Chevrolet HHR And Cobalt Investigated Over Fuel Leak Concerns
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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an investigation after receiving numerous complaints regarding fuel leaks in the Chevrolet Cobalt and HHR compact cars.
According to The Detroit Free Press, NHTSA says it has received 208 complaints from owners of the Cobalt and HHR over fuel leaks. Of these, 39 complained of fuel leaking out from a line located near the left rear well. The safety watchdog claims the leaks are caused by corroding metal fuel lines.
In a statement issued to the Free Press, GM spokesman Dan Flores said the automaker has “been in discussion with NHTSA on this matter and will continue to cooperate with NHTSA in its investigation.”
The government has not yet tied any crashes, fire or injuries to the purported fuel leaks. NHTSA reps also told the Free Press they would investigate any potential safety issues that may stem from the problem and noted that investigations like these can lead to recalls.
The agency’s probe involves 614,000 Cobalt and HHR models. Cobalt models affected are from the 2008 to 2010 model years, while the HHRs are from 2008 and 2009. Searching these vehicles on NHTSA’s online database turns up a number of complaints pertaining to this same fuel leak issue.
“The gas line is rusted and leaking,” one owner of a 2009 Chevrolet HHR said. “There is a strong odor of gasoline at the rear drivers side tire of my car. It leaves fuel on my driveway.”
One complaint said the location of the gas lines, which are located within an insulation heat shield near the exhaust pipe/muffler, is the reason behind the corrosion. They also said GM had them come in to confirm the corrosion problem – suggesting the issue was previously on the automaker’s radar.
“Gas line corrosion problem (due) to muffler right under gas lines and gas line up in pocket where heat and moisture cause early corrosion (poor design),” the complainant, who owns a 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt, wrote. “GM had me go to a dealership and confirm corrosion problem.”
It is not clear when the findings from NHTSA’s investigation will be released.
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So this is just so stupid IMO. Takes me back to the fact that you just can’t engineer out the stupid. These cars (of the newest models) are now going on 11 years old! This is certainly pertaining to cars sold in the rust-belt where they use salt/brine on the roads so drivers can be on the roads during conditions with snow and ice. I know. I grew up in NW Illinois where this is the norm. FACT: cars will rust out in those states. You can’t stop it, only slow it down. So when these people who feel their 10+ year old car driven on the salted roads should not have rust issues, it just makes me laugh! What the heck do they expect? Do these same people feel that a car should never deteriorate? Even in states that boarder the oceans, you can still get rust from the moist salt air. Florida is worse here than California due to the higher humidity. Why are these people not just having those bad parts replaced? Now there’s a novel idea!
Just like the GM trucks side saddle fuel tanks from back in the 70’s where GM was forced to recall and fix those trucks. Even though the trucks met and exceeded all federal regulations in place at that time, GM had to “fix” the problem years later. How exactly are any companies supposed to predict future regulations and design for those rules not even in place yet? Just plain stupid because consumers want everything for nothing and want it to last beyond reasonable times while passing future regulations.
How come this is an issue with primarily Cobalt and similar cars? I live in Ohio and have a 2009 Cobalt–SAME ISSUE. Had someone patch up my fuel lines. Same guy has said that he’s seen more than a dozen of these cars with the exact same issue. Why do they rust primarily in that one spot (behind the rear wheel)? Think about that.
I have had a half dozen cars in the last 25 years and the Cobalt is the only one where I’ve had an issue with fuel lines rusting out.
There is a design flaw where the gas lines are located near the muffler and with condensation from the muffler it ends up rusting out the lines and causing Dangerous leaks from the gas lines with the Colbalt which has been found with this car.The Pontiac G5 as well as the G6 have the same design flaw issues I have experienced and have replaced the fuel lines out of pocket with the G5 which is not covered by a recall. Contact the National Highway Administration if this issue occurs in a vehicles that experiences this problem, the more complaints they receive will then force GM to recall your vehicle. If you experience this problem the more complaints launched the faster these vehicles will be safer for the consumer and the public. The consumer of these vehicles should not have to absorb the cost of repair for something that GM should recall if they value their customers continued business as well as the safety of you and your family that trust the safety when they turn the key!
