Chevrolet Cobalt Brake Problems

bsmith7

When first starting the car the brake pedal goes 3/4 to the floor the first push. Then it is fine. (about 2/3 travel. Then after a few miles the pedal travel starts to shrink. Goes to 1/2 then to a 1/4 till finally it's right at the top and touchy as hell. (not even enough travel to have the brake lights come on) The car actually won't roll. If you turn it off and wait 10 minutes....start the car and the cycle starts again.

It actually started to lock up on the expressway and I had to pull over and wait till it unlocked.

Now this happens 50% of the time. Chevy drives it and it does not happen. They don't drive it long enough. To me in my limited dealings with anti lock and such it sure sounds like a master.

Car has 2000 mi on it.

We are dropping it off Monday to try again.....

Ideas???

bsmith7

No one??

ray_h1

The accumulator circuit? I presume you've already checked the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir. (Whenever I can't get the dealership off its fat duff, I go to another dealership. They're not all created equal.)

nixonjn

Just wondering if anyone has had problems with the brakes pulling when doing a hard stop.

I bought a base model 2007 Cobalt LS and had to do my first hard stop after 6500miles. A Corvette spun out in front of me on the interstate (why I don't know, it was dry...) and I hit the brakes really hard to try to stop. The car pulled left and I hit the wall (missed the corvette...). I do not have ABS. The road curved to the left so I was thinking that if the brakes just locked up it should've travelled to the right side of the road, not further left.

Has anyone else experienced pulling of any kind? Obviously this was a hard pull. Does anyone know if there would be a ny physical evidence of the pull or am I stuck taking the wrap for this one??

times2

I did have to brake hard once, and did not have that problem (2006 LS Sedan). But if your tire pressure was uneven, pushing the weight down on the front end during a hard stop would make the car turn to the side with the softer tire. You might want to check that.

kernoghan

I just rented a new 2007 cobalt with 13000 miles and was going 50 kil an hour when a car cut me off i jammed on the breaks and nothing no skidding a quarter of a second very light squeel (tires) and 4 seconds or 100 freet later i smaked the back of three cars jammed together in the passing lane with on traffic or turn lane or x walk for miles.. duuuuu anyone else had breaks not work I pushed mine to the floor AND BROKE MY TOE

kernoghan

I just rented a new 2007 cobalt with 13000 miles and was going 50 kil an hour when a car cut me off i jammed on the breaks and nothing no skidding a quarter of a second very light squeel (tires) and 4 seconds or 100 freet later i smaked the back of three cars jammed together in the passing lane with NOtraffic or turn lane or x walk for miles.. duuuuu anyone else had breaks not work I pushed mine to the floor AND BROKE MY TOE

cmhj2000

Sorry to hear about your toe.

Don't know of any issues like you described. GEZ

rnarma

I just spent a week with a Base Cobalt rented from Hertz. Long ago I learned to do a brief test of a cars' braking and handling BEFORE going on a long trip. I was taught these skills during various SCCA Autocross and Road Racing schools. My rented Cobalt had 8000 miles on the clock and was NOT equipped with ABS. If I had it to do over, I would not rent this model vehicle again unless equipped with ABS. The front/rear braking balance resulted in very early lockup of the rear wheels which resulted in loss of directional control when even braking hard in a turn. The overall braking was poor as a result. I notified Hertz of the problem in my post rental survey. This was not a problem in normal driving but could present a danger to an inexperienced driver in a panic stop situation. I have rated the non-ABS Cobalt as an unacceptable choice for friends and family. This is a shame as I am a very happy C6 Corvette owner and was otherwise pleased with the Cobalts ride, mileage and handling.

okko1

yeah right like i believe that. :P

poncho167

If you supposedly went to a racing school and have driven cars on the road then it shouldn't matter what kind of braking system a car/truck has. I have never heard of someone who couldn't drive a non-ABS equipt car. I have driven both and currently drive a non-ABS p/u truck on a regular basis. A good driver can drive anything safely.

