8.9
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $480
- Average Mileage:
- 74,500 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 13 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replaced fuel module (6 reports)
- not sure (4 reports)
- replace fuel pump (3 reports)
This problem may be covered under warranty. Ask your Chevrolet dealer.
I purchased this 2006 Chevy Cobalt in July of 2014. In December of 2014, I noticed the smell of gasoline emitting from my car. Over the course of a couple of weeks the smell progressively got worse & worse.
I did research on what was happening to see what the issue may be & I found that others were having the same issue & it was the FUEL PUMP MODULATOR. It was a part that was recalled it 15 states (Massachusetts not being one of them). I brought the car to my mechanic on 12/30/2014 & made him aware of my research and what I had discovered. A few hours later, he called and confirmed that it was indeed the above mentioned part and that it would be close to $500 to fix.
I immediately called GM on 12/30/14 and expressed my concerns, in that if a part is defective in Texas it's also defective in Massachusetts. The woman I spoke to agreed & told me what I needed to do was call my local dealership (Colonial South Chevrolet in Dartmouth, Massachusetts).
When I called Colonial South on 12/30/14 ( believe I spoke with Rick in service), they looked up my VIN and informed me that the part was covered under a special warranty & to bring my car to them. I informed them that my car was already at my mechanic, the part was ordered & the car would be ready the next day. He then stated "Well bring in the paperwork from the repair, and we will reimburse you within 60 days". The next week, I brought in all the paperwork from my repair & I was told that THEY made a mistake & because my car was a salvage title they would not reimburse the cost because in the eyes of GM, my car was totaled & inoperable. ( Mind you they repaired my steering column 3 months prior at GM's cost)
I reached out to GM again and explained what I had been told by the dealership & she told me to send in my paperwork directly & I would be reimbursed all I had to do was go to the dealership & get the reimbursement form. I was called a couple of days later by GM and told again that their rep made a mistake & I would not be reimbursed the cost to fix my car.
Till this day I am still fighting with GM about this issue. GM does not stand by their product or their word. I was told on 2 separate occasions that I would be reimbursed to later have them renege & say they wouldn't because t hey made a mistake. If a part is defective, it is defective & they should take responsibility for it, whether the car is a salvaged title or not.
I REPORTED THIS ISSUE TO THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY & TRAFFIC ADMINISTRATION AND THE REPRESENTATIVE I SPOKE WITH TOLD ME TO POST THAT IF ANYONE ELSE IS HAVING THIS ISSUE WITH THEIR COBALT TO CONTACT THEM SO THAT THE PART MAY BE RECALLED POSSIBLY IN ALL 50 STATES RATHER THAN JUST 15. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE & GM NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE , NOT THE CONSUMER .
- Wendy N., Fall River, MA, US
On 2/28/14 JC Customs worked on my vehicle to see what the matter was first thought might be the seal, after replacing the seal said the fuel pump module is going to have to be replaced I was not able to pay for the module replacement yet till I was able to afford this. His estimate cost for labor and parts is $569.38. I did pay for labor and seal replacement of $112.07 I took my vehicle to the Chevy dealership on Capitol Expressway in San Jose. The odor is very strong and now also I noticed electrical System Ignition Switch was just reported on 2/10/14 and the service consultant Jason Lawton was not concerned the Consultant pulled up recall report on my vehicle and said was already done.
Fuel Pump Module replacement done 2008 MI 36998 under Warranty. Product Safety Recall Number 09226 it is 2014 now and I don't know why but if this was already replaced then this must of been a defective part. and since this was already replaced, I have a small gas leak and does not make me feel comfortable that they would not take this as a High Importance. He said you must of heard this on the news and didn't care to understand I have a gas leak. He said no recalls on my vehicle. Very inconsiderate. So I left. I have not been notified on the Electrical Ignition Switch so I can get this replaced as yet.
- Alberta` C., San Jose, CA, US
My 2006 Cobalt started smelling like gas in the back of the car from underneath it. So I had a friend look at it and it was leaking gas. He said it was a line on top of gas tank so he dropped the tank and it was the plastic line coming out of the fuel module and it was cracked!So I went and bought one ($288.00) and installed it but it's the same thing plastic lines. Then I found out about a recall for this problem but only in certain states. I think that's stupid because no matter what state it's in a defective part is a defective part.It doesn't know what state it's in. GM needs to fix this problem on all Cobalts! Before it causes some serious injury or fatalities. :(
- Sandra H., Quarryville, PA, US
Warning warning. its a scam. the recall on fuel pump. its replaced by the same pump. it will crack again and it will cost you to fix it.the gas fumes will explode and you will be toast..chevy dont care about human life to fix it right.
- James B., Phoenix, AZ, US
I received a recall notice once again in the mail asking for me to bring car to the dealership to have the fuel module replaced. the dealership that I bought the car from only works on the week days so I had to take a day off.
- tuell, Jacksonville, FL, US
I AM THANKFUL FINDING THIS SITE. I HAVE BEEN SMELLING A STRONG GAS ODER AT THE BACK OF MY COBALT FOR MORE THEN 2 MONTHS .. I FINALY BACKED IT UP SOME RAMPS AND SEE WET GAS ESPECIALLY AT THE TOP OF THE GAS TANK WHERE 2 SMALL LINES DISAPPEAR OVER THE TANK. FROM WHAT I READ HERE IN OTHERS COMPLAINTS ... I'M SCREWED IF REPAIRS ARE THIS EXPENSIVE. HOW CAN GM EVER EXPECT TO KEEP ANY CUSTOMERS IF THIS IS THE ROTTEN @##@ QUALITY WE PAY SO DEARLY FOR. THANK GOD MY ELECTRIC STREERING WAS COVERED UNDER A RECALL JUST 6 MONTHS AGO......
