for the fuel pump but not for the fuel line. I was told by the Chevy service department tech that it is unknown how the problem may have occured other than being outside or what type of landing the vehicle was parked on. I've had 3 different vehicles & never had a fuel line leakage problem let alone having any type of problem with my vehicle by being outside or being parked on the street. Now if the fuel line & fuel pump work hand in hand why woundn't the fuel line be apart of this recall. As a customer, I do believe that if they had to replace the fuel pump then they would replace the fuel line in order for the parts to work properly. This is a major concern for me because customers would be riding around with a major hazard & wouldn't even know it until they were in an accident that may result in being fatal. There is no reason why this company would recall only 1 part of the issue & not the entire issue. Just another way of dismissing the safety issues with their vehicles that this company has incurred over the years.
- Baltimore, MD, USA
A fuel smell was coming from the back of the car, when parked. I took it to the mechanic and he found safety bulletin #09226B. The mechanic called the Chevy dealer before removing the fuel tank to confirm the product safety bulletin. They said there was no manufacturer replacement, because I live in Illinois. I am the original owner of the car with 97,048 miles, but the recall only applies in warm states (Texas, Arizona, California, and Nevada)the fuel tank was removed and he found a small leak on the fitting at top of the fuel pump module. The fuel pump was replaced and retested for leaks. I paid for the fuel pump and the work. I will never buy a GM car again!
- Elgin, IL, USA
My car falls under the 09V419 recall. I began smelling strong fuel smell outside the 2006 Cobalt. I brought it into chev dealer to check for fuel pump module recall. They informed me the fuel pump recall was not the issue, instead the fuel lines are rusted out and leaking...tech comments "found both the pressure and return lines are very rusty and leaking fuel". vehicle has approx 121,000 miles. Cost to repair will be $755. It would appear the fuel lines are faulty/poor construction or the rust-proofing is poor. This problem is very prevalent in this model. Presents a safety hazard, especially when dealer does not plan to replace the fuel pump module despite my VIN # being within the range of the cars affected and safety recall report specifies that the estimated percentage with defect if 100%. manufacturer should stand behind the product and fix all suspected vehicles.
- Luck, WI, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated there was strong fuel odor coming from the rear end of the vehicle. The contact then noticed a fuel leakage from the outside of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the fuel line needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 90,000.
- Higgins Lake, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that there was a strong odor of fuel on the exterior and interior of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed that the fuel lines had been prematurely corroded. The technician replaced the fuel pump assembly and a kit. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 09V419000 (fuel system, gasoline) and 12V459000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 101,000.
- New Windsor, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 65 mph, a strong odor of fuel was noticed. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump reservoir assembly was cracked and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 09V419000(fuel system, gasoline). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 97,000.
- Windsor, CT, USA
Gas modulator failed twice.
- Columbus, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while having an oil change performed at an independent mechanic, the technician noticed that there was a fuel leak on the fuel pump. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 09V419000 (fuel system, gasoline). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 150,000.
- Mckinney, TX, USA
When the car was in park, we noticed a strong smell of gas. When we looked under the car it was leaking from what appeared to be the gas tank. I took it an independent mechanic who told me that it was leaking from the fuel pump. The repair is going to cost me around $600. The mechanic was nice enough to remind me about certain recalls on this particular make and model from Chevy. When I look at the recalls, the particular problem is listed, but for some reason, Chevy made it real convenient to say that only certain Chevy Cobalts 2006 were going to be fixed. As I entered the VIN number to check it, mine states that there are no recalls for my car. My car fits all the criteria, why is it that mine does not qualify for the recall" I would like to know, if my car did not "qualify" for the recall, then what 2006 Chevy Cobalts qualified for the gas leak repair" it seems as though, we the consumers, have to pay for a problem Chevy created by using cheap parts. Very upset. We are not purchasing another Chevy car again.
- Rio Hondo, TX, USA
Fuel leak.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While walking past the vehicle, the contact noticed a strong odor of fuel coming from the vehicle. Fuel could be seen dripping from the tank. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel pump had become inoperable, allowing fuel to leak from the seal of the fuel tank. The fuel pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 98,916.
- Zionsville, IN, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, there was an odor of fuel present inside and outside of the vehicle. The contact discovered that fuel was leaking under the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that two fuel lines were damaged due to rusting and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 74,000.....updated 12/02/15
- Weirton, WV, USA
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving or parked, the vehicle emitted a strong odor of fuel without warning. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 131,695.
- Hesperia, CA, USA
Strong smell of gas emitting from rear of car. Notice more and gets stronger after attempting to start the car. Fuel is leaking and gas mileage dropped from around 28-29 to less than 10mpg. I have called local dealer(2) and both are refusing to remedy even though this is not a new complaint or defect but one in Chevrolet's design and they have admitted such yet refuse to fix.
- Joppa, MD, USA
- Akron, OH, USA