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How To Change The Oil On Your Chevrolet Cobalt

December 15, 2005

I'm writing this because it seems no one else in the world will do it. I am very particular about changing my own oil in my cars. First of all because I can do it cheaper than anyone else, secondly it only takes about 15 minutes which is less time than it takes at some places, and thirdly because I trust myself to do it correctly. When I was ready to change the oil in my new '05 Chevy Cobalt I discovered that the Cobalt uses an oil filter cartridge instead of the normal oil filter canister. This was new to me and so I went searching on the internet to find out where it goes and how to change it. Guess what, I found nothing. After going through the trouble of trying to figure it out myself I decided to help out my fellow Cobalt owners.

Where does the filter go?
For those of you that already know how to change your oil, let me tell you quick. You can find the filter under the hood of the car. Pull the oil cap off, pull up on the big plactic cover that sits over the engine and you will see the canister where the filter goes. It hangs directly off the side of the engine closest to the front of the car. You'll be able to tell because it has a large, black plastic top that you have to take off to get to the filter. Thats it!.

For those of you that don't know how to change your oil, or need a reminder I am writing this small step by step guide to changing your oil in the Chevrolet Cobalt:

How to change the oil in my Cobalt
1. When Do I Change My Oil? While many times the manufacturer recommends changing your oil every 3,000 miles or so, the Cobalt actually has a computer that uses a working algorithm to calculate the use of your oil based on how much you drive, how fast you drive, and how quickly you accelerate. With the computer you only need to change your oil when the "Change Oil Soon" messages appears on your message board. For me, I went about 7,500 miles before I had to change my oil.

2. What materials do I need? You will need 5 Quarts of 5W/30, an oil filter (cartridge) for your car, a #15 metric wrench, a tool to take loose the oil filter plug, old rags, an oil pan, and a funnel.

3. Make sure the engine is warm Get all of your tools together, purchase the oil and filter, and then drive your car around awhile to get your engine warm. If your heater is blowing out hot air then you are good. This gets your engine oil thinned out which will make it easier to drain.

4. Drain your oil Put your drain pan under the car's oil pan and loosen the bolt using the metric wrench. Just loosen the bolt first, unless you wish to have your hand drenched in burning hot oil (remember, you just drove it around to get it hot). Once you loosen the bolt with the wrench, you can continue to turn the bolt with your fingers, holding it tight until your ready to pull the plug out and let it drain. Make sure your aim is correct and you pull it quick or you could get oil all over the floor, your hand, your face, or anything else that is in the way. Remember you just drained the oil out of your car, so good luck getting to the emergency room if you burn your face off.

5. Change your filter While you let your oil drain, go ahead and get under the hood of the car. Once you pull the oil cap off you can pull off the big plastic cover that sits over the engine. It isn't bolted down, so all you have to do is lift up on it and it will come right off. Once the plastic cover is removed, you will be able to see the canister where the filter goes. It's silver, it hangs directly off the side of the engine, closest to the front of the car, and the top of it has a black, plastic plug that you can remove by turning it with a socket or a wrench, but let me tell you it takes a big one. If you don't have a socket that fits, then you can be creative and try to get it loosened another way. Be careful, don't ruin or bust the plastic top. Once you get it unscrewed, just lift up on the black plug and the filter will come right out with it. Put the new filter in. Make sure the filter canister is empty, and then put it back into the canister and tighten it up.

6. Put your oil plug back in and fill it up Once it's finished draining, put your oil plug back in and tighten it. Now that your filter is in and your oil plug is in, your next step is to put your new oil in the engine. This is where the funnel comes in handy.

7. Start it up and check for leaks Once you have filled your car with the proper amount of oil you need to start it up and make sure it isn't leaking or dripping from the oil plug or from the filter canister. If everything is tight you shouldn't have a problem.

8. Reset your computer As soon as your oil is changed you need to reset your computer. Read the manual on your Cobalt to figure it out... it is easy.

9. Clean-up Once you are finished you need to take your used oil to a place that accepts old oil. Do not dump it! Oil contaminates the soil and the water supply so you need to dispose of it properly.

This should be about it. It will only take you about 15 to 20 minutes to complete the whole process.

The next step is resetting your computer. If you need to know how to do that you can view my detailed description: "How To Reset The Computer On Your Chevrolet Cobalt"

Posted by Pressed at December 15, 2005 06:28 PM

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Comments

Posted by: William
January 14, 2006 01:51 PM

Thanks so much for this guide. I myself had trouble also until I came across this site. I would have never thought to remove the plastic cover after removing the oil cap. So thanks again.