maryw3

I have a 2006 Cobalt Sedan and have had my brakes lock up twice. The first time was just about a year ago on a perfectly dry level road. I hit my brakes to avoid a car running a stop sign and went into a total 360 spin, crossed 3 lanes of oncoming traffic and came to a stop (finally) on an embankment facing the totally opposite direction I was going. Fortunately I didn't anything or anyone but I did flat spot all 4 tires. The dealer couldn't find any brake problems.
Yesterday under similar road conditions my brakes again locked up and pull hard left. Not as fortunate this time. I was hit by an oncoming car (no injuries, thank God) and will be without a car for 7 to 10 days for repair. Again the dealer found no problems.
I don't have ABS either.

poncho167

Ok, well that is slightly different from the other poster. He made it sound like non-ABS cars were just safety hazzards but yours definately sounds like an issue. Normally these lock up issues are related to ABS. I would think there is probably something wrong with the brakes master cylinder.

guiller32

Is there anyone of you have a brochure for Cobalt 2007 LT that indicates if the ABS is optional or standard. Because I buy my Cobalt 2007 LT last November 2007 and I thought that ABS is already included. I just want to verify.

Thanks,

Jordan998

I own a 2008 Chevy Cobalt LT Sedan.... W/O the Abs Feature.... the car has just under 10,000 miles on it. Since the car had 4000 miles on it i've been hearing obnoxious squealing noises from my brakes. During the past year i've also had the brakes lock up 3 time, two of which were sunny dry days, one time the roads were wet....
I just had the car serviced for the 6th time again today they've found no problem... and the service manager stated: that I might just have to live with it, and GM will do nothing to resolve the problem, If anyone is having similar problems let me know... :mad:

harrisblack

I have a 2007 Cobalt and the brake fluid is getting low. What kind of brake fluid should I use? Regular DOT 3 or Synthetic?

poncho167

Go with what it says in your manual or consult a dealer for their opinion. I am sure you know that if you switch you will need to flush the whole system.

harrisblack

I called Prestone. The stores around us only carry synthetic and not the regular brake fluid. Prestone said that we could mix both the regular and synthetic. The original fluid is synthetic and that they started putting synthetic on the bottles.

The number I called was 1-800-890-2075. The guy I talked to was named Roger.

ranjean2003

Problem: 2005 Cobalt, no ABS, manual transmission - car would always spin around in event of medium to hard braking. Solution: Finally found a good GM mechanic who didn't assume I was a wacko. He says before rear automatic brake adjusters can do their job, emergency (parking brake) MUST be set when parked. Apparently, when the parking brake is set, the cable activates a small pin which allows the self-adjusters to work. Owner's manual does not say anything about this - it just says use parking brake each time - not why. Until now, we religiously DID NOT use the parking brake, because the salt from our winter roads can cause them to freeze up if applied.

For those who don't know, rear brakes on cars with rear drums are usually designed to self-adjust as the driver backs up and applies brakes lightly. That is such a common scenario that no one has to be instructed about it. The e-brake thing, not so common. My car was braking like a bicycle when you only use the front brake. The back end would whip around causing a spin. Now I can stop straight with all 4 wheels braking evenly. This is a very important issue! I will re-post this under a new heading so people don't miss it. Wish I knew a better way to get the word out.

ranjean2003

Problem: 2005 Cobalt, no ABS, manual transmission - car would always spin around in event of medium to hard braking. Solution: Finally found a good GM mechanic who didn't assume I was a wacko. He says before rear automatic brake adjusters can do their job, emergency (parking brake) MUST be set when parked. Apparently, when the parking brake is set, the cable activates a small pin which allows the self-adjusters to work. Owner's manual does not say anything about this - it just says use parking brake each time - not why. Until now, we religiously DID NOT use the parking brake, because the salt from our winter roads can cause them to freeze up if applied.

