problems out of production so far

my father drive tractor trailers for lordstown, oh where they are building most of the cobalts. right now there are about 1,200 outside sitting under a tarp. they leak in 16 difference places over the bodies and many nuts, bolts are coming up missing after they are produced. they are supposed to build around 1,000 per day but are only running around 100-150 now. if you plan on getting one, i'd definately wait a while until they "debug" this new line. he said that in the plant the robots that cut and move the sheeting for the body sometimes ever launch the peice accross the floor instead of mounting it properly. i'm not taking a cut at this production line, just giving you some info from inside.

my father drive tractor trailers for lordstown, oh where they are building most of the cobalts. right now there are about 1,200 outside sitting under a tarp. they leak in 16 difference places over the bodies and many nuts, bolts are coming up missing after they are produced. they are supposed to build around 1,000 per day but are only running around 100-150 now. if you plan on getting one, i'd definately wait a while until they "debug" this new line. he said that in the plant the robots that cut and move the sheeting for the body sometimes ever launch the peice accross the floor instead of mounting it properly. i'm not taking a cut at this production line, just giving you some info from inside.


Hahahahahaha :lol2: :lol: ...typical GM piece of shit untill they "debug" the new line!

At least they are catching the problems before the cars are at dealer lots. Whats BMWs excuse, there cars are always in the shop.

I agree. BMWs are for dummies who overpay for junk and like to badmouth American manufacturers to justify their miserable mistake. :icon16: Keep on buying that crap and sending money out of the country but don't cry and whine when you lose your job due to foreign imports. :2cents:

ok, lets calm down children. Brand bashing is not nessesary. Regarding the quality of american cars, its a personal call, made on past experiences a person has had. but ya know, ive had my camaros for a long time now, and they've been through a helluva lot and they have never let me down. when they need repairs i am able to do it myself for a few hundred bucks rather than paying BMW thousands of dollars to do it. But cars are a relfection of a persons personality, im redneck, im an honest simple and straitforward person who likes to go real fast. As to what a BMW says about a person, well, everyone can make their own desision. the point is, unless you have something constructive to say, you should probly follow the rules you learned in kindergarden, and not say anything at all.

Sorry guys, didn't mean to start a war here. I understand that your favorite make of car depends on your style and thoughts. I just never had good luck with my American cars.

Still got my '78 T/A Gold Bandit though!

apology accepted. thank you.

new update. they are finally making the cars at half the rate they are supposed to. they're supposed to make around 800 a day and they just now broke the 400 mark. i heard they fixed most of the initial problems with the cars but are now having problems with the headlight assemblies catching on fire. people do know not to buy a car out of it's first initial year, right?

I'm sorry but how do you know this stuff again. By the looks of all your posts all you seem to know about is Mitsubishi, and how GM sucks. :shakehead

You're father drives a truck. lol He knows everything. (sarcasm)

sorry if you're big with gm. my dad needs his job so i can't give all details. you want to take shots at me? how about negating some of the problems the cobolt has. . . . ? haven't yet! i never said gm sucks. i had a 96' cavalier with many mods and posted very much info in the cavalier forum. i was happy with gm. i'm not trying to bash gm, just give people the heads up on what to look for and ask about when they think about buying a cobolt. i know if i was a consumer about thinking about buying one, i would be very grateful for someone to let me know some inside info before i bought one. i know you would probably rather blind the public and use the "customer's neglection" when problems occur. have a good day asshole.
***** SORRY, ASSHOLES TRYING TO COVER UP TRUTH NEED NOT REPLY***** :thefinger

chill, dude. I think all he was saying was he wants to see proof of your claims. So far you've told us a bunch of problems, which is very informative, but in order for it to be trusted, it has to be backed up with evidence. Further more, you ask him to negate the problems that your brought up, even though we aren't absolutely positive those problems are occuring. All he asked you for solid evidence of it.

i guess it was a pretty strong reply. i was just a little heated cause he e-mailed me personally and started asking how i knew about the problems they were dealing with and kept asking more details about how i knew about them; asked a few times in fact. almost felt like he prying in order to try to get someone in trouble for allowing them to "leak out". then after telling me personally "can't believe you even know about the metal stamping issue" he goes off defending it like it never happened in this public thread. i understand if you have a name/company to defend for, but please don't do it in an insulting way towards me or my family. if he don't want me to give any more info i find, just be straight forward with me and ask. it's not that hard. sorry if anyone was offended by my previous reply.