You are right
Cars don’t last forever
There’s a 3 yr bumper to bumper warranty
Drivetrains 5 yr
Computers 8 yrs
After that replace the parts yourself
I have a 2002 S10 and a 1995 Jeep Wrangler. They have rust but the fuel lines dont leak. Just my HHR
I am glad they are finally doing this. I grew up in the midwest, so I understand snow, salt and its effects on vehicles. However, my cobalt has been a texas and arizona car. Despite our distance from the known corrosive elements, I still had to pay out of pocket to replace my fuel lines.
This corrosion issue still effects vehicles outside of tbe rust belt.
same problem,same place,cobalt 2010,quebec,canada.
Please just put these POS out to pasture, they were both a mistake on GM’s part.
They have been out to pasture; the Cobalt stopped in 2010 and the HHR in 2011.
Mine is a 2010 in Canada = Salt
44,500 kms
Runs perfectly
Zero problems
Except the original alloy wheels corroded and wouldn’t hold air
That was extremely annoying
Lol
Just paid $963 to have both lines replaced plus a fuel filter for good measure on our beloved and very well maintained 2005 Cobalt LS. Happened in the exact same spot just before the driver’s side rear tire. Maybe GM would be nice and refund that hard earned money back for a poor design?🤔 One can wish!
I replaced the fuel lines on my 2007 Cobalt a couple of years ago because of corrosion; perhaps this is a problem that extends to earlier years.
Had to have my dealer maintained 2009 HHR in for the fuel line leaking/ rust thru. Almost a $1000 later its fixed but have to wonder about the brake lines. How much more would it have added to the cost of the car for stainless?
can’t even drive my car because of this and they are taking their time to investigate
I work at a used car lot and we get a lot of HHR’s because they are popular.4 out of 5 of them have had leaks in front of rear drivers side tire.Definitly a flaw in the design and material used for these gas lines.
i have a 2009 cobalt lt 56000 miles runs great well maintained ,kept in garage since it was bought: and out of nowhere i smell gas ,and see puddles behind drivers rear door .more than 1100 dolars at dealership for two lines and a fuel filter,with the problem in the exact same place as others regardless of environment and year of car these should havebeen takin care ,i never read or recieved any news concerning these fuel leaks and hopefully they will correct these before someone dies.i will be on the lookout for a reimbursement form.
My 08 colbolt is leaking gas from the same spot behind drivers door
I took my car in for an oil change and the mechanic brought me back to show me my car had a fuel line leak. I just paid 800.00 to have my fuel line replaced on my 2008 Chevy HHR. I thought $800.00 was far too much, but given the severity and potential for disaster, I was afraid to drive it and reluctantly agreed to pay this price. Did I just get ripped off or is this in the ballpark? Hoping for a recall and maybe a reimbursement from Chevy. This was the result of a defectively designed car! But can someone tell me if I paid way too much money? I will at least feel better about this if I know I wasn’t ripped off. Thanks much.
You got a better deal than I did!! $963.00 for a 2005 2dr Cobalt…..this should solely fall on the manufacturer and anyone affected by this defect should be reimbursed in my opinion.
Paying $1000 for a dealer to repair fuel line leak. 2011 Chevy HHR. Same place as everyone else. Hoping they have a recall for this. It is certainly a dangerous problem. It was leaking visible gas.
I have a Chevy HHR 2007 I had the same problem corrosion of the fuel lines and just had it fixed by the dealer and I have my receipt for it saying it’s the corrosion of the fuel lines that you have put on my vehicle
I was told by a mechanic 2 days ago, that he is surprised I haven’t blown up by now. My kids ride in the back and started complaint of gasoline. I can’t afford that.
I own a 2011 Chevy hhr ,just parked it off my hot top drive way because of fuel leak over left wheel fuel line ,why would Chevy use such crappy fuel line material and poor location ?
Does anyone know what the status of the review by NHTSA is? I have $800 invested in a part that should never rust through. Besides expensive, the leak is right by the muffler. Talk about a ticking time-bomb! (2009 HHR)
I have no idea but I did submit a complaint on their site. I have a 2009 Cobalt and I just got new fuel lines put in. Perhaps if more people who have experienced this submit complaints it’ll prod them into action.
I am so annoyed with this issue of my fuel lines leaking. My HHR is a 2006, and has 89,000 miles on it, and would still have a lot of life left in it, if it were not for this issue, that I CANNOT afford to get fixed. Why isn’t there a recall on this issue. Now my car is just sitting in my driveway rotting because of poor design, and its paid for!!! Who can I call and blast over this nonsense??