I have owned GM products all of my life, now it looks as though i will be looking in a different direction as i am tired of them with their we don't care attitude...The problems first started with a 2002 Buick century that only had 40 thousand miles on it,the cat converter plugged up and started overheating...Well needless to say they covered the cat converter but i had to pay half the cost on getting head gasket replaced about 350 dollars,because they used that red garbage antifreeze,which has caused many problems in there vehicles...Well i have learned now that there was a class action suit against GM over the costs to people for this problem,which they never informed me of and never got my money given back..And now the problems start with another fine GM product,the cobalt that has intermittent steering..I took it to my local mechanic and as usual he couldn't even check it as his computer wasn't compatible,GM does this so you have to take it to them so their IDIOT MECHANICS tell you steering column needs replaced at a cost of about $ 750.00,and they charge you $50.00 dollars for plugging it into their computer...Well i could understand replacing the steering column if it was not working all the time ,but the prob is intermittent,and if they can not engineer a vehicle where u or the local mechanic can not fix it then they should do it for u at no cost..Now i can understand why they are going bankrupt...Ill be saying goodbye to GM products!!!!

Adding to the list of many problems with this car, in the last 2,000 miles my power steering has been failing. When I spoke with GM they told me I had to take the car into the dealership for them to diagnose and decide if they were responsible . Well nothing has been done for me and now I am out another hundred dollars to be told something I already knew. I was told because I had other major repairs on the vehicle done in outside shops that they weren't paying for this.

This item should be a recall...this whole car should be a recall! At 50,000 mile my car started falling apart. You pay nearly $20,000 for a car and only get 50,000 miles out of it before you have to spend thousands to repair it. It's no wonder GM is going out of business. Time to try Honda.

I can not believe what I am reading. I also have a 2005 Cobalt. My car has been doing the same crazy things that you all have reported. At first I thought I may have gotten bad gas but since this has happened on more that one occasion I decided to do some research. My car's power steering lights blink on and off. The car jerks and the gears shift as if I have a stick shift. The traction control, abs, and brake light all come on. I am so discussed by this whole issue. I am still paying a car note and I fear that this is going to turn out to be a really bad situation. Please post anymore information about this issue. Has anyone gotten this issue resolved by a dealer ship? After reading the other post I am afraid to go to the dealership. I don't have money to pay on an issue that might not even be resolved. My warranty (if I still have one) may not even cover it. Please let me know if anyone has a solution to this issue.

power steering just goes out when your driving down the road started at about 61,000 if you turn the car off the power steering comes back on but it can stay on for miles or just for a second the thing is i tried calling about getting just the power steering assist motor but they tell me i cant just get that i didn't even know about the power steering assist motor until reading through these complaints they told me when i took my car in i needed a whole new steering column $750.00 so if this keeps happening isnt there a damn defect in these cars dah

POWER STEERING LIGHT CAME ON IN THE INFO CTR. CAR STARTED JERKING AND DIFFICULT OT STEER. SPEEDOMETER STARTED GOING CRAZY. I PARKED IT OVERNIGHT AND CRANKED IT THE NEXT DAY AND IT WAS FINE. BEEN DOING THIS OFF AND ON EVER SINCE. CALLED DEALERSHIP (COOPER CHEV.) ALL THEY COULD DO WAS PUT ON MACHINE AND SEE WHAT PROBLEM WAS. IF NO PROBLEM EXISTED I WOULD BE CHARGED DIAGNOSTIC FEE ($90.00). UPON CHECKING PROBLEM ON INTERNET ABOUT 200 PEOPLE HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH SAME VEHICLE. I AM GOING BACK TO A NISSAN PRODUCT. HAVE SENT COMPLIANT TO NHTSB UPON OTHER PEOPLES SUGGESTIONS.

I just bought my 05 Chevrolet Cobalt the end of June 2008. My power steering light started coming on about a month ago. When the warning comes on I lose all power steering in my car but if I turn my car off and restart it, it goes back to being ok (at least for a little while longer then goes out again) Took it to the dealership where I purchased the vehicle from and they referred me to another dealership because it was "out of their expertise" What the hell?? So I took it this morning to the Chevy dealership in town and they told me that it was the steering column motor and it needed to be replaced before it burned up. Great! How much? $1,100. Right...A month before Christmas and Im going to pay that??!! No way. Oh, and to make things worse, or course, I didn't purchase an extended warranty. So, for now, Im stuck with intermittent power steering until it burns up then no power steering ever.....Guess Ill have to live with my man muscles from driving my kids to school and myself to work.. AUGH!!!

Update from Mar 2, 2010: Still the same complaint as before except for NOW I have no intermittent power steering at all. I have enough to get me out of my garage and then no power steering. I saw this morning on ABC and checked out the internet and GM has announced a recall on the 2005-2010 Chevy Cobalts (along with other makes and models)...I called my dealer out here (where it was first diagnosed 11/08) and he told me that they have not been officially notified of the recall and to call him at the end of the week to see if my VIN is included in the recall. Just want to let as many people now about this as possible...