No hard feelings here, dont think ive ever heard of a headlight bursting into flames before, as far as chevy water leaks, that i can easily swallow. i own a third gen camaro with T-tops :evillol:

Same here, i own a 2000 Cavalier Z-24 convertible and a Mistubishi Spyder Eclipse, and i've hells worth of leak trouble from the Spyder, and just starting with the Z-24. I've come to accept the leaks. :D

yep i definately feel you guys on the leaks!

Headlights bursting into flames....that's the new move it or loose it function in the cobalt...

Fire breathing front end to intimidate the slow driving idiot in front of you.

JUST KIDDING...im really interested in these cobalts but right now just isn't the time.

Its funny I've never had a car that has had a leak that refuses to stop.

Nice car I love my 69...now that's what im talking about.

hey do you get approached by the ricer kids with that car running around ?

yet more interesting info. . . (don't worry gonenuts it's not about the car itself). it's about the plant. the paint shop for the cobolt just had an accident and caught on fire in lordstown. don't know the exact reason though. guess it brings more meaning the the "burnt orange" color. lol

yet more interesting info. . . (don't worry gonenuts it's not about the car itself). it's about the plant. the paint shop for the cobolt just had an accident and caught on fire in lordstown. don't know the exact reason though. guess it brings more meaning the the "burnt orange" color. lol

Really thats interesting.

i think there is a mad firebomber, taking out headlights and paint booths with reckless abandon........

I was looking into buying a cobalt SS but with all of the delays and problems that GM is having, I think that I will be waiting awhile before they get them on the lots. I have always been a Chevy man and will continue to be. I think that every car has its bugs and every manufacturer has to work those out before they send the car to the public.

Hahahahahaha :lol2: :lol: ...typical GM piece of shit untill they "debug" the new line!


This is something that I would expect from someone who drives a BMW. I just do not understrand why people who drive BMWs think that they are better than everyone else . Come to find out that most of the time they are the biggest pricks in the world. Thank you for re-enforcing that with your lovely quote. :nono: :loser:

well, so far they have built a some successful ss's. they just started building the coupes on the assembly lines. (i think the ratio is 1 coupe per 3 sedans) it will proabably still be a while til the ss's get built on the lines (late march?)

Late March? Well, I guess as long as they fix the problems before they start selling them to the public that will be ok. Thanks for the info.

yet more interesting info. . . (don't worry gonenuts it's not about the car itself). it's about the plant. the paint shop for the cobolt just had an accident and caught on fire in lordstown. don't know the exact reason though. guess it brings more meaning the the "burnt orange" color. lol

Folks, let me clear up some things for you. First, I have worked at the Lordstown complex for the last 12 years, second I have heard of no fires in the paint shop or with the headlamps. The headlamps were initially a problem due to a small metal bracket that was supposed to be spot welded by the manufacturer and was not, it would come loose and blow out the light. Only one car was sold to the public before this was caught and yet GM still issued a recall. We are currently averaging about 400 cars per shift with three shifts running. Yes we have had some problems but these get address as they come up and are contained and eventually fixed. One thing I have noticed that is different with this car over the Cavalier is that the theme seems to be more of quality and not quantity so far, thats not to say that if this car takes off in sales that won`t change. Just bought a four door sedan and so far am very pleased with it. Hope this clears up some things.

Hahahahahaha :lol2: :lol: ...typical GM piece of shit untill they "debug" the new line!

Have you driven the new Cobalt?