Posted by: ANTHONY
February 6, 2006 09:09 AM

this is very helpful. i dont know how to change the oil in any type of car but is changing the oil in every model year of the cavalier the same? please let me know so i can change the oil if i get a cavalier. thanks.

Posted by: Mike
February 13, 2006 11:23 AM

Thank-you.........saved my Sunday afternoon. Looked at first as if it was going to be an all day afair until I read your site.Turned out to be only 15 minutes..........Thanks again.

Posted by: Bob
February 18, 2006 07:09 AM

Thanks for the info. This was the first car I couldn't figure out where the oil filter went. Not all I have to do is figure out how to get my ramps under the front fender??

Posted by: Tony G.
February 21, 2006 02:25 PM

I have been changing oil in my cars for many years. I came up on 3000 miles, went under the car, and saild, what the **BEEP**, where is the oil filter??????????? A quick search on the internet saved me alot of time and expense. You are the Cobalt god.

Posted by: Jim L.
February 26, 2006 02:27 PM

Thank you my friend. Your time and effort in writing this page is very much appreciated by my son who was attempting today to change the oil in his girl friend's '06 Cobalt. He also was confused and called his father to find out where in the world the oil filter was. To a 50 year old that has changed oil in more cars than I care to remember, mine and for others, this was a new one to me also. Went on the web to attempt to find out what was going on with this engine. Thank you. By your info on the page side, I see you are engaged. Please accept our well wishes for a long and happy life together with your bride.

Posted by: Shilpa
March 3, 2006 06:46 PM

Fabulous! I couldn't find that oil filter until I read this. It never occured to me to look under the hood! I kept looking for it under the car. Thanks!

Posted by: Vicente
March 4, 2006 08:14 AM

THANK YOU! you don't know how troubling it is to be stuck on a saturday before a long trip, no mechanic to talk to, with your old oil in a pan and no idea how to change the filter! Thank you!

Posted by: Jimmy B.
March 4, 2006 02:51 PM

Thanks alot! I always change my own oil for exactly the same reasons as you. When I bought the filter and found that it was different I thought I would have no problem locating where it would go... Now here I am with the oil drained out and looking on the internet for answers on where the new filter goes. Thank's for thinking of others and putting this one here!

Posted by: Art R
March 5, 2006 04:03 PM

Thanks from me also. I can't believe that chevy doesn't give a hint as to how to do this! Thus must want to drive everyone to the dealership.

BOB, I had the same problem with my ramps, so I put a 2x6 up to each of the tires and then the ramps up to the 2x6's so that when I went forward on the 2x6's the car raised up a little, this worked well. Good Luck!
Art

Posted by: Jennifer
March 7, 2006 02:11 PM

Thank you!!!! Like all the other's that have been doing their own work for years, the oil filter thing was a complete surprise. I just hope my starter still works after I thought that was the filter housing.... I have my own lift and I searched every inch under that car. Great job!

Posted by: Pressed
March 7, 2006 02:16 PM

I made the same mistake. I thought that the little starter was where the filter goes and I unscrewed it only to find the starter coil. They give you no direction whatsoever in the owners manual.

Posted by: bryan
April 2, 2006 07:00 PM

I was under neath the car for 10 minutes looking for oil filter.then decided to go on line and came across this site what a life saver.

Posted by: Les
April 2, 2006 09:31 PM

Thanks for the info. My daughters boyfriend asked me to change his oil. I looked over and under the engine for the oil filter. I told him I can't change the oil if I can't find the filter. He told me about your article and wala! Of course this could have all been avoided if the idiots at G.M. had told you this in the owners manual. Thanks again.

Posted by: rick
April 18, 2006 01:29 AM

how do you put the rear seats down in 06 cobalt ?

Posted by: Pressed
April 18, 2006 11:07 AM

You may have figured it out by now, but in order to put the back seats down in the Cobalt you have to open the trunk and at the top of the truck there are levers that you pull back which unlatches the seat. Then you go around and pull it down. It's kind of a pain really.

Posted by: Adrian
April 30, 2006 03:00 PM

I have the same question of how to locate the Oil Filter and change it? Please reply soon thanks.

Posted by: Becky
April 30, 2006 06:28 PM

Thank you for solving this mystery! What a lifesaver!

Posted by: Jerry
May 10, 2006 07:02 AM

Thanks it worked great. When I did the oil change I found masses metal chips in the filter./>

Here is some pics.

Click Here

Sorry its in a show type. but it's the best I can do.
Hope it works.

Trying to get a new engine.

