2009 Chevrolet Cobalt Ss: Reliability Data

222
Total Complaints
12,000mi
Median Mileage
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
Top Issue
12
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

5,700 25th Percentile
12,000 Median Mileage
25,372 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic
133
Parking Brake
18
Service Brakes
13
Air Bags
8
Electrical System
7
Fuel/Propulsion System
6
Service Brakes, Electric
6
Steering
4
Wheels
3
Engine
3

Severity Assessment

12
Crashes
2
Fires
7
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"ON MY 09 CHEVY COBALT SS THE REAR BRAKES GOT VERY LOUD. THE FAILURE WAS THE INNER REAR BRAKE PADS WENT METAL TO METAL BY 8000 MILES FROM NEW. THE OUTER PADS WERE LIKE NEW. DEALERSHIP RESURFACED THE ROTORS AND REPLACED THE PADS. THEY HAD THE CAR 5 DAYS AND GAVE ME A RENTAL. 2000 MILES LATER AND THE ..."
"MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT IS 10263782. I NOW HAVE TO HAVE THE REAR BRAKE PADS REPLACED AGAIN. WENT FROM NEW TO 3/32 IN LESS THAN 4000 MILES. IN LESS THAN 12,000 MILES THE REAR INNER PADS HAVE BEEN REPLACED TWICE AND THE ROTORS RESURFACED ONCE. *TR"
"MY 2009 COBALT SS HAS 10,800 MILES AND AT 7K MILES, THE REAR BRAKES BEGAN TO SQUEAK. YOU CAN FEEL THAT THE ROTORS IN THE REAR ARE GROOVED TERRIBLY, AND THE INSIDE OF THE REAR PADS ARE EVEN WORSE. THE CAR IS AT THE DEALER NOW GETTING THIS FIXED AFTER I HAD ALREADY TAKEN IT TO ANOTHER DEALERSHIP AND T..."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic 133 complaints
25th: 4,875 mi Median: 10,000 mi 75th: 15,000 mi
Parking Brake 18 complaints
25th: 9,375 mi Median: 13,000 mi 75th: 16,191 mi
Service Brakes 13 complaints
25th: 27,000 mi Median: 31,050 mi 75th: 43,000 mi
Air Bags 8 complaints
25th: 47,000 mi Median: 55,500 mi 75th: 82,000 mi
Electrical System 7 complaints
25th: 50,500 mi Median: 66,000 mi 75th: 82,315 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 25 IL: 17 MO: 16 OH: 16 MI: 16 PA: 13 NJ: 12 00: 10 MD: 10 CA: 8

Who Files Complaints?

0.9%
Original Owners
99.1%
Second+ Owners

Chevrolet Cobalt Ss — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
20081170

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28