For those who don't know, rear brakes on cars with rear drums usually designed to self-adjust as the driver backs up and applies brakes lightly. That is such a common scenario that no one has to be instructed about it. The e-brake thing, not so common. My car was braking like a bicycle when you only use the front brake. The back end would whip around causing a spin. Now I can skid straight. This is a very important issue! I will re-post this under a new heading so people don't miss it. Wish I knew a better way to get the word out.

tcalof

The parking brake SHOULD be applied regularly so that salt from the winter roads does NOT cause the emergency brake cable to freeze up.

poncho167

I have always used the emergency brake when parking my manual transmission vehicles. Being a big car buff I knew that it was good for the brake adjustments and cables.

ngillum

My car is doing the same thing. I have taken it to the dealership over a dozen times and they think I am crazy. The car brakes by itself!!!!!!!! Something has got to be done about all of this. It's sad but even worse, now I am stuck with a car payment on a car that I can't drive.

bobandgidget

Thanks so much for posting this. I had to brake this morning at 65 MPH and spun out, ended up facing the wrong way on the freeway and covered 3 lanes. I'm so lucky no one hit me.

vortreker

I have had the same problem with a 2005-almost got rear-ended by a huge truck last week

keep4kid

...got in the car this morning to move it after about a month under snow in PA. Put in "drive"...released parking brake and the rear wheels locked. After numerous attempts; problem continued. Any suggestions?

billybobbigred

I am sorry if this to you is a stupid question but i have an automatic that gives me fits with the rear brakes. Will applying the parking brake work to fix my braking issues as well or is there a different procedure for automatics? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

gmcustsvc

billybobbigred,
I would recommend taking your vehicle in to your dealer of choice. They will be able to double check your breaks and address your concern. Please keep me updated on your progress.
Christina
GM Customer Service

jypsee

this just happened to my mother
brakes failed
dealership where bought and repaired WILL NOT RELEASE CAR UNTIL A GM CERTIFIED MECH COMES TO DEALERSHIP
GM CONTACTED DEALERSHIP
DEALERSHIP WILL NOT CORPORATE WITH GM

HELP ME
JYPSEE

jypsee

GETTING THE RUNAROUND BY
LOCAL DEALER----THEY WONT TOUCH IT AFRAID OF "PRODUCT LIABILITY ISSUE"
GM (as required by dealership that sold it, maintained it, fixed it- told me i had to file a complaint directly to GM they the dealership, THEY CAN'T AND WOULD NOT CONTACT GM FOR MY MOM)
WAITING FOR GM EXPERT FOR 6 WEEKS
SOMETHING STINKS OF ALL KINDS OF BS
A LITTLE LIKE TOYOTA IN MY OPINION

ANYBODY????
PLEASE!!!!

fabdoo72

I own a 2005 Cobalt and just had total brake failure with my ABS and Traction-control (T/C) dash lites coming on...Could you please tell me what your final outcome was?

gunnuy30

My daughter recently totaled her 2007 Cobalt because of this!!!! I drove the car and noticed that the rear brakes locked up with little to moderate pressure. I warned her that the brakes did this and that the rear end would tend to come around if it happened. Well, it happened to her on an ice covered road. She touched the brakes , they locked up, she went sideways crossed three lanes of traffic and hit an oncoming car! Fortunately she and my son were not hurt, nor were the passengers of the other vehicle. What , if anything, can I do for recourse ? Is GM aware of this? Please advise if you know.

gmcustsvc

gunnuy30,
If you were to please send us more information (including your name, contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN and mileage, and a summary of the situation) via email at socialmedia@gm.com, we would be happy to get this sent to the correct department in GM for review.
Sarah, GM Customer Service

bobandgidget

@bobandgidget said:
Thanks so much for posting this. I had to brake this morning at 65 MPH and spun out, ended up facing the wrong way on the freeway and covered 3 lanes. I'm so lucky no one hit me.