Posted by: MorrSpeed
May 26, 2006 11:19 AM

Thanks! A friend asked me to perform the 60K checkup on his girlfriend's Cavalier. Needless to say, I was a little puzzled when I saw the filter element at the parts store. Thanks to your article, I had no problem locating the filter element cap. Such a great innovation, too! Hope other carmakers will make this a standard practice someday. Thanks again for the assistance!
-Thomas

Posted by: Carlos
May 29, 2006 09:48 PM

Hello, I was wondering how do you change the oil filter on the Chevy Cobalt. Because I was going to change my grilfriend oil on her Cobalt and I couldn't located it. How do you reset the computer too. My girlfriend lost the manual. So if you could please email me back that would be great thanks. Carlos

Posted by: Rich
June 6, 2006 06:19 PM

Thank you for the information on changing the oil
filter on my 2006 HHR (Colbalt). This type of
filter was all new to me, and you were the only
one I could find with this information. Thanks
again.
Rich

Posted by: james
June 7, 2006 04:31 PM

I wish i had looked at this article about 4 hours ago. My girlfriend asked me to change the oil in her 2005 Cobalt and i said sure no problem. I have changed oil in every kind of vehicle you can think of but this thing gave me a fit. When i picked up the filter i was puzzled because id never changed a filter quite like that. I was used to the screw on type. I figured it would be no problem and went ahead and drained my old oil out. Then i began looking for the filter under the car, under the hood. I unscrewed the bolts to the starter thinking the filter went in there and i tried to consult the owners manual but it didnt mention anything about the oil filter. Needless to say i wasted a lot of time and felt like a complete idiot looking for that filter.

Posted by: Kyli
June 9, 2006 03:19 PM

Thanks for writing this article...my dad has been outside swearing because he couldnt find the filter...good thing I found your information. I already hated GM now I really do, they cant even put that in their manual! Thanks again! By the way does anyone elses cobalt rattle like crazy when driving, GM doesnt know what the problem is and im begining to get really angry! Thanks

Posted by: kevin
July 2, 2006 07:12 AM

thanks a million i change my oil in my vehicals for the same reason you do. i just bought my colbalt 2 days ago. i needed a oil change in my silverado went and bought my supplies for it, and also checked out the oil filter i needed for my colbalt (out of curiosity). the cartarage was a new thing to me but i figured id figure it out when the time came. i did take a quick peek under the car i figured the cartarage canister was there behind the oil pan (i didnt put the car up on ramps since its brand new).im glad i came across this site your are going to save me some time looking for the cartarage holder. when i was looking for oil filters i did see a oversize socket that stated it was for my colbalt canister. i figure ill purchase that when i need a oil change it was 9 bucks for the socket. again thanks a million

Posted by: Greg
July 4, 2006 01:42 PM

thanks you had the information i was looking for and a great description you saved me a lot of time searching for that oil filter canister

Posted by: Dan
July 8, 2006 12:30 PM

Just have to say thanks for this info too - the manual to my HHR of course doesn't point out where the filter is - when I went to the parts store with the part number and grabbed the box - I was totally confused when I saw it was just the inner cartridge...!

Thanks again.

Posted by: Alan
July 8, 2006 11:46 PM

Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!, Thank You!!!. Did you ever think of starting an automotive ministry?

Posted by: Myron
July 9, 2006 12:42 PM

I believe its the same way for a 2005 chevy cavalier becuase each step correspond with the structure of the oil filter and oil pan. Which was at one point confusing to me. Thanx I needed this one....

Posted by: David Frazier
July 22, 2006 12:58 PM

Thanks for your help. I certainly would not have figured it out on my own. This is an example of Gm engineering at its best. Completely change the type and location of the oil filter and never mind making any mention of it in the owners manual. I makes wonder why I keep trying to "buy American"

Posted by: Domenic
September 2, 2006 02:39 PM

Thank you for posting this guide! My only suggestion is that you include a picture or two for Step #5. (I wish GM didn't need to frequently change the location of everything under the hood ...)

Posted by: Tom
September 8, 2006 09:59 AM

Just big thank you. I went out there to change the sons 2006 Cobalts oil and for the life of me couldn't find the oil filter. Never happened to me before and I've changed them all from 1960 VW's (wire screen) to 2002 PT Cruisers.

Posted by: Tom
September 8, 2006 12:21 PM

Just wanted to contribute to this excellent topic. The FRAM filter number for a 2006 Cobalt witht he 2.2L 16 valve engine is a CH9018.

Posted by: dave g
September 9, 2006 10:03 PM

Thank you : You just confirmed what I thought .. I found the filter .. when I tried to pull it will not come out . I see clips on the bottom of the filter holding it . Do I just pull hard to remove or what? Thank you again ....

Posted by: Pressed
September 10, 2006 04:46 PM

You should be able to just pull it right out of there.

Posted by: Brandy
September 10, 2006 05:42 PM

How do I recharge my A/C on this dang car?? I bought one of those recharge kits with the punps it seems the pump doesn't fit over the plug. 2005 Chevy Cobalt.

