Reliability & cost of ownership
Chevrolet Cobalt Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Chevrolet Cobalt? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Chevrolet Cobalt problems by model year
35 recall entries and 7677 owner complaints on file across 13 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 Cobalt | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2016 Cobalt | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2012 Cobalt | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2011 Cobalt | 0 | 2 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2010 Cobalt | 6 | 573 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2009 Cobalt | 6 | 710 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2008 Cobalt | 5 | 843 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2007 Cobalt | 6 | 1563 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2006 Cobalt | 6 | 2330 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2005 Cobalt | 6 | 1649 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2002 Cobalt | 0 | 2 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2000 Cobalt | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1996 Cobalt | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Chevrolet Cobalt, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- steering3889 complaints
- electrical system1457 complaints
- fuel/propulsion system1106 complaints
- air bags606 complaints
- fuel system491 complaints
- gasoline478 complaints
- power train368 complaints
- engine331 complaints