Update: Three sets of tires later. Same thing happened again today. I have been using the parking brake religiously since my 2009 post. Mechanics say nothing wrong with brakes. Today the damn thing tried to kill me again, but it died instead when I spun around and hit the center divider at 65 mph. My back is sore, but luckily the airbag deployed and only got a minor chemical burn. BTW I have been driving mostly non-ABS equipped cars for 35 years.

This just 2 payments away from having this car paid for. I was looking forward to that. This also a month since having to replace the perfectly good catalytic converters because of a tear in a stupid 3 inch flex connector, which is welded to the pipe which is one with the converters.

No more Chevrolet anything for me. What a truly bad car. I'm not even giving all the details.

Kirstie_H

A reporter would like to speak to an owner of a GM car who has had a recent experience with a dealer service department during recalls. If you own a GM car, even one that was not included in the recent recalls, and you've been able to make a service appoint with no problem, or if the recalls have complicated your ability to make a service appointment, please send your daytime contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, Aug 6, 2014 at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.

Manikmekanik

Wow I own a 2010 Cobalt w/o ABS,98,000 mi. I didn't realize others had problems like this. My drivers side rear brake (drum) keeps locking up, I haven't been using the parking brake because I live in a flat part of Texas. I did have an accident in the car because of this, someone cut me off & I had to brake hard & spun out in the ditch, I'm lucky the car didn't flip! I've been working on it today trying to get it to stop locking up, using the parking brake when I jacked the car up. I backed the adjuster out 2 full rounds on the problem wheel, I guess the adjusters work really good because the left just keeps locking up first (the right rear locks second) Cant get the front to lock up at all. Makes my car spin out & fishtail when moderate to hard braking & you better be ready to countersteer! I had the drums off 3-4 times now, swapped the drums side to side, shoes look even and dry no leaks, drums don't seem to be warped, used sandpaper to clean the shoes and drums on both rear brakes. Still did the same thing. Maybe the adjusters are working too "good" and making the rear brakes too tight. idk I'll work on it more tomorrow and try different things including using the P/B consistently, checking roundness with a dial indicator, and possibly getting the drums machined & new quality brake shoes. If I can't figure it out I'll take it to my ASME Certified mechanic that I've known 40+ years. If he can't fix it I'll sell the car, I really hate to sell anyone a car that does this it's a safety hazard and should have been recalled and a solution come up with by now! I'm planning a trip out of state soon and need to get this resolved, if I don't I may have to drive my F-150, which gets 1/2 the MPG but at least it will stop straight when I brake hard. Don't want to be stressed about brakes while trying to enjoy my trip! I noticed these posts go back to 2006, if anyone has a solution please let me know asap. Thank you! PS. I also owned a 2009 Cobalt WITH ABS and they worked great. I may consider installing ABS on my 2010 before selling it or driving it much more if that's possible.

thecardoc3

First thing to check are the rear shocks/front struts if they don't help keep the rear of the vehicle from raising during braking, then the back will become too light during weight transfer. While that is "first" you also need to confirm if the front brakes are working. If they are not contributing to the stopping power and only the rear are working a lock-up of the rear brakes would be almost unavoidable.

Boyd2001

bsmith7 said:

When first starting the car the brake pedal goes 3/4 to the floor the first push. Then it is fine. (about 2/3 travel. Then after a few miles the pedal travel starts to shrink. Goes to 1/2 then to a 1/4 till finally it's right at the top and touchy as hell. (not even enough travel to have the brake lights come on) The car actually won't roll. If you turn it off and wait 10 minutes....start the car and the cycle starts again.

It actually started to lock up on the expressway and I had to pull over and wait till it unlocked.

Now this happens 50% of the time. Chevy drives it and it does not happen. They don't drive it long enough. To me in my limited dealings with anti lock and such it sure sounds like a master.

Car has 2000 mi on it.

We are dropping it off Monday to try again.....

Ideas???

Did you have any luck figuring out this issue I am having the same problem with left front

Boyd2001

Did you figure out this issue?