NHTSA Complaint #11417847 — 2007 CHEVROLET COBALT

In mid 2017 I went for a drive in my 2007 Chevy Cobalt. (just over 100,000 miles). When I was approximately 4 blocks from my home the engine began sputtering and died. I was able to pull in a parking lot, put it in park and jumped out of my car. An overwhelming smell of gas was immediately noticed, as well as a huge puddle of fuel on the ground. I began to walk the 4 blocks home and saw a huge continuous trail of gasoline upon the road leading from my car ALL the way to my home! In this 4 block distance my Cobalt leaked out over 3/8ths of a tank of fuel- nearly 5-6 gallons. The fuel vapor in the air was most assuredly at a very dangerous explosive level this entire distance home. I am a self taught mechanic with many engine re-builds and repairs under my belt. Upon inspection I found that the steel fuel line had a major rupture above the driver rear wheel within the foil wrapped "joke" of a heat shield- (just above the exhaust pipe). Upon further inspection this steel fuel line was badly rusted & corroded all the way to under the driver seat. Overall the Cobalt fuel line system is a very poor design, poor quality materials, with bad design & placement. I ordered a complete new fuel & return line set and replaced all the rusty junk fuel lines. My experience with the instantaneous fuel line failure could have had a very bad ending. No warning lights or previous leaks were detected. Then there is the front suspension and front wheel bearing issues. I have installed 2 complete front suspension kits, ball joints, struts, as well as 2 wheel bearing failures- all these replaced with less than 80,000 miles on the odometer. Then there is the bad window switches, bad moon roof seal, bad wiper arm assemblies, front stereo speaker failure at 39,000 miles, on & on. A very poor quality vehicle After purchasing this Cobalt I would be very hesitant to purchase another GM product.