Problems · by component

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt electronic stability control (esc) problems

27 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt cite electronic stability control (esc), 2% of all 1,649 complaints for this model year.

Complaints
27
2% of all complaints
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
1
Reported by owners
01 —Owner reports

What owners say about the electronic stability control (esc)

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I KNOW ABOUT THE RECALL FOR 2005 CHEVROLET COBALT, MY CAN HAS TURNED OFF WHILE DRIVING & I HAVE HAD PROBLEMS STARTING MY VEHICLE., THE STEERING WHEEL IGNITION SYSTEM 'IS THE PROBLEM' MY VEHICLE DOES NOT START ANYMORE AT ALL !! PLEASE SCHEDUAL AN APPOINTMENT AT THE NEAREST DEALER THAT CAN REPAIR THE RECALLED PARTS? NEAR 95838 SACRAMENTO, CA. I BELIEVE THAT MY LIFE HAS BEEN ENDANGERED SEVERAL TIMES BECAUSE OF THE DEFECTIVE RECALLED PARTS !! " YES" I AM VERY UPSET" !! MY VEHICLE HAS STOPPED RUNNING ON BOTH CITY & FREEWAYS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 31, 2019Electrical system, Air bags, Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 11292347
“TAKATA RECALL THE PROBLEMS I'M HAVING WITH MY CAR IS THAT THE LOCKS KEEP UNLOCKING AND LOCKING AND WON'T LET MY CAR STARTUP. IT LOCKS ME OUT AND WHEN I PUT THE KEY IN THE SWITCH IT WON'T CRANK AND THE ONLY WAY THAT I'M ABLE TO GET THE KEY OUT OF THE SWITCH IS IF I JUMP IT OFF. I WAS AT HOME WHEN IT HAPPENED PARKED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 1, 2018Electrical system, Exterior lighting, Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 11115262
“THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM LIGHT ON MY CHEVROLET COBALT 2005 STAYS ON AND DOES NOT TURN OFF UNTIL I SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALSO STAYS ON AS WELL AT THE SAME TIME THE TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM LIGHT IS ON, SO NOT SURE IF THESE TWO ISSUES ARE RELATED. I ALSO NOTICE THAT THE VEHICLE JERKS PERIODICALLY WHEN I AM ON THE ROAD AND THERE IS ROUGH SHIFTING OF GEARS.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Aug 5, 2017Steering, Electronic stability control (esc), EngineODI 11013021
“I SIMPLY LOST THE ABILITY TO STEER MY CAR, ALL IT DOES IS CLICK WHEN I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, LUCKILY I WAS CLOSE TO HOME AND SLOWLY EDGED TO THE FRONT OF MY HOME.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 25, 2017Steering, Air bags, Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 11001263
“THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED, WAS AT INTERSTATE SPEEDS.(60 TO 70MPH) THE SECOND, WAS IN CITY STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. THE THIRD WAS BACKING OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY AFTER A 5 MINUTE IDLE. THE FOURTH WAS WHEN MY LAST MECHANIC WAS TEST DRIVING IT BECAUSE HE THOUGHT HE'D FIXED IT. DASH LIGHTS BLINK ON AND OFF, ALL WARNING LIGHTS COME ON, ENGINE COOLING FANS STOP OPERATING, TRANSMISSION HUNTS FOR WHAT GEAR IT SHOULD BE IN; RESULTING IN THE TRANSMISSION SELF DESTRUCTING. ENGINE MANAGEMENT, OTHER THAN THE COOLING FANS, SEEMS TO BE UNAFFECTED. I'VE REPLACED 4 TCM'S SO FAR; AS ALL MECHANICS SAY THAT IS THE PROBLEM. IT WORKS FOR A FEW DAYS OR A WEEK, THEN THE SAME PROBLEM MANIFEST. THIS SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH QUITE A FEW GM VEHICLES.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 29, 2016Power train, Electrical system, Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 10910688
“I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND FOR NO REASON MY CHEVY COBALT THEFT LOCK CAME ON (ABS) LIGHT STARTED FLASHING AND TRACTIONS CONTROL LIGHT CAME ON INDICATING THAT THE TRACTION CONTROL WAS OFF THEN IN MY DASH BOARD IT SAID POWER STEERING FAILURE THEN IT WAS ROUGH IDLING AND FUEL GOES UP AND DOWN THEN IT GIVES ROUGH GEARS THIS IS THE SECOND TIME IT HAS HAPPENED DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THIS IS NOT SAFE”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 2, 2016Electronic stability control (esc)ODI 10839335

Showing 6 of 27 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.