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.
7/10 - center console lights inop. Dealer replaced internally shorted relay. Warranty 11/10 - engine would not crank/service airbag & power steering msg on dic. Dealer towed in, replaced starter and found loss of comm w/ BCM due to internal short. Dealer replaced BCM. Warranty 12/10 - engine turns over wont start. Dealer towed in, found power train relay open. Replaced relay. Warranty 4/11 - service airbag light. Dealer found open circuit at passenger front airbag. Reconnector connector added dielectrical grease. Stabilitrack light does not come on (ever). Was told system is okay, some models don't have warning lights. (go figure, will not return to that dealer) warranty 2/12 - service airbag light. Comes on and goes out 3 - 4 times during first 15 minutes of driving first trip of the day. Happens 90% of the time. If I can find a dealer I can trust I will have them check this and the stabilitrack problem. Mileage is now 63,000.
Unable to turn engine off and remove the key. The key is stuck in the running position and will not move. Had to remove fuel pump fuse and disconnect battery to turn off engine and lights. This has happened twice, had to have it towed and pay for repair the first time and waiting for tow truck to come get it the second time in less than a year, which I'm sure I'll have to pay for again.
Key stuck in ignition after parking. Could not turn car off and could not remove key from ignition. More specifically, pulled into driveway, put vehicle in park and could not turn off vehicle or remove key from ignition switch opening. The key was stuck in the ignition and I could not pull it out of the ignition switch. Had to drive the car to the dealership where they removed gas pump fuse and car stopped running. Dealership today (1-15-2012) confirms there was a failure in the ignition switch and it needs to be replaced. I have a Chevy cobalt 2009 which has a recall on the ignition switch for this exact problem. These are basically the same kinds of car and so there should also be a recall on the HHR ignition switch, but apparently there is not one. Dealership says there is no recall on the HHR ignition switch, but there is on the cobalt ignition switch.
I put the transmission into park and attempted to turn off the car and remove the key to go into a store. I could not turn the ignition switch to off or remove the key. I drove the car home and parked. I could still not turn the ignition switch to off or remove the key. Numerous attempts of putting car into reverse, or drive and into park did not solve the problem. The key was trapped in the ignition switch! called onstar and was forwarded to customer service; tow truck was called. Tow truck delivered car to dealership with engine still running. Problem diagnosed in ignition key cylinder which was replaced.
The HHR won't start. Came out from work and the key won't turn in the ignition and the steering wheel is locked. Everything is locked up.......I can't get the car to start.
- Wentzville, MO, USA
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The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet HHR. The contact attempted numerous times to turn the ignition off; however the ignition key failed to turn and remained in the on position. The contact disabled the fuse and then disengaged the battery in order to shut the engine off. The key remained stuck in the ignition switch. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where an appointment was scheduled for repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.
After returning home from running errands, I found I could not turn the car off and remove the key from the ignition. Even pushing the gear release button, did not release the key or allow me to turn the vehicle off. The battery & the fuel pump relay had to be disconnected in order to turn the vehicle off. Luckily I was in my driveway and not on the road with my small children. The ignition cylinder had to be replaced. Chevy towed my vehicle to a local dealer "free of charge" however because it happened on a weekend was unable to do anything or find out any information to help me out. It wasn't until Monday that a manager was available at the dealership who was willing to help me out with paying for this, due to it being out of the bumper to bumper warranty. Thank you to the dealership, however am unimpressed with Chevy for not recognizing an unsafe design flaw (not fluke, flaw).
I have a 2009 Chevy HHR, which is having the same problems that caused a recall on the Chevy cobalt, the Pontiac G6, G5.the Chevy Malibu. My power steering system fails in the middle of a turn, the led read out says power steering and then it completely goes out, I have to either turn the vehicle off and re start it or remove the fuse that is in the electrical fuse box and put it back in, this only corrects the problem temporarily, (this is so dangerous, as I might be in the middle of a curve on wet/icy roads and have the steering go out on me) there are numerous threads on line in reference to this issue with the HHR and GM has not done a recall for it in this model, this vehicle has the same steering components as the ones that have been recalled, one of the hazards possible is a fire. I feel this issue should be addressed in all of GM's vehicles with the same faulty parts not just the ones listed, they know these parts are in these cars and have chosen to ignore all complaints to repair the issue, the parts cost the public between $150 and $200 not including the hour of labor to fix the issue, why should the consumer be required to foot the bill for something that is clearly GM's fault, I have grand children that are in my car at any given time and I should not have to worry about my car catching on fire or the steering going out while I am in a turn on a wet or icy road !
