The Lemon IndexChevrolet Cobalt reliability.
Is it reliable? Not really. 2.5× the average car's complaints.
Avoid · 2005–2010
What owners say on YouTube
2005–2010 Cobalt · 198 most-watched videos
Owners praise
Owners complain about
Fixes owners look up most
- Intake, EGR & engine sensors832K views
- Infotainment, battery & electrical607K views
- Oil changes & service458K views
Before you buy, watch
Praise and complaints: the share of each generation's most-watched videos that mention a topic with a praise or trouble word next to it, in the title or what's said. YouTube rank: how positive owners and reviewers sound, compared with every car of the same model year. It measures tone, not failure rates. Videos belong to their creators; we link to them.
Fewest complaints
2010.
No Chevrolet Cobalt year beat the average car. 2010 drew the fewest complaints: about one and a half times the average car's complaints.
Years to avoid
None.
No Chevrolet Cobalt year drew much more than the average car's complaints.
Every year. Lower is better. Tap a year for its full report.
Newest year first. Red = worse than average, gray = about average or too few complaints to score. #1, #2… = that year's YouTube rank among the 6 Chevrolet Cobalt years with enough videos (#1 = the year owners and reviewers talk about most positively). It is not a reliability rank.
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<iframe src="https://lemonindex.com/embed/cars/chevrolet-cobalt/" title="Chevrolet Cobalt reliability by model year (The Lemon Index)" width="100%" height="353" style="border:0;max-width:720px" loading="lazy"></iframe><p style="font-size:13px;margin:4px 0 0">Data: <a href="https://lemonindex.com/cars/chevrolet-cobalt/">Lemon Index</a> (Chevrolet Cobalt reliability by year)</p>Scores before 2010 are rough: fewer owners filed complaints back then.
YouTube rank: we read 199 YouTube videos about the Chevrolet Cobalt, 2005 to 2010, and ranked every year by how much they praise it vs. how much they talk about problems. YouTube's favorite: 2009. Old cars rank lower partly because most of their videos are repair and restoration videos. A gray dot means not enough data yet: under 10 videos, or a new year with no owner complaints to compare.
Compare the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Opens the compare tool with both cars, every year side by side. Compare with any car →
Quick answers.
Is the Chevrolet Cobalt reliable?
Not really. It draws 2.5× the average car's complaints, and YouTube owners complain about it more than about most cars its age. No year beat the average car. The year with the fewest complaints, 2010, still drew 1.5× the average.
Is the Chevrolet Cobalt a good car?
Not overall: it draws more complaints than the average car, by owner complaints to the government per car sold (2005-2010: Lemon Index 249; 100 is average). Some years are much better than others: 2010 drew the fewest complaints since 2010.
What are the best Chevrolet Cobalt years to buy?
No Chevrolet Cobalt year beat the average car. 2010 drew the fewest complaints (about one and a half times the average car's complaints).
What Chevrolet Cobalt years should you stay away from?
No Chevrolet Cobalt year drew much more than an average car's complaints.
How many recalls does the Chevrolet Cobalt have?
35 safety recalls across the 6 model years we track. Most: 2005 (6), 2006 (6), 2007 (6). Each year's page lists them, and every Chevrolet Cobalt recall is in one list here.
What are the most common Chevrolet Cobalt problems?
Across every year, owners' complaints to the government name steering, electrical and brakes most. Some years are much worse than others: see the chart above.
Every year in one table
| Year | Index | Compared with average | Complaints | Top complaint | Recalls | Crash test | MPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 160 | about one and a half times the average car's complaints | 236 | steering (48%) | 6 | — | 23–25 |
| 2006 | 428 | about 4 times the average car's complaints | 571 | steering (71%) | 6 | — | 23–25 |
| 2007 | 308 | about 3 times the average car's complaints | 546 | steering (73%) | 6 | — | 24–25 |
| 2008 | 134 | a bit more than the average car's complaints | 251 | steering (43%) | 5 | — | 25–29 |
| 2009 | 370 | about 4 times the average car's complaints | 312 | service brakes, hydraulic (45%) | 6 | — | 25–30 |
| 2010 | 148 | about one and a half times the average car's complaints | 166 | steering (68%) | 6 | — | 25–30 |
The Lemon Index counts owner complaints filed with the U.S. government (NHTSA) in a car's first 3 years, per car sold, against the average car of the same model years (100 = average, lower is better). It measures complaints, not crash safety. U.S. sales source: en.wikipedia.org. How it works
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Updated · Free to use with credit: Source: The Lemon Index (lemonindex.com)
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