front door speaker problems

[Destrii1]

Hi,

I have a 2009 Cobalt LT.

I looked in this Forum about this problem and it seems some people have it.
But the discussion sounds like not many people know much about it.

I have this problem. First it was the passenger side front speaker. I noticed one day it wasn't working. I was still under warranty so they fixed it (or replaced it-I'm not sure which) and it has never acted up since.

Then a week later the drivers side front speaker went out. They have tried to fix it 3 times. It works for a few weeks or months, then starts acting up again. And my warranty has expired during the course of that time.

Now it is acting up for the 4th time. The symptoms seem to range anywhere from very muffled sound coming out of it to no sound at all. Then on another day, it will work ok. But gradually over time, the full sound will not come back-only muffled (or muted sound-barely audible).

The dealership tells me that this is a common problem. But they seem to have no real lasting solution. They say it is in the wiring connector to the speaker itself.

Yet my research on the web seem to indicate that this may be a wiring short problem and that I should trace the wires in the door for a short.

Another bit of web information says that rain could be getting in and that the stock speakers installed in the Cobalts are not rain resistant.

I don't know. I only relate to you here what I have been told-mainly that the dealership says this is a common problem. This problem must span several years of models of Cobalts. One wonders why they let it go on for so long.

Does anyone know anything more about this problem? My question is how do I fix it permanently?

Thanks in advance.

(I don't have a lot of free time much anymore, so please bear with me if it seems to take me a while to respond to any responses.)

 

[GMCustomerService]

I understand that you're now out of warranty and it seems that you're looking to take on fixing this yourself. If you wanted for us to check into anything with your dealership for you, please let us know! We can be reached via private message and ask that you include your name, contact information, and the last 8 digits of your VIN so we can properly document your concern.

Sarah (Assisting Amber)
GM Customer Care

 

[Destrii1]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, that was what I am thinking I am going to have to do is have a look at the problem myself.

I am hoping that it might be an obvious problem (like a short in a wire somewhere that no one found) or maybe the connector to the speaker (maybe one of the prongs might not be making good contact) and no one caught that.

Otherwise, I will probably be at a loss to figure it out. I really don't think it's the speaker itself because since I posted this thread, the speaker has continued to go in and out almost daily now-mostly exists in a muted, barely audible state, then back to normal for a small while. It doesn't seem to have become totally inaudible yet.

A speaker acting like that couldn't be a sign of a speaker problem itself, could it?

Thanks for the information. I hope I won't need it.

 

[YelloEye]

It could be the speaker or the wiring. You can pull out and hook it up to the other side and see if it follows.

 

[canadianbacon]

I had this same problem with mine, except only in the drivers door in my LS. When I took the speaker out, there was moisture on the connectors and a bit of corrosion. I replaced both speakers with MTX Audio Thunder Dome-Axials (TDX65) and they haven't acted up since. They're very easy to change yourself, and it's a night and day difference between stock, and these, even without an amp (yet).

 

[Destrii1]

I ended up following the advice of some other contributors to forums on this problem. And that was to replace the speakers with new ones. The advice mostly said that new speakers would cure the problem. I got the Pioneer TS-G1644R speakers from Best Buy and had the Geek Squad install them.

They seemed to work.

For two days.

Then the problem returned. Only on the drivers side. And only in barely audible conditions-not totally inaudible. Then later the speaker would mostly work again for a little while, although never at quite 100%.

Then I noticed that another symptom was still appearing. And that was that whenever you rev up the motor with the gas pedal, it tended to make the drivers speaker try and work again.

I had noticed this before like when on a downhill run and I am accelerating, that the speakers would tend to get a tinny, "brighter" electronic sound to them. As if the revving up was sparking more juice to the speakers.

But I didn't think anything of it.

Now the Geek Squad tells me, when I took my car back to them complaining of this unsolved problem, that it is a common problem to the Radio of the car-not the Speakers at all.

He told me that it is common for the radio to 'drop out' the signal that goes to the drivers side speaker because that is the side that carries the door chime and turn signal chime through that side speaker. I didn't really understand why it does that.

