The car hit a bump on the street and power steering alarm went off indicating a loss of that function. When pulled over to the side of the road,and ignition was turned off and back on, the problem resolved. From there on out, this problem would occur at irregular times whether the car hit a bump or not and the same remedy was used: pull over, turn switch off, turn switch back on and proceed. Within a distance of 32 miles, this averaged about 6 times. Today the dealership called and reported the car was fixed, but when my wife asked about the power steering problem, we were told "if it happens again, just bring it back", which doesn't sound as if that part of the ignition switch was fixed. We did not want to sign off on our car until the entire problem was taken care of. Thank you for any help in this matter.
2008 Chevrolet HHR electrical complaints
Page 4 of 5: complaints 71 to 100 of 108, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the key would sporadically release from the ignition. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who performed an inspection and stated that the ignition locking system and ignition cylinder failed. The locking system and the ignition were replaced. The manufacturer advised was also contacted and advised that the vehicle was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number14v047000 (air bags, electrical system). The failure mileage was 113,000 and the current mileage was 121,000.
Was driving at highway speed and all of a sudden my car got hard to steer and a chime dinged and my screen on the dash read (power steering) was coming up on a turn and it took me and the passenger to manually turn the wheel with great effort on both our parts, this was scary! If I had been alone I'm not sure if I could have negotiated the turn thus ending in a one vehicle collision.
While operating, my vehicles power steering shuts off and my "power steering" alert appears on the dash. If the car is shut off, and turned back on it works properly; and then shuts off again randomly. This happens nearly every time I drive it, sometimes several times. There is nothing consistent with driving conditions, speed, duration of driving when it occurs.
My battery went out on me. Then I had it replaced and then the power steering went out. I noticed that they was a recall on it. Also that this has happen to so many other folks.
My key won't turn the ignition on at all take you 5 mins just to get it to work
While driving at speeds upwards of 45 MPH, the power steering light came on and I lost power steering. I almost got into a crash and was unable to safely steer the vehicle. Once the vehicle was turned off the steering was returned. And then it would go out again until the vehicle was turned off again. Upon searching the internet I saw that 1.3 million vehicles were recalled for the exact same issue but the chevy hhr was not one of them. It seems to be a hazardous issue according to chevy's recall, and the have received multiple complaints from hhr owners and haven't recalled this part on the hhr.
The power steering keeps turning on so it makes it hard to drive or steer and it cuts into my mpg.
Power steering stopped working while driving. If I turn off the car and restart it, the power steering starts working again for a short time and then goes out again. With all the similar complaints I've been reading, chevrolet should do a recall before someone gets seriously hurt.
The ignition is locked in the on position. It will not shut off, the only way to turn it off s to removed the fuel pump fuse and then disconnect the battery. The battery is located under the spare tire in the trunk area.
The door locks stick and still do. I have even been locked in my vehicle. Hhr has been in dealer 9 times for door locks sticking (have work orders). Don't trust dealer or gm to fix problem. You put vehicle in park and the passenger door lock sticks. The door lock will not unlock with automatic door un lock. We worked hard to purchase a new vehicle to have it not live up to the quality we were lead it to be. Vehicles no count we want our money back. We had a washing machine it was worked on 4 times the fifth time it acted up they replaced it with a new one. What would you do if you were locked in your vehicle . I have video of it on cell phone. The vehicle was purchased new from dealer. *tr updated 02/06/14. *jb updated 02/19/15.
It would not shut off. I cannot turn the key. I received a recall notice in october, but they said it was not my car. They refuse to fix it because it has too many miles and it is ruled a courtesy thing not an official recall. I am not happy,and have to disconnect wires under the hood to shut it off.
