Chevrolet HHR battery drain problems

Filed Jun 25, 2018 · 80,000 miles · MO

When stopping and putting car in park, key will not turn to off and cannot be removed. If key left in, battery went dead and we were stuck in a rv storage lot.

Filed Feb 9, 2016 · Brakes, Engine · 41,600 miles · IL · crash · 1 injury

In a parking garage on the 4th floor. Backing out of space. While backing up, I hear a loud boom. Nothing behind me. Thought perhaps a tire failure. Put vehicle in drive to pull forward out of traffic lane, and the engine accelerated uncontrollably. Brakes wouldn't respond. By the grace of g-d or reflexes, I turned the wheel to the right to avoid flying through the guardrail and off the 4th story of the parking garage. Vehicle came to a halt when it smashed into a concrete support pillar. Both air bags detonated, passenger-side air bag apparently broke the windshield on that side. Engine shut off. Lights in passenger compartment turned on, hazards started flashing on/off (couldn't turn them off). Waited for tow truck for 5 hours. Tow drivers had to jump battery - couldn't get front hood open, back door electronic lock non-functional due to dead battery. Tow driver climbed inside car, removed inside decking to access battery. Tow driver jumped battery, attempted start. First two or three times, it wouldn't start, eventually on the 4th or 5th time it started but the engine was racing again. Tow driver put car in reverse and it flew backward (I thought it was going to go off the deck of the garage backwards...). He stopped the vehicle, turned the wheel and headed forward - it shot down the ramp until they got it out of the garage and on the truck (I was outside the vehicle watching from a safe distance while he did this). Vehicle totaled. Not sure what the problem is/was, but I'm lucky to be alive. Have heard of issues involving stuck idle solenoids, drive train problems, etc.

Filed Feb 20, 2015 · Electrical, Transmission · 108,000 miles · MI

*this an update on file number-# 10672324-2010 chevrolet hhr-shifter problem on my last filing I stated that we had another recall on our 2010 chevrolet hhr. Previous recalls were the ignition switch and the power steering system. But I found out that the key getting stuck when the car is in park, is not a official "recall ,but it should be! We received a letter warning us of the problem and if it occurred, gm would fix it for free. Well, as I reported , it did happened. My husband parked the car, and we were preparing to go to his doctor"s' appt. & to an evening service & the key got stuck. No power, no nothing, we tried everything. And that thing that the manual said would help us release the key, was not there. So the car, sat there draining the battery. Dr. Appt's were missed. And because we both had appt's coming up, we had to rent a car. But to sum it all up. When the toll driver came, he was able to jump the car, and the key came out. After taking the car to the dealer, they could not duplicate the problem. They said that the battery was gone. But it was fine before the key got stuck. They refused to change the shifter. We got a new battery, and are praying that we won't get stranded if it happens again. And we are going to continue to fight for ourselves and for others! No reimbursement for the battery or the rental. We have made our complaints to the management at the dealer & to gm. And one more thing, our first sign of trouble before parking the car, was that the air bag light would not go off. An issue also after the new ignition switch was put in. This is a recall item. But once again, gm cares more about saving a dime. Not lives. Not a safety issue? I can think of few scenario's that say that they are wrong!-thank you, and "be blessed" [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

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 Jul 9, 2012 · Body · 88,000 miles · AZ

The inside drivers door handle breaks off and cannot be replaced per chevy and gm without installing an entire front inside door panel. You cannot exit the car without lowering the window and reaching outside to open the door. With power windows you cannot lower the window if there are electrical problems. I have had to resort to climbing over the console and opening the passenger door and exiting the car that way when the battery died. In an accident, there is a good possibility you could not exit the car that way if severely injured or on fire. I am not the only one that is having this problem. What can be done to correct this problem??

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 Jun 27, 2011 · Electrical · 57,000 miles · MI

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.

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.