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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
18 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
78,998 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2006 Chevrolet HHR steering problems

steering problem

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2006 Chevrolet HHR Owner Comments (Page 21 of 23)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #41

Jul 052010

HHR

  • 72,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Phillipston, MA, USA

problem #40

May 282010

HHR

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. While traveling 55 mph the contact noticed a chime noise inside the vehicle, seconds later the contact noticed that the vehicle no longer had power steering. The vehicle had not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. The current and failure mileages was 63000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Hanford, CA, USA

problem #39

Jun 232010

HHR

  • 90,200 miles
2006 Chevy HHR, driving the car, the power steering indicator light came across the info screen, then power steering went out. Had to pull over turn the car off & restart, worked fine for a couple miles then it happened again, & now it happens all the time.

- Deltona, FL, USA

problem #38

Jun 182010

HHR

  • 50,887 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2006 Chevy HHR power steering failure. Lost power steering in a sharp curve. Immediate and with no advanced warning. Forced to shoulder and almost into a ditch. The warning message and chime worked but that doesn't help you control the vehicle!! fortunately I was driving this time. If my wife had been driving there is no way with her limited strength that we would have made it around the curve. I understand from the internet that this is a recurring problem for Hhrs and Chevy cobalts. They both use the same faulty power steering motor. Chevy has issued a recall onthe cobalts. Why not the HHR?

- Canton, GA, USA

problem #37

Dec 012009

HHR

  • 31,664 miles
My car, Chevrolet HHR ls 2006, lost power steering more than 10 times as of December of 2009. I had my car repaired at Chevy dealer 4 times already for same problem. Each time they fixed the problem, but it came back again and again, and recently it happened more often. I leased this brand new car in 2006. At the end of 3 years leasing, I bought it in 2009. I took good care of it all the time. The power steering failure first happened in Dec. Of 2009. When I was driving on the road, suddenly it was hard to make a turn, and my car was thrown forward each time when I got oil to move forward. The message "power steering" popped up on the display panel. I had my car towed to Chevy dealer because the driving wheel could not be moved at all after restarted the car;however, when my car was at Chevy dealer, the problem disappeared and they could not find other problem. Then 2 months later, it happened again and disappeared after half day. After this repeated 3 or 4 times, my car was towed the 2nd time to Chevy dealer on Feb.26, 2010 because the driving wheel could not turned. This time they found something and fixed it. In the following 3 months, this problem was happened and gone at least 3 times. We were scared and did not dare to drive far from home. On May 24, 2010, my husband got same problem with engine light on and he drove to Chevy dealer immediately. They fixed it. Only one week later, on June 2nd, the car was towed the 3rd time to the Chevy dealer for same problem. They replaced the steering column and steering module. My husband picked it up the next day, but just after 2 miles driving, same problem occurred, so he had to drive back to the dealer right away. They fixed it and drove 50 miles to test it and it was good. Yesterday I drove it home and it was good too. But this morning, same problem happened again. Since it is Saturday, the Chevy store does not open. We can not go anywhere, even grocery stores. This really is a disaster, we are so scared!

- Port St Lucie, FL, USA

problem #36

Apr 112010

HHR

  • 75,500 miles
2006 Chevrolet HHR - under normal operating conditions, while driving at low speeds (15 - 25 mph) and turning to the right, car will "chime", "power steering" appears on the control panel and the power steering will go out making vehicle very hard to drive. Once car is shut off and restarted, power steering begins working again. Took vehicle to local mechanic, was told that the electronic steering control unit and entire steering column needed to be replaced. Cost would be $1,355. Taking it to Chevy dealer today for second opinion. Purchased car used in 2008 with 27,000 miles on it. Currently has 77,000 miles. Happens approximately 4 times per week for the past month.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

problem #35

Apr 182010

HHR

  • 46,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I was driving my 2006 HHR that has electronic power steering (eps) which failed for no apparent reason on 4-18-2010. There were no events leading up to this other than I was just going about 1mile from work to home. There were no crashes or injuries as a result. On looking into the problem I found that GM has a recall on other vehicles that has the identical electronic power steering but the HHR is not one of them on the recall list.. I did find the 60amp fuse blown that protects this system from overload conditions. There were no hard turns against the wheel stops either right or left. The fuse just blew. I replaced the fuse just today 4-19-2010 and thus far the system seems to be operating normally. As to why the fuse blew in the first place well that's the million dollar question!

- Homer Glen, IL, USA

problem #34

Apr 132010

HHR

  • 36,000 miles
While driving a tone alert sounding and power steering warning came across digital display, at time lost all power steering and could hardly steer auto to the side of roadway. After calling the Chevrolet garage was told this is a common problem with the electrical motor and several others were recalled but not for the HHR I have. If the electrical motors are failing in other models GM should replace all the electrical power steering motors to avoid accidents.

