THE INSIDE BRAKE PADS ON MY 2009 COBALT SS TURBO CHEW UP WAY TOO QUICKLY. THEY WORE OUT ON THE INSIDE WITH LESS THAN A YEAR OF HIGHWAY DRIVING. THEY WEAR UNEVENLY WITH THE OUTSIDE BRAKE PADS IN THE REAR AND THE FRONT BRAKE PADS, WHICH ARE STILL THE THICKNESS OF NEW. *TR
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS complaints
Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2009 record →
MY CAR HAS VERY LOW KMS JUST OVER 1000KMS AND MY REAR BRAKES ARE ALREADY NOISY AND THE ROTORS SCORED. *TR
2009 COBALT SS REAR BRAKE ROTORS HAVE BIG GROOVES IN THEM DEALER CUT THEM ONCE AND THEN THEY GOT ALL GROOVED AGAIN. *TR
THIS IS MY SECOND COMPLAINT ON THE SAME PROBLEM, SEE #10278491. EXCESSIVE SCORING OF REAR BRAKE ROTORS. THE DEALER TURNED THE ROTORS AT 4600 MILES, AT MY COST. SUBSEQUENTLY, CHEVROLET ACTION CENTER SENT ME A LETTER FOR $100 CREDIT ON SERVICE. NOW AT 7500 MILES, THEY LOOK PRETTY BAD AGAIN. THE DEALER AGREED THIS TIME TO WARRANTY PADS & ROTORS, ONE TIME ONLY. THIS IS A MANUFACTURING DEFECT CAUSING A SAFETY PROBLEM. THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF REPORTS THAT THE CALIPER PINS WERE NOT LUBRICATED AT THE FACTORY, CAUSING BINDING OF THE PADS ON THE ROTORS. OTHERS BELIEVE THERE IS A PAD/ROTOR INCOMPATIBILITY ISSUE. *TR
I HAVE A 2009 COBALT SS. ABOUT A COUPLE MONTHS AGO I STARTED TO HERE SOME SCRATCHING COMING FROM THE REAR OF MY VEHICLE I LOOKED AT MY BREAKS AND THE ROTORS WERE DAMAGED I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID BREAKS ARE NOT UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE ITS AN WEARABLE ITEM AND BECAUSE OF THE DAMAGE TO MY ROTORS THEY WERE TO DAMAGED TO CUT SO I BOUGHT NEW ONES WITH BREAK PADS BECAUSE THEY WERE CRACKED AS WELL I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM SO PLEASE LOOK INTO IT. *TR
UNEVEN RAPID REAR BRAKE PAD WEAR AND SCORING OF ROTORS. THE PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON WITH 2008 AND 2009 SS MODELS. *TR
REAR BRAKES FAILING FAR TO QUICKLY, LESS THAN 23,000KM, RESULTS IN VERY LOUD SCREECHING/GRINDING NOISE. *TR
REAR BRAKES SEQUEL REALLY BAD AT TIMES AFTER DRIVING FOR A WHILE CAR HAS LESS THEN TWO THOUSAND MILES ALSO ON THE 20TH OF SEPTEMBER THE SHIFTER LINKAGE BROKE AND WAS NOT ABLE TO PUT CAR IN GEAR. *TR
2009 CHEVY COBALT SUPER SPORT REAR BRAKES WEARING DOWN TOO QUICKLY. ONLY LASTED 10,000 MILES TO WHICH I WAS TOLD HAD TO BE REPLACED AT THE COST OF 470 DOLLARS. REMAINING FRONT BRAKES HAD MORE THAN 60 PERCENT OF LIFE. REAR BRAKES WERE COMPLETELY GONE. REAR BRAKE CALIPER FAILURE IS REASON, BUT CHEVROLET REFUSES TO ADMIT FAULT. *TR
THE REAR BRAKES ON MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS ARE FAILING AT JUST 2400 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE INNER PADS HAVE WORN DOWN TOO QUICKLY, CAUSING EXCESSIVE GROOVING ON THE ROTORS. THIS HAS DECREASED BRAKES PERFORMANCE VASTLY. *TR
I DRIVE A 2009 COBALT SS. WHEN PUTTING THE CAR IN REVERSE AND BACKING UP I NOTICE A LOUD SCREECHY SOUND WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES. I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THIS WAS NORMAL. RECENTLY I LOOKED ON THREADS AND IT TURNS OUT LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. I ALSO SEE THAT THE BRAKES ARE WEARING OUT ALOT FASTER IN THE REAR. *TR
REAR BRAKES DISC'S GROOVING AT 4000 MILES . I'VE OWNED THE CAR SINCE NEW SO I CAN SAY FOR SURE THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY ABUSE TO THE BRAKES. *TR
