When driving my 2009 HHR the steering wheel shakes & vibrate at different intervals. Usually while slowing down to a stop & sometimes after during high speeds. Recently the noise it made was frightening. I had to use my emergency flashers & drive 50 mi per hr. on the freeway to arrive home safely. I took my car to Mark Chevrolet & reported it on 08/02/2021. The car's mileage was 133344. The car is not an everyday vehicle that is driven often. I received the car on 08/17/2021 after the steering column & shaft were replaced along with resurfacing front brake rotors & rear brake job. On August 18, 2021 while driving on the freeway I went to blow my horn at a hazardous situation & discovered none of the steering wheels controls were working, horn & etc. I immediately returned my car to Mark Chevrolet & reported their negligence & how they had risk my life to release the car without these functions working. They supposedly corrected the problem. On 07/05/2022 I had to return my car to Mark Chevrolet because I was experiencing the identical problem with my steering wheel vibrating & make noise. My cars mileage was only 137641 less than a year later with just 4,297 miles driven. They claimed to have tightened something up in the column & returned my car on 07/12/2022. As I was driving on 07/16/2022 again the steering wheel started vibrating & making strange loud noises. I felt so unsafe & tried to make it home safely driving at a reduced speed. I plan to return the car this week back to Mark Chevrolet and am asking for support to rectify this situation. I understand there was a recall on Chevrolet HHR 2009 Steering Electric Power Assist System. I don't know if this issue is related to that. I never received communication from General Motors stating that my vehicle was affected but apparently there is a problem. Please Help!
Chevrolet HHR steering noise problems
12 of the 3,575 owner complaints about the Chevrolet HHR describe clunking or noise when steering, most of them for the 2006 model year.
- owner complaints
- 12
- worst model year
- 2006
- typical mileage
- 129,000
By model year
- 20111
- 20101
- 20091
- 20082
- 20072
- 20065
Often reported together
Power steering loss 4Harsh shifting 3Airbag light 2Won't shift 1Overheating 1Loss of power 1Headlights 1Fuel leak 1
What owners say
The power steering keeps "clicking off" seems like an electrical issue but there are no fuses blown. If I turn the car off the power steering will reset but as soon as I turn it back on the power steering will turn off again. It quit for awhile but now its back in full force. I basically have no power steering now.
While driving my eps power steering went out in my car while the vehicle was in motion on city street it became really hard to control my vehicle I heard clicking coming from under the steering wheel panel also the power steering came active on my dash panel while driving
The steering wants to lock up and don't return to the straight position when turning on to a street as if it is sticking clicking and popping noise also in the steering column. Also both fuel lines over the left rear wheel rusted out and leaked gas all over the garage floor. Costing two hundred and fifty dollars.
Tl* the contact owns a 2010 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the power steering failed intermittently. The power steering, air bag, and service engine sensors were all illuminated and the contact had a difficult time turning the steering wheel. There was a loud clicking noise that was heard each time the steering wheel was turned. The VIN was excluded from the federal safety agency campaign numbers: 14v153000 (steering) and 14v047000 (air bags, electrical system). The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000. Updated 10/7/14*cn the vehicle overheated, the engine and air bag light illuminated. The lower control bushing, timing solenoid and camshaft needed to be replaced. Updated 11/25/14 the consumer stated the dealership could not duplicate the power steering failure. The left front head light was replaced 5 times. The catalytic converter and front axle were replaced. The vehicle rolled backwards out of the driveway causing minor damage.
I was approaching a business driveway that required me to make a left hand turn, so I brake (at which time there occurred a heavy side-to-side shimmy of the steering wheel, a "clunk" or "pop" from the area of the engine compartment or front suspension, and a chime from the dash) and began the turn into a driveway across lanes of oncoming traffic. The steering became extremely difficult midway through the turn, which caused me to drive partially through a ditch rather than completing my turn safely and entering the driveway fully on the pavement. I then had to park, turn the key to the "off" position and restart in order to reactivate the power steering. We have been experiencing this randomly for several months and have even acquired some minor body and cosmetic damage due to having lost power steering in a curve. When I contacted the dealership, they told me it might be from a faulty ignition switch that is now on order and may take quite awhile to become available. Today, I ran an internet search and found hundreds of mentions of this same problem within my year model, including a number of recalls that seem to affect the electrical power steering of this model and others. However, when I again called the dealership to inquire, they informed me that my VIN is not included in any of the steering recalls, and that I would have to pay them or someone else to make the repairs and attempt to get reimbursed if it ever does become included. The advisor also instructed me to call 1‑800‑101‑0220 to complain, which only gets me a recording stating that the call cannot be completed, which sounds as if it has been disconnected. This is a serious safety issue not only for the drivers and passengers of these cars, but also for other drivers and possibly pedestrians who might find themselves in harm's way when this completely random event occurs.
Air bag light come on in the passage set when know one in the set.the steering made funny popping noise. An all the door handle broke where you could not get out of the auto. And the car show on car fax that it is a buy back auto. But gm say it not. And one of the handle is breaking on the driver side. And I can not sale it because it show as a buy back.tdmv say it was and then they change there mind. I fill like someone at gm pay them off . I know this has been a long time but I still have the car. And I am still looking for help.I will keep a copy for my record.
While driving on the highway at 65 MPH+, power steering message shows, dinging noise sounds, and the steering becomes difficult. All power steering is lost while on the highway, and it is now 100x harder to move the car to the next lane and pull over to the emergency lane. Has happened over 6 times in a week's timeframe.
I have a 2007 chevy hhr the shifter is stuck in park and will not move can hear a clicking near steering column, was also having trouble with ignition turning and sometimes key could not be removed , this is been going on for a while its getting worse .
Display showed power steering error and transmission box was clicking. Car started bucking as if transmission was going out. Took to dealer who could not replicate error after three days. Picked up car and now cd player shows err o. This is frustrating as heck! Dealer did say that there was a bulletin that 2006 hhr's did have this type of problem. Dealer rep. Owns 2007 hhr and hoped he did not have the same issue. Spent over $700 total and problem still there? Chevrolet / gm where is your loyalty to your loyal customers? Issue a recall and fix these issues before there are deaths because of them and you are forced to do what is right by the gov.'t.
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 noise
Which Chevrolet HHR years have clunking or noise when steering problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2006 (5 complaints), 2007 (2 complaints) and 2008 (2 complaints).
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