My Cobalt SS had just over 3,000 miles on it and the clutch failed. When they finally got it apart(they said they couldn't get the parts) The clutch plate was broken in between the springs on the hub of the clutch. They claimed that this was from racing and abuse. At first they were not going to cover it under the Warrenty, but the service manager claimed he talked them into it. When I got the paperwork, it had all the parts listed covered under Warrenty, including 2 hydralic lines that the mechanic pinched during the work, and a hydralic fitting O ring that they had to get from a Saab dealer. Now I hear that this is an ongoing problem and that there may be a recall. Now my Question, Has anyone else had clutch problems with their Cobalt SS's. Also, the outside cover on the switch for the sun roof fell off, and they said that this was the 3rd one that they have seen. That happened 2 weeks after we got the car (June 18th) and they still don't have the new headliner yet, which they said they had to replace to fix it, and the passenger side door panel is falling apart, which they also had to order. I am a 27 year employee of GM, and this was my first purchase of a GM vehicle in 20 years, I had a 1985 Buick T Type, that I also had problems with. I would like to think that GM would take good care of their customers and emplyee's, but................. I am beginning to wonder.

 

There are a few on here who have had their door panels come apart, and the sunroof trim is pretty common apparently. I have not had any problems with either and I have 8k miles.

I have not had any problems with my clutch though.

 

Well, I think my clutch may possibly be starting to slip around 4200 miles....I have even babied it and NEVER ground the gears....

I have seen a few others saying that this car has a pretty weak clutch....


No problems with doors or sunroof tho

 

2005 SS with slipage in all 5 gear. Dealer service rep claims it is from use/abuse. GM does not want to cover it. Says it is a $1300 repair. I think they are nuts. A car that is 5 months old does not have a worn out clutch. I do not know what to do.

PS it never smelled burned.

 

take your car back and go to another dealer

 

i have clutch problems & the dealers will get ass reamed if they give me some bullshit! if i go from 1st to 2nd & then let foot off clutch it will stay engaged for quite awhile & then u smell the clutch just smelling like hell & then 2nd to 3rd sometimes it seems to stay engaged for about 1000rpms IT PISSES ME OFF NEVER HAD ANY PROBS. WITH MY SRT.... has there been ne thing read up about the spec clutch?

 

my boyfriend is having the exact same problem. He is just barely over his 3,000 mile mark, and noticed that the clutch is starting to slip. He also is experiencing a "back-firing" noise from his exhaust. It's like a constant popping sound, is anyone else experiencing this?

 

I could be wrong but I think the popping sound could be detonation which has something, to do with execessive fuel into combustion chambers.

 

Wow, just thought the clutch smell was common. Have 5000 miles and it always has the clutch smell. Waiting for parts currently for a broken shift linkage cable. Which by the way is not in the parts list yet.

 

whats up everyone new to the website bought my cobalt SS in july and when i bought the car the abs light was on and took it back and found that the ebcm was shorted out and also the connector was burnt replaced that now im having the same problem with the sunroof and the door panel as everyone else havent noticed any problem with the clutch yet

 

I too have the backfiring noise when I down shift while engine braking. I'm at 7000 feet so i figure its just do to the car not being able to adjust enough or something

 

Hey guys i have a base coupe and i know they do not have the same clutch but mine smells all of the time. Almost at 5000. Even when not driven hard. No other problems with the base though.

 

Hey guys, the popping noise is normal when you gear down, the car has a factory high flow exhaust system on it. Ive had 3 out of 4 of those proplems. I havent had the clutch proplem yet, but i just hit the 3000 mile marker today so we'll see about that. But i have had the proplem with the sunroof. The little plastic peace around the sunroof controls are loose but havent fallen off yet. The passenger door panel is VERY annoying. Every time i play the radio it rattles! I took it to the dealership because i thought that it was a busted speaker, but they siad that it was just a loose door panel. So i said well can you fix it and he said no because if he takes it off it will just make it worse! So i think im just going to have that whole door panle dinomatted.

