The car has several safety issues. The main concern is that both of the front doors had the handles break off. You cannot open the doors from the inside. You must roll down the window and open from the outside. If the vehicle were involved in an accident or caught on fire and there was no power to the vehicle you are literally trapped inside. I have brought this to the attention of chevrolet but they have failed to do anything.I feel like the vehicle is a rolling death trap. The other concern is that the power steering went out on the vehicle. Chevrolet does not make it a recall yet you can be driving along and all of a sudden your power steering goes out. The part is the same as the chevrolet cobalt and chevrolet did a recall on that vehicle for the very same power steering part.
2006 Chevrolet HHR body complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 119, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Inside driver door handle, broken off, have to roll down window to open door or cross over to passanger seat to get out.
Inside door handle on my 2006 chevrolet hhr broke off when I opened the door. This creates a safety issue for the driver as the door cannot be opened from the inside without lowering the left front window and opening with the outside handle. If the electrical system is damaged then the window will not open. The driver would then need to crawl over the center console to the right door or the front seat to exit the cars rear door. In a collision or fire the driver may be injured, panicked or confused and not be able to exit the vehicle. The plastic handle should be replaced with a more substantial metal one.
The interior door handles on the 2006 chevrolet hhr fell off. The only way to fix it is to replace the entire door panel just for the cheap plastic handle for approximately $500.00. If I was in an accident and the car would not start again, I could not get out of the car through the driver's side because I would not be able to roll down the window to open the door from the outside. Or if the car were on fire, I simply would not be able to escape. This needs to be a recall item as this is a huge safety factor. A bigger safety factor that the latch on the pop up middle console on the chevy hhr that was recalled back in 2008 (I think). There are blogs all over the internet of people like me who are experiencing the same problem. I am a single working girl who simply cannot afford a $500 interior door panel replacement for a cheap plastic handle because this is not reasonable. I tried to get chevy to replace it and they simply said they would give me a $40 discount. That is ridiculous!!! I bought the car be cause it was economical and not one thing about this replacement sounds economical. This is a safety hazard and could lead to a death.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that after a severe rain, there was an accumulation of two inches of water on the front passenger floor board area. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they informed the contact that the water leaked in through the heater ducts. The technician recommended that the carpet be replaced due to the possibility of mold growing. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000. Updated 06/17/11*lj the consumer was informed the seal came off aorund the heater switch which allowed water to get in the heater and caused the motor to only have one speed. The consumer was also informed the carpet would never dry and eventually, it would grow mold. Updated 06/21/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. While the vehicle was parked the contact attempted to open the front drivers side door and the door handle fractured and fell off of the vehicle from the interior. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the entire door panel was replaced because the parts for the door handle were not sold separately. Approximately 18 months later the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 95,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Few issues that several people also have discussed on the web: **transmission hard shifting. Still an issue, garages and dealer have not been able to resolve **key not coming out of ignition. Recent issue not fixed yet. May be transmission interlock issue based on internet discussions **leak and water gets in car. Gets my heat blower wet and blows out a part and I only have off and high fan settings. Ongoing issue as well.
While opening the left front door from the inside the plastic chrome door handle broke off in my hand making it impossible to open the door from the inside. This will impair the ability of the occupants to exit the vehicle in the event of an emergency.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the door panel interior was interfering with the opening of the door. She also mentioned that she would have to wind down the window in order to open it from the outside. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that she needed to replace the interior driver side door panel. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. Updated 3/7/11 *cn the consumer stated he/she was unable to open the door, unless he stuck his hand out the window to open it from the outside. Updated 03/14/11
I currently own a 2006 chevrolet hhr. On 1-13-11, I had the interior door handle break off in my hand making it impossible to open the door from the inside of the car. This is a huge safety hazard while driving the car. Upon further research on car forums online, I am not the only person that has had this problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that water leaked into the front passenger side floor through the air intake. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but it was not inspected or repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who stated that there were no related recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 81,000.
