2008 Chevrolet HHR: headlights failing or too dim

7 of the 616 complaints about the 2008 Chevrolet HHR describe headlights failing or too dim.

owner complaints: 7
of this car's complaints: 1%
typical mileage: 62,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 9 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Headlights failing or too dim by model year

2011
3
2010
6
2009
12
2008
7
2007
6
2006
6

What owners say

Filed Jul 23, 2021 · Steering · CA · crash

Power steering went out completely causing me to swerve on the highway to side of road. The steering locked up and it was raining and I would of crashed had anyone else been on the highway. I was going about 55 mph at the time. I then proceeded to CAREFULLY at about 30 mph force my car to drive another half mile to nearest exit ramp. The entire time I was driving in the middle of the lanes and a huge liability as far as safety is concerned. Thankfully I made it with no harm to myself vehicle or anyone else. I pulled over to side of road and slept in car till the rain stopped. Prior to this I backed into a fence when the steering failed backing into a carport resulting in body damage to front end under left headlight. Months before I had asked the Chevy dealership to diagnose issue and they found nothing wrong as in the beginning the car would still steer at its own leisure. The light didn't come on when they looked at it. After the night in the rain I have taken the fuse outta the power steering part and just manually steer. This should be replaced as it is a common issue to ALL HHR. Mine isn't covered as it is an SS but clearly it should be covered by a recall. Hopefully I don't die before this is taken care of.

Filed Oct 24, 2018 · Lights · 16,900 miles · NM

Head light keep burning out 6 month to a year without warning. Have to replace constantly. While moving or parked.

Filed Jan 4, 2017 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 118,000 miles · FL

While driving my car on the city streets the doors suddenly unlock the lights flicker off and back on and the car jerks and then the car does the same thing and locks the doors again and then unlocks the doors again with the headlights going out again and back on again just as quickly. It does this over and over again while driving to work or to run to the store or where ever. I took it to the chevrolet dealer and they cannot tell me what the problem is. No codes are showing what the problem is. I have had it to three different garages and no one can seem to tell me what the problem is. The last dealer told me that I would have to leave the car there and every time they got into the car to drive it to see if it would do it again for them it would cost me right around $130.00 each time. I can't afford that. I asked them if it could be the ignition and they said no. I did have the recall done on the ignition switch but after reading many of these complaints it makes me think that maybe it has not been corrected. Help

Filed Oct 6, 2015 · Lights · 130,000 miles · MI

Problems with lighting include no bright headlights. Alternating problems occur with the running lights and dim lights. Alternating meaning that both do work at different times in almost a back and forth pattern. They have not both failed to work at the same time as of yet. I have managed to simply switch around fuses/relays of the same model number to get both running and dim lights to work. The bright lights have not worked in almost a year. Problems occur when car is started from a stationary position. I have had the fuses/relays tested at an independent auto parts store and was told they are fine after buying replacements on two occasions. This matter needs to be the topic of a recall as it is a serious safety hazard to not have bright lights, running lights and especially headlights. I read online that this is a common issue with the 2008 chevy hhr.

Filed Sep 23, 2014 · Lights · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. While the vehicle was parked, the headlights failed to activate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that both headlight connectors failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

Filed Jun 2, 2014 · Lights · 62,000 miles · MN

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the headlights continued to fail. The failure recurred three times in six months. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, and each time the headlights were replaced however, they could not diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

Filed May 7, 2014 · Lights · 30,000 miles · MI

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the passenger's side head light overheated causing it to malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the failure was verified but a remedy was not available. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 30,000 and the current mileage was 35,000.