We live in the Reno, Nv. area, and recently our power steering went out. There was no precursor to this. No trauma to the suspension, no previous accidents, or even hard driving. This car has been babied since it rolled off the assembly line. Anyway, my girlfriend and I tok the car in to the dealership (Champion Chevrolet) to find out what was wrong. They informed us that the entire steering column had to be replaced at a cost of $1,080.00. And lead us to believe that this was a rare occurrence, and that we must have done something to lead up to this. I am a mechanic, and I thought it odd that the steering column (a mechanical part) would have to be replaced to correct this seemingly electrical problem. So I looked into it, and found that it is in fact the steering assist motor. ( a small easy to replace part which resembles a windshield wiper motor, under the dash.) SHAME ON CHAMPION CHEVY, and shame on Chevy in general for exploiting their own customers by not selling the part without the entire assembly.

I had the same problem where my Power Steering indicator came on as my Power Steering Assist turned off. Steering was quite difficult, but managable with some effort and experience of driving with it like that after some time. I found that the problem occurred more often when the Temperature outside increased up into the 80's and above. I come to you now being Releived of the Problem because I fixed it and I'll tell you how. I did my research on the (EPS) Electrical Power Steering System that GM now uses in some of their vehicles (Cobalt and Malibu) and after weeding out many factors I found this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COBALT-MALIBU-ELECTRONIC-POWER-STEERING-ASSIST-MOTOR_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33588QQihZ010QQitemZ200245786680QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Its the Power Steering Assist Motor that is located right under the Steering Column. Its held in place by (2) Bolts and a Blue Wiring Harness. It took me less than 15 minutes to have it removed and the new one put back in its place and the HEADACHES WERE OVER!!! Please feel free to Contact Me for further assistance in Fixing your Problem! The COBALT isn't a Bad Car...Its just had Bad Luck!

Update from Aug 22, 2009: Hi, The powersteering problem can easily be fixed by replacing the Powersteering motor which is located under the dash as part of the steering column. It looks like a Black Cylindar like motor with a black wire that connects into the steering column with a blue wire harness. Its bolted in place with (2) Bolts and only takes about 10-15 min to change. To reach access it you have to remove the paneling that is located under the steering wheel. Its just held in place with clips so all you have to do is simply pull it off with some force.
I found my powersteering motor on ebay for about $25-40. and its the same part for the Chevy Malibu, Saturn Ion and ofcourse the cobalt. If you can't find one on ebay or in a junkyard see if the dealership will sell the part by itself. Once I replaced mine I haven't seen the problem since.

This ebay seller often has them: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230357659271&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

I am writing to report the same problem that Dan in Ohio had with his daughter's car. http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Cobalt/2005/electrical/power_steering_warning_light_on_loss_of_power_steering.shtml

Tonight, my girlfriend called on her way to work to tell me her car didn't work. I took her my Acura and promised to get the 05 Cobalt LS home.

I got in and found...

transmission light on indicator reading POWER STEERING no power steering speedometer has mind of its own tach jumps sporadically transmission slams into all gears very hard sometimes the dash would show me the temperature outside and then "---"

I got the car home by jockeying her automatic shifter from neutral to 1st and 2nd gears at stop signs. I've dealt with no power steering so that was no big deal. The lights, signals and radio worked fine. There is no way to operate this car in its current condition. It's a shame, too, that I gave her my car that is more than twice as old because her 2005 is less reliable.

I'll tell you what, I will NEVER buy another GM vehicle, they can fold up and go out of business as far as I am concerned.

These Cobalts are nothing but a rolling pile of scrap. My car has been plagued with problems since it was brand new, the crank window on the passenger side just came loose so now the window on that side will not roll down. The AC leaks inside the car, the power steering does not work, the engine rattles like a tractor etc. etc.

A little advice to anyone looking into these vehicles....Steer clear of GM. They DO NOT take care of their vehicles and you will regret the purchase.

After this I am a Toyota or Honda driver.

GM is a disgrace and they deserve to be in the financial situation they are in, they have screwed so many people it is karma.

I bought the car brand new and it currently only has 15000 miles on it. This is the third time that a major component failed in this vehicle. The first was a fuel pump failure and the second was a computer chip failure. The computer chip failure and power steering failure almost caused accidents. When I brought the car in for repair of the power steering, they initially told me that it was the normal operating characteristic of the vehicle. I had to argue with them about the problem before they attempted an actual repair. At this point, I don't feel safe in this vehicle. Further, no one in their right mind would buy this vehicle with a history like this, so the value has been substantially impaired. GM customer care has done absolutely nothing to help me out. I asked for a buy back and they said that my car does not qualify. I asked them if there was anything else they could do for me and they said they have done enough by repairing the issues under warranty. In order for GM to tell me this much, I had to jump through a hundred hoops. This is the most ridiculous situation I have ever experienced! PLEASE ... DO NOT BUY GM PRODUCTS. There's a reason why they are losing money. They manufacture a horrible product.