High Miles and Very Few Problems

bds3120

2006 Cobalt LT manual...175,000 miles on it and never been stranded by car. Here are the maintenance items I have completed:

-driver side front wheel brg. @ approx. 135,000 miles
-pass side front wheel brg. @ approx. 165,000 miles
-New battery @ approx. 150,000 miles
-Installed new struts @ approx. 145,000 miles
-Changed plugs/timing belt @ 170,000 miles
-Have done front pads twice, and rotors one time @ 120,000 miles
-Always change oil at least every 4,000 miles

The car runs perfectly. The only issue I have is the steering column rattles (typical for cobalt) and I have had them since 50,000 miles and have gotten worse but still drivable. Also the control arm bushings need replaced according to mechanic but don't think I will be doing that too soon as it's not as bad as he says.

I am confident this car will get to 200,000 miles easily, and hopeful that it will break 250,000 and potentially 300,000. (I drive approx. 35,000 miles a year)

Just wanted to know if anyone else has had this same good luck with the Cobalt. There is a lot of bad publicity/discussion around the cobalt but I can't complain about a cheap new car lasting this long with barely any problems. Hondas have more things go wrong than this car. Let me know.

cmhj2000

Have seen a couple that come close to your mileage with few repairs other than maintenance and wear items. Have seen several with over 100K.

Personally my oldest is an 07 with about 78K and no issues.

sharkman1

That's awesome! My '06 LS just turned over 100k & I was starting to thinking about the timing chain, but you have given me new hope

cmhj2000

Timing chains are one of those things that seldom get looked at. I will admit however, that I do replace chains on hi mileage vehicles. Many times I've seen, depending somewhat on the design that the chain was so stretched it was wearing into the cover.

Chain wear is effected by several issues including maintenance, type of oil and driving style.

horsey55

Great to read that your car has held up that well. I put about 8,000 miles on my '08 LS Coupe in 3 months last year, and it seemed like this car was going to get worn out real fast.
I was lucky and got to work back in town again and am keeping the mileage down.It indeed is a nice commuter car. My struts blew out at about 20,000 miles, replaced under warranty and handled well by my dealer.
I would like to upgrade to a bit nicer car, but this Cobalt has not let me down. It is a keeper.

kanaloa

Suggest you check out rvsmaster.com for a means of reducing wear on ferrometallic surfaces. Also, consider using TufOil (tufoil.com) in your engine and anywhere else appropriate.
BTW I've got a 2007 Pontiac G5 (a Cobalt with a different badge) 2.2L with automatic transmission and 160,000 miles using these products.

xcelentone

We have a 2007 Cobalt LS that we bought in May of 2009. It had 175k highway miles when we bought it. The original owner had some sort of delivery route between Eugene Oregon and Seattle Washington. It is currently at 242k miles and still going strong. We have a rural newspaper route that puts an additional 80 miles a day on it. We have replaced tires, brakes, shocks, struts, instrument cluster, HVAC blower motor, serpentine belt and the alternator. We also picked up some new front seats from a wrecking yard for $150, the old drivers seat was completely worn down. Believe it or not we get 40mpg on the highway in this thing. It burns a little oil between changes and it has a leak in the brake system somewhere. We have to add brake fluid about every two weeks. The suspension has always been noisy as hell but it's pretty darn reliable considering the mileage.

ter06

I have an 06 SS 2.4, im at about 175k - still runs like a champ. just a few things here and there but never left me stranded.

135k - timing belt replaced ( just looked worn so decided to get it over with. )

A/C died - was fixed but the dealer didn't seat the ground wire so it worked intermittenly for a while.

and the locking mechanism in the driver door stopped working (door wouldn't open) unless you tap 3-4x on the door while hitting unlock and problem solved, got old after the 1st time when i had to exit thru the passenger door.

kbusenbark

I have a 2009 Cobalt LS XFE manual. I bought the car brand new with 7 miles on it for about $13,500. It was last year's model and they had some seriously deep discounts attached to it.

It has been a very nice car for me. I get really good mileage and great reliability. When driving back roads around Oregon, and actually sticking to the speed limits, I get 39 to 42 mpg, still. The car has never stranded me. Even though I have been a little rough on it here and there.