Check out the BMW M3's engine here

http://members.roadfly.org/jason/m3engines.htm

My car the first day i got it wouldnt spit out my cd i would push the eject button and it said none (i wasnt happy) i was going to call the dealership the next day and take it in but what do u know it works fine kinda weird. But i also now am hearing a noise in the left front of the car when i hit bumps kinda like a rattle not shure what it is just started doing that. But yea my father works at gm and tells me that there are alot of cars that when they get driven of the line there is a problem things fall off bolts not put on things that you could expect when hundreds of cars are coming out.

But cars are a relfection of a persons personality, im redneck, im an honest simple and straitforward person who likes to go real fast. As to what a BMW says about a person, well, everyone can make their own desision.


excuse me? A car has 4 wheels (usually), and is used for transportation. Things that reflect on your personality include your lifestyle, the friends you keep and the choices you make in life. A vehicle is a vehicle.

e.g. the type of house I buy (doublewide, or 20,000 ft^2 mansion in the hamptons) may reflect on how much I paid for it.... but not my personality. You may judge someone because they may seem to have more money than you... but that is your loss.

This is something that I would expect from someone who drives a BMW. I just do not understrand why people who drive BMWs think that they are better than everyone else . Come to find out that most of the time they are the biggest pricks in the world. Thank you for re-enforcing that with your lovely quote. :nono: :loser:


WTF? Just because he owns a BMW means he can't make a valid (seriously) criticism of a GM? Do you know him? How many GM cars he may have bought in the past? Or Ford or Dodge/Chrysler for that matter?


I'm sorry if a car manufacturer lays out a turd, calling a turd a turd doesn't make anyone a "prick" regardless of your pre-conceived class-warfare-based jibes.


Cavalier? Giant piece of shit. Neon? Giant piece of shit. Festiva? Escort? LMAO.

Granted the cobalt may NOT be a giant piece of shit like we would all expect it to (e.g. doesn't fall to far from the Cavalier tree), but based on the subject and content of this thread, there are some problems.

For instance the focus has had it's share of recalls and problems in spades... but it is not a giant piece of shit.

Hopefully the cobalt is a decent/ok car for it's class and obviously a first year car is going to have some problems.

Still to attack someone for making fun of GM with an obvious clusterfuck situation is kinda like killing the messenger.

My biggest problem with GM is (other than the cadillac brands, esp. escalade and CTS-n and I suppose the 'vette and maybe the new goat) it's incessant goal of making mediocre cars. I mean WTF?

In our lifetimes I bet GM goes from #1 in the world to like #5 or less. Why? Just look at their products, nothing more to it than that!

WTF? Just because he owns a BMW means he can't make a valid (seriously) criticism of a GM? Do you know him? How many GM cars he may have bought in the past? Or Ford or Dodge/Chrysler for that matter?


I'm sorry if a car manufacturer lays out a turd, calling a turd a turd doesn't make anyone a "prick" regardless of your pre-conceived class-warfare-based jibes.


Cavalier? Giant piece of shit. Neon? Giant piece of shit. Festiva? Escort? LMAO.

Granted the cobalt may NOT be a giant piece of shit like we would all expect it to (e.g. doesn't fall to far from the Cavalier tree), but based on the subject and content of this thread, there are some problems.

For instance the focus has had it's share of recalls and problems in spades... but it is not a giant piece of shit.

Hopefully the cobalt is a decent/ok car for it's class and obviously a first year car is going to have some problems.

Still to attack someone for making fun of GM with an obvious clusterfuck situation is kinda like killing the messenger.

My biggest problem with GM is (other than the cadillac brands, esp. escalade and CTS-n and I suppose the 'vette and maybe the new goat) it's incessant goal of making mediocre cars. I mean WTF?

In our lifetimes I bet GM goes from #1 in the world to like #5 or less. Why? Just look at their products, nothing more to it than that!

Check out the 2006 Pontiac Solstice.

Yeah, the 2006 Solstice, with its ugly front end, will be a huge seller (not that it would have sold in massive quantities even if the whole car was gorgeous). 2007 Sky is MUCH better-looking.

