10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 8 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 3 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 68,800 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the steering wheel failed several times and became hard to turn. The information system alerted a power steering failure after the failure had occurred. The contact's personal mechanic replaced the steering wheel sensor however the failure was not corrected. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was 58,000.
- Fresno , CA, USA
When I drive my Chevy HHR is was not sound alert only the power steering light come on and hard to drive almost had on accident, when I try to check the fluid is nothing so I call the local dealer and told me that kind the car no use power steering fluid is electric my concern is post to have same kind of alert before used in my case is happened on a busy street. Maybe you guys help to this not happen again how I don't know maybe with the Chevrolet company because I heard I not the first person this is happen can be a defect in the car...... thanks for U time I try to write correct.
- Marshalltown, IA, USA
I was driving at approx 40 mph on a surface street. I heard a click and the power steering message came on the display and then the wheel became extremely hard to turn. I restarted the car and the power steering came back. The power steering messsage continues to come on and the power steering goes out after driving the car less than 5 min each time I have driven it since the initial inicident.
- Columbus, OH, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel became very tight without warning. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the power steering motor failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 57,398.
- Marietta , GA, USA
I was driving the car got up to 25 mph and the steering went out, the car was hard to steer I turnaround for home. I turn the car off took the key out of the ignition put it back in started the car up and it work for one minute and went out again.
- Atlanta, GA, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 mph, she attempted to make a turn and there was a loss of power steering with the illumination of the warning indicator. The vehicle was maneuvered to the side of the road. The engine was turned off and when restarted, the vehicle resumed normally until the failure recurred three times. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the power steering motor was replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 55,227.
- Lumberton , NC, USA
It has happened 3 times in the last 2 days. Started up the car, and heard a couple beeps and on the information center it said "power steering" and could barely move the steering wheel. I have read that Chevy had a recall on the cobalt which uses the same parts as the HHR for steering, why is this not recalled also. It makes no sense. I've also read of people having accidents in Hhrs due to this issue. My daughter also was driving the car and the steering just went out on her at about 20 mph. This is very dangerous and seems pretty common on these vehicles.
- Oak Forest, IL, USA
I was parking my car, and message came power steering.the car was very hard to handle and could not park the car.I went slowly drifting to a parking space to park.the car was very hard to park.the steering wheel very hard to turn I finally parked the car.I went to a meeting, came back in about two hours, the steering problem was not there.afraid that this would happen again, my husband drove the car home with no problem.this seem to be a problem with this car. I went online to see if other drivers of this car had problems and the answer is yes. If it keeps happening there could be an accident.there should be a recall because there is defect in this car. The car has less than 75,000 on it..please correct before someone is injured.
- Randallstown, MD, USA
My son had borrowed the car to go to work. About 1/2 mile form home he called me to tell me the "power steering" message came on the screen and the car felt really stiff to turn. After returning home and taking another vehicle, I took the car out and it failed within 1/2 mile. I took it to a meeting the next day, same result. The steering worked after being parked during the lunch meeting, but failed again within about 1 mile.
- Murphy, TX, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving 15 mph, the power steering assist failed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the steering wheel motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 160,000. The VIN was unavailable.
- Winnsboro, SC, USA
Power steering went out and the power steering warning message came on as I made a left turn into heavy traffic. Steering got very stiff, but usable. Pulled into a parking lot and turned off the car. When I restarted, the power steering was again working and got me 25 miles home. There seems to be a lot of these incidents!
- Batavia, OH, USA
While driving the electronic power steering shut off causing the vehicle to jerk to the right causing us to hit a row of mail boxes. This has been a reoccurring problem ever since.
- Lake City, FL, USA
At approx. 5:30pm, my wife was driving East on us-10 from M-18, to the garfield rd exit at auburn mi when the chimes rang and power steering came on the dic panel. It should be noted that at the time it was raining causing her to be uneasy also note that it did not clear up for approx. 2 hrs.
- Auburn, MI, USA
While stopped at stop light, three chimes and power steering message on wheel. Power steering failed. Could still operate the car but hard to turn. After turning off engine and turning on again, power steering was re-enabled. Have not yet driven the car since the failure so I don't know if it is one time or recurring. However, this exact issue is listed many times on this site. Why is nothing being done?
- Albany, OR, USA
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The power steering warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where the technician stated that the power steering motor would have to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.
- Antioch, CA, USA
While driving the vehicle will lose power steering. Dash indicator says "power steering". I turn the car off and turn back on and it fixes the issue everytime.
- Wahiawa, HI, USA
10/1/13 as I left work, heading home, the car drove fine for approx. The first five minutes. Out of nowhere, the steering became tight, as if it locked up. I could not turn the wheel left or right, the car almost instantly produced more heat, I felt the heat around my feet and it came through the vents. I looked at the dic panel and power steering was flashing. There was a smell as if the car was burning. With force, I was able to maneuver the car to a parking lot to sit. After reading through the user manual, I followed the suggestions from the manual, turned the wheel left and right hoping it would loosen and letting the car sit idle. After about two hours of sitting, my brother drove the car home with no problem. 10/2/13 I took the car, early morning, to be inspected by a local repair company. After running diagnostics on the car, I was told that once diagnostics began immediately power steering control circuit was diagnosed as an issue, the only issue from the diagnostic report, that had malfunctioned. I was also informed that could be the reason why one minute power steering malfunctioned and hours later it worked fine. I was also told that normally something like this is recalled by the automaker.
- Miami Gardens, FL, USA
Power steering intermittently goes out. The car dings 3 times, the console flashes "power steering" and the car becomes very heavy and hard to turn. Turning the car off and back on resolves the issue in the short term, but it continues to happen at random.
- Duluth, GA, USA
2010 HHR with 35,000 miles, steering message came on and car wouldn't steer. Stopped car and steering came back on for a while then went out again. Did this several times over weekend making steering almost impossible. Took car to dealer, they replaced the motor stating it was overheating, per computer. Cost me $271, I am retired and it has put me in a financial squeeze. Reason I bought a new car to avoid having problems like this, still making car payments. Definitely believe this is a major defect on this car.
- Slatersville, RI, USA
- Birdsboro, PA, USA