Chevrolet - Cobalt :: 2005 - Losing Coolant But Can't Locate It?
Sep 26, 2011
I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt, 2.2L engine and am having a few problems. I believe I am losing coolant somewhere, but cannot ever see any leaks or anything on the ground where I park. I am having to top off the reservoir a couple times a month with water/coolant to keep the temperature from going up above normal (which I've found is around 190 degrees). I first noticed this when the temperature had reached 230 degrees! I also hear a sound like sloshing water in the front end when I first start and drive the vehicle. The sloshing usually subsides after I've been driving for several minutes. To top it all off I now have a bit of foam on the oil cap and the oil looks a tad bit cloudy.
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We have a 2005 Chevy Tahoe. Been running great. Has 140,000 miles on it 80% open road. Couple of weeks ago was highway driving and noticed the coolant temp gauge went all the way down to nothing, and then back up to normal (middle of the dial) This happened 5-6 times and each time as the temp rose back to normal, the transmission would lurch.
I took it to a mechanic who could not figure out what was wrong, but acknowledged it was running terribly. He said that was what he would try before going to a dealer. I agreed and the car instantly seemed to be running perfectly. Now a couple of weeks later, the coolant temp gauge is dropping again. It is not going all the way to nothing, and the transmission is not lurching. It goes down from half to a quarter and then back again. So something still seems to be wrong. Otherwise all seems to be well.
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I've got an '08 Cobalt. There is a large leak in my coolant system. The plastic reservoir is empty and if I add coolant and start the engine it all gushes out of a hole in a piece of plastic on the side of the radiator. Can I drive it to the shop if I watch the engine temperature or should I have it towed? Is the engine temperature measurement affected by the lack of coolant?
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Make: Chevy Model: Cobalt LS Year: 2005 Mileage: 120000
So I'm having this problem with my engine stalling at low RPM. The RPM goes to 0 and the engine shuts off.
This only happens when traveling at low speeds (e.g. slowly accelerating from a stop, braking, moving in stop and go traffic)
This NEVER happens when I'm traveling above 10 mph (e.g. if I'm coasting at 40 and let my foot off the gas, the RPM can go to 500 RPM but it will never stall in this case).
After the stall, I can always put the car in park, turn the ignition and it will turn back on again.
I have not noticed any electrical problems that occur when this happens (the radio stays on during the stall and the lights don't dim).
My car was part of that Chevy ignition switch recall, but I took it to the dealership which (hopefully) repaired it.
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My 2005 Chevy Cobalt is refusing to start on occasion. I turn the key, nothing. Its not the battery. I wait exactly 10 minutes and it starts no problem!The dealer wants me to take it in only when this is happening but in 10 minutes the tow truck driver won't even arrive. What is the problem? The computer?
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This started several months ago. I can feel it in steering wheel & gas pedal. I thought it was the tires so I put 2 new tires on front, but no change.Tires had no unusual wear. Happens at any speed, worse around curves, left or right. Worse when temp is colder, 55 degrees, better at 75 degrees. Not affected by braking or in coasting neutral. No problem with steering or pulling.
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I have a 99 S10 4.3 2wd. Last week on a 5-6 mile drive it overheated, and it turns out the coolant was somehow almost a gallon low! I topped it off and all was well for nearly a week. This weekend I was driving and suddenly could smell a strong coolant odor. The temp gauge began to spike and when i pulled over and popped the hood it was clear the coolant was finding its way out but not through the overflow or radiator. When it cooled down and I added water/coolant I could see the coolant coming from the block or near the block. Also, when I let it run for a few minutes i could see the fluid "spraying" out from what appears to be near the pass. side valve cover maybe near the intake manifold...The oil looks good, so I'm not sure it's the head gasket. Not sure where to go with this.
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So 2 weeks ago I noticed that after 30 minutes of driving on the highway my steering wheel started making a loud growling noise and vibrating really hard! When I hit the brakes it got worse but got better as I slowed to 30 mph. It doesn't happen all the time and not right away, only after a while of driving and the dealership says without codes they can do nothing...