- Clendenin, WV, USA

problem #33

Mar 072010

HHR

  • 61,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated the power steering would fail whenever the vehicle was in operation and would reset itself within a mile. The dealer advised performing a diagnostic to determine the cause of failure. The manufacturer also advised having a diagnostic performed, at the owners expense, before they would provide any assistance. The failure mileage was 61,000.

- Beech Bluff, TN, USA

problem #32

Apr 042010

HHR

  • 52,000 miles
Power steering motor failure. This happens under normal driving with no warning what so ever. It does not matter if you are on the freeway or around town, it has happened during both. The vehicle does flash power steering on the information center. This is the fourth time this has happened in the past 6 weeks and I am concerned about replacing due to having the same problem with the replacement part. My wife is the primary driver of the vehicle and has stated that it is very hard to control. Today she was driving home when the failure occurred. She was almost home and the steering began to work properly while she was in the middle of a right hand curve. She had ample amount of pressure on the steering wheel at that time to keep the car in the road (at a reduced and safe speed) and then suddenly she had power steering again. She ran into the ditch but no damage was done that I can find. Both her and my children use this car daily and with its current problem, I don't feel it's safe drive or sale.

- Mount Vernon, KY, USA

problem #31

Mar 242010

HHR

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2006 Chevy HHR power steering is failing. (stutters on and off)

- Manton, MI, USA

problem #30

Feb 042010

HHR

  • 33,465 miles
To whom it may concern, I recently had repair work done on my wife's 2006 HHR LT2. The problem we were having was that she would randomly lose power steering with a warning chime and a notification on the instrument panel. This would be temporarily resolved by restarting the vehicle. I wasted little time and had it tested at classic Chevrolet in sugar land, tx. They soon discovered that the power steering motor was faulty. I had them replace it. Now I've been a lifelong GM customer and I was very disappointed with this expense, not only was it a failure unassociated to neglect but it was also a very dangerous problem. This problem is also highly documented on the web by many other HHR owners. After GM announced the recall of 1.3mil vehicles with this problem. The HHR was not listed yet but the Chevy cobalt and Pontiac G5 were. The HHR shares the same power steering motor as the cobalt and G5. GM part # 20763801. Jtekt North America is the producer of this motor. From what I discovered on the internet, GM has filed a lawsuit against jtekt in response to this issue. It is still unclear to me how GM has not included this model in there recall. I have recently been denied reimbursement by Chevrolet for my expenses.

- Sugar Land, TX, USA

problem #29

Jan 082010

HHR 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 19,500 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. While driving 70 mph the power steering will suddenly malfunction making the vehicle difficult to steer. The contact has to restart the vehicle in order for the power steering to resume functioning properly. The contact has taken the vehicle to the dealership and was informed that the power steering assembly needs to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired at time of complaint. The failure mileage was 19,500. Updated 06/17/10. The consumer stated the power steering would fail at any speed, anytime and any place. Updated 06/30/10.

- Titusville, FL, USA

problem #28

May 182006

HHR

  • 22,452 miles
Clunking noise in steering. 3 dealers tried to repair on 18/may06, 26jan09, 3mar10, noise still there. Waiting on parts this date for another "fix".

- Fredericksburg, TX, USA

problem #27

Jan 022010

HHR

  • 65,000 miles
While driving all of the sudden we heard a chime and noticed the power steering came on our car. It became very difficult to drive. We can still turn the steering wheel but it was just difficult.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #26

Feb 202010

HHR

  • 63,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The driver stated that as she drove through an intersection at approximately 35 mph she lost total control of the steering wheel. The contact struggled to drive the vehicle onto the emergency lane and turned the vehicle off. The driver was able to restart the vehicle and it began to function properly. The driver was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer. The current and failure mileages were 63,000.

- Capecoral, FL, USA

problem #25

Feb 012010

HHR

  • 64,400 miles
Power steering failure during operation of vehicle. 2006 Chevrolet HHR power steering fails while being driven. Turning off the engine and restarting will remedy the problem for the time being. This has happened 2 times. HHR shares several components with the Chevrolet cobalt which has been recalled for the same problem. Will HHR become part of the recall?

- Carson, VA, USA

problem #24

Dec 022009

HHR

  • 81,000 miles
I have a 2006 Chevy HHR. Everytime I put the car in drive, I less than a minute the power steering goes out. The light comes on. This makes it very difficult to drive and considering it is my wife's primary vehicle I worry about her because my son in with her often.

- Pensacola, FL, USA

problem #23

Nov 102009

HHR

  • 53,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. While driving any speed over 10 mph, the power steering warning alarm would chime three times and the power steering would fail immediately. The steering wheel would become extremely hard and the contact would have to utilize both hands and extreme bodily force to control it. The manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact to take the vehicle into the dealer; however, they would not assist with repairs since the failure was not covered by the warranty. No repairs were made to date. The failure mileage was 53,000. The current mileage was 61,270.

- Lady Lake, FL, USA

problem #22

Mar 022010

HHR

  • miles
Why isn't the HHR being recalled as well as the cobalt, as they both have the same steering components?

- Manchester, CT, USA

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