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.
Steering assist went out. Message on dash display alerted me as well. Could restart the car, and the problem went away. I understand this has occurred on many HHR's, and cobalts, and the cobalt has a recall.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. While driving 25 mph and making a right turn, the contact stated that the power steering assist failed and the power steering warning lamp illuminated. The failure recurred arbitrarily. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,500.
I was stopped at a light to make a right turn and the warning for the power steering came on. It then became difficult to steer. When I started the HHR up almost 8 hours later, it drove fine. I don't want to be involved in a wreck because my power steering goes out.
The power steering message comes on and the power steering goes out. It's very hard to steer the wheel. I have to find a place to pull over and re-start the car. Today it I had to re-start it 3 times on a short trip to the store and back. I feel this is a very dangerous safety issue. It happens without warning. Luckily I was in town to pull over, but even that was a hard with traffic and trying to find a place to pull over. If I was on the highway, it would have been really dangerous, because I wouldn't have any control. In searching the internet I found this is a common problem, but its not being recalled even though this part has been recalled in the ion, Malibu and cobalt and the HHR in Canada. If this is a faulty part, I shouldn't have to pay for it. So please re-call this part.
I have a 2006 Chevy HHR, I love it but, it has issues 1st I bought it used 15,000 miles. Since then I have had 1. the rear logo replaced 4 times, then, 2.the key get stuck when I turn off the car so I used the plunger and 3. the gear shift moves when the car is off or on. Now, 4. the key won't turn to start the car I have to jiggle it till it works. 5. my power steering goes out randomly, while driving it so I can't turn the 6.-,7.-, and 8.3 recalls, then, 9. the wheels shakes at 60 mph, I have 10. And 11. Replaced both front door handles with in 2 weeks 12. I hear a loud crackling or static sound from my speakers and the radio is off. Oh and 13. My check engine light won't go off plus 14. Every time I have to change the battery I have to get my remote reprogrammed for the auto start... it came with the car. What is going on? there are 14 issues some safety and some cosmetic but, clearly an issue I am only making my voice heard because I just started researching my car. I am a single mother I can't afford to fix the major ignition or gear shift, transmission and electrical car shaking these have been reported in a lot of Hhrs. Please help.
- San Antonio , TX, USA
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The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the power steering assist failed. The failure was recurring however, the vehicle was neither diagnosed to determine the cause of the failure nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Determine if a safety-related defect trend exists...have you seen how many people are complaining about there power steering cutting out" why is nothing being done" I've been dealing with mine going out randomly for at least a year. It may cut out 6 - 10 times a day, it may go a week or a month before it does it again. It may not do it for me, but will do it for my son...heat, rain, cold, snow it's just so random and dangerous. And yes the electric power steering will reset if you turn the key off and back on. This is just crazy that this failure is happening to so many HHR drivers. I cant believe that the problem hasn't been determined and that the dealership doesn't already know what to replace and has to charge you to do diagnostics to figure it out. There have been other car recalls (cobalt) for power steering why not the HHR now?
Bought 2006 HHR lt new for my company. Purchased it from my company for personal use in early 2011. While my daughter was practicing parallel parking at the dmv (for license test), the power steering quit working. This was the first time it happened. The failure occurred when she was fully stopped and turned the wheel all the way to the right to begin the parking maneuver. It happened on the third practice for the day. Turned the HHR off, let it set 30 sec, and turned it back on. Steering reset. Worked for a couple of practices, and then the power assist quit again. This happened three times, with the 3rd time not resetting. Left and drove off with no power steering. A couple of miles down the road, turned off the HHR at a stoplight. It reset when I turned the HHR back on. Went to the dealer that day (christmas eve 2013) to get it fixed. They replaced the power steering motor - $453. Seemed to work fine. Went to dmv site again today (christmas) for further parking practice and the power steering failed again -- during the wheel turn at a complete stop. Happened twice; reset both times. Quit practice in frustration. Obviously the motor was not the issue... or not the only issue. Seems to be a recurring theme on this site that HHR steering has design flaws. Probably past time for regulators to see that the statistics justify a recall on the HHR's power steering. Going back to dealer tomorrow. How much this time is the big question?
I was driving down an interstate highway at about 55mph when the power steering light came on and lost all of my power steering almost causing an accident. Luckily I got the car over to the shoulder. I turned the car off and restarted it to see if that would remedy the issue and 10 minutes down the road again, it did the same thing. I tried to change out the fuse under the hood and to no avail, the power steering went out within 5 minutes this time. This is a very serious issue and GM should fix this issue. I've had alot of cars and never had a power steering issue with this esp. I may never buy another GM product again.
TL- the contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 mph the power steering failed when she made a right turn. The contact maneuvered the vehicle to the right side of the road. The vehicle was not towed. The contact was able to driven the vehicle to her home. There were no warning indicator lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic, due to the cost. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
At varies speeds and driving conditions the power steering on the vechile stops working. It has happened while at stop lights and while driving home from work during normal driving conditions.
We own a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. While driving approximately 60 mph, the power steering warning illuminated and the steering wheel became very tight without warning. This has now happened numerous times in the past week - and at different speeds and weather conditions. A google search revealed there is a known problem with this component and it has been addressed in other models with the same power steering motor. Why haven't the HHR's been included in the extended warranty? losing power steering at a high rate of speed and trying to get over 4 lanes of traffic to stop and restart the engine could be deadly!
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while parked, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 11,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph, the power steering warning lamp illuminated as the steering wheel seized. The contact had to merge to the side of the road to turn off and restart the vehicle in order for it to resume normal function. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the technician diagnosed that the electronic power steering module was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 83,000 and the current mileage was 84,112.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the front driver and passenger's side door handles were fractured. The dealer was made aware of the failure and stated that the door panel on both doors would have to be replaced. Additionally, the vehicle stalled while driving approximately 20 mph. The contact also experienced difficulty steering on another occasion. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated as the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 104,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph, the power steering warning lamp illuminated as the steering wheel seized, making it difficult for the contact to control the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 63,000. Updated 12/04/13
My 2006 HHR has had to have the front and rear end struts replaced and now, the power steering motor and drive shaft. The vehicle only has 80K miles on it. I don't drive it that much so it shouldn't be having all of these issues. Why hasn't GM issued a recall on this vehicle for all the problems it has? I've read countless similar stories on the internet. This vehicle needs to be recalled to address these issues.
I was exiting a commercial driveway upon trying to make a right turn, the steering was very difficult and it took a minute to straighten up. My dashboard indicated there was a problem with the power steering. I immediately pulled over to assess the vehicle and came to find out that this vehicle does not have a power steering pump, its electrical. At the time of this occurrence I was 100 miles away from home. Upon researching this problem, I came across this website with complaints from other drivers with this same problem. I just purchase my car 3 weeks ago. Hopefully, you will take in consideration the number of complaints and request a recall. Does someone have to have an accident or be killed before this problem is rectified?
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Tulsa, OK, USA