This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Chevy HHR 2006 drivers side interior door handle broke off in hand during normal use. Made of cheap plastic. Auto maker states that the only way to repair is to completely remove the door and pay. All of this for a piece of plastic which should cost pennies to replace? I suffer from neck pain and have trouble rolling the window down to reach out and open the door. They have to fix this at their cost. This is obviously no fault of the owners and only due to faulty (plastic) equipment they are using.
My HHR driver's interior handle broke off a few weeks ago. I feel that GM needs to recall 2006 HHR cars and replace the door handle. I do not have $400 to give the dealership. A month ago I just paid for key ignition switch to be fixed for $400.
As filed by many other owners of a Chevy HHR, something needs to be done about the inside door handles. They are made of cheap plastic and mine broke as well. I can't believe a us company such as GM would make a cheap part that could end up endangering the lives of its customers. If you were to get in an accident or need to exit the car in any emergency situation, this could cost your life. GM needs to recall these cars and do the right thing. Replace them with a more durable handle as soon as possible. Or will they wait until something happens before they take action?
The interior door handle of my 2006 Chevrolet HHR broke off during normal use. It's made from a cheap plastic. This is a serious safety hazard as a person cannot quickly exit the car if this happens. If my driver's side door just broke, how soon before the other three in the car break off from normal operation. This is a manufacturing defect and should be taken care of from the manufacturer. The dealer wants me to pay $400-$450 to replace a $10 plastic door handle that they poorly designed. This should be a recall from GM to replace these cheap handles before someone does have a serious situation.
Interior door handle broken. Door must be opened using outside handle. Handle is plastic. Entire interior door panel must be replaced. Part costs $400 plus labor - replacement handle is plastic also. Car is 2006 Chevrolet HHR with 53,000 miles.
- Tonawanda, NY, USA
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2006 HHR ls - driver's side door handle broke off with normal opening of the door. Could not get out of the car without putting window down and using the outside handle. If this was an emergency - I would have been stuck in the car. Power steering failure - power steering quits while driving - was going 55 mph. And the power steering just went off.. pulled to the side with difficulty - shut the car off. Restarted car - and the power steering was working again. Very dangerous situation.
2006 Chevy HHR. The drivers side door interior door handle snapped off in my hand when I tried to open the door, smacking into my knuckle and almost causing my hand to fly back into my face. The door must now be opened by rolling down the electric window and opening from the outside handle. Two dealers so far refuse to fix the issue, telling me they don't have parts.
If my battery dies I can not get in the car no matter what. My car is equipped with one lock on the driver side. Because the battery is dead the car will not engage the actuator on the lock even with key entry. I have to call a locksmith to get in the car. If I accidentally locked a baby in the car and the battery was not working I cannot get in the car. Key, remote whatever. I have to call a locksmith. In my case the actuator stopped working. So regardless if I have a key or remote I cannot get in. If this actuator fails on the driverside I cannot get in, but my baby may been the car.
Key gets stuck / can not turn to off position and remove the key. If you can not remove the key within an hour, your battery will be depleted. There is an actuating rod in the shifter that pushes a micro switch that completes a circuit to pull a solenoid in the steering column to allow the ignition switch to be tuned to the off position (and remove the key) when in park. The plastic part in the shifter assembly breaks and allows the actuating rod to fall out. The fix for this is to replace the shifter assembly. $185 not including labor. The quick fix for this is there is a plastic plug on the under side of the steering column. Inside you have to feel for the end of that solenoid and depress it to release the key. GM tsb #06-07-30-004F acknowledges the common occurrence of this failure from 2006 to 2010 HHR, cobalt, and Pontiac G5. Although, if you are out of warranty, your dealer may be reluctant to fix this problem without cost. Tires, ball joints, brakes, what have you, fail and are, no doubt, a common occurrence. If fact that is to be expected. But the shifter in an automatic? I would think that the shifter in an automatic should last the lifetime of the car. Imo, they installed a poorly made part. To me, this is obvious since they are stating in that tsb, 2006 - 2010 shifter are expected to fall apart as mine did. I have a 1965 Plymouth belvedere, the oldest car in my possession, that the shifter never needed to be repaired. In fact I've never had an automatic shifter problem with any car. It was stated in a forum that GM should have considered a metal collar or ring around the plastic bit that holds that pin to reinforce it and this problem would have never become a nuisance. Also, when that pin falls out, the shift lever is free to move without pressing the shift button on the front of the shift lever, so it could accidentally be moved to another gear while driving, even reverse!! I guess that is not enough of a safety issue for GM to worry about.
The key to my 2006 HHR would not come out of the ignition. As a result the automatic headlights would not go out and the vehicle could not be locked. This happened while I was traveling, which put my personal safety at risk and if I left my vehicle for any reason it could have easily been stolen. I have been online and found that several other owners have experienced this problem.
The key fob battery holder became detached making it impossible for the lock/unlock/remote start/panic buttons to work. This happened to both key fobs issued to me by GM.
Drivers side door handle broke off when getting out of vehicle. Dealer will not repair unless I pay for the repair. This is a safety hazard because you cannot exit the vehicle unless you let the window down.
Front passenger door on 2006 Chevrolet HHR will not open from inside or outside. Front drivers side door does same sporadically. No damage to doors from physical damage, they just stopped working.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The driver-side door can only be opened from the outside. A technician from the dealer stated that they would have to replace the entire door panel at an expense of $600. Based upon the conclusion of the manufacturers research they may offer her a discount on the repairs. The failure mileage was 70,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that when exiting the vehicle the drivers side door handle broke off. He had to roll the window to open the door. The contact is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for further inspection and notifying the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 34,200 and the current mileage was 34,210.
Interior door handle broken. Door must be opened using outside handle. Handle is plastic. Entire interior door panel must be replaced. Part costs $325 plus labor. Car is 2 1/2 years old with less than 47,000 miles.
Initially, I had intermittent problems with my 2006 Chevy HHR. The key switch wouldn't turn all the way off to release the key. I took it to the dealership while it was under warranty, and they informed me that they "couldn't make it do it" (for which they have a record). After about a year-and-a half of this intermittent problem, my key would not come out of the ignition at all. I was out of town, staying at a hotel and had to leave the key in the ignition overnight. I read my owners manual and found the hidden release button in the steering column. I took it back to the dealership, and because I am out of warranty, I have to pay for this repair that is due to poor craftsmanship. After researching this to see if was recalled, I have uncovered numerous Chevrolet HHR owners that have experienced the same problem, and it is a faulty shift linkage. This item needs to be on the recall list.
I need your help, 1st, computer broke, then 2nd gear shift, then 3rd sunroof, then 4th back door won't open-son can't get out, then 5th power steering, tried to replace power steering with a used one that we could afford, , now car is locked and won't crank, did what mechanic said to reprogram and it still doesn't work, GM replaced 1st computer, I paid for gears, tried to get GM to fix electric steering, said they would buy parts but not labor >1000, right before we tried to replace the power steering the crank started hanging, 06 Chevrolet HHR-no car, help, its so broke, hurt myself trying to drive it, and have been trying to get fixed for over 2 months, its a bomb, now I have no car to drive. GM states its over mileage, thought I bought all warranties, dealer went out of business, palm bay Chevrolet, fl, I need some help, multiple times have all but crashed related to can't hardly steer it, turn it, I think I've broke my shoulder with this thing. Now I catch a ride with 4 years to pay left on this car, help! its a hazard, I don't have goliaths strength any more!
- Cocoa, FL, USA
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- Cathedral City, CA, USA