 

Well i have 9000 miles on my clutch in three months of "sprited" driving and my clutch is still good but i've met 6 other cobalt ss owners and two of them there clutch is fried and i don't even think they knew it. I could just tell by driving it and comparing it to mine both cars where under 1500 miles on them and there clutches were done already. Now i'v only been driving maunal since june 13th but i can tell and feel when a clutch is slipping and not grabing. I think depending on how you broke in your clutch on these cars is determines how long there gonna last. If it means anything both kids it was there first manual car and so was mine but i never really slipped the clutch for the first 500 miles i put on it the first day i got the car i would either stall or grab completly and yank from a stop. The one girl was riding her clutch all the time so it kinda exsplained why it was toast already. Also out of the 6 owners i've met only mine pops alot or "backfires" But i also noticed that i have a small exhaust leak after my cat that may be causing it. But i like the sound so im not ganna get it fixed .

 

I've had my base sedan, hold the laughter please, for a few months and almost 13000 miles. the only clutch I smelled was on my aggressive test drive, tee hee hee. It doesn't feel perfect, but no slippage

 

me too! 14000km stong no issues with the clutch.

 

6000 miles here and some occasional really hard driving with no problems

 

Well mine went into the shop today for the same problem 1 to 2 shifting lossing all power. i have 9200 on mine. i just can't believe it is time to replace it already. damn

 

almost 7k on mine and had the sun roof issue but got it fixed within 2 weeks and have the door panel issue ... well slightly (the dealer dude said they are going with a different maker for em so to get em replaced simply call and if available they will replace em and its under warrenty)

took the car to the track and got 8 runs in and the clutch is still grabbing really hard

 

Back from the dead, and over to Problems.

 

I have 800 miles and nothing has gone wrong.....

Although I get a smell after 'spirited' driving. The gears are a little rough when the car hasn't warmed up, mainly from first to second or down shifting. I get a vibration from the rear of the car sometimes, I figured it out to be the release for the seats in the trunk. It sounds funny when I shake it normally. Not sure what to do about those yet.

It's been a long time since I've had a manual in my cars. I had a 2000 Z-24(manual) that I managed to put 8000 miles on in 5 years. It hurts when you spend 3 years in Japan. I had a auto skyline over there...it was a POS but it cost $800 and flew like a bat out of hell. I've had automatic cars since I was 18. I'm 35 now....hell, thats an lifetime for some.

I honestly don't think I'd know if the clutch was about to take a ****.

 

This is rather bothersome to hear that clutches are failing so early. I wondered if maybe it wasn't due to new inexperienced drivers, but I would think one would have to work hard at it to destroy one in 3K miles.

I haven't driven my car hard at all yet, have nearly 3K miles on it. The clutch is still tight. I've never smelled any burning. And trust me, I know what that smells like. I've been driving stick cars since 73. Yeah, I'm old.

I guess I'll hve to drive this thing a bit harder, and see if I notice any slipping.

If enough fail, I would think GM would not hesitate to repair them. But if they put the same thing back in, it will only fail again.

BTW....clutches can fail in 2 ways.
You either burn up the lining...this you can smell.
Or the diaphragm in the pressure plate breaks....and when it does that, the clutch will struggle to disengage and it won't have any holding power when engaged. It will also get easier to push and will have a different release point. You will feel that in the pedal.

If mine were to fail, I'd be tempted to buy a good aftermarket clutch and have the dealer put it in, under warranty, but I doubt they would agree to that!

Ron

 

just out of curiousity (and sorry if it was posted and i missed it), but you guys talking about your clutch going...are they SS S/C's? or are they other models?

 

I'm at 1100 miles on my SS/SC. I havent abused the car yet, I'm still being nice to the fresh motor. I'm noticing a slippage between 2k and 3k RPMs.