I pulled out of my garage yesterday and seen a dot of a see through oil on the ground.
It worried me as I have only 57000 miles on my Cobalt LS.

I looked for the source and found it on the passenger side almost in alignment to the CV boot.
It was however coming off the bottom of the motor block.

I smelled it and it was kind of sweet.

When I made it to work, I was curious to check after shutting off the car, and now it was a big leak.

I monitored my temp the whole way to work, but the temp was anywhere from 180 to 195.

I checked the fluid levels on everything even though I knew color wise it was not oil, or brake fluid.

I did not think it was coolant as it was see through. I thought it was green, or orange...
Well, it is...

What a huge POS this car is. The water pump sprung a leak at 57k miles...

I asked about this at the repair shop and they told me the Dexcool should be changed a lot sooner than 100k miles as it is very acidic.

For me, I did... It was done at 40k miles. I had the whole system flushed and replaced the thermostat.

I hate to say this, but I am no longer happy with my car.

The steering wheel rattles...
-the brakes make the wheel shimmy to a stop...
-it pulls right when I take off even when the car just got my 3rd alignment!!!!!!!!!!!...
-my radio on the second preset sometimes is unresponsive and it also randomly makes the display on the radio all broken up looking
-my gas mileage used to be 31-32mpg average and now is always 29-30 even though my route and driving habits are the same and my tire pressure is fine, and air filter is clean along with the fact I always get the oil done at 3k...
has the dumb design where it costs $620 to replace a water pump due to location...
fuel filters costs WAY too much and has one in the tank and one under the car...
butt end of the car always making pop noises...
car randomly but at least once a week makes a THHHWWAAAAK noise when it starts up, mostly when cold- probably the tensioner/ timing chain which worries me...
tranny likes to shift a little hard for a newish car even though at 30k miles I had the tranny flushed... unacceptable
I am actually now thinking about trading this hunk...

Seems like this thing is only designed to ensure the continued cash-flow for a &#@% mechanic.

I don't run the car hard, and I am always around 29 to 30mpg average as I have said before. My driving habits reflect my mileage.... BUT this car is not of quality. I see that now and feel bad for those who do work them hard as they probably got a new tranny at 30k miles and a new motor at 75k miles, and who knows what else.
Yeah, I am upset... It just cost me with the oil change, pressure check and pump- $680!!! I just got robbed. I bought a new car so this type of stuff does not happen until after 100,000 miles. I wont be purchasing a Chevy again.

 

Mike85220,

I am very sorry to hear that you have had these multiple concerns on your vehicle. I would like to set up a customer assistance case with you if you are interested. Please pm me with your name and contact information, as well as your VIN, most current mileage, and the name of your involved dealership.

Thank you so much and I look forward to assisting you with your vehicle,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

 

dude hate to break it to you buttt...

its a cobalt

 

A base model at that lol.

 

majority of what you described are regular maintenance. your wheel shimmies on braking due rotors warping which is generally only cause by excessively hard braking.

your car pulls right upon take off because its a front wheel drive car. all front wheel drives do this, some are just more noticeable then others.

your gas mileage isn't that bad. when was the last time you had a tune up done to the car. this would explain your change in gas mileage.

got nothing for the placement of the water pump but there are worse designed motors out there from GM.

your fuel filter...there's only one on the LS. and its external. whoever told you you had 2 fuel filters pulled a fast one on you and got some extra money from your pocket.

 

haha silly base models, dude my SS had a wicked pull to the side when i floor it

 

I see that my follow-up post was zapped.

I basically said in a nut shell, I am not anti-mechanic and that I just typed my post incorrectly as it was not descriptive enough.
I felt Chevy was making cars so they fall apart pre-maturely in order to send cash to their service department.
I should have re-read and edited it.
The mechanics are not at fault.
I did at the time feel that it was a scheme of Chevy's to make the car cheap and design the pump so it takes too much money to replace. Not thinking $50, but definitely not over $600.

In other words, I do like mechanics and appreciate their skill and know-how.
I am just upset at Chevy right now and debate whether or not I will buy another.

I realize it is an econo-box, but I have owned other econo-box's and they did not have accessory failure until after 100k miles. Brakes on other cars lasted about this much on heavier cars, but not on something this light. I had a Geo that the original brakes lasted until 130k miles.

 

no i understand what you were saying. and its definitely not the mechanics its the engineers and its the same with any other vehicle manufacturer out there, they are given a set of stuff to shove into a car and they do it and then figure out how to fix/replace afterwards. they don't care if its easy to get to or not.

unfortunately like i said most of what you posted is common among all cobalts but i understand how your feeling

 

Corporate GM has no interest in the revenue of service departments. Dealerships are individual franchises, and their profits do not go back to GM.

As for brakes lasting 130K miles, thats just stupid. By that time the brakes are so glazed over and worn that they aren't even safe anymore. Brakes should only last between 30,000-50,000 miles per set, and thats true for ANY car. Anyone who complains about maintenance services like brakes is just a cheapass, if the brakes don't wear out then they obviously aren't working!!

 

Where do the dealers get parts that need to be replaced? Do the parts grow on trees?

 

Sounds like a driver mod is needed

 

the dealers get the parts from GM's warehouses, GM pays for warranty repairs.

all the cars on a dealers lot are purchased from GM by the dealership. GM does not own any of the vehicles on a dealers lot.

after that GM and the dealerships do not share profits.

 

I'm glad someone else understands!!

GM makes money selling cars. Their primary business is not parts.

Dealerships make their money in the parts & service business. They don't make enough money to keep the doors open by selling new cars alone.

 

I have a 2010 cobalt sport with 25k I bought it at 14k. I work at used car dealership and any car more than 30k is usually a scam. Your car sounds like a dud or you just don't keep up with it. My car is fine so far, I have fuel filter, oil every three, air filter, 5 layers of wax and a layer of glass coat

 

i worked for GM as a tech for about 5 years so i know a little bit of their internal workings lol

 

DONT DO IT! i've heard bad things about her, sorry sarah

 

im right here as well but trying to make the best of it.

I have an 07 Base LS 4dr, whole front end went at 50k and have been limping it since. Needs bushings/joints/endlinks and front struts. and probably the I shaft as well. Definetly wont buy another one of these, but then when you think about it, what kind of car can you get for this kind of money? my girl overpaid for this definetly and it was a 07 with 50k on it bought last year (think she paid 10k).

So on the good side they are super cheap but as the saying goes "You get what you pay for"

If you are mechically skilled a base LS would be a perfect car for the kids.

 

yeah my girl bought a base model Cobalt before she knew me, she paid 12k for it in 09 with 36k miles. Its got 68k now and the thing is mechanically sound. Only thing she had wrong with it was a bad thermostat, which I replaced and its been great. but we keep up with the maintenance.

 

Keyword HEARD

But not experienced......

 

Just keep up with maintaince and keep it clean and it will be fine

 

only things ive done to my 05 ls other then regular maintenance, is shocks/struts (changed to fe5), and control arm bushings. And im at 88k miles and drive it hard from time to time.