I have a 2007 HHR LS - roughly 135K +/- miles. Lost my power steering this morning. This has happened twice before but during extremely hot weather. Don't know if that makes a difference. Both times after letting the car sit the steering came back. Today it was about 26 degrees. Lost the power steering while backing out of the driveway. Managed to park the car and let it sit. Power steering came back again. Took it to the garage, they were not able to duplicate the issue, but did pull a code this time. They are telling me the power steering motor needs to be replaced, at a cost of $400.00.

I asked if there was a recall and was told no because it isn't considered a safety issue... What?!! This seems to be an issue for this vehicle.

I've read some of the other postings and will try the fuse fix. If I still have issues I will consider replacing the motor. I love my HHR - I'm not ready to let her go.

Power steering has been going off an on intermittently for 6 YEARS! No rhyme or reason to it.

Tried to have it fixed several times - spent lots of money and tried to work with Chevrolet on this - problem won't go away. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!! Appears to be related to the electric power steering system and appears to be a potential significant manufacturer's design flaw.

Mostly happens at low speeds, but has also happened at higher speeds. Frequently has clicked on and off several times going through corner,s causing the wheel to rotate wildly and making it very difficult to turn when it switches into "manual mode" - has almost caused me to crash several times - luckily I have been able to muscle my way through things. If my wife was driving, she probably would have crashed fo sure.

After having the power steering module replaced for over $900 in 2011 and having it come back a week later, was told it was going to be another $1,200 to fix at that time - was told "something else was wrong". Decided to just "live with it" since then, since I could not afford another $1,200 at the time to fix it.

Every HHR owner I personally know has experienced the same thing. Looking to give the car to my niece now, so trying to fix it again.

Found out that recently Chevrolet issued a TSB that allows the power steering motor to be replaced in 2014, but I was not informed by them in 2014. Only found out by taking it in and presenting what I had learned about this problem on the internet. Lo and behold - had the power steering motor replaced "under warranty" last week - fix lasted two days - problem is back now - taking in again this next week to have looked at again.

Went from "frustrated" to "angry" after learning Tthe Canada equivalent of NHTSA has a recall for the HHR, year 2006 - 2010 models for power steering issues. Reference: Transport Canada Recall # 2010447. Nothing from NHTSA yet. What the????

Canada also has a recall for 2009 and 2010 models for the power steering going out, but all model years appear to be experiencing this problem from what I can tell, not just those years - reference Transport Canada Recall # 2014104.

There are over 300 complaints filed with NHTSA, so they know about this, but it appears neither they nor Chevrolet have done anything substantive to address this issue. I officially filed a complaint with NHTSA this month - Reference - 10980348.

Most mechanics I have talked to say it is a "known problem" - Chevrolet apparently knows about but it appears to continue to be ignored, although it clearly endangers people and has caused significant financial difficulties for many people - making their cars "unsellable" per the complaints I have read on the internet.

Is this another "ignition switch" type issue, where Chevrolet was forced to issue a recall because they made a "business decision" not to address? What is it going to take to have them finally address this issue? People dying or getting injured? A major class action lawsuit? National media attention? A Congressional investigation?

After learning what I have learned this past week, I am compiling similar complaints to I have experienced and will probably be approaching my Congressperson to see if they are aware of this and investigating it yet.

Beyond disgusted with Chevrolet and our governmental agencies in not dealing this issue. No way I am going to give this car to my niece unless I know it is safe. Stay tuned.

Update from May 9, 2017: After replacing the power steering control module six years ago the power steering problem came back shortly thereafter. I was told that it might be a bad battery, so I bought a new one - still didn't fix it. When I took it in recently, I found out that Chevrolet issued an internal memo in 2014 that covers the power steering motor replacement. Not sent anything in the mail, but they did that under warranty for me. Replaced all of the fuses (the 60A main fuse in the engine compartment and the two 2A fuses behind the panel next to the passenger seat) - still came back.

FINAL SOLUTION - The Chevy dealership discovered that the 60A fuse type put in six years ago was too short and was making intermittent contact with the connectors. Apparently there is another type of 60A fuse that is taller. They installed that and it has worked beautifully the past two days. So far, so good.

For all Chevy HHR owners having problems with the power steering going out, go to your local auto store, pick up the taller version of the 60A fuse (the yellow one) and the two 2A fuses (Nos. 19 and 28 in the chart), get a packet of Dielectric Connector Grease, put it on the connectors and give it a shot - very inexpensive to fix. All these years and it appears to have come down to that. Good luck all.

The problem has been intermittent for several months - power steering appears in the display & you don't have any. I can stop, turn off, then restart and all is ok & may not show up again for a month or so. However, Friday Nov 25, 2016 it did it three times in a row coming home from Gainesville, Tx. First time it's done that. I got it home & after restart, seems ok. I haven't taken it to a dealer yet since being on a fixed income the cost may be to high for me. I would like to get some idea what causes it & if GM does a recall, get it fixed. The car has proven to be really good, particularly the 31mpg.

The power steering seemed to have started to go out before the ignition switch was replaced. The ignition would lock up so that the key was unable to come out and then after the car was started back up again the key would come out but the power steering would lock up on me. I'm a petite woman and that car is hard to turn. Thank goodness that I didn't turn into oncoming traffic with this problem. There is a major problem with these 2007 HHR's there needs to be a recall on this before someone gets killed or seriously injured. I don't think I should have to pay for the repairs. The power steering just goes out whenever it wants to and the person driving has no control over that happening all too often. Something needs to be done GM!

Was driving home from picking my 2 boys up from school and turned onto my road and the next thing I know I am forcing the steering wheel to the right to avoid a ditch and about a 30 foot drop off. The little tone went off right when I was turning and then the read out read 'Power steering'. I am glad that I am a big strong guy because if my wife would have been driving it then she would have ended up in the ditch with the 2 boys in the car. Now since that I have went out and purchased a Go-Pro to mount in my car so now it records every time I drive so if something happens it is on video.

My 2007 Chev HHR the power steering is going out intermittently. When I restart it the light goes out and may or may not come right back on. This seems to happen when the car gets hot, like a drive that is over an hour. This seems to be dangerous as you never know when it will happen and would hate for it to happen in a curve. This could be fatal if it happens at the wrong time and I am caught unaware.

As I read all the other complaints online about this same exact problem with other HHR's, it seems that Chev needs a recall for this problem before someone is killed. For now I am very nervous when driving my car and make sure that I always have two hands on the steering wheel just in case the power steering goes out again. THIS NEEDS TO BE RECALLED NOW.

Driving on the highway at about 70 mph and there is a chime and the instrument panel reads "power steering", good thing it was on the highway or it really would have been ugly! The problem has been occurring off and on just about every day since, I pull over, shut the car off and turn it back on, most times it will be fine for a day or two. It needs to be fixed but I would really like for GM to issue a recall before I have to spend the money out of my own pocket, other than that problem I am very happy with the HHR, it is a very reliable car, but when the power steering goes out, it really does pose a serious safety issue!!! It's a good thing I am able to handle steering without power.