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So my civic has been running hot this week. Had plenty of antifreeze. Oil.changes and tuneup are up to date. Started running hot monday so I went ahead and changed the radiator cap and replaced the thermostat. Still running hot at this point and im losing all my fluid from the coolant reservoir. I run my heat as a guide to when I lose all fluid. Once the heat turns cold I pullover and refill it up. Oil isnt milky and no white smoke. Could it still be a bad head gasket? Possible water pump? Plan to flush the radiator tomorrow.
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2005 Malibu Maxx, automatic transmission, well maintained mechanically. About a year ago, while driving up a small hill, my display panel starting dinging and all of the lights came on and my steering felt like it was losing power. After I got to the top of the hill, all the displays went off and bells stopped dinging. I've had the codes checked at the local dealership and the only thing found was that one of the battery cells was low. We replaced the battery about 3 months ago and that hasn't stopped the battery light and bell from coming on when driving up any incline. It still feels like I'm losing steering in these instances. I also tend to accelerate when going up a hill, so I don't know why that would be a problem. A recall has been issued for my car, but I'm not sure if it has any bearing on this problem.
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So I have a 2005 Dodge Stratus. It must be a year old model because most of the parts and engine wise are of the 2006 model. Well earlier in Feb/March I had to get my timing belt and heads changed due to the bending. After that my car was working fine, but my coolant overflow tank kept losing coolant. Had that fixed with the repair shop as well. After that it seemed that my car was working well. Then it started to overheat, and I was informed that my lower radiator hose had a small leak. I had that fixed as well. This is when the constant overheating started.
I assumed that the air needed to be removed from the system. So I had it bleed, and then it seemed to work well, but that was not true seeing as my car continued to overheat of the cold air was on. The only thing that keeps it working is if I turn the heater on. That cools the system off. So now everyday I have to keep letting air out of the radiators, and run the heater if it gets too hot.
I just noticed today that my thermostat housing bolts have coolant on them whenever the engine gets to hot. Do you think it's not right enough, or my radiator cap may be bad?
Replacements:
Head gasket
Thermostat
Radiator hoses
I believe the cap of the radiator as well.
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Getting po171 and 174 codes. Also losing coolant, but unable to locate source of coolant loss. Had a 2000 Tahoe that had the same problem and had to replace the upper/lower intake manifold gaskets. I'm guessing I'm having the exact same problem with the suburban. Is this a common thing with the tahoes/suburbans? Anyway just want to see if everyone else thinks and if this is most likey my problem. Still getting good gas mileage and power....nothing is off...just getting those codes from time to time and losing coolant, but unable to find the leak.
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Our '03 Infiniti I35 lost large amounts of coolant each time on 2 long trips but when we did a pressure check, we couldn't get it to leak anywhere we could see and no visible signs of where it may have leaked while driving (no drip lines, puddles, etc.). We're not sure where the water pump is located, but have been told it's internal to the engine, so how can we tell if it's gone bad? Would the coolant burn off with no visible signs? We changed the radiator cap but no change. We use a trusted shade tree mechanic, but he's stumped.
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Every 6 weeks my car, a 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, won't start. Key goes in half way and won't go any further. Key won't come out and it's totally dead. Jump start it and it's good for another 6 weeks or so. What could be causing this?
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I currently own a 2006 Chevy Cobalt. For the past few months it had a problem that every time I get gas when I go to start the car up I have to pump the gas pedal and crank it at the same time to get it to start running. Once its running I have to either get driving pronto or sit and it park and accelerate it a little for a bit to keep the car running. If I let go of the gas pedal the car will clunk and shut off. If I drive off after a few blocks it’ll work fine and I won’t have the problem again until I put more gas in it. Occasionally when at a light or stop sign while in drive the car will clunk a little but normally stop after few seconds.
I went to AutoZone and they told me I had a pressure thing (can’t remember fully) but to replace the gas cap. Which the car tells every so often to check my gas cap. Well 4-5 gas caps later problem still there. What it could be or how to fix it, last resort is to take it to the mechanic and pay a nice bill for a fix.
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I am having an issue with my 2006 Chevy Cobalt. I recently had a new fuel pump put in. Within a week the car would not start. The very next day the car started fine and ran well. The next day it would not start again. The next day, started and ran fine. Then this morning it would not start again. I don't think it can be a faulty fuel pump. What might be the problem?
