NHTSA Complaint #10266492 — 2005 CHEVROLET COBALT

THE POWER STEERING ON THE 2005 AND LATER COBALTS QUITS EITHER INTERMITTENTLY OR CONTINUOUSLY. IN MY CASE, THE PS ONLY WORKS FOR 2/10 OF A MILE BEFORE QUITTING. AFTER THAT POINT IT IS ONLY MANUAL DRIVE. THERE ARE WEBSITES AND BLOGS THAT ARE DEDICATED JUST TO THIS PROBLEM INCLUDING HTTP://WWW.TOPIX.COM/FORUM/AUTOS/CHEVROLET-COBALT/T8FMSUQB7V2DTH5JH. THIS SITE HAS 335 INSTANCES OF THIS PROBLEM AS OF TODAY. GM HAS FAILED TO STEP UP AND FIX THIS. IN FACT, THEY INSIST THAT THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN MUST BE REPLACED. HOWEVER, THIS SITE HTTP://WWW.CARCOMPLAINTS.COM/CHEVROLET/COBALT/2005/STEERING/POWER_STEERING_FAILURE.SHTML SHOWS THAT IT IS USUALLY ONLY ONE COMPONENT BUT THAT COMPONENT CANNOT BE PURCHASED SEPARATELY. THE ENTIRE COLUMN REPLACEMENT RUNS FROM $800 TO $2000 WHEREAS THE COMPONENT ALONE HAS TO BE MUCH CHEAPER AND IS ACTUALLY SIMPLE TO REPLACE. I TRIED THE REMEDY LISTED BY WAYNE FROM ZION IL #318 ON THE FIRST WEBSITE LISTED HERE AND WHILE IT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME, THERE WAS SO MUCH BLACK POWDER COMING OUT OF IT I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. NO WONDER IT DOESN'T WORK! THIS PART IS BASICALLY SEALED SO IT MUST BE MADE IN UNCLEAN CONDITIONS. I BELIEVE IT IS MADE IN JAPAN (ONE OF THE POSTS MENTIONS IT). I BELIEVE THAT POWER STEERING ISSUES ARE A MAJOR DEFECT AND WHY NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE BY THIS ORGANIZATION OR GM IS BEYOND ME. WHILE IT MAY BE SAFE TO DRIVE IN MANUAL STEERING, HAVING IT CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TURN (AS IS REPORTED IN THE POSTS) IS NOT SAFE! ANOTHER PROBLEM THAT SEEMS TO BE RELATED IS THE KEY NOT COMING OUT OF THE IGNITION. I SAY RELATED BECAUSE MOST CARS WITH THE FIRST ISSUE SEEM TO HAVE THE SECOND ISSUE TOO. LASTLY, THESE CARS ALSO HAVE THE A/C LEAK DIRECTLY INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT CAUSING MOLD AND MILDEW AND THEREFORE UNSAFE BREATHING CONDITIONS IN THE CAR. CHECK THE POSTS, DEALERS "CAN'T FIND ANYTHING WRONG" WITH THEM. HOW DO I FORCE YOUR ORGANIZATION TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS AS I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE TO COMPLAIN? *TR