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07 Cobalt Power Steering and security light issues

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Old September 24th, 2011, 8:19 PM
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Default 07 Cobalt Power Steering and security light issues

I have a 2007 Chevy cobalt with 90,000 miles on it. I'll be driving down the road and the security light will come on, gas gauge will drop to empty and the power steering light will display momentarily. However, I would never actually lose my power steering dispite the light coming on. Sometimes I will attempt to start up the car in the morning and it will not turn over. Doesnt make any noise at all, however the security light will display. It will however always on the 4th try start right up and the security light goes off and it runs fine. Just had the power steering motor replaced 2 weeks ago under recall. Today as I was driving down the freeway the car went haywire again. Security light came on, gas gauge dropped to empty, power steering light displayed only this time I did lose my power steering. Pulled off the road hit the info button on my car and the digital readings with mileage temperature ect were all lines no numbers. Usually I can pull over and shut off the car and restart and the gauges go back to normal and the security light goes off. Today I let it set for 30 minutes finally decided to drive it home with no power steering. after driving down the road for 15 minutes my gauges went back to normal and my power steering came back. When I got home turned off my car and restarted. The security light went off. First time this happened was a year ago. Within the last year it has only happened about 4 times. Starting 6 weeks ago it is a lot more frequent usually once or twice a week. Anyone else having these issues. Called 3 chevy garages and got the same answer from all 3. Never heard of this issue. I am going to take it in to have them look at it,however just wandering if anyone else has had these issues.
Old March 1st, 2012, 7:46 AM
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Default Intermittent gauges

Did you ever get this problem resolved with your car? I've been having the exact same problem with mine for about a year now and have not been able to fix it yet. I've re-seated all connectors on the TCU, ECU and BCM, cleaned several grounds in the engine compartment, although none of them looked corroded. I've been reluctant to take it to the dealer because, based on information from the forums, they usually shotgun the computer first, which has not fixed a single case that I have read about. I'm hoping you got yours fixed and can share what resolved the problem.

Thanks,
Old March 1st, 2012, 5:26 PM
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<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <wontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> Has the vehicle been altered with any aftermarket equipment?

I have researched 2007 Cobalt vehicles, but there are currently no known issues relating to your description. It sounds like a computer issue, just a suggestion, not a diagnosis. An inspection by a certified technician may be required to troubleshoot the problem.

Please keep us posted.

Louis
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Old March 2nd, 2012, 7:24 AM
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I added power door locks to the car at about 10,000 miles. The intermittent problems started around 20,000 miles after the power steering motor was replaced in the recall. The car is out of warranty now. I spoke to the service manager about the problem within a week after the power steering motor was replaced and he said he had never heard of that issue. Same response others have gotten when they spoke with their service department. This is not an isolated incident as there are many different reports just like this on the forums. I have not read a single report where the computer fixed the problem long term. In all cases I've read where the computer was replaced the problem returned within a few months. I thought I had fixed mine by re-inserting the fuses in the box under the hood but after about 5 months the problem returned. It seems to be a ground problem but I don't know which ones to work on.

Last edited by Dynatrak; September 30th, 2013 at 7:04 AM. Reason: Spelling errors
Old March 2nd, 2012, 11:49 AM
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Hmm, that aftermarket addition just upped the labor rate by 200%. Go over the splices and taps that were made for the power door locks. Once you breach the insulation without sealing it good, it's a matter of time before corrosion sets in.
Old June 24th, 2013, 3:49 PM
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This exact problem has also been happening with my 2007 Cobalt LT. It starts out as a security light. A few months later the power steering warning is added, a few months later additional warnings are added. Now the entire instrument panel is going crazy. My car always starts fine and drives fine. But, I know as soon as the security light comes on, then trouble is not far behind. I have noticed that this problem seems to occur most often when I can making a turn or braking. This seems to imply a loose or bare wire. I did have to replace the passenger side door lock unit this week, but this problem has been occurring long before this event. I will look inside the door a third time and hope for a miracle. In the meantime, I will abstain from taking my car to get this repaired until one of us figures this stupidity out.
Old June 25th, 2013, 10:59 AM
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DWheeling,

I am sorry you are having these concerns with your vehicle. If you would like for us to look further into this concern for you, please let us know. You can private message me your name, VIN, mileage, phone number, and address. Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Erica Tiffany
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Old September 29th, 2013, 6:01 PM
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just wondering if this issue was resolved? i just had a similar issue mine just randomly shut off and didnt want to turn back on. the security light stays on and it says power steering on the digital display but nothing happens when i turn the key any help would be great thanks
Old September 29th, 2013, 7:27 PM
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If you would like to send me your VIN I can see if there are any recalls or updates concerning this issue. Please send me a private message with your VIN and current mileage if you are interested.

Jackie
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Old November 1st, 2013, 11:01 PM
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I encountered the Chevy Cobalt issue where the security light would turn on and the gauges would all go wonky and occasionally “twitch”. Also, the text screen would flash “POWER STEERING” and “LOW FUEL”. Sometimes this was accompanied by the transmission shifting poorly and the power steering actually not working.

I identified the problem, but haven't replaced anything yet. While the problem was presenting, with the car running I looked directly under the dash/steering column and found the power steering motor. There is a large module with three connectors. Two of the connectors are heavy gauge and obviously power. The third is a bundle of 5-6 smaller wires. The moment I unplugged that small bundle, all the gauges went back to normal and everything(except the power steering) worked properly. I plugged it back in and everything went crazy again. It seems apparent it's the module itself or the wiring harness TO that module.

This is a quick, easy and free way to find the root of the problem and much more certain than all the other speculation I've been seeing. I'm posting because I saw this problem all over the web with no solutions.



I haven't replaced anything or fixed it yet, but I feel a lot better at least knowing what it is.


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