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.
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.
Power steering message on dash; security light comes on; RPM, speed, and gas gauges jump, transmission jerks, clicking in center console under shifter. After turning engine off for period of time runs like normal, restart an drive for period of time and power steering goes out while driving.
- Knoxville, AR, USA
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This is an ongoing safety problem that Chevy/GM doesn't care to worry about. My cars steering wheel shakes when I am driving. Sometimes to the point of the car to be uncontrollable in addition to this the traction control light goes on along with the engine light. I have brought this in to the dealer every two months and have been told a combination of what the dealers mechanics feel the problem is. I have had steering columns replaced, cam shaft solenoids, bushings, rotors. The list goes on. Nothing has fixed the issue. Today bringing back to the dealer I am now told that I am lucky to be alive as both control arms in the front are seconds from breaking along with the links that keep the car stable.. the mechanic shared that had I hit a pothole I would have died as the car would have spun out of control and impossible to recover as I would have no way to control the steering wheel. Now having two kids, and this being an ongoing problem one would think that Chevy/GM would pay for the replacement of their faulty part. I cant afford a new car, and I can no longer afford to pay for GM's mistakes. My car is paid off and now I don't feel safe driving it. To "fix it" and I say this loosely it will cost 1,800 out of my pocket.
Starting back in August, now pretty much every time we drive the car, the power steering goes out. It makes it very difficult to turn the wheel, seemingly harder than if we had no power steering at all. While driving straight this is not really a safety issue, but if the power steering were out and we needed to avoid an accident, it would be nearly impossible. You used to be able to turn the car off, wait 30 seconds-1 minute, and turn the car back on, and it would be fine the rest of the trip. Now, you can turn it off/back on, but the power steering goes out again in just a few minutes. From what I have seen online, there was a recall on the Chevy cobalt (which has the same steering setup) and in Canada.
Power steering appear on data screen on dash and then had no power steering thru the turn. Pulled over and turned off car/restarted car / power steering wasn't on dash/ drive car up to about 30 mph and no power steering again and light was on/ had been driving car about a half hour before this happen with no indication it would happen/ in order to have power steering at a light and make a turn/ I have to shut car off for a few seconds, make the turn and light comes on again/ the disturbing part of this is system will give you power steering until you start to drive it.
I was traveling down tyrone blvd. In saint petersburg Florida...as I approached the intersection of tyrone and 9th attempting a left hand turn, the power steering indicator light came on. The power steering failed and I came with in inches of hitting a power pole. This not only could have caused injury to me but to others as I had to stop suddenly aborting the turn. When I finally made it home...10 miles away...I went on the internet only to find many similar and just as disturbing incidents on this matter. One I find extremely disturbing is that in Canada, this situation has been recalled, but in the us, the cobalt has been recalled but not the HHR. The power steering modules are exactly the same....part numbers everything....so I guess what I want to know is, why hasn't this problem been addressed in concern to the HHR" shame on GMC as they are well aware of the problem. Is it going to take someone getting killed" this problem need to be resolved.....yesterday.
While I was driving up a small hill I heard the warning dings and suddenly the power steering message showed up and I no longer had control of the steering. I was able to get off the road. I turned off the car and waited a minute, turned it back on and all was well again. After researching on aboutautomobiles.com I find 112 similar incidents all happening at the 70-80,000 mile mark. My concern is that there should be a warning to all used car HHR purchases. If the power steering goes out on the hairpin turns in my community you are as good as dead at almost any speed. Plus there would be no proof it was the steering because it corrects itself after the car is turned off. It would appear as a "lost control" incident only. I will be taking my car to the GM dealer in sullivan mo (West brothers) asap for servicing.
My wife had a cobalt and the power steering was going out. Eventually there was a recall. My HHR is doing the exact same thing now.the power steering goes out and it lists "power steering" across the dash. I took it to the mechanic and they stated it will have to be fixed at the dealer. GM has yet to issue a recall on the HHR's but many consumers have experienced the same issues. I hope by filing this complaint I can be part of the solution to get GM to issue this pending recall.