This car is a safety hazard going down road. I bought it new in 2008. Rotors & brakes are horrible - have to have repaired multiple times. Bearings have went out, replaced & one went out again. I spend approx 1200 dollars a year just to get shaking out of front end, turning rotors & tires. But that isn't really the problem I am reporting: was having trouble with ignition switch - it was recalled - took it to dealer to have it replaced - understand that I was having no problems with car at this time - upon leaving dealers and within 15 miles power steering light comes on & I lose power steering. Now my power steering goes out unexpectedly whenever it decides to. Took back to dealer because I felt this was something they messed up and was told this is just a problem with hhrs and that power steering motor needs to be replaced. After researching this...it is very common with this car, along with brake issues, severe shaking in front, bearings going out and many other problems that I have also had. I realize my car is high mileage, I work as a home health nurse & use this car for work, but I do keep it maintained. I hope that I will be able to get into different car before I get in accident in this one.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the computer monitor was providing incorrect information and the warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the failure of the computer monitor was caused by the oxygen sensor. The vehicle was repaired under the vehicle warranty however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 84,000, and the current mileage was 90,000.
I bought this car in june of 2008. It has been in the shop 17 times with electrical problems the brakes have quite working came to a stop sign and they went to the floor the car has shut off several times going down the road and when it rains really hard the car will not start it drains my brand new battery I got the car from bob steel chevrolet in cocca fl they kept telling me there was nothing they could do I called a lawyer and gm motors decided to give me 10% of the car and they never fixed the car this it the 4th battery because it is draining them so much there no good gm motors told me they were going to label the car as a lemon but because I bought it used they weren't going to buy it back they also told me that the 2007 had the same problem but because this was a 2008 and no other problems with this model to just deal with it I don't know what lest to do please help.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the ignition became stuck as he attempted to shut off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the ignition was repaired. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 46,000. Updated 7/26/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact was driving 35 MPH when the vehicle decreased in speed despite the accelerator pedal being depressed. The traction warning light illuminated during the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer nine times. The dealer confirmed the fuse box the wiring housing and transmission needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was not repaired and the VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 83,000.
Opened car door. Sat in seat. Put key in ignition started car. Turned ignition to off to stop motor.turned key to on (not starting motor) all electrical systems died. Had no access to rear hatch to check battery (electric latch release). Could not remove key from ignition in off position. From what I have been reading on line this is a common known issue that chevrolet is aware of and had already has a replacement part for. Went back to the car on 03/27/2012 to remove personal items prior to a tow to dealership. Tried starting the car. It started up ok. Drove the car to the dealer and left it there over night for early bird service. Called this morning, 03/28/2012 and was told by the service associate that the vehicle would not start ans the electrical system was dead when they went to move it. Service department called me ay 3pm to let me know that my assessment of the bad ignition cylinder was correct and what the charges would be.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the key became stuck in the ignition and the vehicle could not be started. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer and was told that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The dealer stated that if the housing was damaged, that would also have to be replaced and the keys would have to be reprogrammed. The front wheels on the vehicle had also seized abnormally. The failure and the current mileages were 43,000.
After driving for more than 10-30 min, at any speed but usually at or above 50 MPH, the power steering would malfunction intermittently, steering/handling became difficult. Feels like it's over-correcting or is ice-skating around the lane when keeping the wheel straight. Occasionally hhr will buck while driving on the highway, would slow down to 55-65mph and still experience rough bucking & poor handling. Took to dealership to fix what I thought was an alignment issue, they said there were no other problems, but still experience them almost daily. Also have had troubles removing the key from ignition after shifting the car into park.
Both key fobs began working intermittently, finally failing completely. Problem began around 38,000 mileage. Complete failure around 40,000 mileage. Now key in door no longer works (only one key entry on entire car) so taking to dealer tomorrow. Mileage around 45,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the vehicle would not shut off due to the key being stuck in the ignition. In order to shut the vehicle off, the contact had to engage the clutch and manual shifter until it stalled. The key still would not remove from the ignition. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to diagnose the failure. The battery died as a result. The failure mileage was 57,000. The VIN was unavailable.