I'VE OWNED MY NEW COBALT SS FOR 5 MONTHS NOW AND THE REAR BRAKES ARE ALREADY SHOT AND THE ROTORS ARE RIBBED. CAR HAS 13K ON THE ODOMETER AND I DON'T ROAD RACE THE CAR. JUST DAILY DRIVING. THEY ALSO DO NOT STOP IN THE RAIN!!! *TR
PREMATURE BRAKE WEAR ON REAR BRAKES. THEY SQUEAL LOUD AT ONLY 5000 MILES AND THE REAR ROTORS SCARRED. THE ROTOR IS NOT SMOOTH BUT HAS RIDGES FROM THE DAMAGE. *TR
REAR BRAKES HAVING PRE MATURE WEAR OF THE INNER PADS AND SEVERE GOUGING OF THE ROTORS. OUTER PAD WAS 75% WORN AND INNER PAD WAS 98% WORN AT 10K MILES. *TR
MY COBALT WAS PURCHASED 3/5/2009, AND HAS ONLY 5400 MILES ON IT AS OF 9/8/2009. I DO NOT DRIVE AGGRESSIVELY AND THE CAR IS PRETTY MUCH JUST DAILY DRIVEN TO WORK/HOME. THE REAR BRAKES ARE ALREADY EXHIBITING WHAT I'D CONSIDER TO BE ABNORMAL WEAR, ESPECIALLY WHEN COMPARED TO MY OTHER VEHICLES. THE ROTORS ARE BECOMING DEEPLY SCORED AND THE INSIDE BRAKE PADS ARE WORN MUCH MORE THAN THE OUTSIDE. HAVE BEEN TOLD ME THIS IS "NORMAL" (ALONG WITH A HOST OF OTHER ISSUES, INCLUDING OIL LEAKS FROM THE ENGINE). THERE ARE SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE ON A NATIONAL COBALT FORUM ALSO EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE. THE ROOT CAUSE APPEARS TO BE THE PARKING BRAKE NOT FULLY ALLOWING THE CALIPER TO RETRACT, BUT I'M NOT AN ENGINEER. *TR
REAR BRAKES ON MY 09 SS COBALT WERE GROOVED SO I HAD THE DEALER LOOK AT THEM, THEY SHAVED THEM DOWN AND DID NOT REPLACE THEM WHICH THEY SHOULD, THESE BRAKES CONSTANTLY GRIND AND SQUEAK EVEN THOUGH ITS A BRAND NEW CAR. MY BRAKES ON MY 2000 IMPALA ARE FINE BUT FOR SOME REASON THE BRAKES ON THE COBALT GRIND AND MAKE LOTS OF NOISE AND DON'T SEEM HEALTHY. *TR
BRAKES ON A 2009 AND 2008 CHEVY COBALT SS TURBOCHARGED. FAILING PREMATURELY. I HAVE 7500 MILES AND ALREADY HAVE SCORED, FADING BRAKE PERFORMANCE, FRONT AND REAR. *TR
I JUST BOUGHT MY CAR IN APRIL OF 2009. I OWN A 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS AND I AM SEEING A FAIRLY QUICK BRAKE WEAR RATING ON THE BACK BRAKES. UPON CLOSER EXAMINATION, I NOTICE THE BRAKES HAVE SOME PRETTY DEEP GROVES WHICH I HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE ON BRAKES DISCS ON A CAR. I RESEARCHED THESE GROOVES ONLINE AND APPARENTLY ITS CALLED "SCORCHING". ITS WHAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WEARING THE BRAKES AS QUICKLY AS THEY ARE. IT SEEMS TOO BE CAUSED BY FRAGMENTS OF METAL NOT FILED DOWN ON THE REAR CALIPERS ETCHING OUT THE REAR ROTORS. ITS ALSO BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT THE CALIPERS COMPRESS THE REAR ROTORS HARDER ON THE INSIDE OF THE ROTOR THAN THE OUTSIDE. THIS MIGHT BE ANOTHER REASON TO THE SCORCHING. *TR
REAR BRAKES WEAR OUT TOO QUICKLY, HORRIBLE SCORING ON THE ROTORS. NOISE ISSUES. *TR
REAR BRAKES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING GROOVES BEING CUT INTO THE ROTORS. MAKES METAL SCRAPING/RUBBING/SCREECHING NOISE DURING BRAKING. *TR
THE REAR BRAKES OF MY 2009 CHEVROLET COBALT SS ARE WORN DOWN THE METAL AFTER APPROX. 15 000KM. THE INSIDE PADS WAS METAL ON METAL, AND THE OUT SIDE PADS WERE FOUND TO BE STILL 80%. ALL PARTS ARE BEING COVERED UNDER WARRANTY, BUT MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AFTER ALL PARTS WERE REPLACED. REAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS ARE BEING REPLACED. *TR