Posted by: Pressed
September 12, 2006 10:07 AM

I have no idea. My 2005 Chevy Cobalt A/C is still pumping out ice cold air. I've not messed with that.

Posted by: jim
September 23, 2006 11:56 AM

Great article... saved me a bunch of time.Just finished the oil / filter change in

Posted by: Debbie
September 25, 2006 08:26 PM

Hi,
Just wanted to say thanks from my Dad. He, like you pride's himself on changing the oil on his cars. And just like you didn't have a clue how
to do it on the Cobalt. On a whim I just googled
"how to change the oil on a Cobalt" and your site came up. He was thrilled to get the info and successfully changed the oil on his Cobalt this weekend. It was very generous of you to share this information. It would have killed him to have to take it to the dealer to have his oil changed.
Thanks again,
Debbie & Papa

Posted by: Ross
September 26, 2006 07:22 PM

Thanks for your site, I have to admit this was the first time I've ever changed oil in my own car, and it was quite the experience....
After doing everything right, I forgot to pull the plug on the brand new oil pan, and it went everywhere on the brand new garage floor... whoops.
After that the filter was accomplished with a pipe wrench borrowed from a neighbor. I am going to buy some tools, but needless to say, I will never mess up changing my oil again ;)

Posted by: toby
October 2, 2006 04:12 PM

i was just wondering if u knew where the oil filter was for the 2006 SS supercharged cobalt cuz i have no idea im pretty sure all of you guys are talkin about the LT cobalt or just the plan SS but i like to change the oil in my own car im just like everyone it kinda seems..haha but if you knew that would be great! ThXs!

Posted by: Johnny Sanchez
October 3, 2006 10:50 PM

Oh thanks A million I feel the same way about taking care of my own car also .

I also tried looking for a place to find the oil filter on my son 2006 Cobalt his off to the Marines and finish training .

He Left me the car to take care of and Drive it It's A SS Cobalt it Handles great.

But if it wasn't for your site I would have still been looking. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Again JS.

Posted by: Michael Lemieux
October 8, 2006 05:53 PM

I just wanted to know how to reset the computer after I changed the oil. I lost my user manual ...

I would Appreciate if someone could help me
Thanks!

Posted by: Michael Lemieux
October 12, 2006 07:01 AM

By the way, my car is a Chevrolet Cobalt 2005 :o)

Posted by: Pressed
October 12, 2006 09:06 AM

I don't have my book handy. But I think what you need to do is shut the engine off and turn the key to the on position. Then press both the buttons and hold them down until it goes into the menu. Then you flip through the menu until it says "oil reset?" and then you hit the enter button. If I remember correctly I think that is it.

Posted by: Whitney
October 15, 2006 02:46 PM

I just bought a slightly used 2006 Cobalt and it did not come with a manual. I just changed my oil and I'm not entirely sure how to reset the computer. I don't want to go pushing all kinds of buttons and screwing it up, so if someone could help me out it would be much appreciated. Thanks :)

Posted by: Pressed
October 18, 2006 11:16 AM

I've made a new post containing detailed instructions on resetting your computer. You can view it by clicking here: "How To Reset The Computer On Your Chevrolet Cobalt"

Posted by: Steve
October 19, 2006 08:37 AM

BLESS YOU for posting this info!

Posted by: Mark
October 30, 2006 05:38 PM

I am extremely frustrated because I have the 2006 ss and I can not find the oil filter. I have always done my own work but because I can't find where the oil filter goes I am paying well over $50 for a change. Can you help your instructions for the 2005 do not work on my car. Thanks

Posted by: George
November 14, 2006 06:58 PM

Thanks a bunch. I didn't know where to start looking for the darn filter, and of course the owners manual doesn't tell you anything.

Posted by: Traves
November 23, 2006 09:10 AM

Thank You so much! Sometimes I think they change the standard norm of an oil change, just to make it hard for the home mechanic, to deter us from doing it ourselves, so we are more inclined to take it to the dealer, where they charge you more, and try and talk you into a million other things, and you end up walking out with a $350 dollar oil change! Thanks again!

Posted by: debbie
November 24, 2006 03:43 PM

thank you for placing this article on here me and my husband called around to find out where the oil filter goes and we just got the run around. they told us the best thing to do is to take it somewheres to have it done. but they sold us the oil filter first.then when we couldnt find where it went thats when we called them and thats what they said have someone do it for you.

Posted by: Paul
December 26, 2006 02:37 PM

Pressed,
Thank you very much. You have saved my daughter and me a lot of trouble and expense.
Best wishes for the new year.
Paul.

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