U.S. public vehicle records

2008 Chevrolet COBALT SS: complaints, problems and recalls

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

95 owner complaints analyzed

0 distinct recall campaigns

16,500 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2008 model year. Data snapshot: 2026-09-12 (September 12, 2026). 85 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Service Brakes, Hydraulic is the most frequently named component, appearing in 64 of 95 complaints (67.4%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Braking behavior	65	68.4%
Fuel system concerns	5	5.3%
Transmission and shifting	2	2.1%
Engine operation	2	2.1%
Electrical and battery issues	2	2.1%
Steering behavior	1	1.1%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

Service Brakes

Engine

Fuel/Propulsion System

Parking Brake

Unknown Or Other

Air Bags

Electrical System

Service Brakes, Hydraulic: 64; Service Brakes: 7; Engine: 6; Fuel/Propulsion System: 5; Parking Brake: 5; Unknown Or Other: 5; Air Bags: 4; Electrical System: 4

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 60; 25,000 to 49,999: 8; 50,000 to 74,999: 10; 75,000 to 99,999: 5; 100,000 to 149,999: 1; 150,000 and above: 1

Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (60). 10 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2009

2010

2011

2012

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2009: 38; 2010: 27; 2011: 6; 2012: 5; 2014: 10; 2015: 3; 2016: 1; 2017: 3; 2018: 2

Pattern summary

Service Brakes, Hydraulic leads the component reports. Braking behavior appears in 65 complaint narratives. Fuel system concerns appears in 5 complaint narratives. Transmission and shifting appears in 2 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Examples from the source records

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 10263799 · 2009-03-31 (March 31, 2009)

PREMATURE REAR BRAKE WEAR ON INSIDE BRAKE PADS, ROTORS SCORED FROM PAD FAILURE. FAULTY EQUIPMENT. GM WOULD NOT COVER UNDER WARRANTY AT ONLY 16,000MILES. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 16,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10263799 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10263925 · 2009-04-02 (April 2, 2009)

TERRIBLE PREMATURE WEAR OF REAR BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS ON 2008 CHEVROLET COBALT SS TURBOCHARGED WITH ROUGHLY 20,000 MILES... INSIDE PAD AND INWARD FACING SIDE OF ROTORS SHOW GREAT DAMAGE. VERY DEEP GAUGES TO INWARD SIDE OF BOTH REAR ROTORS. VERY COMMON PROBLEM ON ALL 2008-2009 COBALT SS TURBOCHARGED VEHICLES. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 20,700 miles reported. Look up ODI 10263925 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10265406 · 2009-04-15 (April 15, 2009)

REAR ROTORS FAILURE. MASSIVE SCORING ON REAR BRAKES DUE TO GM POOR QUALITY IN BRAKES. GRINDING NOISE WHEN STOPPING. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 10,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10265406 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10277484 · 2009-07-20 (July 20, 2009)

IN JULY 2008 WE PURCHASED A NEW CHEVY COBALT SS FROM C.WEAVER CHEVROLET IN YORKVILLE, NY. WE WERE HAVING A PROBLEM WITH A NOISE IN THE REAR AND BROUGHT IT IN FOR SERVICE AT 12,400 MILES. WE WERE TOLD THAT IT WAS IN NEED OF REAR BRAKES AND ALSO THAT THE FRONT TIRES WERE IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT. THE FRONT TIRES WERE REMOVED IN THE WINTER FOR SNOW TIRES AND HAVE ONLY BEEN ON THE CAR FOR ABOUT 7,00 MILES. IT WAS OUR OPINION THAT THERE WERE DEFECTS WITH THE TIRES AND BRAKES BUT THE DEALERSHIP, (CARBONE GMC,PONTIAC, BUICK), IN YORKVILLE, NY REFUSED TO…

Owner-reported narrative. 7,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10277484 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10278732 · 2009-07-29 (July 29, 2009)

REAR ROTORS ARE SEVERELY GROOVED ON BOTH THE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. THE CAR HAS APPROXIMATELY 20K MILES. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 20,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10278732 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10278735 · 2009-07-29 (July 29, 2009)

REAR BRAKES WEAR VERY RAPIDLY. THE REAR BRAKE PADS WERE COMPLETELY GONE WITHIN 14K MILES, REAR ROTORS SCORED SO HEAVILY THEY NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. 10K MILES LATER THE REPLACEMENT BRAKES ARE ALMOST GONE. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THE FRONT BRAKES HAVE BEEN FINE THIS ENTIRE TIME - STILL PLENTY OF LIFE LEFT. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 14,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10278735 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10278845 · 2009-07-31 (July 31, 2009)

AFTER DRIVING 18K MILES OF HIGHWAY IN LESS THAN A YEAR MY REAR BRAKE PADS WERE WORN TO THE BACKING PLATE. ON TOP OF THAT MY BRAKE ROTOR WERE BADLY GROOVED AND NEEDED TO BE MACHINED. THIS VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN TO A TRACK, MINIMAL CITY DRIVING, NEVER EXCESSIVE SPEEDS, AND MINIMAL HEAVY BRAKING. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 18,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10278845 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10278862 · 2009-07-31 (July 31, 2009)

REAR BRAKE NOISE AND GRINDING AND ROTORS SCORED AND GROOVED AFTER 6K MILES. THE REAR BRAKE NOISE WAS PRESENT EVEN WHEN I WAS DRIVING AND WORSE WHEN BRAKING. THE CAR WENT TO TWO DEALERSHIPS AND WAS TOLD THIS ADVANCED AND PREMATURE WEAR WAS NORMAL. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 6,100 miles reported. Look up ODI 10278862 at NHTSA ↗

Recall history

0 distinct campaigns affect this selection. Announcement dates below are different from vehicle model years. A campaign may cover multiple years.

No recall campaigns are recorded in this snapshot.