The electric power steering turned itself off mid turn causing a drastic understeering leading the vehicle into oncoming traffic, upon research I found that gm recalled the exact same steering components that failed in the hhr in other gm vehicles but not the hhr. If this does not warrant serious investigation what does. The second time this happened everything was fine as we were driving straight, the problem occurred when the electric power steering turned back on mid-turn causing my wife to over turn into someone's front lawn, had anyone been in the way this would have been tragic. We've been lucky this far but as we are a low income household we don't have the means to pay some dealer to fix this as they all say it's on us the owners to take care of even though it's the same defective equipment that was in vehicles like the cobalt and pontiacs lines, why hasn't there been a recall issued, this is a sever driving impairment that can cause accidents and gm doesn't seem to care due to it's an acceptable loss! No life is an acceptable loss, please address this issue as there are many complaints into this same issue in the research I preformed, by the way, why is it gm canada issued a recall on this part for the hhr and not the us branch? Our hhr is a 2008 with 66000 miles on it and the electric power steering is the issue.
I live in deltona, fl and drove to palm bay, fl from home and got out of my car, returned to it a few minutes later and started it with the key fob and got in and the key would not turn in the ignition. Had to let the car turn itself off and tried several times to turn the key. The steering wheel was not locked, I walked to a nearby firestone dealer who kindly agreed to let a technician come over to my car and try to turn the key, he was unsuccessful as well after several attempts. He was able to pull the steering wheel into the locked position however was still unable to turn the key in the ignition. I had to call a tow truck to tow me to the nearest chevy dealership, in melbourne, fl. This dealership wouldn't even tell me if they had the part in stock to replace it so that I could drive home they told me to pay to be towed and let them look at it and see what the issue really was. I went online and saw that many other hhr owners have experienced this issue and they had suggestions on how to correct it, due to the fact that the tumbler was frozen. I walked to a gas station to by wad-40 and sprayed it in the ignition hole and unlocked my steering wheel adjustment to allow me to pull it up and down as quickly and as hard as I could to get the tumbler to free itself up, to no avail. 1.5 hours after the issue began the tow truck driver showed up and asked me what was wrong and I told him he could try and he was able to get the key to turn. I drove back home the 1.5 hours and my husband is ordering a replacement piece to install. Why should we pay to replace this piece when this has been happening to so many owners of this vehicle make and model?
My 2008 hhr has 45000 miles and is a year and half old. The ignition locked up and I can place my key into the ignition but not turn on. I called road side assistance and since I have more miles than the warranty, I have to pay over $600 to get a problem fixed that seems to happen to a lot of people. I was a chevy guy, however I know now that since many are having this problem and have to pay for it themselves. I will never pay another chevy. Poor quality and poor customer service.
I took car into dealership because it's stalling in traffic repeatedly when I am trying to come to a stop and even once when just driving. I took it in and they said they didn't know what it was and diagnostics weren't reporting any problems. They released vehicle that next day and it stalled on me in lot. They stated they could not get the vehicle to stall yet it happened within five min of me picking it up. I then took it back they kept it for the weekend. Released it back to me after I was told it had stalled once but they didn't know what it was. I contacted g.m customer service and then the dealership when I got the report stated it hesitated and when I asked why they put that down and not that it had stalled like the kathy had told me on 3 different occasions it had done, they refused to answer me. The car still stalls in traffic and they refuse to fix it. I will no longer take it here. I just want my car to be safe where I won't get hit doing uturns into traffic like I almost have been with my baby the day I picked up vehicle. I have to put it in park to start it over again. I can't do that on this busy hwy I live on with traffic coming at me as fast as it does in this city.
2008 chevy hhr, stall 5 times, electrical system failed, no hazard light to warned other drivers of vehicle present.
Ignition lock assembly failed and car would not turn off - key was stuck in the "on" position.
Ignition switch locked.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the key would not turn in the ignition. In addition, the steering wheel and gear shift would lock. The dealer could not duplicate the failures. The manufacturer stated that the failure was a common issue with her model vehicle; however, there were no recalls. General motors advised the contact to drive into a parking spot in a straight position and ensure that the wheels were also straight. Afterwards, the contact was informed to wiggle the key. After ten minutes, she was able to remove the key from the ignition, but the vehicle would not start once she inserted the key again. The failure mileage was 11,377 and current mileage was 24,000. Updated 8/18/09 *cn the dealer replaced the ignition lock cylinder. Updated 08/21/09.
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