This complaint concerns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR lt which was purchased as a new vehicle. It is 'always garaged'. it has 36,1xx original miles. About 2 weeks ago we began to notice 'chunks' of rust gathering under the rear of the vehicle. An inspection made by self revealed extensive rust-out to the "rear reinforcement bar" (part #10 in the enclosed diagram). I contacted "GM" via their 'social media customer care center', thoroughly explained the issue, and was directed to a local Buick/GMC dealership for an evaluation, within hours I heard a negative response to my request for assistance. Subsequent attempts by self have not given me a satisfactory explanation as to the "why" of this rusted part. This vehicle has always been maintained to a high degree. The examiner told me he did not observe any other rust issues on or under this vehicle. Keep in mind that I am not an 'automotive' engineer; but- to my 'untrained eye' part of the problem is that the part is deeply hidden within the rear bumper cover; and the design of the rear bumper cover is such that it fosters the collection of debris from the road on it's horizontal surfaces. This debris then is in situ with the metal parts of the actual 'rear bumper'. given time the debris retains moisture which 'apparently' then covers the metal parts....and one gets the results shown in the photos. None of this would be visible unless a periodic, careful examination of the hidden parts were to be made by the owner/operator of the vehicle. A "possible" measure to be taken would be for General Motors to educate/inform owner/operators as to the potential for a problem. Another "possible" solution, were this a vehicle still in production (and not yet another GM 'orphan' car) would be, of course, to correct the apparent, original 'design deficiency'.

- Indpls, IN, USA

I got into my car with no problem, when it was time to get out of the car I could not because the driver side door would not open. I had to let the window down to get out.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Interior door handles to open the car doors from inside car broke off on both drivers and passengers sides. The only way now to get out of the car is to roll down the window and open the door from the outside. In an emergency situation we could not easily get out, posing a life threatening danger. Vehicle stationary.

- Dayton, TX, USA

Excessive rust on internal rear bumper support. It's to the point of flaking. This metal support is mounted to the body, between the vehicle body and plastic cover. This is on a vehicle with only 31,000 miles on it. I have since tried to cover the exposed areas with a industrial rust converter chassis saver type of paint.

- Blaine, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. In rainy weather conditions, the interior of the vehicle would flood. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was unknown.

- Columbia, SC, USA

The front door handle broke on the passenger side of my car in 2013 we had taken the car to the dealership to inquire about this, since this is a safety issue not being able to get out of your car if something dangerous was to happen. At that time the dealership told my husband I that there was nothing they could do about it. Then again in 2014 the driver side door had broken also. So now I have two broken doors on my car that you can only get out of, if someone lets me out of the car or I roll the window down. I feel this is a major safety issue. If I were to get into a serious accident were I was unable to roll my window down and did not have someone riding in the back seat (say car caught on fire) then this could lead to major problems if not death. Also when my husband had an accident neither airbag deployed. And backseat passenger side seatbelt would not release and we had to cut my granddaughter out of seatbelt. So now I am driving a car that airbags did not deploy in, back seatbelt had to be cut and my front two doors you cannot get out of if unable to roll window down. Major safety issues. We had around 98,000. Miles when issues started with the doors. Which I believe the miles should have nothing to do with a safety issue.

- Haltom City, TX, USA

While traveling on an interstate hwy, at approx, 65 to 70 mph I felt the car pull hard to the right, after going into a spin, it became hard to apply brakes and to try to correct or control the spin, there were vehicles including a semi all around my car. As I slid off the traveled portion of the hwy. My car impacted the wall head on. I was slammed into the dash. A moment later I calmed down and thought to myself why didn't the airbags deploy? I hit the wall at least at 35 mph, then I saw the car was not running, I saw the key had moved to off, I started the car and drove home.

- Tallmadge , OH, USA

TL * the contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the door handles on the interior of the vehicle were fractured. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 103,000.

- Mariposa, CA, USA

Could not open drivers' side door. Nothing...no-how. In addition the radio would not turn off after key was removed. Took to dealer, they found a defective module located inside the drivers' side door that controlled all this. Not being able to open the drivers side door....having to depend on an electronic gizmo....is absolutely a very dangerous situation. There should be....a simple mechanical over-ride...or better yet, why is opening (and closing?) a door electronic at all? it was definitely fun to contort my 6'1" 250 pound body out the passenger side door. $441, please.........

- Southampton, NJ, USA

Driver's door interior handle broke with minimal force, making it hard to exit vehicle.

- Standish, ME, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the drivers door handle made a clicking sound as she attempted to exit the vehicle. The door handle appeared to be functional but she was only able to open the door from the outside of the vehicle and occasionally had to exit from the passenger side door. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 136,000.