NEVER EVER AGAIN WILL U C ME IN ANY AMERICAN MAKE ....
I WISH I COULD KNOW WHAT PARTS I NEED TO REPAIR THIS BEFORE I DROP THE TANK. THIS IS MY ONLY MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION ....
IF ANYONE HAS HELPFUL INFO PLS EMAIL ME
- harrellsc, Pelzer, SC, US
There is a recall on this issue, but I live in Missouri, and even if three states bordering Missouri are covered, AR, AK, and Mississippi, they will not cover mine, the dealer wants 1100.00. Mind you, the car has to be sold in in one of the 14 states, or just currently registered!!! I work, just 15 miles from AR. This is incredible to me!
- Kiwi C., Springfield, MO, US
It wasn't nice that this happened. It is also confusing but nice that there is a special issue coverage for 2006 (and other years?) Cobalts with the fuel smell odor. It leaves you totally not knowing if your car will explode from a cigarette butt or the next spark anywhere on the roadways you travel on.
- aspicer, Oakland Park, FL, US
Just bought a fuel pump, and that was a price given lower to me because I've know the people at the GM dealer since I was a kid. My brother-in-law is taking the day off to do the labor and my dad is helping him. I found a recall on this exact problem of the supply/return valve being cracked and may result in fire due to the excess fuel leaked all over the top of the fuel tank. Fantastic. I called GM direct, they tell me that their hands are tied and there's nothing that they can do for me because I am not in a specific state. EXCUSE ME!? My car may have started on fire had we not found the problem and you're just telling me that because I'm in a different state than texas, arizona, nebraska, etc. that you can't find a way to make this an exception? It's still a GM make isn't it? I'm pretty damn sure there is a GM symbol on the driver side of my car, therefore making it GM's problem! They were "So sorry" that they "weren't able to assist in this problem". They gave me a reference number; oh goody, that's gonna fix the problem. A REFERENCE NUMBER!? Just incase. Alright, GM, you've lost a customer.
- dapper, Harvard, IL, US
I am truly devastated by my decision to chose a 'fuel efficient' vehicle such as this 2006 Chevy Cobalt. After getting the Fuel Modular replaced my fuel efficiency went to hell. I now have a crack in my PLASTIC tank and the dealer is telling me it's close to a thousand dollars to fix. I cannot believe Chevy would let its customers down and be comparable to Toyota makers. Chevy's have always been reliable in my eyes....not any more.
- angry az gurl, Phoenix, AZ, US
Car smell like gas? Mine too. I am getting the fuel injectors fixed per recall 06090A but wait there's more!!! I am suddenly only getting about 150 miles per full tank of gas. For those keeping track that is a realized fuel economy of 13.8 MPG. Yeah... Gas is dumping over the top of my tank and onto the street in a nice steady drip. Hmmm... All this happening as my other car gets a torn CV boot and I need to replace the driveshaft. So for now I am without a second car and need to drive this one. Could be the fuel pump as the gas pressure is poor and it will not start on first try. However it runs smooth once it is on. Could be cracked fuel lines... I will not know until I can manage enough time to let a mechanic drop the fuel tank and take a look. Then it could be the fuel pump and therefore could be a special order part... Once the tank is down and out I must leave it or pay extra labor to have them reinstall it and drop it again to install a new part. Sucks being a Cobalt owner. I think back to that Corolla 5 speed sitting in the lot when I bought the Cobalt... Why oh why didn't I listen to my gut?
- John D., Sonora, CA, US
Where do I start.....
I noticed a very bad smell of gas coming from the outside of my car, but I couldn't find a gas leak didn't think much about it... After a few more days gone by I started smelling the gas in my car. I checked my gas cap it was fine, looked under the car and I saw no gas leak and I went on my way... The next day I noticed I needed to get some gas...so I went to the gas station, paid for my gas, I didn't even make it off the lot before my "low fuel" light comes on. I thought that was really strange until I got out of my car and when Idid I noticed a wet trail behind my car... Turns out I had a busted fuel modular which was not covered under warranty and that cost me $600.00 OUT OF POCKET.... I think to myself how could something like this happen unless it was a manufactures defect.... I just want GM to investigate this serious problem,and if anyone else out there have or had experienced the same....
Lord knows what would have happened if someone had thrown a cigarette out of the window!!!
Angry GM Customer.... --Alicia V. Saint Louis, MO USA
- visor, Bekeley, MO, US
Here is my issue ... I didn't know about GM's "silent" recall on their Chevy Cobalt's fuel pump issue. GM issued some type of an extended warranty to cover this problem. I never received notice of this at all ... trust me, if I had, I would have taken it in immediately .. like I did with the ignition problem. So, after both fuel lines broke spewing gas all over my car and causing it to stall out, it was taken to my repair guy (not a dealership).
After he fixed it, he suggested that I look into seeing if there was a recall on the part seeing as how this NEVER should have happened (his words not mine). Sure enough, there was a recall. Well, I've been trying for over a month to get reimbursed (since there was an extended warranty to cover the part) but my claim is being rejected by GM .. they said I had until 2014 to file a claim .. HUH?? My car didn't break until 2016 and I wasn't notified there was an issue with the fuel lines .. remember GM .. it was a SILENT recall according to an online website that I read. Also, this extended warranty is not supposed to have an expiration date on it so how can you have an expiration date for reimbursing people?
- freemanmi, Troy, MI, US