1. CAR IS A DAILY DRIVER, SO NO ABUSE OR ANYTHING. 2. REAR BRAKES ARE SQUEALING AGAIN AFTER BEING REPLACED ONCE (PADS AND ROTORS REPLACED BY DEALERSHIP) 3. THE ROTORS AND PADS HAVE BEEN REPLACED ONCE, BUT IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN. *TR
2009 CHEVY COBALT SEDAN REAR BRAKES SCORED(DEEP GROVES) AFTER 300 MILES. *TR
GROOVING OR REAR ROTORS, AND PAD SQUEALING @ 12K MILES. *TR
THE REAR BRAKES ON THE 2008-9 COBALT SS ARE CAUSING ROTOR SCORING AT 400+ MILES. THE PADS ARE TOO AGGRESSIVE OR THE ROTORS ARE TOO SOFT AND THE ROTORS ARE BEING DESTROYED WHICH COULD LEAD TO BRAKE FAILURE IF NOT REPLACED. *TR
REAR BRAKES WEAR VERY FAST AND UNEVENLY, THUS DESTROYING ROTORS. PRODUCES LOUD SQUEALING AND REDUCED BREAKING ABILITY. PARTS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FROM CHEVY AND THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITHIN THE COBALT COMMUNITY. *TR
REASON FOR INSPECTION WAS DUE TO REAR BRAKE GRINDING SOUNDS. AFTER 12,000 MILES THE REAR BRAKE PADS WERE COMPLETELY GONE, AND THE REAR ROTORS SEVERELY GROOVED AND WARPED. GM AGREED THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM AND REPLACED THE PADS AND ROTORS UNDER WARRANTY STATING THAT THEY'VE SEEN IT ON 3 OTHERS AND WERE TAKING THE SAME ACTION. *TR
I HAVE A 09SS/TC AND I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH MY BACK ROTORS WITH LINES AND GROOVES IN THEM. I ONLY HAVE 4000 MILES ON MY CAR NOW. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AT 3500 AND THE SHOP MANAGER ARGUED WITH ME THAT IT IS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR AND THAT THE BACK BRAKES ARE "AGGRESSIVE" STYLE PADS. AND HE ARGUED THAT THE BACK DO MORE STOPPING POWER THAN THE FRONT. THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM YET AND I KNOW THAT MANY OTHER CARS OF THE SAME MODEL HAVE THIS PROBLEM. THE MAIN MECHANIC DID CONFIRM THAT IT ISN'T A NORMAL WEAR BUT SAID THAT THE CAR IS TOO NEW TO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. PLEASE HELP US OUT I REALLY DON'T WANT THIS TO CAUSE AN ACCIDENT OR FOR ME TO HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL NEW ROTORS AND PADS AT MY EXPENSE BECAUSE OF THEIR MESS UP. *TR
BOTH REAR ROTORS ARE HEAVILY SCORED ON THE INNER AND OUTER SIDES OF THE ROTOR. DEALER CALLS IT HANDBRAKE ABUSE. I NEVER KNEW THAT PULLING YOUR HANDBRAKE WHEN YOU PARK THE CAR WAS ABUSE. *TR
REAR BRAKES AND ROTORS SHOT AT 12K MILES ON A 09 COBALT SS. *TR
REAR BRAKES HAVE EXTREME GOUGING AFTER ONLY 7,000 MILES AND ARE STARTING TO SQUEAL AND YOU CAN TELL THEY ARE STICKING TO THE ROTORS AND NOT FULLY RELEASING WHICH CAN TURN INTO A BIG LIABILITY ISSUE. GM NEEDS TO REPLACE THE REAR ROTORS WITH A QUALITY PRODUCT THAT CAN WITHSTAND THE REAR PADS USED.... OR REALLY NEEDS TO CHANGE TO BREMBO ROTOR/CALIPER LIKE THE FRONT. *TR
PREMATURE REAR BRAKE WEAR. INNER ROTOR SURFACE HAS GROOVES AND UNEVEN PAD WEAR. NOTICED AT 4500 MILES. *TR
MY REAR BRAKES ON MY 2009 COBALT SS WITH JUST OVER 17000 MILES ON IT WERE COMPLETELY GONE WHEN I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP ON TUESDAY JULY 28TH OF 2009. I FIRST NOTICED SOME UNUSUAL NOISE COMING FROM THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE AT AROUND 15000 MILES. AT FIRST THE NOISE WAS SPORADIC AND I WAS NOT CONCERNED WITH IT BUT IT SOON DEVELOPED INTO A CONSTANT FRICTION TYPE NOISE THAT COULD NOT BE IGNORED. AFTER LEAVING THE VEHICLE WITH THE DEALERSHIP ALL DAY THEY