Based on my experiences with an '04 Maxx (yes, I violated my own rule about not buying a first-year car, but the '98 Malibu was eating me out of house and home), GM needs to realize that folks buy Japanese mainly for perceived quality and reliability. That won't change any time soon. So, GM needs to emphasize the fact that its vehicles have a ton of features not available on the imports (like the recent OnStar TV ads) and price its vehicles more appropriately. I thought the sticker on my Maxx was $3,000 too high (but got a $4,000 rebate).

Just sticker the vehicles better, well-undercutting the Japanese.

But then, there's the little matter of health care costs for employees and retirees, all stemming from the ridiculous UAW contracts over the years.

GM is in a bad, bad way at the moment.

The health care costs are hurting big time.

I don't think the 2006 Pontiac Solstice looks ugly. It is certainly far more bold than the new MX-5.

http://www.solsticeforum.com/photopost/data/3017/208NYC2005-11.JPG

Edit by mod- Pic was too big, changed it to a link

Cadillac had their best sales last year since the early 1990s. Here is the 440 hp 2006 STS-V.

http://www.autoextremist.com/NAIAS2005/Cadillac/CadillacSTSV.jpg

To each his/her own. I do agree that some people find the Solstice great-looking, but it's not a homerun by any means.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the electric power steering on the Cobalt (that's why I was snooping in here).

My Maxx seems to have avoided either the early-production steering failures (mine missed those by 2 months) and the left-pull issue plaguing the entire run of '04s and '05s on a hit-or-miss basis, at least so far.

Several folks on other sites are complaining about the left-pull issue on their Cobalts (as well as some Equinox owners too).

excuse me? A car has 4 wheels (usually), and is used for transportation. Things that reflect on your personality include your lifestyle, the friends you keep and the choices you make in life. A vehicle is a vehicle.

e.g. the type of house I buy (doublewide, or 20,000 ft^2 mansion in the hamptons) may reflect on how much I paid for it.... but not my personality. You may judge someone because they may seem to have more money than you... but that is your loss.


I apologize if i offended you, stereotypes are generalizations and if you dont fit within one then i hope you ignore it as not applying to you. However i have found that a persons car does reflect them, and that can be easily explained. People buy their car because they like it, barring those who must purchase a car within monitary constraints and thus buy a car for simple transportation rather than something they want, which lets admit, does not apply to BMW drivers. This is not a jab, this is fact, if youre on welfare and supporting a family by working the night shift, but need a car to get to work, chances are a BMW is not your first stop. So back to my point, people who buy the car they WANT do so because it has traits that they desire, that bring them joy, and will cause the vehicle to be something that is an extention of their lifestye, how they choose to do things, and thus an extention of their personality and thus an extention of who they are. Now, I realize i brought this up negatively towards the BMW vs my camaro, but lets look at it another way. My camaro is gutted down to the sheetmetal, is different colors, the paint is peeling, it rides hard, makes alot of noise, and is crude and unrefined, as am I. I am certainly not welcome at the local country club unless i wanted a job in the basment cleaning golf bags. Whereas a person buying a BMW is more likely than not buying the car for its fine fit and finish, attention to detail, refinement, and overall quality. This would likely reflect a person with higher class, and more refined tastes than me. I do not hold this against anyone. To each his or her own. But I also note that the majority (not all) of those people, not unlike those who drive corvettes, are high and mighty, and view cars built to a lesser standard as junk that "unfortunate people" drive. Again if this does not apply to you i apologize, but i form my opinion based off of my own experiences. I have partied in projects and multi million dollar homes and have friends in both places. I am not bitter or biased against anyone over something as trivial as money. To me, its the emblem on the hood, its a status symbol, at least thats what it is to all the people around me that buy them.

Now, the reason this came up, is because a BMW driver came into the forum, and decided to comment in a very abrasive manner. If he had been more tactfull about what he had to say i would not have reacted the way i did. But i was trying to send a message. Now as to your statement regarding all GM products you are half right and half wrong. GM has been, is, and probly will be aimed at the market of the general public overall, not to the same market as BMW, or Mercedies, or Ferrari. I suppose that is where caddy is going, but not GM overall. Therefor the cars refect this. And over the past two decades or so, the cars have been less than impressive barring a few models in the lineup. The current trend is fast changing towards a much higher level of refinement more reminiscent of the imports that are flooding the market. This is also due to new management which has a far different vision for the company.