He said simply that the radio is going bad.

I tend to believe him, however. It makes a little sense to me since I now have new speakers and my problem is not solved.

But what I am mad about is that out of all the forums I have read on this problem, I don't recall seeing anyone mention anything about the radio being the problem.

What gives? Is it a radio problem? I ended up buying new speakers when I didn't even have to because not even the Chevrolet dealership could identify this as a radio problem? Remember...I went to them first, while I was still under warranty. And all they ever talked about was speakers. Perhaps because that was what I was telling them-that the speaker was going out on me.

But shouldn't they have been more knowledgeable to have known that the speaker was merely a symptom of the problem-not the cause? Especially in view of the fact that they always kept saying that this is a Common problem!?

Come on now. I wonder about Chevrolets' true concern for their customers. I am now more confused than ever about where the problem lies. Do I now need to buy a new radio?

Thanks.

 

[jonny_b]

I ended up following the advice of some other contributors to forums on this problem. And that was to replace the speakers with new ones. The advice mostly said that new speakers would cure the problem. I got the Pioneer TS-G1644R speakers from Best Buy and had the Geek Squad install them.

They seemed to work.

For two days.

Then the problem returned. Only on the drivers side. And only in barely audible conditions-not totally inaudible. Then later the speaker would mostly work again for a little while, although never at quite 100%.

Then I noticed that another symptom was still appearing. And that was that whenever you rev up the motor with the gas pedal, it tended to make the drivers speaker try and work again.

I had noticed this before like when on a downhill run and I am accelerating, that the speakers would tend to get a tinny, "brighter" electronic sound to them. As if the revving up was sparking more juice to the speakers.

But I didn't think anything of it.

Now the Geek Squad tells me, when I took my car back to them complaining of this unsolved problem, that it is a common problem to the Radio of the car-not the Speakers at all.

He told me that it is common for the radio to 'drop out' the signal that goes to the drivers side speaker because that is the side that carries the door chime and turn signal chime through that side speaker. I didn't really understand why it does that.

He said simply that the radio is going bad.

I tend to believe him, however. It makes a little sense to me since I now have new speakers and my problem is not solved.

But what I am mad about is that out of all the forums I have read on this problem, I don't recall seeing anyone mention anything about the radio being the problem.

What gives? Is it a radio problem? I ended up buying new speakers when I didn't even have to because not even the Chevrolet dealership could identify this as a radio problem? Remember...I went to them first, while I was still under warranty. And all they ever talked about was speakers. Perhaps because that was what I was telling them-that the speaker was going out on me.

But shouldn't they have been more knowledgeable to have known that the speaker was merely a symptom of the problem-not the cause? Especially in view of the fact that they always kept saying that this is a Common problem!?

Come on now. I wonder about Chevrolets' true concern for their customers. I am now more confused than ever about where the problem lies. Do I now need to buy a new radio?

Thanks.

that is why i always call them stealerships. but there were 3 possibilities for your problem. speakers, wiring, head unit. now the speakers are out of the way. paying and still having a problem sucks, buuuuuut now you know that replacing the head unit, which you will also need the $100 wiring harness, and dash kit. bright side is, you will have better sound when you put you new head unit in. if you want, i have a sony single din, with bluetooth, usb, aux i'll let go in a dash kit for a reasonable price. $50 plus shipping sound good to you?

 

[Destrii1]

Thanks. I'll consider it. But I really want to shop around for what I might want to end up doing. And that is to go ahead and put in my dream unit with the big screen navigation system.
I'm only just toying with the idea as of now, but I had dreamed of doing it ever since I bought the car and if ever there was a time to do it.......

But you are right. I have practically eliminated the speakers as the problem. The drivers speaker only, is now constantly in low volume and does not get any louder anymore. If by replacing the radio solves the problem, well, I just hope this forum helps anyone else who ever has this problem.

 

[jonny_b]

i would recommend getting a touch screen with nav. they are so nice. mine doesn't have the nav, but it still looks so much better than a single with a cubby hole.

 

[YelloEye]

I can vouch for the single and cubby hole being lame.