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Recently my car started to go at a lower speed like around 5-10 mph. Then it started not showing the speed I was going. Then the RPM goes higher and higher and does not come down. I took it to the shop thinking the recall for the ignition switch was going to fix the problem but even after I got the egnition switch fix I was still experiences those issue.s I took it back to the shop to get a diagnostic that cost 100 bucks they told me to get my transmission fixed. After I had gone and done that my car still was experiencing those problems. Also some times the car turns back to normal like it wasn't even having issue everything goes soothly for about a good 2 to 3 miles and it goes back to it's old issues. What I can do or if they are experiencing these issue too? I wondering if I should take it back to the dealers and have them look at it again or not?
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My Chevy Cobalt will not start when it is cold (when water freezes)...but only sometimes. When you go to start the engine, it will initially turn over but does not ignite. Then, the second time if you turn the key normally no sound will emit. However, if you put the key in and only turn to get the lights on the dash to come on and THEN turn the key, it will turn over, but no dice. This past time a code "engine pwr reduced" came up, but that doesn't always happen. When you wait four hours or more, it will start like normal accompanied by the check engine light. The check engine light goes off the second time you start it after the non-start.
I have taken it to a mechanic and they have not been able to reproduce the problem, even when it was cold enough to theoretically have happened. He said it might be an issue with the body module which explains why the ignition switch code comes up when you run it through a computer, but since this is such an expensive fix he said he can't recommend I get it done until we know for sure. So there is a pattern, this happens about every 2 months and then the issue clears up for a while.
What is going on??? Will there ever be a way to tell what is wrong (and fix it) without a mechanic reproducing the issue?
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Ran my battery down on my car when I left my lights on and proceeded to work an 8-hour shift.
Came out and stuck my key in the ignition. Nothing happened, which is when I realized my plight. The dang ignition wouldn't release my key! This meant I couldn't get into the trunk by key. I pressed the (stupidly electric) remote trunk lock. That's where the jumper cables are! Did I mention it was below freezing and I wasn't dressed for sustained outdoor shenanigans?
Fortunately, I was able to flag down co-workers with jumper cables, after a time. We opened the hood--praises, they actually left a cable-actuated device on the car!--and got going. None the less, it was a close scare.
1) Why does the ignition "grab" the key without battery power?
2) How does one defeat 1)?
3) Is it necessary to store my jumper cables INSIDE the car?
4) What mental giant decided a trunk latch that's INOP with a dead battery was a good idea?
I have a decent working understanding of a lock cylinder--6 or so spring-loaded wafers that retract into the cylinder body, allowing it to turn--but I don't see how that requires current flow to work. If it's a "safety" feature, how do I disable it, permanently?
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2008 Chevy Cobalt
The fan for my A/c and heat does not turn on anymore. The A/c and heating systems themselves do work because if I put my hand right up against the vent I can feel it. When I switch on the fan, there is no noise, no humming either. This happened over the course of two days where first the fan worked fine, then it took a little while to turn on, then it would only turn on if I put it on high and waited a long time, then it didn't turn on at all.
Since then I have not tried to turn the fan on for more than a few minutes to see if I can get it to work again because I'm concerned that the trapped heat or A/c might damage something inside (am I correct?).
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My wife recently got stuck in a snowstorm. Some people got her out and she drove a couple miles to work. After leaving work, her car started shaking at red lights (like big, slow shakes, back and forth, not making forward progress), but stopped as soon as she started to move or put the car in neutral. It did this on her way home from work and then continued when she left for a workout class about half an hour later. However, after this, it stopped completely.
Some people seemed to suggest engine mount problems to other people, which seems serious if it is that. However, since it did stop after a short time, is it possible there was snow stuck somewhere causing a problem and it finally just melted off? Or is the getting stuck in snow the same day probably just a coincidence? It seems odd that it would stop once the brake is let up.
Right now I'm planning to take it in sometime later this week most likely, but am wondering if I can avoid that since it hasn't exhibited any of the same symptoms for a few days. The car is a 2010 Chevy Cobalt.
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