I have written this as a method of public apology to those who i may have offended, and to answer to some statements made. If anyone wishes to PM me further regarding this i encourage you to, however this thread is no longer on the subject of the Cobalt, and is fast becoming an Import vs Domestic squabble, so i must ask that we return to the topic of the thread or i will have to have this thread closed.

WTF? Just because he owns a BMW means he can't make a valid (seriously) criticism of a GM? Do you know him? How many GM cars he may have bought in the past? Or Ford or Dodge/Chrysler for that matter?


I'm sorry if a car manufacturer lays out a turd, calling a turd a turd doesn't make anyone a "prick" regardless of your pre-conceived class-warfare-based jibes.


Cavalier? Giant piece of shit. Neon? Giant piece of shit. Festiva? Escort? LMAO.

Granted the cobalt may NOT be a giant piece of shit like we would all expect it to (e.g. doesn't fall to far from the Cavalier tree), but based on the subject and content of this thread, there are some problems.

For instance the focus has had it's share of recalls and problems in spades... but it is not a giant piece of shit.

Hopefully the cobalt is a decent/ok car for it's class and obviously a first year car is going to have some problems.

Still to attack someone for making fun of GM with an obvious clusterfuck situation is kinda like killing the messenger.

My biggest problem with GM is (other than the cadillac brands, esp. escalade and CTS-n and I suppose the 'vette and maybe the new goat) it's incessant goal of making mediocre cars. I mean WTF?

In our lifetimes I bet GM goes from #1 in the world to like #5 or less. Why? Just look at their products, nothing more to it than that!



geeze calm down...he was just trying to make a point. You don't have to write an essay about it. If you don't like GM what are you doing in this forum??

Just wanted to let everyone know I own two Cobalts, one Base and one LS, neither of them leak a drop. The fit of the body panels is good and the interior is tight. Only problem so far is the fit of material around the plastic door handle in the door armrest. Cars run great...get 27 MPG

hot damn, wish i got that gas mileage ;) you definatly jumped on the bandwagon with two of em, dont suppose youre a family man (or woman) congrats on the purchases.

This is the last thing that GM needs. After the fiasco with their bond rating, they need a winner. The Cobalt could actually be just what they need, but it has to be better than the Japanese cars. Does anyone here think that it is?

This is the last thing that GM needs. After the fiasco with their bond rating, they need a winner. The Cobalt could actually be just what they need, but it has to be better than the Japanese cars. Does anyone here think that it is?

I like my cobalt. Here's why I got the cobalt over the other cars in it's class:

-Looks good
-nice interior
-has kick (compared to something like the aveo or accent, cheaper but shittier)
-incentives, i got a gas card and 1300 bucks off with gm card and being a student
-has lots of standard options so i pay less for much the same car
-comes in victory red

well it certainly out performs everything in its class, the fit and finish of the suspension is better than those in its class, and personally i think its pretty damn good lookin, it also has an ecotec which i think is probly the best I-4 being made right now. so yeah, id have to say its better than the import stuff right now.

I think the inside info is pretty darn interesting myself. Wouldn't be too happy with 27 mpg though, big horse V8s do that nowadays.

Best I-4 being made. Ahhh, I'm going to disagree with that. Honda's I-4s pretty much set the standard that everyone tries to follow. I mean how come the ecotec 2.2L 4cyl makes 140hp, and the Honda 2.0L 4 cyl can produce 160, 200 and 240 hp.

The Honda S2000 costs around $33,000. The 2004 S2000 had a 2.2 liter I-4.

Hp/liter is just a number.

your going to use factory hp ratings as the basis for deciding an engines potential???? im not even going to dignify that with an argument.

has anyone had problems with their headlights fogging? my driver side light is foggin pretty bad...only thing so far i can gripe about. probably call dealer and see if i can have another one put in under warranty...

