Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that his son called and stated he detected an abnormal odor of fuel inside the vehicle. The driver looked around the vehicle and noticed liquid emerging near the driver's side rear tire. The driver stated that the vehicle was hard to start. The contact inspected the vehicle and noticed the fuel lines were rusted. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where two sections of rusted fuel lines were replaced. The contact called the local dealer however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 85,933.
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that fuel was leaking from the fuel lines near the rear wheel well. There was an abnormal odor of fuel detected. There was no warning light illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure however, no further assistance was provided. The contact mentioned NHTSA Action Number: PE20011 (FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER). The failure mileage was approximately 166,000.
My car had a fuel pump go, then within MONTHS, another. We then dealt with the SAME problem symptomatically, and was told it was the fuel pump sensor. Within the last few weeks, I am having all the same issues-including the car intermittently not starting, gasoline leaking from the vehicle, both noticably missing from the gauge (i.e 1/8 tank less than night prior), odor of gas in the car, stalling out while driving and trying to start it, but also now dripping gas from the car. A new issue popped up, which is the dash light coming up saying "check gas cap". This past Thursday, my car wouldn't start again, and has not started since. It's concerning that the Chevy Cobalt has had recalls for the same exact problems, literally thousands of complaints that mirror mine- for every model year EXCEPT the 2010. …
My car has had regularly scheduled maintenance since we purchase it in feb 2011. Today, as my husband was driving it, we believe the engine just blew up. The car started shaking, the check engine light came on, then there was a loud noise and the car shut down. It had to be towed back to our house. We have no idea why this happened or what to do. We currently still owe money on the car. It is still financed. This vehicle was constantly at Chevrolet because it had problems. Many of them they refused to fix even though we bought the extended warranty. I took it and complained about the dash acting strange, the gauges would jump and the digital would go to all dashes, they replaced something once and it still did it. I complained several more times and all they would say was they could not get the issue to replicate. …
While driving on nys I-90, my 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt ls 2010 went into "engine power reduced" and I was not able to drive over 40 MPH. I pulled off to the shoulder and waited for about 10 minutes. I started back up, check engine light remained on and car stays in limp mode. The vehicle now idles rough, accelerates slow when at red lights and stop signs and bucks when shifting gears. First at 10 MPH (hard buck) than (lighter buck) at 20 MPH, and continues lighter through acceleration. Codes that are coming up are p0107 engine (map) barometric pressure circuit - low input, p0452 engine (evaporative emission system pressure system pressure sensor - switch low input, p0532 engine ac pressure sensor a - circuit low, and p0641 engine (sensor reference voltage a) circuit/open. I was able to clear out all codes except for p0641 (permanent). Please help.
I just bought this car..2010 Chevy Cobalt with 176,000 miles two weeks ago with all of the money that I had. I noticed that it had a dealers tag, but he wanted to meet me at a store and claimed that the car was perfect.day two it stalled & has continued to randomly stall & wouldn't start til the 3rd try. I tried, but it's impossible to contact the seller. Autozone said it had 17 codes, but could just be the c20? Sensor. Then last night it would start, accelerating to about 5 MPH,then stall & I had to have it towed home from a busy area, and now it won't turn over or start at all. Im a grandmother on my own with a part time job and have no money left for repairs or to start all over. I'm hoping there's a recall that could help.I don't know how to find this man as the title had another persons name on it, not that it would do any good.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. While inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the exterior lighting and windshield wipers were activated. When the contact entered the vehicle, she noticed that the air bag warning indicator was illuminated while the key was in the ignition. The vehicle was towed to wetzel Chevrolet (4700 national rd e, richmond, in 47374), but the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was previously repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 14V171000 (electrical system) in November of 2017. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the contact would be responsible for the repair cost. The failure mileage was 83,000.
I purchased a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt from a used car dealership in July of 2019. 3 months into having the car, as I , my mother and 6yo daughter were driving on the highway at approximately 60mph , the car started to jerk and slow down. The 'engine reduced power ' message came across my dash . We we're almost side swiped and rear ended. Only for the fact that a fellow motorist stopped behind me to help merge traffic to keep us from getting hit , is what kept us from being in an accident and pulling over to the shoulder. This is so dangerous and I can't imagine as a mother how losing her life, or the life of her child would have been devistating because of a manufacturer's error!
Was driving down the interstate at 75 MPH when all power to vehicle was lost and was able to pull over to side of road. Vehicle would not start engine would crank but not start. Vehicle had to be towed to mechanic, mechanic checked for problems could not locate problem after 6 hours working on it vehicle needed to be towed to dealer. Dealer said timing chain failed and caused extensive damage to vehicle and engine needs to be replaced. This is a major safety concern and caused have caused an crash with the sudden loss of power
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that after refueling, the vehicle failed to start-up on several occasions. After several attempts the vehicle started but failed to engage when shifted to drive with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was a fuel odor present after the vehicle was refueled. A dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 36,000.
Engine complaints in other Cobalt years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt?
NHTSA has 43 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, 7% of the model year's 583 complaints.
Is there a recall for 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 87,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 1 fire and 1 injury to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.