The vehicle will not shut off when running, key is stuck in the ignition, there is no way to shut the vehicle off. Cannot remove key, vehicle will drive, reverse and park, will not allow vehicle to be shut off. Internet searches shows this to be a common problem with both the Chevrolet cobalt and HHR, however no recalls have been issued.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the ignition would not shut off. The battery and fuel pump fuse had to be disconnected in order to shut the vehicle down. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed a diagnostic that located the failure at the ignition lock and cylinder. The ignition lock cylinder was replaced. The manufacturer advised the contact that the failure was not recalled and the warranty did not cover the ignition failure. The failure mileage was 71,426 and the current mileage was 71,726.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet HHR. While parked, the contact attempted to remove the key from the ignition but the key would not disengage and the contact was unable to shut the vehicle off. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for diagnostics but was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 44,250.
The contact owns 2009 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the key would not remove from the ignition. As a result, the contact was unable to take the vehicle to an authorized dealer to have the failure diagnosed. The contact also stated that a faulty ignition switch was a common failure among this year, make, and model. The failure mileage was 76,000.
This is a complaint against the Chevrolet HHR which seems to be prone to not turning off when the key is in the ignition. No matter how hard I tried or what I tried I could not turn the key to shut the car off. My neighbor had to turn the car off by disconnecting something under the hood. The car had to be towed to the dealer. During my research on the internet there seems to be a lot of people having the same problem. Some of them even state that the button on the gear shift that you have to push in to change gears sticks.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated the ignition key failed to turn the vehicle off and the vehicle was stuck in the on position. The contact removed a fuse in order to shut the vehicle off, and have it towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer, but the manufacturer was contacted regarding the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 55,000.
On May 26th of 2011, I bought a 2009 Chevy HHR. Actual miles was 43K. It now has 45K. I have not even made my first payment on the car when I experienced a problem. On July 7 after I arrived at work, I put the car in park and the key would not turn to shut the engine off. I had to disconnect the battery to shut the engine off so I could finish my work day. Got the car home and had to disconnect the battery again. When I contacted a Chevy dealership and spoke with the service personnel about my car not shutting off, he said, 'let me guess, the key is stuck in the ignition'" I said yes and he quoted the price would be 3 or 4 hundred dollars to fix it. On July 8th, we had to have the car towed to a Chevy dealership. Even the tow truck driver knew about the problem and said, 'that is one of the reasons we have to tow in the Hhrs'. on July 7th pm, I got on the internet and discovered that I was not the only one to experience this problem with the key stuck in the ignition. There have been many complaints about this. To my understanding, Chevy knows about this problem but has failed to put out a recall. I do not have a lot of money. I am on a tight budget as many people are. I had to borrow the money to get the car fixed. It is a shame the quality of making a car has gone down hill. I think that Chevy should fix this problem so that it does not reoccur again. I also think that people should be reimbursed for the money that they have had to spend on getting this problem fixed. So, my question for you is, how many complaints must it take for you to address this problem and issue out a recall" Chevy should 'man up' and take responsibility for this problem.
I arrived home at 2:30am and my car would not turn off. The keys were stuck in the ignition. I had it towed to the dealership that night. The service department called me in the morning to inform me that this is not covered under warranty. I have been on the phone all morning trying to get this issue resolved. Still no resolve!!!
The keys are stuck in the ignition of the car. We have tried to used the release button under the steering column to no avail. The car remains running. We have to unhook the battery and take out a fuse to get the car shut off. We have two small children and this is our only car. The dealership wanted to charge us to fix this, when clearly it is the fault of Chevrolet. Our keys have been stuck since Saturday, May 21, 2011. Today is Monday, May 23, 2011 and the keys are still in the car.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that when parking the vehicle and shifting into park, the keys would become stuck in the ignition and the engine was unable to be turned off. The contact spoke with the dealer who recommended bringing the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The contact was able to remove the keys from the ignition with the assistance of a tow truck driver and the vehicle was towed to the dealer where the contact was awaiting repairs. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 75,000.
The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the key would not move when she attempted to turn the vehicle off. The contact mentioned that in order to turn the vehicle off she had to disconnected the battery and the fuse that was connected to the fuel pump. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was currently working on a diagnosis. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 40,000.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cedar Lake, IN, USA