Key in the ignition is sometimes getting stuck, one has to position the automatic gear selector out of park and back into park to get the key to release properly. Possible its the interlock feature of the automatic gear selector position being affected.
2006 Chevrolet HHR transmission complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 82 of 82, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I need your help, 1st,computer broke,then 2nd gear shift, then 3rd sunroof, then 4th back door won't open-son can't get out, then 5th power steering, tried to replace power steering with a used one that we could afford,, now car is locked and won't crank, did what mechanic said to reprogram and it still doesn't work, gm replaced 1st computer, I paid for gears , tried to get gm to fix electric steering, said they would buy parts but not labor >1000, right before we tried to replace the power steering the crank started hanging, 06 chevrolet hhr-no car, help, its so broke, hurt myself trying to drive it, and have been trying to get fixed for over 2 months, its a bomb, now I have no car to drive. Gm states its over mileage, thought I bought all warranties, dealer went out of business, palm bay chevrolet, fl, I need some help, multiple times have all but crashed related to can't hardly steer it, turn it, I think I've broke my shoulder with this thing. Now I catch a ride with 4 years to pay left on this car, help! Its a hazard, I don't have goliaths strength any more!
Transmission would not lock when put in park and could not get key out of ignition. Left car in garage overnight and next morning battery was dead. Had to jump start car and drove it to gm dealer. Service tech said shifter needed to be replaced and that he had seen this happen before. Tech said gm had redesigned the shifter because of this problem. A few hours and $241 later, car was repaired and back on the road.
2006 chevy hhr, key would not turn off in ignition switch. Read owners book found little doorway to open with button to bypass parking switch. Book said low voltage, checked voltage was fine, but could wiggle gear shift and key would turn off. Now button on gearshift stays in and even with key out of ignition if you bump the gearshift it falls out of park. Not a real safe feature with remote starting. Have contacted chevrolet and they say they are not aware of this safety problem. But is rampant on the internet, and my personal dealer said they have had to fix a lot of hhr's and cobalt gearshifts. So many in fact that they have made a new and improved part because of the original failing multiple times. That is fine for the vehicles in warranty, but the other thousands upon thousands of ones they wont fix because they said there is no recall as of now. This is about like the fords of the seventies. I am afraid someone will be injured before it is resolved.
Placed vehicle in park and the key would not turn all the way off and you could not remove the key. It happened twice and I took it to the dealer and they replaced the shifter. They stated that they have had several complaints from other owners of hhrs and colbalts with the same problem.
While driving my 2006 chevrolet hhr ls traveling at between 25-30 MPH the driver information center display flashed "reduced engine power" for about five seconds and then changed to "engine disabled" and immediately shut the car down while I was driving in the middle of the road. I tried to restart the engine and it would not initially start. After several minutes the car did start and the check engine light was on. I proceeded immediately to my service station where they were able to find the check engine code as "PCM memory error" they said the code was something they had never seen before and decided that it was best to clear the code and see if the problem repeated itself. I then took the car for short drive and again the car flashed the same two messages on the dic and then stalled but this time in the middle of a rotary. I was able to push the car off to the side and waited several minutes again before the car would restart. This time at the service station they decided it would be best if I took it to an actual chevrolet garage since they had never seen such an obd-ii error code. This time however after clearing the code it would not drive more than a few yards before stalling out. So, the decision was made to have the car towed after have the car for a few days they decided that it was best to replace the PCM since that seemed to be what was causing the error. The way the car behaved with this PCM error I felt was very dangerous so I contacted chevrolet customer support on july 21, 2008. The case number is 71-646640348 with chevrolet. The initial contact person was unable to answer my concerns. Later that afternoon I was called by another individual about the issue and the opinion that I got from her was that "I should have nothing to complain about, gm was repairing the car for free under the epa mandated warranty" she did not understand that my concern was not that the car did have a part fail but how it behaved when such a minor piece of equipment did fail.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. While driving 20 MPH over a hole or dip in the road, the entire vehicle stalled and shut off. The weather was not a factor. The stalling occurred at least three times within one week. The vehicle cannot be restarted once it shut off. There were no warning indicators prior to the failure. The dealer does not know the cause of the failure or the remedy. The failure mileage was 53,000. The consumer stated the vehicle was having several issues with the cam sensor, wheels, a broken hub bearing, bent rotors and an issue with removing the key from the ignition, due to the shift cable not staying secured. The check engine light illuminated, the inside driver door handle would not open the door, the passenger side back would not stay secured. Updated 06/25/08
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact started the engine to warm up the vehicle. Approximately five minutes later, she attempted to place the vehicle in reverse, but the shifter would not move from park. She waited approximately ten minutes and the failure continued. Approximately 15 minutes later, the gear was able to shift out of park. The contact drove to work and was unable to shut off the vehicle. After several attempts, she was able to remove the key from the ignition; however, the radio was still on and the chime noises remained engaged. The gears were also able to be moved without the key in the ignition. The vehicle has not been repaired and remains in her possession. The VIN, engine size, number of cylinders, and transmission type were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 36,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact could not remove the key from the ignition. She stated that the vehicle did not seem to properly shift into park. The vehicle has not been to the dealer or repaired. The VIN and engine size were unknown. The current mileage was 32,000 and failure mileage was 31,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The gear mechanism failed. He has attempted to place the gear position indicator in the park position and the engine will not shut off. This failure can cause the vehicle to shift out of gear on its on with or without the driver present. The dealer stated that it was a common problem. The current and failure mileages were 39000.****
Tl*the contact's spouse owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the gear shift would occasionally stick or shift into any gear while driving at any speed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the new part has been ordered. The current mileage was 11,400 and failure mileage was 11,000.
At 5,00 miles the seal on the transmission blew. Car taken to dealership for repair. Since that time there has been a noise when accelerating. Dealer tried replacing catalytic converter, was not the problem. Manufacturer notified of on going problem, they sent a rep who said the noise was a usual noise. Service manager requested a second opinion from manufacture. Car now has 14,500 miles on it and has been back to the dealer for this same problem numerous times. As of this date we are still waiting for another rep to look at it.
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