2006 Chevrolet HHR: battery drain or dead battery

Filed Aug 19, 2014 · Electrical · 69,000 miles · OK

To whom it may concern, the key got stuck in the ignition in april (with no other problems) drained the battery and was picked up and taken to smicklas chevrolet dealership in okc, and remained there on the lot until we picked up on 8/8/14 was told we needed a new battery they could do for around $200 but it was not payday yet and we asked for a jump when we got there. I feel with it sitting there so long maybe they should have try to charge the battery at the very least. We got a few miles down the expressway and had to pull over so we didn't get in a wreck or cause one due to a ton of smoke coming out the vents and a terrible electrical smell like it was on fire! Turned off the A/C and pulled over to check under the hood to make sure there wasn't a fire, not one we could see but it sure smelled like it!! Called ray at smicklas right there on the side of the road, only to be told it sounded like the blower motor on the air conditioner and that happens sometimes when cars sit for that long. Feeling helpless, we finally get home to check things out and find the passenger floor board full of water, unable to set the time on the radio and some buttons won't work or the cd player and the new remote start will not work. We get it to our mechanic that replaces the battery and told us that the old one was very hot!! And that the blower motor was not the problem, it didn't even have power to it, it was an electrical problem to do with the ignition switch that there was a recall on....I laughed and told him we just had that done! He said that they may have wired something wrong, or the switch was bad. And to the end the day, when stopping for dinner on the way home the key stuck in the new ignition switch and I had to shift from park and drive a couple times to get the key out. What do I need to do to get this resolved??? Thank you for your time,

Filed Mar 10, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 89,000 miles · FL

Gear shifter pin broke & now won't lock in gear. The key cannot be removed except by removing a cap on the steering column & pressing a release button. Defective gear shifter pin. ------------------------------------- I went home & tried to take my key out but it would not release so since the car would not turn completely off the battery died. I found out on the internet that this has happened to thousands of people. I found out how to remove the plug on the steering column to press the release to take out the key. The gear shifter will not lock so it is easy for it to slip into neutral or out of park & roll away. I don't have the $500 they said it will take to fix it so I have to live with it. I always have to make sure to lock my emergency brake & have to hit the release to take my key out. This is dangerous & so wrong of gm not to recall this when so many have had this problem. This is their defect & not the customers.

Filed Nov 28, 2012 · Engine, Transmission · 146,217 miles · VA

I drove my vehicle to new jersey for vacation but came back to virginia within two days. Upon my arrival in virginia, I repacked my bags and headed to charlotte, nc. All the driving that I was doing was highway driving. To new jersey I drove I-81 north and I-78 east. To charlotte, nc I drove 220 south and I-85 south. After I got off on I-85 south to go back to the hotel on the way up the hill towards the hotel the car stopped moving forward. It would rev up when pushing on the accelerator but would not move forward. The car however would shift gears and go in reverse. I parked the car in a parking lot and had called my insurance company to have the car towed to the local chevrolet dealership.the dealership determined that the transmission failed but could not give me a determination as to why it failed. Had the transmission failed as I was speeding down I-85 south there would have been a serious accident. Additionally, this morning (august 22nd , 2012) the car would not start. The lights inside the car would come on such as the gauge lights, radio, etc but the engine would not turn over. I had the car towed to the midpoint chevrolet dealership and it was determined that the starter was bad and thus had to be replaced. Also, the morning of november 24th upon returning to my car from a night out the car would not start again. This time no lights would come on. The only indication that there was at least some power was the indicator light on my car charger. I contacted my insurance company and received a jump start from a local tow service and the vehicle has been running smoothly ever since. This has occurred twice in the last few months but there is no indication as to what may be draining the battery's power. I have had the battery checked twice and on these two occasions and is deemed to still be good.

Filed Dec 30, 2011 · Electrical, Engine · 55,000 miles · NM

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the battery died without warning. The battery was replaced, but the vehicle could not be started. The engine shut down warning light was also illuminated. The contact spoke with the manufacturer in regards to the failure and the manufacturer advised that the engine would need to be reset. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 55,000.

Filed Aug 26, 2010 · Transmission · 65,000 miles · PA

2006 chevy hhr. Gear shift control pin falls out of plastic retainment piece resulting in gear shift button sticking in the inward position and the key remaining locked in steering column. Due to a defect in manufacturing, the plastic cracks around the pin retainment hole. The control pin then becomes loose, thus resulting in the control pin either moving out of it's intended position and jamming the gear selector, or falling out completely and allowing the gear selector to move in any gear at any time, weather the car is running or shut off. Once control pin moves out of position or falls out, the micro switch cannot be activated to release the key from the ignition, thus resulting in a dead battery very dangerous. The dealerships are aware of this problem but insist there is no t.s.b. Or recall. They could easily replace the plastic retainment part with the newer version used in later models, but claim they can't get it. There remedy is to replace the entire shifter assembly at a cost of $150.00 plus labor. The newer retainment part can't cost more than 15 dollars,(narrow piece of plastic ~ the size of a pencil with a small hole in it). This part goes from the top of the shifter to the bottom of the gear selector and holds the control pin in position, which in turn, activates the micro switch to release the keys. With the amount of occurrences listed online since 2006. This, without a doubt, should be a recall.

Filed Jul 7, 2010 · Body · 63,000 miles · IN

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.

Filed Feb 9, 2010 · Electrical, Transmission · 47,000 miles · AL

Could not remove key from ignition with gear selector in park. This condition was remedied by pushing the gear selector hard into park for a while. Then total failure came when no amount of pushing the gear selector hard into park would allow the key to be removed. I removed the gear shift cover and reached in and found a micro switch that when tripped allowed me to remove key. I called local dealer and chevrolet factory toll free line and they did not say this was a known defect. I purchased replacement part # 25864102. I personally installed this and it fixed the problem. There is a steel pin in the gear selector plastic shift rod. The plastic is week and allowed the pin to drift approx 1/2" to left which would not allow the key removal micro switch to be tripped as it should be to allow the key to be removed from the ignition lock cylinder. I called chevrolet back (tel # 1‑866‑790‑5600) and they set up case # 71-781779261. They told me to take defective part to the dealer and they would contact the dealer to analyze the part for reason of failure. I took the part to the dealer service manager12/4/09. I called chevrolet several weeks later and they said the dealer threw the part away since chevrolet did not contact them promptly. I had ask for chevrolet to refund the cost of the part only (no labor) but chevrolet says they can't help since the part is now gone. I later searched on the internet http://www.mycarstats.com/ and found many cases like mine (apparently chevy cobalt shares gear shift mechanism basic internal design style). I called chevrolet back, they still deny this is a recurring problem. This is a safety problem because you have to leave your car with the key in it when the failure occurs. Apparently this may also drain the battery because all circuits are not shutoff when you cannot rotate the key far enough to remove the key. I fear that my replacement part may not last either. The car was ~ 48 mo old and ~ 47,000 miles when total failure occurred.

Filed Nov 17, 2005 · Airbags · 3,045 miles · AZ

Body module failed during ignition off condition. Air bags remained powered, draining the battery. Air bags could deploy during ignition off position causing a safety hazard to front seat passengers loading or unloading.