FOUND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. MY REAR BRAKES WERE METAL TO METAL WITH THE ROTORS. THE SERVICE EMPLOYEE ASKED ME IF I E-BRAKE SLIDE THE CAR, SINCE I WAS NOT EXACTLY FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM HE HAD TO CLARIFY ITS MEANING. I TOLD HIM I AM NOT AN E-BRAKE SLIDING KIND OF GUY AND ASKED HIM TO CHECK THE WARE ON THE TIRES IF HE DID NOT BELIEVE ME BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE PERFORMING A MANEUVER LIKE THAT WOULD CAUSE THE TIRES TO HAVE BALD SPOTS. WE THE SERVICE PEOPLE COULD NOT FIND ANY BALD SPOTS THEY RULED THE BRAKE AS A DEFECT AND COVERED THEM UNDER WARRANTY. I JUST FIND IT UNUSUAL THAT THE REAR BRAKES WOULD DO THIS SO EARLY IN THE LIFE OF THE VEHICLE WHEN THE FRONT BRAKES LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE BARELY BEEN TOUCHED. IF I HAD BEEN TAKING A TURN OR HAVING TO BRAKE IN AN EMERGENCY I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL COULD HAVE HAPPENED WHEN I HAVE REAR METAL TO METAL INSTEAD OF THE OEM BRAKE PADS TO PROTECT ME. *TR
WEARING OF REAR BRAKES. THIS INCLUDES DEEP SCORING OF THE ROTOR AND BRAKE PAD AS WELL AS LOUD GRINDING WHEN STOPPING. THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE 100 MILES. I AM NOW AT 5K MILES AND HAVE SEEN A FEW CARS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. PADS AND ROTORS NEED TO BE REPLACED AND AN ALIGNMENT DONE. *TR
I BOUGHT A USED COBALT SS FROM A DEALER IN MEMPHIS ON JULY 15, AND DROVE IT HOME TO KANSAS, ABOUT 900 MILES. IT HAD ABOUT 3300 MILES ON IT, AND HAD BEEN IN GM FLEET SERVICE. IT NOW HAS 4600 MILES. THE REAR BRAKE ROTORS ARE SCORED BADLY ON BOTH SIDES, AND MY LOCAL DEALER WILL NOT DO ANYTHING FOR ME, CALLING IT "WEAR". IN MY OPINION, THIS IS AN UNACCEPTABLE WEAR RATE ON BRAKES, WHICH IS A SAFETY CONCERN. I HAVE BEEN IN TOUCH WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER COBALT SS OWNERS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS. *TR
BRAKE PAD FAILURE: AT ROUTINE SERVICE, 17,665 MILES, DEALER FOUND REAR, INNER BRAKE PADS EXCESSIVELY WORN. RIGHT PAD WAS GONE, ROTOR BEING SCORED. LEFT WAS LESS THAN 5% REMAINING. OTHER PADS WITHIN NORMAL LIMITS. REPLACEMENT PADS ARE NOT IN STOCK AT GM, BACK-ORDERED. *TR
MY 2009 COBALT SS HAS 10,800 MILES AND AT 7K MILES, THE REAR BRAKES BEGAN TO SQUEAK. YOU CAN FEEL THAT THE ROTORS IN THE REAR ARE GROOVED TERRIBLY, AND THE INSIDE OF THE REAR PADS ARE EVEN WORSE. THE CAR IS AT THE DEALER NOW GETTING THIS FIXED AFTER I HAD ALREADY TAKEN IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP AND THEY WROTE IT OFF AS "WEAR AND TEAR". REAR ROTORS DO NOT GET WORN OUT IN 10K MILES. *TR
MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT IS 10263782. I NOW HAVE TO HAVE THE REAR BRAKE PADS REPLACED AGAIN. WENT FROM NEW TO 3/32 IN LESS THAN 4000 MILES. IN LESS THAN 12,000 MILES THE REAR INNER PADS HAVE BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND THE ROTORS RESURFACED ONCE. *TR
ON MY 09 CHEVY COBALT SS THE REAR BRAKES GOT VERY LOUD. THE FAILURE WAS THE INNER REAR BRAKE PADS WENT METAL TO METAL BY 8000 MILES FROM NEW. THE OUTER PADS WERE LIKE NEW. DEALERSHIP RESURFACED THE ROTORS AND REPLACED THE PADS. THEY HAD THE CAR 5 DAYS AND GAVE ME A RENTAL. 2000 MILES LATER AND THE BRAKES ARE GETTING LOUD AGAIN. *TR
Reading these
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS → · Every Cobalt SS year → · How the figures are calculated →