Cobalt help needed!

[ColonelPanic]

My friend (ex Viber) hasn't had a good day with his '05 Cobalt LT coupe (auto.)When he put it in drive today, a chime went off and he's got his traction control light, ABS light, and brake light on all at the same time.Any ideas what's busted? All three systems are connected, sooo... Is it even safe to drive at this point? The brakes are fine, although he obviously won't have ABS and traction control.If it were just the ABS and traction control light, I'd say keep driving it. But the brake light also being on kinda concerns me!Any Cobalt owners, *ahem* Millster know what it says in the manual if all three of these lights are on? I told him to RTFM but he's on the road right now. And I also suggested rebooting the car (worked for me all the time on my Malibu when its ABS puked!) but he's not in the greatest of neighborhood this second to pull off the expressway and restart. lol! He's out of warranty and has some 3rd party extended warranty, not sure how well this is going to turn out. My best guesses are a fried sensor, or the hardware that does all the modulation for the brakes? Anyway, thanks for the help. I went here first 'cause you guys are always helpful, and quite frankly, I don't have the time to go find a Cobalt forum and ask about it and get trashed for being some st00pid n00b.

[millster]

Yeah, don't go to the 'Balt forums. There is SOME info but mostly they're just rude.I seem to remember reading something like that somewhere. My manual isn't accessible right at the moment but I'll check it first chance I get!

[ColonelPanic]

Hey, that's cool.Actually, I just had a DUH! moment and hit up MyGMLink, my account is still good. Added a Cobalt to the list of products I own, hehehe! Got the manual...It doesn't look good.... If ABS and BRAKE light are both on, there's a problem with your ABS and regular brakes. I'd hazard a guess that the traction control will also disable itself so that's why that light is on.I'll call him and tell him right away. Doesn't sound particularly safe to drive.

[millster]

I was just going to post to say that. First, have him check the parking brake. That can make the brake light and TC lights come on. Failing that, "reboot" the car. If none of those help, shut it off and get it towed. Something is seriously wrong.I've found some info from people who have had bad sensors cause the lights to come on. If that's what it is, a "reboot" will shut the lights off for a moment.

[ColonelPanic]

Cool, hopefully he was able to get to a place to reboot that sucker.I tried calling him back but got his voicemail. Let him know that it probably isn't wise to drive that sucker!I've already offered him rides to work for the next couple of days, I've gotta get him talked into taking me up on my offer. I could even babysit the car at the dealer, he goes to the same dealer I went to with the Vibe, he he he! *evil laugh*

[millster]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to be driving it. All of the info I've found says what you outlined. if it's both the brake and ABS lights it's bad. Add in the TC and who knows. Could be a bad sensor but I don't know if I'd want to risk it.

[tnpartsguy]

Could be a bad sensor, but the sensors are made into the wheel hubs on the 'balts. A lot of 3rd party warranties won't pay for the hub if the sensor's bad, so make sure to try to get them to say the hub is bad, not the sensor.

[ColonelPanic]

Cool, I'm talking to him about it right now. I let him know to suggest that. Lord knows what they'll actually do. BUT... That dealership has gotten better than what it was when I dealt with them, since one particular troublemaker service advisor (mr. "We just can't go throwin' parts on it just 'cause it's broke!") now works at the quickie lube. BTW, the lights went out after a reboot. Whew! All is back to normal for now, but there's surely some serious codes thrown there, so he's going to get it looked at.-EDIT-Also, Partsguy - on another issue... I think I remember you saying something about a part on the HHR's that was crapping out with the shifter, what part was that? When you go to throw it in park, you can't take the key out of the ignition unless you keep shifting into and out of park while wiggling the key. Then finally, the solenoid releases and gives up the key. The dealer has already fixed this once when it was under the factory warranty... Would GM they still be obligated to fix it again since they arleady replaced parts previously? If not, is it something with the shifter or the steering column, and could we fix that ourselves? Not touching it if it's in the column. I *think* they may have replaced something with the shifter previously, it wasn't getting the signal to the solenoid to disengage. The gyrations this poor guy has to go through just to get the car to give up his key is pitiful.

[millster]

Good deal. Well I'm glad the lights went off. It definitely sounds like a bad sensor based on what I've seen on the 'Balt forums. I hadn't even thought about the warranty not covering the hub mounted sensors, though. That's a good point from tnpartsguy. Definitely keep us (or at least me) posted on what happens if you find out. I hope my Cobalt plays nice with me. I love the little car and would hate to have to dislike it.

[ColonelPanic]

LOL, yeah, I hope you don't end up with a reason to dislike it. This guy has pretty bad luck with cars, kinda like, uh, me! Hopefully it's just that the two of us need disclaimers that go something like "resuits not typical."

[WaveAction]

here's a forum a buddy of mine is on..http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/

[northvibe]

my friend is on cobaltss.net as well, they are pretty nice there.

[WaveAction]

yep they are..a few guys from the j-bodies switched over to the cobalts ss..just like many here have switched from the j-bodies to the vibes