The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel seized, with the power steering warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The vehicle was restarted; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 240,000.
Chevrolet HHR steering lock-up problems
74 of the 3,575 owner complaints about the Chevrolet HHR describe steering wheel locks up, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 74
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical mileage
- 90,000
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Engine failure 58Power steering loss 6Check engine light 4Stalling 3Spongy pedal 1Loss of power 1Jerking 1Headlights 1
What owners say
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.
I was driving about 30 miles an hour in town when the check engine light started to Flash then immediately following all the dashlight started to Flash and then not a second later the car shut off the steering will locked the brakes locked up And all the doors were locked So at 30 miles an hour the brakes locked up the steering wheel locked so I couldn't turn the wheel and the car shut off There were no injuries thank God
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet hhr. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel seized and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was able to be steered. The vehicle was taken to sherman chevrolet cadillac (600 e lamberth rd, sherman, tx 75090, (903) 209-2353) where the contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 156,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. While driving 30 MPH on various occasions, the power steering warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 114,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel seized and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to bachman chevrolet (9650 bluegrass pkwy, louisville, ky 40299 (502) 499-6161), but the failure was unable to be duplicated. Over a period of time, the power steering was replaced in three stages. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel seized and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuse box needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 121,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 chevrolet hhr. When the contact started to drive the vehicle, the power steering seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that there was no power going to the steering. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the power steering warning indicator illuminated and the steering wheel seized. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the technician could not determine the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 92,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel seized. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 153,000.
Related recalls
Steering: electric power assist system
- What is wrong
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2006 Malibu Maxx, 2009-2010 HHR (non-turbo), 2010 Cobalt, 2008-2009 Saturn Aura and 2004-2007 Ion, and 2005-2009 Pontiac G6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (EPS) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
- Risk
- If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. GM expects to send an interim notification around May 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 Saturn Ion, 2009-2010 Chevrolet HHR and 2010 Chevrolet Cobalts. Dealers will replace the EPS motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 Chevrolet Malibu and Malibu Maxx, 2005-2006 Pontiac G6 and 2008-2009 Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura built from March 1, 2008, through June 27, 2008. Dealers will replace the torque sensor assembly. Bulletin 14117 covers model year 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura built from February 1, 2008, through February 28, 2008. Dealers will replace the torque sensor assembly and EPS motor controller unit. Bulletin 14118 covers model year 2008 Chevrolet Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura built from October 1, 2007, through January 31, 2008. Dealers will replace the EPS motor controller unit. The recall began on July 17, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, Saturn at 1‑800‑553‑6000, and Pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668. GM's number for this recall is N140115. Note: GM bulletin number 14119 will be implemented for model year 2006-2008 and early production of 2009 Chevrolet HHR (non-turbo) and model year 2003 Saturn ION to provide EPS Motor replacement for the life of the vehicle.
Recall number 14V153000 · Recall details
Questions about the Chevrolet HHR steering lock-up
Which Chevrolet HHR years have steering wheel locks up problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (26 complaints), 2007 (15 complaints) and 2010 (13 complaints).
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