Selling a Chevrolet Cobalt with steering or ignition trouble

Steering dominates this car's record: 3,425 of the 7,968 complaints owners filed with NHTSA name it. Two families of GM recalls sit behind the steering and key problems, and both are worth checking against your VIN before you settle on what the car is worth to you.

What went wrong, generation by generation

Chevrolet built the Cobalt for the 2005 through 2010 model years at Lordstown, Ohio, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. It stood in for two cars at once, the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Prizm. We tallied every Cobalt number on this page from NHTSA's October 10, 2026 data.

Four campaigns reach both rows, which is why the two recall figures sum to 14 rather than 10. NHTSA also files 2 steering complaints under a 2011 model year, though US production stopped June 23, 2010.

The power steering motor

The Cobalt's steering is electrically assisted, and that assist motor is the biggest single story in its file. Steering leads the complaint count on every model year except 2009. On the 2005 it is 1,024 of 1,649.

NHTSA's defects office opened Preliminary Evaluation PE10-005 on sudden loss of assist in 2005-2010 Cobalts. GM put the cars on stop delivery on March 2, 2010 and filed recall 10V073 that month. NHTSA later described the fault as brush debris mixed with oily material collecting on the motor armature until the motor stops. The campaign counts 1,050,889 cars because the 2007-2010 Pontiac G5 is in it too. Dealers replaced the motor at no charge, notifying owners in waves from March 29 through November 2010.

Losing the assist means greater steering effort at low speeds, which the recall says raises the risk of a crash. The 2010 Cobalt came back in a second assist recall, 14V153, in March 2014. That one counts 1,373,177 vehicles, since it also takes in Malibus, HHRs, the Saturn Aura and Ion, and the Pontiac G6.

Ignition switch and key

Recall 14V047 opened on February 10, 2014, when GM told NHTSA it was recalling 619,122 cars: 2005-2007 Cobalts and the 2007 Pontiac G5 together. Expansions carried it through the 2010 Cobalt and raised the campaign row to 2,190,934 vehicles across GM models. The switch can slip out of the "run" position, which shuts the engine off and can leave the air bags unable to deploy in a crash. Until the repair, owners were told to "remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key." Dealers replace the switch free.

A second April 2014 campaign, 14V171, covers keys that can be pulled out while the ignition is not in Off. A car left like that could roll away if an automatic was out of Park, or a manual's parking brake was off. Dealers fit a new cylinder and cut two keys, re-learning them if needed. Its 2,191,014 total includes the HHR, Pontiac G5 and Solstice, and Saturn Ion and Sky.

Fuel pump modules in hot states

Recall 09V419 (October 2009) reaches 2006 Cobalts sold or registered in Arizona and Nevada, and 2007 Cobalts in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada and Texas. A plastic supply or return port on the fuel pump module can leak, and leaked fuel can burn if something ignites it. Recall 12V459 (September 2012) pulled in more cars from those five states, and owners were asked to hold off on repairs until January 2013. Both campaigns include Saturn and Pontiac cars, and 12V459 adds the 2007 Equinox and Pontiac Torrent. NHTSA holds 394 Cobalt complaints filed under the gasoline fuel system.

The smaller campaigns

• 07V014, 2005-2006: cars without the optional roof-mounted side air bags fell short of the federal head-impact rule. Dealers added energy-absorbing plastic to the headliner trim.
• 09V073, 2009: a shift cable adjustment clip that isn't fully seated can stop the car from restarting, or let it roll once the driver is out. Its 276,729 count covers ten 2009 GM models, from the Buick Enclave to the Saturn Outlook.
• 15V500, 2010 cars built January 4 to June 23, 2010: a misrouted sensor harness in the driver's door can short out and disable the driver-side roof-rail air bag.
• Special coverage 14519, 2009-2010: GM paid for the PRNDL gear display in the shifter for a decade or 120,000 miles, counted from its original in-service date. Every 2009-2010 Cobalt is now more than ten years from new, so read this as history.

NHTSA's Cobalt file, year by year

Our tally of NHTSA's raw Cobalt records. The steering column counts complaints that list steering; one complaint can list several components. Crashes and deaths are what owners wrote in their complaints, not crash statistics. Recalls appear once per model year they cover, so that column overlaps.

The 2009 is the odd one out. There, 211 complaints name the fuel and propulsion system, more than steering's 176, and 128 name the hydraulic brakes. Nothing we read from GM or NHTSA explains either pile.

Fix the Cobalt, or let it go?

Settle what a free recall repair can still fix, then decide about the rest.

1. Search the VIN at NHTSA's recall lookup. A Cobalt that never got its switch, cylinder or steering motor done belongs at a Chevrolet dealer before anything else.
2. Assist gone, and the recall work is on record? Get the diagnosis in writing, then check asking prices for running Cobalts of that year with similar miles near you. When the repair bill nears that figure, selling as is tends to make more sense.
3. Engine or transmission done? Our guides on a blown engine and a bad transmission set out how to weigh that kind of bill.

Our guide to what a junk car is worth explains how a dead Cobalt gets priced.

Selling a Cobalt as it sits

1. Jot down the basics: VIN, odometer reading, the symptoms, and whether it rolls and steers.
2. Start an offer from this page, or phone (877) 421-6008.
3. Say where it's parked: a driveway, a lot, the street or a repair shop. Flag a flat tire or a steering wheel that's locked, because either one changes how the Cobalt gets loaded. Pickup is free anywhere in the US.
4. Leave the parts where they are. Wheels, battery and catalytic converter all stay on. Anything already missing changes the offer, so list it up front.
5. Pickup day: sign the title over, show ID, and leave every key with the car. No title? Our no-title guide explains what to do. Plate rules differ by state, and after you sell lists them.

Comparing other small Chevrolets? See the HHR, Cavalier and Prizm, or every Chevrolet we cover.