- Upland , NE, USA

My family and I were involved in a motor vehicle accident on or around 04/29/12. I was driving the vehicle when suddenly I lost control of my vehicle for an unknown reason which caused me to nose dive and rollover several times down into an embankment, and no air bags deployed, which is surprisiing considering how severe this accident was. My vehicle was considered totaled by my insurance carrier as the damages exceeded the value of the car. This was a single vehicle accident (no other vehicle was involved) therefore my car insurance carrier placed the blame on me and the root cause of the accident was never determined. I can honestly say we are very lucky to have lived thru this accident.

- Gilroy , CA, USA

On August 28, 2012, the electronic power steering motor went out on my 2007 Chevrolet HHR. We went across the oncoming lane and it was extremely hard for my husband to get it back into the right lane. On 8/30/2012, we took it to a GM garage and they replaced it with a reman. Powering steering motor, giving us a one year/12,000 mile warranty.. on July 9, 2013, I was driving the HHR out of state and was coming out of a slight left hand curve when the power steering motor went out again, which I was not able to steer the car and it ended up in the right hand bank/ditch. Less than one year and less than 12,000 miles later, the GM garage said that they would replace the power steering pump if we brought the car back to them. That is impossible because the damage was more than enough to total the car and it happened in another state. They said there is nothing they can do. Plus, now I have points against my insurance.

- Hendersonville, NC, USA

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that he attempted to open the front driver's side door from the interior of the vehicle when the door handle fractured. The contact opened the front driver side window and opened the door from the exterior of the vehicle. Additionally, while driving approximately 40 mph the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing of the steering failure. The technician advised that the power steering motor would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

- Bessemer, AL, USA

The driver's side interior door handle snapped off. This could potentially be fatal in a crash or fire if the driver is unable to quickly exit the vehicle.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

2007 Chevy HHR. At approximately 4600 miles my struts and strut mounts went out and I had to replace them. Also there is pressure applied to the rear trunk of my car such as closing the trunk or leaning on it, it creates a huge dent. I have had the dents removed on 2 different occasions but I am constantly getting big dents and it is to costly to constantly repair. I don't think this is normal.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

I came home after running errands and got out of my 2007 Chevy HHR and shut the drivers side door. 30 seconds after that my rear window on the hatchback completely shattered. It was not a hot day. There was glass all over the inside of the back of my car and my driveway. I'm just glad my 7 year old daughter was not in the back seat, for fear of getting hit by a piece of glass now I have to get it replaced and its going to cost me my deductible on my insurance of $250.

- Orange Park, FL, USA

Whenever it rains, water drips from behind the glove box onto the passenger side floor. The first time we noticed it, we had 6 inches of rain fall on a single day. Now it occurs during very minor rains. We have not yet had it repaired, but I learned from internet postings that this is a widespread failure of this car, something to do with an opening in the firewall that has been cheaply lined with paper rather than a rubber or plastic boot. I realize this is hardly a life-threatening problem for most owners, but my wife has allergy-induced asthma, with mold as a major trigger. The repeatedly wet carpet could cause her very real problems.

- Godfrey, IL, USA

Paint has chipped very easily, 2007 HHR, garage kept, has under 12,000 miles & several chips in the golden teal metallic paint. Dealer says because of sand on highway. My other cars don't have chips in the paint & they have been driven the same route for years. Engine has knocked, dealership couldn't hear, had the technician ride in the car with me, then he heard. Dealership says that's normal.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

Poor design of the front bumper. The hole on the bottom was too big, allowing debris to hit the air conditioner (A/C) condenser and radiator. This was what happened to me but the funny thing wa S that I wasn't even driving the car. I turned it on and got the air conditioner going, which was cold at first. The car sat for a week while I was on vacation, so I found it hard to believe they won't cover it as a equipment failure. Instead they claimed something flew through it. Chevrolet didn't put a grill in it from the factory, which would have solved the problem. Warranty won't cover it because it was considered a road hazard, and wanted me to claim it on my insurance which I thought was insurance fraud. I thought they wanted to pass the buck to someone else rather than recall all the vehicles to put a grill on it to protect it from the elements. I own a 2007 HHR with 6000 miles on it. I didn't have air conditioning because they won't warranty it, and I didn't have $800 to fix it. The GM representative came to look at the vehicle while my wife was at the dealership so she got to talk to him about it. He said well it was no different than a rock hitting the windshield. I thought this was the lazy way out, saying they didn't want to protect vital parts of the car, (radiator, condenser, etc. By putting a simple piece of mesh or grill in place. This shouldn't be our job to make sure it wa S protected. Also, the representative stated well, if we get a lot of complaints about it then maybe the designer will recall it and fix it. I could not wait for them to get off the lazy boy and fix a flaw they overlooked in the first place. I love everything about the car, but Chevrolet had to get their head out of their own butts and realize these were the reasons why they were losing jobs, and stocks were falling, car sales were down, and competition wa S getting stronger. They should be more than happy to fix the problem. Then I might go back to buying Chevrolet cars.

- Flushing, MI, USA