I have always changed the oil early with Mobil 1 Full Synthetic 5W-30 (not the extended performance stuff). Even when money was tight, I would always find a way to get the Mobil 1 I needed. When I do force the engine to work hard, I have never smelled a burning oil smell, or any kind of funky smell at all. It also never burns or leaks oil. I put in the correct amount of oil at my oil change and that's it. I don't need to top off between oil changes like other cars I've owned.

I currently have 132,000 miles on the car. I will typically replace things before they need to be done. The following items I have replaced before they were needed:

Accessory Belt.................85K
Spark Plugs......................50K, 90K
Coolant............................80K
Rotor, Pad, Hardware......80K
Front Strut.......................80K
Rear Coil..........................80K
Rear Shock.......................80K
Headlights (leak).............75K
Front Driver Speaker.......110K

The following items I have replaced because the engine light came on once:

VVT Exhaust Solenoid..........110K
VVT Intake Solenoid.............110K

It has been a great car over the years. I love how inexpensive it is to operate. It has manual everything. Only luxuries are power steering and A/C. I love having a car that is simple to fix. It can be a pain when it is raining and I have to unlock the front door, reach in through the front door to unlock the back doors to get strap my son in the backseat, but I like that there are no electric motors, heaters, switches, wires, or batteries for all those luxury items.

My wife's car is a 2016 CR-V. She has two cameras, two seat heaters, an electric driver seat, power windows and moon roof, power locks, and the intelligent entry system that allows the doors to unlock just by having the key in your pocket and touching the inside of either front door handle. It is all nice, but the expensive of one of these items failing is a constant worry.

About 10,000 miles ago I got some new Michelin Premier A/S tires. I have driven on a lot of different tires over the last 14 years, and these are the best tires I've ever used by a long shot. These have brought my Cobalt's ride quality back to life. I love having them during the cold, wet Oregon winters. The combination of the car and tires is a total package for any traveler.

faliray

I totally agree with all the good reviews of this car. I bought this car because I became anxious about buying a used car with a timing belt. I had planned on buying a higher mileage Aveo, but I bought my Cobalt with 80,000 miles on it. I'm glad I didn't read the online reviews of this car before I bought it because if I had, I would have bought something else.

My 07 has 110,000 on it. In the almost two years I've owned it I've put 30,000 miles on it and replaced a wheel bearing. Compare this to my old Dodge Neon that needed a valve replaced at the same mileage. This car's reliability is saving me tons of money!!!

Also, the longer I own it the more I appreciate this car. It gets great mileage (typically about 27 mpg combined), has good pickup, and the engine is smooth and quiet. Cobalt is a great car!!!! I plan on keeping it till 200k, at least, and judging from to comments here it will probably last that long.

brendenh

I have a 2009 chevy cobalt lt2 with a 2.2L owned this car for about 20k miles it has now 103k and it runs solid. I'm glad to here that they can run long with little to no work.  I was worried because I wasn't sure what the run to. I plan to get a new car in a year or two but keep this one as a daily till it gives out. I'm averaging 7k miles a year I just do in town driving for the most part. This is my first car and very impressed on handling. 

AKRich

My 2009 Cobalt has 151,000 miles on it. Very few issues. I plan to keep it for a few more years and give it to someone in need.

imidazol97

I replaced the A-arm bushings at about 110K miles. The front struts had been replaced along with bushings on them. Maintenance.

Changed transmission fluid at 40K miles due to oil pan hit by road debris and leaking. Replaced coolant with Dexcool twice during my time with her now at 147,000 miles. I used the siphon out as much as I can from the hot overflow tank and replace with 55/45 Dexcool and distilled water. Over and over. Started that at 50K instead of waiting to do a full drain when my son had the car home from college. That keeps fresh additives in the coolant.

Had to replace metal fuel line near the tank due to my city's using acidic beet juice on roads to pretreat. Corrosive stuff.

Mynx

I am the original owner of a 2006 chevy cobalt, manual transmission. The original clutch went out at almost 194,000 miles. The original starter, shocks and struts, and alternator went out at 13 years on them. I do the oil changes and spark plugs myself. The car is still running and has almost 302,000 miles on it. The dealer I bought it from in 2006 thought I was kidding when I told him I was going to drive it Into the ground......it is 15 years old and still running strong!