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.
On August 28, 2012, the electronic power steering motor went out on my 2007 Chevrolet HHR. We went across the oncoming lane and it was extremely hard for my husband to get it back into the right lane. On 8/30/2012, we took it to a GM garage and they replaced it with a reman. Powering steering motor, giving us a one year/12,000 mile warranty.. on July 9, 2013, I was driving the HHR out of state and was coming out of a slight left hand curve when the power steering motor went out again, which I was not able to steer the car and it ended up in the right hand bank/ditch. Less than one year and less than 12,000 miles later, the GM garage said that they would replace the power steering pump if we brought the car back to them. That is impossible because the damage was more than enough to total the car and it happened in another state. They said there is nothing they can do. Plus, now I have points against my insurance.
I was driving down the highway and a "power steering" message came up on my dash display and my power steering had quit working. I pulled over at a gas station and shut the car off and then restarted it and the power steering was working again, just a minute or two later it shut off again showing the same message on the display. I had to repeat the pulling over process several times as I was on a 30 mile drive to work. There is no warning when it is going to stop and it is quite dangerous and has seemed to be a common problem with this vehicle.
My power steering suddenly shut off on me while driving on a busy road. I was forced to jerk my wheel very suddenly and strained my wrist. My power steering has been shutting off on me every time I have started my car since. Sometimes it will take a minute for it to fail, sometimes 5. having it randomly go out on me is far too dangerous. This intermittent problem is scary, I would rather the power steering not work at all, then have it randomly shut off on me while in traffic. Please help!!
The power steering light came on and lost power steering it could still be driven but every time I was driving I have to pull over stop the car restarted and then it'll do it again every five minutes it's been doing it since last year, around this time for about a week and now it's doing it every day.
Power steering goes out until key is turned off and back on. Happens at all speeds under all conditions. I have read other GM cars with same unit have been recalled and wonder why HHR has not been recalled.
- Jacksonville, FL, USA
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The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The failure recurred intermittently. The contact crashed into a mailbox on one occurrence. The contact was not injured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis and the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000.
Power steering fails while driving. Same unit was used in Chevy cobalt and Saturn ion which was recalled by NHTSA but you failed to include HHR owers who have the exact same unit in their vehicles what does it take to get it right. Google HHR steering fails on internet. We were almost in an accident because my wife was driving the HHR when it first occurred. Do your job. Make it right.
The electric power steering cut out and I injured my shoulder trying to keep car on the road. GM has had this problem reported with this model but has done nothing about it did not send a warning, recall, or extend the warranty like they have done on other models with the same problems. I changed the fuse and still having the issue. Had to stop every 30 miles shut car off and restart to get home that day. It was extremely stressful driving and not knowing if it was going to happen again. Owners of this vehicle should be warned by GM, I am lucky it was not much worse, only my shoulder. My family and I could have been killed. Waiting for fatal injuries or debilitating injuries before fixing a serious problem seems to be acceptable, but the company needs to be held to a higher standard when they know that there is an issue.
The power steering went out on vehicle while driving home with our 1 year old in the car. The car became very difficult for my husband to turn. We shut the car off and turned it back on and the warning light on the panel came on again. Today, 6/16/13, no light came on when we started the car and we were able to make it to our destination without incident. On the way home, it went out while driving on the interstate.
Power steering intermittently stops working. This has happened 4 times in the last month. Power steering failure is indicated on dash when it happens. After shutting the vehicle off and restarting, the steering is fine. This happens without warning at any speed.
I noticed my steering wheel started pulling to the right and difficult to make a left turn. I got new tires and took it in for an alignment and was told they could not perform the alignment because the rack and pinion might be bad. The problem was they could not get the tires to stay straight. While the car was on the lift, they started the car and the steering wheel (and wheels) spun really fast all the way to the right. The shop wanted $1000 to replace the rack and pinion but I believe it is steering column assembly. Got a second opinion and they agreed with me. I am not experiencing an noises or shaking. Will try changing out the power steering motor this weekend.
While I was driving on the freeway, a warning chime came on and my dash read, power steering. I was able to pull over and turned off my car. I re-started my car and after a few minutes, the power steering warning light came on again. The vehicle was difficult to turn left or right. I went home and checked for a recall and noticed hundred of complaints from the cobalt and the HHR which were using the same power assist motor. I also noticed that Canada has issued a recall for this part and is offering a 10 year warranty. See link wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/7/vrdb-bdrv/search/recalldetail.aspx?lang=eng&mk=0&md=0&fy=0&ty=9999&ft=&ls=0&sy=0&rn=2010447&cf=searchresult. Every please file a formal complaint with GM especially if this was already recalled in Canada.
While driving the power steering message comes on the dash and the steering is very hard, I turn off the car and back on, then it is fine, now it happens all the time, dealer sent me to Chevy dealer which said no recall or extended warranty to cover repair, asked for Corp number and got bogus number which is not Corp number, I called back and asked again and that number there is never any answer. Have already done the email and spoke to rep with Chevy before on this and she stated they had not heard of this issue before and would let me know but to bring to dealer and have fixed but to keep receipt for pay back if recall happens, is recalled in friends cobalt (same part #) but not in HHR, I have now filed complaint with BBB. I am woman and carry my small grandkids in this car each day but I am getting stronger in my arms having to steer this way. Why is this HHR not on the lemon list yet?
Power steering stops working while driving and creates a dangerous situation, especially if you are in a curve.I can turn the engine off and restart it and steering will work for a short time. These cars have been recalled in Canada, why not in the usa. Maybe it's political. I have been to three Chevy dealers and gotten a different story from each one. GM is replacing these motors in cobalt models, and also on some Saturn models. This is an electric power steering assist motor. The first dealer I went to said I probably needed power steering fluid. I told him it was an electric power steering motor and did not use power steering fluid. He was the service mgr! I was told he would check with the factory and call me the next day. After two weeks I went back to the dealer and saw the same service. Mgr. He acted like he did not remember me but said they had a lot of these HHR in with power steering problems. So go figure. Another dealer told me $1800 to repair. The power steering motor cost is $107 at most Chevy dealers, plus installation. You get nothing but B/S from dealers. This is a safety hazard, a women or old person could not steer these cars when power steering stops working.!!!!!!!
While driving my car, the power steering light comes on, causing me to manually pull my car over. Turn the car off, and then the car is fine. This has happened 3X to this point.
The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, the power steering light illuminated and then the power steering failed. The vehicle was stopped and restarted and the vehicle operated as designed. The failure had recurred numerous times. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 84,000.
I was driving the automobile at about 65 miles an hour when a dashboard light came on saying power steering. At this time it became hard to steer. I pulled over in the breakdown lane, switched the ignition off and switched it back on. This corrected the problem for a short time, now it's a daily random problem.
While driving power steering began cutting out and then would come back on after restarting, but eventually failed completely. The car is now very difficult to steer at slow speeds or hard turns. Apparently this model has a history with this problem but GM will not cover it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hendersonville, NC, USA