Problems · by component
2008 Chevrolet Cobalt engine problems
42 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt cite engine, 4% of all 940 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
42
4% of all complaints
Crashes
3
Reported by owners
Fires
2
Reported by owners
Injuries
2
Reported by owners
What owners say about the engine
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30-35 MPH, the power steering warning light illuminated before the vehicle lost power. The contact shifted the vehicle into park and restarted the vehicle and the vehicle regained normal functionality. The failure occurred a total of 4 times. The contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 114,000.”
“I HAD RECALLS FIXED IN 2015. AND THEN SUDDENLY POWER STEERING TURNS ON AND OFF. NEVER BEFORE THEY TOUCHED IT WAS THERE AN ISSUE. IT HAPPENS HERE AND THERE AND STOPS. THIS YEAR IS HAPPENING EVERY DAY AND WON'T GO AWAY. MY POWER STEERING TURNS OFF IN MIDDLE OF DRIVING. DASH BOARD LIGHTS GO OFF AND CAR STARTS CRANKING. GOES SUPER SLOW . I'M SCARED ITA GOING TO EXPLODE. I CAN'T DRIVE ON FREEWAY . AND NOW BESIDES THE LOCK ON SCREEN COMING ON MY ENGINE LIGHT STAYS ON NOW . NOT SURE WHAT TO DO WITH IT. CAR SHOPS CAN'T HELP. WHEN I 1ST HAD THE ISSUE I CALLED THE DEALER BECAUSE THEY FIXED THE RECALL AND THEY SAID NOTHING COULD BE DONE BECAUSE THEY HAD ALREADY FIXED THE RECALL”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL FUEL ODOR IN THE VEHICLE. ADDITIONALLY, WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. AN UNKNOWN DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,731. *BF *AS”
“AS I WAS DRIVING ON A CITY STREET, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH AND I NOTICED THE ODOR OF GASOLINE. I PULLED OVER TO CHECK FOR THE SOURCE OF THE ODOR AND FOUND FUEL LEAKING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR AND ONTO THE ROAD. THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CONDITION, AS I COULD NOT STOP THE FUEL FROM CONTINUING TO LEAK. I FOUND THAT THE FUEL SUPPLY LINE BETWEEN THE FUEL TANK AND ENGINE RUSTED COMPLETELY THROUGH NEAR THE DRIVER SIDE REAR FENDER WELL, CAUSING THE LEAK. THE EVAPORATIVE EMISSION VAPOR LINE WAS RUSTED AND LEAKING AS WELL, RESULTING IN FLAMMABLE FUEL VAPORS ESCAPING.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT UNKNOWN SPEEDS, FOR TWENTY MINUTES GAS WAS LEAKING OUT OF THE TANK AND THE FUEL METER DECREASED TO EMPTY. HOWEVER, THERE WERE NO VISUAL SIGN OF FUEL ON THE GROUND. ADDITIONALLY, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL ODOR OF GAS EMERGING IN AND OUT OF THE VEHICLE. THE SERVICE TIRE PRESSURE MONITOR LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO INFORMED THE TO CONTACT THE LOCAL DEALER AS WELL AS THE VEHICLE WAS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,875.”
“INSTRUMENT CLUSTER MALFUNCTIONING, SPEEDOMETER AND WARNING INDICATORS FLASHING, GOING OUT, RESUMING NORMAL OPERATION, THEN REPEATING THE FAILURE SYMPTOMS REPEATEDLY. DURING FAILURE SYMPTOMS THE TRANSMISSION AND ENGINE BOG DOWN, STALL AND THE POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILS (WITH ENGINE STILL RUNNING) . RANDOM ELECTRICAL ISSUES SUCH AS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT, CAR ALARM SENSOR, ETC FLASH ON AND OFF THEN START WORKING AGAIN TOTALLY NORMALLY. CAN NOT GET THE FAILURE TO OCCUR AT THE DEALERSHIP OR MECHANICS. FAILS SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK. FAILS WHEN DRIVING ON STREET, HIGHWAY AT LOW SPEEDS, MEDIUM SPEEDS OR HIGH SPEEDS.”
Showing 6 of 42 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.