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.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 55 mph, the power steering warning lamp illuminated and the power steering malfunctioned. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was included on any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 38,400 and the current mileage was 38,500.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 65 mph, the power steering failed and caused the steering to become very difficult. The dealer was called and advised the contact that there were no problems with the steering in the HHR model vehicle. The failure recurred numerous times. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 57,000.
The car would lose power steering after accelerating past 5 or 10 mph. Initially you could turn the ignition off and back on and it would have power steering for a period and then go off again. "power steering" flashed on the dash display. After a few weeks the problem continued and could no longer be remedied by turning the car off and on again. Our regular repair shop stated the dealer would have to fix it when we had them doing some routine maintenance. The dealer cost being an unknown we just decided to live without power steering going on a year or so now. We finally bit the bullet and brought it in - bad motor according to the dealership with repair cost $379. After seeing so many people posting on the web with the same problem it's clear the model should be recalled. I have a complaint in to General Motors at this time and they are seeing if they can help. It would be great if they would, I don't think we should have to pay for this. We will buy a new vehicle to replace this one probably within 12 months. Reluctant to buy american made again - we have had much better luck with multiple Toyota. Hope people continue to post complaints - that's the only way recalls and corporate accountability can happen.
The same as with the cobalt that had been recalled for repair service. Only with the HHR, there has been no recall for the same exact problem!! I had to take my car to dealership garage and pay for scan diagnostics and also for power steering motor...due to this exact same problem that was recalled for the cobalt! I feel that GM needs to level the playing field and have the same recall for all their makes that have this issue. Could be result of fatalities due to sudden loss of power steering which could depend on location this decides to happen. Not happy with being treated differently just because I don't have a cobalt instead I drive a HHR with the same part and problem that they will cover for cobalt owners!!!
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that when he started the vehicle, the power steering warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis and the contact was informed that the steering column would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 98,600.
- Vista, CA, USA
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Driving on interstate at approx 60 mph. The powersteering message flashed then the gauges went to 0 then lock on left side on instrument panel came on and lost power to car. Pulled over and car died. Would not re start for a short period of time. When re started all happened again, then turned off ignition and restarted then all was ok for a time.
As I was driving down the interstate at about 65 mph the power steering went out and I got a notification on my dash panel. I had to turn the vehicle off to reset it, and now its been going out at least once a day everyday since then.
The first incident happened when I was pulling my vehicle out of my drive way, I was in reverse and put the car in park and began driving, afew seconds later, I heard a warning chime and a message came up on my dash saying "power steering". the car was very hard to maneuver, I stopped the car and turned it off. I needed to get it back into my drive way so I turned the car on to go back home, once I turned the car back on the steering had gone back to normal. I assumed it had only been a glitch but didn't drive my car that day once I got it back home. I drove my car for about a week when the same thing happened again, I heard a chime and my dash displayed power steering, I was on a busy road and had no choice but to pull over, once I did I turned the car off then back on, the steering once again went back to normal. The next day I was on the highway going approximately 70-80 mph when the car once again displayed power steering on the dash and it became very hard to operate the steering wheel, I stopped the car and left it at a rest area along the highway because I was too afraid it would happen again before I could get off the high way and safely back home and had to have a friend drive it back to my home. I have not been able to drive my car in about 2 weeks because instead of it happening every few days, I now cant make it a mile out of my subdivision without it happening. Im afraid it will cause me to have an accident in the vehicle. I've spoken to General Motors, which they have told me that it is only my vehicle that is having the problem, which is not true, on any given search engine you can type "Chevy HHR steering problems" and see pages upon pages of people who have had this problem and have even been in accidents because of it. The cobalt was recalled because of the same problem. The issue should be fixed by GM because it's a very common issue with HHR's.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. While driving approximately 20 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact stopped the vehicle on the shoulder of the road and shut the engine off. After restarting the vehicle it regained power steering capabilities. The failure recurred intermittently. Additionally, the contact stated that when driving over any uneven road surface, there was a loud pop heard from the front end of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician advised that the power steering pump and sway bar would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000.
While driving, the "power steering" warning light came on across the dashboard impeding steering maneuvers. After a complete stop and disengaging the engine, the warning light a power steering seems to resume normal performance. However, the warning light and impeded steering returns within 20-25 miles of travel.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated as the steering wheel became extremely difficult. The vehicle was later towed to the contact's residence and was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was contacted and advised him to take the vehicle to the dealer. The failure and current mileages were approximately 44,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 20 mph up a mountain, the power steering assist failed without warning. The contact shut off and restarted the vehicle, as the power steering assist performed normally. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer or an independent mechanic. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 72,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The power steering warning comes on and the power steering motor quits. It has happened several times, the last time I stopped at a red light and shut the motor off and restarted it and the problem went away. The car is very hard to steer without the power steering motor.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated and immediately after the power steering failed. The contact mentioned that steering became extremely hard to maneuver. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included on any recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was 103,000.
While driving, my wife said the power steering light came on and power steering went out. I was impossible for her to turn which nearly caused a head on collision. This is an un-safe steering motor used in this automobile and needs to be recalled asap before somebody gets killed! this has happened to me as well and has happened on at least a dozen different dates.
I have had quit a few of incidents with my vehicle. I bought it used. The steering wheel locks up and when it does that the dash display says power steering. I don't know if its a recall or not but I feel like it needs to be. A local towing company owner is a close friend and he has recently towed on a HHR that flipped because the steering wheel locked and the lady got scared and over corrected and flipped. I believe it needs to be labeled as a recall.
I was driving at the freeway when the power steering cut out and made move the steering wheel so hard the I stop the car starter again and was ok later it did it several times in my way home.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the passenger side air bag warning light illuminated. The warning light would illuminate whether a passenger was occupying the seat or not. On a separate occasion while driving approximately 60 mph, the power steering assist failed. The contact merged to the shoulder, powered off the vehicle and restarted. The vehicle was not taken to be inspected for the power steering assist failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number: 08V046000 (air bags). The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 80,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph and making a turn, there was a sudden loss of power steering with an illumination of the power steering warning indicator. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road where the engine was turned off. The vehicle was restated and resumed normally. The failure recurred sporadically. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure or detect a trouble code. The manufacturer was not notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.
Originally the power steering stopped working randomly when driving but now it stops working after 30 seconds or so every time car is started and failure alert is displayed. Also while driving the power door locks unlocked, the gauges stopped working, the car hard shifted down, and it also started to display it was running at least 20 degrees hotter than normal. This has happened twice but seems fine later.
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- San Jose , CA, USA