I own a 2006 chevy hhr lt. Thanksgiving day I went to move my car out of the driveway and when I tried to get out of the car the interior door handle on the driver door came off in my hand. I have done my research and found this is a common problem with this vehicle. I even walked up to another hhr I saw on a parking lot and it had the same problem. My safely concern is that I cannot open the door without rolling down my window and reaching outside the car to the exterior handle. If I was in an accident and had a electrical failure I could not exit the car because I could not roll down the window. Everything I have found in my research is that chevrolet is not recgonizing this as a real problem and from what I have seen/read they have been unwilling to correct the problem when it occurs or help the vehicle owners in any way. I have checked on the repair and found that the door handle itself can not be replaced that you have to buy an entire door panel for over $400 and that is just the part, no labor. How can this be a known problem, and chevrolet not stand behind their product? The inability to exit my vehicle in the aftermath of an accident greatly concerns me and should concern chevrolet especially with the multiple complaints I have read online of this issue occurring.
Chevy hhr interior door handles break off easy and without warning. No improved handle is offered. This would make it hard to get out of the car in case of emergency. Being excited you may pull on the door handle a little harder. If there is a stress fracture in the handle you will not be able to see it.
2006 chevrolet hhr interior door handle failures. In my instance the plastic handle that is used to open the door on the drivers side broke off. This is a widely complained about issue on the web. If you google "hhr drivers side interior door handle broken" you get 1000's of people discussing this issue. The cost to repair is very high and people are not doing it. Chevy does not sell just the plastic part, they require you to purchase an entire assembly, the cost runs nearly $600 with labor for a plastic part. The issue is that dealerships do not stock this part, they need to order it and it takes time, this is a safety issue as the only way to exit the car is to open the door from the outside, so that requires rolling a window down and opening it from the outside. If you needed to exit the vehicle in a hurry, such as after an accident, you would not be able to do so. This is a great concern. Besides the fact that this is being reported as a problem and chevy is not trying to rectify the situation, or to even provide the part outside of purchasing the entire assembly.
Door handles in this vehicle are plastic and break. Thisis the 2nd time the same door handle has broken. The cost to replace is appr. $300 - $400. In an accident the driver would not be able to exit the vehicle.
While opening the left front door from the inside the plastic chrome door handle broke off in my hand making it impossible to open the door from the inside. This will impair the ability of the occupants to exit the vehicle in the event of an emergency.
Chevy hhr 2006 drivers side interior door handle broke off in hand during normal use. Made of cheap plastic. Auto maker states that the only way to repair is to completely remove the door and pay. All of this for a piece of plastic which should cost pennies to replace? I suffer from neck pain and have trouble rolling the window down to reach out and open the door. They have to fix this at their cost. This is obviously no fault of the owners and only due to faulty (plastic) equipment they are using.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that water would enter the vehicle behind the glove compartment every time it would rain and the passenger side floorboard would become saturated. The dealer advised that the seal of the frame behind the glove compartment was defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was concerned with the potential development of mold and fungus if the failure was not corrected. The vehicle was not repaired. The current and failure mileage was approximately 18,300.
I own a 2006 chevrolet hhr, today when I parked my car the drivers inside door handle broke and I couldn't open my door. I have found many complaints online about this problem and have searched for replacement parts. None to be found. The only solution is to replace the entire door panel at a hefty price. My concern to this matter is the fact if you get in an accident or there is a fire and the door handle breaks you can't get out of the car. Therefore I feel strongly this is a defect on the part of gm since the handle is made out of plastic and can't take the stress of continuous opening. Apparently they have not responded to many complaints about this and I find it necessary to report this matter. This could be a major problem if someone is trapped in the car and can't get out.
My hhr driver's interior handle broke off a few weeks ago. I feel that gm needs to recall 2006 hhr cars and replace the door handle. I do not have $400.00 to give the dealership. A month ago I just paid for key ignition switch to be fixed for $400.00.