Pretty sure this would be a capsule headlamp assy. The lens and reflector are one piece and the bulb is separate. Probably a gasket not seated properly, should be an easy fix I'd guess.

My cobalt is going into the dealer Monday for radio problems (err message sometimes, won't play cds or spit them out when the err message in on), cluster lights coming on for no reason (e-brake and high beam), and for the gasket around the lock on the trunk coming off. Nothing too major, and the problems are intermittent and rare, but since it's under warranty, might as well get it done!

I also took my cobalt in to the dealer within the first week because the window handle on the passenger side fell off, the metal staple wasn't in properly, that took a whole of 2 seconds to fix, didn't even take it inside, the mechanic came out, put it on and I was on my way.

I have a 2005 Chevy Colbalt....No problems here....and thats why i have a warranty

I love my cobalt also bout I was horrified today when I looked underneath th engine. Trans oil pan is soaked with oil as well as bottom of firewall and some elements on the floor. Should I go to dealer of just
just drive it till will die? I have problems with my cd player also... wont play or will spit cds and door trim (material part) is comming off plus irregular idle and valve knock when cold. Thats it. I know its the first year in production but wasnt this engine / trans in cavalier and ion for few years already? they should polish those things off by now.

regards. Bart.

I love my cobalt also bout I was horrified today when I looked underneath th engine. Trans oil pan is soaked with oil as well as bottom of firewall and some elements on the floor. Should I go to dealer of just
just drive it till will die? I have problems with my cd player also... wont play or will spit cds and door trim (material part) is comming off plus irregular idle and valve knock when cold. Thats it. I know its the first year in production but wasnt this engine / trans in cavalier and ion for few years already? they should polish those things off by now.

regards. Bart.
Take it back, it shouldn't be leaking anything.

I love my cobalt also bout I was horrified today when I looked underneath th engine. Trans oil pan is soaked with oil as well as bottom of firewall and some elements on the floor. Should I go to dealer of just
just drive it till will die? I have problems with my cd player also... wont play or will spit cds and door trim (material part) is comming off plus irregular idle and valve knock when cold. Thats it. I know its the first year in production but wasnt this engine / trans in cavalier and ion for few years already? they should polish those things off by now.

regards. Bart.

Time to find out how responsive your dealer is for warranty service. Lots's of horror stories out there with GM dealer service, sure hope you get satisfaction from yours. Definately get it back to the dealer and get your new car in "new car" condition.

Time to find out how responsive your dealer is for warranty service. Lots's of horror stories out there with GM dealer service, sure hope you get satisfaction from yours. Definately get it back to the dealer and get your new car in "new car" condition.

Yea, Ill have to take it for checkup, just I have no desire to be left without a car for a whole day... Ill have to figure something out..

thanks for responces. regards, Bart

we ve had our cobalt now for three months and i gotta say, its one of the best vehicles ive ever had. ive had foriegn and domestic both, and it takes the cake, thats for sure. its a good lookin, drivin car and is peppy and gets good mileage. we traded in a 93 cuts supreme that needed a headgasket and got it for 168 a month on the smartlease. its been perfect. hats off to gm on this one, i never owned one since i was primarily a ford person. the only thing is, i wish we wouldve gotten a stick, but its my girlfriends and she cant drive one. i have a jeep grand cherokee limited 5.2 v8 and i usually take it for better gas mileage. we only paid for like 3 or 4 options, everything else was standard. we got a spoiler, floor mats, the auto tranny, and i think thats it. i wouldve liked an armrest, but this is the one we got a deal on. all the other ones had a few more options we wanted like a sunroof or armrest, but a bunch of other ones we didnt. overall, this car is great and would recommend it to anyone. i know the old ecotec's had head gasket issues upon other things, but i hope there taken care of on this model. i didnt shy away for a minute since its in the first year of production, i knew once i drove it, it was definately worth it. all the others in its class were either too small and underpowered, gay looking, or too expensive. ours is the new chevy metallic blue color and it looks awesome, it looks like alot nicer that you would expect to get for 13,000 dollars.