Problems · by component
2006 Chevrolet Cobalt vehicle speed control problems
48 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt cite vehicle speed control, 2% of all 2,330 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
48
2% of all complaints
Crashes
6
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
Reported by owners
What owners say about the vehicle speed control
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND MY TRACTION CONTROL CAME ON. I LOST STEERING CONTROL AND MY CAR STARTED SHIFTING ROUGH AND EVENTUALLY MY POWER DEMINISHED. NOW COMES ON PERIODICALLY FOR A COUPLE DAYS THEN WILL GO OFF AND DRIVE FINE. ALSO MY AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS ON FOR PASSENGER AND SHOWS IT TO BE OFF. HAS DONE THIS SINCE I BOUGHT IT.”
“FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE WITH TCM/ECM/PCM. THIS PROBLEM HAS CAUSED SEVERAL OCCURANCES WHERE DRIVING THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN HAZARDOUS. BECAUSE OF EITHER THE WIRING OR THE TCM ITSELF, I, THE CONSUMER, HAVE NEARLY BEEN IN 2 ACCIDENTS. AT FIRST I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS THE POWER STEERING ASSIST MODULE. REPLACED THAT AND PROBLEM STILL OCCURRED. WHEN THE PROBLEM OCCURS, THE GAUGES JUMP UP AND DOWN AND COMPLETELY STOP WORKING (SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER), TRANSMISSION SHIFTS EXTREMELY HARD WHEN ACCELERATING, POWER STEERING ILLUMINATES IN THE DATA INFORMATION BOX WHICH IN TURN CAUSES LOSS OF POWER STEERING (REPLACED POWER STEERING ASSIST MOTOR, ISSUE STILL HAPPENS, 1 OCCURANCE OF LOOSING POWER STEERING AND BEING ABLE TO STOP BEFORE GOING OFF THE SIDE A MOUNTAIN WHEN TRYING TO MANEUVER A RIGHT HAND TURN), CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATES, WHEN SHIFTING FROM PARK TO REVERSE, REVERSE TO NEUTRAL, NEUTRAL TO DRIVE, THE TRANSMISSION ENGAGES VERY HARD AND RESULTS IN AN AUDIBLE "CLUNK". 1 OCCURANCE OF VEHICLE SWITCHING GEARS INTO NEUTRAL FROM DRIVE, WHILE DRIVING (SHIFT LEVER STILL IN DRIVE POSITION),PASSLOCK LIGHT ALSO ILLUMINATES IN DASH. VEHICLE CONSISTENLY ACTS AS IT IS GOING TO…”
“THE VEHICLE CAN MESS UP FROM EITHER DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY OR TRYING TO ACCELERATE THE VEHICLE ON CITY STREET OR HIGHWAY THAT THE ENGINE STALLS AND SAYS "ENGINE POWER REDUCED" THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ALONG WITH THE T/C LIGHT COMES ON. IT HAPPENS MULTIPLE TIMES IN JUST 30 MINUTES OF DRIVING, MORE FOR LONGER TRIPS. IT WILL EVEN DO IT IN 10 MINUTES OF DRIVING. YOU HAVE TO PULL OVER AND TURN VEHICLE OFF FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN IT DRIVES FINE FOR MAYBE A MILE DOWN THE ROAD BEFORE IT DOES IT AGAIN, OR, YOU CAN CONTINUE DRIVING IT WITH THE PEDAL ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR BOARD TRYING TO GET SPEED WHICH IF YOU DO THE CAR SHIFTS GEAR VERY BADLY AND RIDES ROUGH BUT WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO GET TO WORK ON TIME YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TOO. I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC 3 TIMES OVER THIS. THROTTLE BODY WAS CHANGED (TWICE), THEY REPLACED THE COMPUTER AND CLEANED THE WIRES. ONE MECHANIC WAS THE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP AND THEY TOLD ME THEY NEEDED IT THERE WHEN IT HAPPENED TO BETTER DIAGNOSE THE SITUATION. I DO NOT HAVE THE ABILITY TO LET THEM JUST KEEP MY VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD THIS VEHICLE FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR. I BOUGHT IT USED. I HAVE A LOAN ON THE VEHICLE AND I AM…”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET COBALT. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER WHEN MAKING LEFT OR RIGHT TURNS AND THE POWER STEERING WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED. IN ADDITION, THE SPEEDOMETER FAILED TO DISPLAY THE ACTUAL SPEEDS. THE FAILURES RECURRED NUMEROUS TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD JERK AND HESITATE TO ACCELERATE WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED AGAIN, THE VEHICLE WOULD ACCELERATE WITHOUT WARNING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.”
“POWER STEERING SHUTS OFF AT INTERMITTENT TIMES. THE RPMS GO UP AND DOWN AND CAR SPUTTERS WHEN THIS HAPPENS. THIS HAPPENS WHEN DRIVING AND WHEN THE VEHICLE IS STANDING STILL. IT ALSO ALMOST DIES AT STOP LIGHTS AND STOP SIGNS. THIS HAPPENS ON THE HIGHWAY AND ON CITY STREETS.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CHEVROLET COBALT. UPON MERGING TO ENTER THE HIGHWAY, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECAME STUCK AND THE BRAKES FAILED TO RESPOND WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE CONTACT HAD TO SWITCH LANES, PLACE THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL, AND COAST OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WAS TOWED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 249,900.”
Showing 6 of 48 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.