The interior door handle of my 2006 chevrolet hhr broke off during normal use. It's made from a cheap plastic. This is a serious safety hazard as a person cannot quickly exit the car if this happens. If my driver's side door just broke, how soon before the other three in the car break off from normal operation. This is a manufacturing defect and should be taken care of from the manufacturer. The dealer wants me to pay $400-$450 to replace a $10 plastic door handle that they poorly designed. This should be a recall from gm to replace these cheap handles before someone does have a serious situation.
Clear coat bubbling and peeling.
Interior door handle broken. Door must be opened using outside handle. Handle is plastic. Entire interior door panel must be replaced. Part costs $400.00 plus labor - replacement handle is plastic also. Car is 2006 chevrolet hhr with 53,000 miles.
My interior door handle on my 2006 chevy hhr broke off in my hand when I tried to open the door. I looked up online to see if anyone else has had the same issue and sure enough..pages and pages of the same story. I called to get a replacement handle and was told it would cost me $300 for the entire door kit. I don't want an entire door, but evidently gm designed the handle to be an integrated part of the door trim. Then I called gm customer service, they told me they have never had a single complaint about this happening ever before. I find this to be a total lie since I just read of a woman who called gm to complain and they told her the exact same thing "we've never had a single complaint". I cannot open my car door from the inside. This is a safety concern for me. If I were in a wreck or if the battery died I would not be able to get out of my car, as I have to roll down my window, reach out and open the door from the outside. I'm very upset by this entire situation. I love my car, but whoever decided a plastic door handle was a good idea and then to integrate it so you had to buy an entire door package to replace it...needs a swift kick in the behind. This should be a recall. Many people are having the same issues and it is very unsafe.
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. *tr 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.
I have a 2006 chevy hhr and both driver and passenger door handles have broken off. Chevy will not do anything about this. The door handles are hooked to the door panel. I am afraid that if I get into an accident I will not be able to retrieve my children from the back seat. Chevy wants to much for door panels.
2006 chevy hhr . The drivers side door interior door handle snapped off in my hand when I tried to open the door, smacking into my knuckle and almost causing my hand to fly back into my face. The door must now be opened by rolling down the electric window and opening from the outside handle. Two dealers so far refuse to fix the issue, telling me they don't have parts.
Every time it rains water pools on passenger side floor board.
I have a chevy hhr and the rear bumper support is rusting at only 52+ miles. Water is laying on the steel support and there is nothing that stops this water from collecting and rusting the support away. My car hasn't even been through it's first tuneup yet and I haven't owned the vehicle 1 year yet. I have brought the complaint to gmac customer care center and my local chevy dealership. The dealer wanted me to pay $112.00 for them just to inspect the rusting rear bumper support. The defect was found by philip a representative from hayes collision center in sacramento, ca 916‑482‑7819 a contracted collision center for the same dealer that wants to charge me the money to inspect the problem. Mike daugherty chevrolet in sacramento, ca 916‑482‑1600. Hayes collision center was contacted by a representative from gmac customer care center raphael ext 41461 @ 1866-790-5700 and my gmac customer care and gmac inquired if the rusting support was it due to the mileage or the year of the vehicle. Philip at hayes collision center told gmac that the rusting rear bumper support is a manufacturing defect and should be addressed and corrected. Hayes was wondering why the part wasn't made out of high grade aluminum instead of steel because water is getting up under the bumper cover and laying on the steel bumper support which is damaging a major safety item. Stopping a rear collision impact from harming the passengers. The rust is like cancer and will not stop until the support is completely rusted through. Weather or just a simple car wash can cause water to get on this steel part and cause further rusting. There hasn't been any resolution to this major issue from either mike daugherty chevrolet or gmac customer care center.
Drivers side door handle broke off when getting out of vehicle. Dealer will not repair unless I pay for the repair. This is a safety hazard because you cannot exit the vehicle unless you let the window down.
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