My son was driving my car on the parkway at about 55 mph. He said there was a beeping sound, the driver information center showed power steering. At that time he noticed he had no power steering. He drove off the exit and pulled into a gas station. He shut off the engine, waited a few minutes and restarted the car. He then had power steering again. He related the incident to me and told me that although the power steering was out he could still steer the car. I was on long island after a death in the family and could not have it checked out right away. A few days later I was driving the car and the same thing happened to me. I am a sixty year old woman and not as strong as my son. I was able to turn the corner and then pull over to the side of the road where I turned the car off waited a few minutes and restarted the car and drove to my destination, which was about a mile. I spoke to my husband who works for a Chevrolet dealer, who then spoke to the mechanic who takes care of my car. He looked it up and found a tsb on this problem. A few days later I drove my mom to a store which was about 15 or 20 miles away. We were just about there when the steering went out again. I was able to drive into the parking lot, but parking was very difficult. I also had to drive the car 20 miles back to my moms house. We were told that this is not a safety issue, but I disagree. It may not be hard for a man to steer the vehicle with no power steering, but from a womans point of view, it is a safety issue. I understand there is a recall on this vehicle in Canada and on cobalts and Pontiac G4S and G6S in the usa. The car was fixed today, but because I was away from my usual mechanic(at the dealership where my husband works), it cost me almost $400 to have it fixed. Please take this into consideration when deciding what is a safety issue.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while traveling 35 mph, the power steering failed. The power steering warning light illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 71,000.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the steering failed. The power steering light illuminated before the failure occurred and the steering wheel was hard to turn. The vehicle had been turned off for a moment to have the steering return to normal function. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 74,000 and the current mileage was 74,300.
Just turning into driveway and power steering went out. Warning light came on and chimed. Could barely turn the steering wheel. Glad it did not happen on highway with grandkids in car earlier in week while driving cross-country doing up to 75 mph. Scary enough with little control on my own property because I about missed the driveway and hit curb! researching this problem am keenly aware that this is common among HHR owners. Why no recall? if I had known about this I would have never put my family at risk in this vehicle by driving cross country on vacations. Steering, brakes and excessive acceleration mechanical issues are paramount to safety on the roadways!
I was driving on interstate 195 in NJ & highspeed & power steering went out & whole dic instruments went haywire car started bucking & almost lost control of vehicle & went into other lane with on coming tractor trailer there. I pulled over & shut car off waited 5 mins & all was fine, I thoughtstrange so I continued & it did same thing 2 days later going 45 mph. Dealer cant solve it but its happening to lots of HHR on HHR forums. There all complaining about electronic power steering motor is bad & cost is over $500 to repair, however the Pontiac & Chevy cobalt which have same frame & parts as HHR are all being recalled but nothing about the HHR"?" how is this possible when the cobalt & HHR are same car but different body & made by GM. I know & see alot of older folks drive these HHR & I'm 6' 250 lbs & was able to handle this to safety but these older folks wont be so lucky. Its extremely dangerous to drive when the power steering goes out when your doing 70 on an interstate with everyone doing same speed & sometimes faster. Something must be done from GM to correct this problem when 100-1000 are experiencing same problem & that the cobalt has been recalled but not the HHR & its the same exact car. I hope it gets resolved before someone gets killed or badly injured, concerned HHR owner.
During the cold months of the year, spring I have no problem with the steering. During the hotter months of the year my power steering notification on my dash board comes up and I have no power steering. I have to turn the car off to reset the steering motor. Regardless of how fast I drive the indicator comes on and I have to turn the car off numbers of times to reset the steering motor. It's becoming more and more frequent, I bought the car used and would like to get the electric steering motor replaced. I understand that there are recalls pending on this vehicle in Canada as well as Chevy cobalts in the U.S. have the same problem. The cobalts are getting fixed at no charge to the customer, but the HHR has not been included in the recall for a defective part. I strongly believe this a serious safety issue.
I was driving in our local zoo parking lot. With people crossing and my power steering went out. A message came up on the console saying "power steering". I stopped the car and shut it off checked the fuse. I T was not blown started the car and it worked again. I then drove for a few days with no issue. It has now happened 5 times at all speed ranges from 0 miles an hour up to 65 mph. It dose not require any turning of the steering wheel. The Chevy cobalt was recalled for the same issue and there are a lot of complaints about this on forums.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed and became hard to turn. The power steering warning light illuminated after the failure occurred. The failure was experienced several times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact that the vehicle should be taken to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 140,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Anaheim, CA, USA