What breaks most · 2008 to 2010 model years
Chevrolet Cobalt SS problems by year
Owners have filed 294 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Chevrolet Cobalt SS across model years 2008 to 2010. One year stands out: 2009 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints.
- Years to check closely: 2009
- Complaints on file
- 2942008 to 2010, all trims
- Worst year
- 2009190 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 84 fires · 3 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 15kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 0Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 0 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (64) | |
| 190 | 8 | 0 | Brakes (hydraulic) (133) | |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | Steering (3) |
What fails on the 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt SS
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 70% |
133 | 5 | Shop all brakes (hydraulic) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Parking Brake | 9% |
18 | 0 | — |
| BrakesBrake pads, rotors and calipers | 7% |
13 | 0 | Shop all brakes parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Air bags | 4% |
8 | 3 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 4% |
7 | 1 | Shop all electrical system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 3% |
6 | 0 | Shop all fuel system parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Brakes (electric)Brake sensors and controls | 3% |
6 | 0 | Shop all brakes (electric) parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 2% |
4 | 2 | Shop all steering parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
The rear brakes failed on my car at around 28,000 miles. As soon as i got the new ones installed they still are terrible, i do not understand why there would be such brakes that fail so early and could cause harm to people. There needs to be a recall on these brakes, they are entirely too unsafe.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Chevrolet Cobalt SS years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2009 carries the most filings on the Chevrolet Cobalt SS. The 2009 alone has 190 complaints, led by brakes (hydraulic).
What is the most common Chevrolet Cobalt SS problem?
On the 2009 model year, the most-reported component is brakes (hydraulic) with 133 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Chevrolet Cobalt SS problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Chevrolet Cobalt SS complaints that include mileage is about 15,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.