Problems with 2006 Chevrolet HHR STEERING

Power steering failed 2 times while on the road..having to replace the steering motor. *tr

Chevrolet hhr. power steering comes and goes. it is all over the web chevy owners are having the same problem.t his is a safety issue and should be addressed under a recall. *tr

The power steering fails while the vehicle is in motion. when the vehicle is first powered on, power steering is present. it is unpredictable when the power steering will fail. in two incidents it almost caused accidents when failing. i do not have a large frame nor a lot of upper body strength that is able to make turns at low speeds, such as when turning or parking. if i am aware of the power steering failure i can compensate for it, but if it happens suddenly, it can be quite surprising. this is the same exact problem with the same exact component as the chevy cobalt and the pontiac g5, and i understand other vehicles are reporting this as well.

My electronic power steering doesn't work. my hhr is equipped with the same power steering assembly found in the cobalt which has a recall issued. seems stupid to me that a lighter car would benefit from the recall, while i am now going to be stuck with a large repair bill. these units are from the same supplier.......recall all of these units on whatever vehicle the oem put them on. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact noticed after rainy weather that there was a substantial amount of water on the front passenger side floorboard of water was at least four inches. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the water leak could possibly have come from the front windshield or sun roof. in addition, there was an intermittent loss of power steering. the vehicle had not been repaired for the defects. the manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 27,000. the vin was unavailable.

Turned on the ignition and the dashboard gauges all went out. pulled the fuse and reinserted it - problem corrected. t/c indicator on instrument panel came on and the transmission was upshifting hard. again, i removed and reinstalled the fuses and the problem went away. power steering warning was displayed on the dash and the power steering was disabled. i removed and reinstalled the fuse associated with the power steering and the problem went away. i did notice that most of the fuses were mildly oxidized on one leg of each fuse. *tr

2006 chevy hhr lt, while driving at a posted speed of 45mph, daughter lost power steering sending her into the curb almost hitting another car then into the curb again. she was terrified by this incident. my husband went to pick her up and he drove the vehicle back to our house, and while on the highway at 65mph, again the power steering failed, and he almost crashed into the wall but was able to bring the vehicle to a stop within inches of crashing. the power steering light has now come on several times, and the steering has gone out while driving three times thus far. in addition the gear shift has become a problem again where it locks, and i have already had this replaced 3 times, each time lasting about a year before the problem reoccurs. i have read that several other 2006 models have been experiencing the same power steering problem, several of them resulting in accidents. are they waiting for someone to be killed before expanding the recall to include the steering on the 2006 chevy hhr? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while driving approximately 3 mph in reverse, there was an immediate loss of power steering with the illumination of the warning indicator. the contact was able to resume in drive with pressure applied forcefully to the steering wheel. the failure recurred whenever the engine was operable. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the defect. the approximate failure mileage was 65,000.

While driving on the highway at 65-70 mph my power steering shut off. the dash board dinged 3 times, got a message about the power steering and the needles on the mph and rpms were all over the place. the shifter is on the floor and will make a clicking noise like it's trying to find a gear or something. that happened on 7/31/10 and has happened 4 times since. this situation can happen at speeds. car will also buck/jerk hard when trying to accelerate when this happens. i have given up driving the car as its not safe. i haven't gotten it fixed yet since i would like to see this problem recalled. *tr

I have a 2006 chevy hhr lt with just 30k. drove it off the lot with 3 miles and at 200 miles it had the rotors turned for the first of about 30 times. the steering wheel shudders when breaking or at speeds above 45 mph so much so that at times the car is hard to control. the answer to this very dangerous problem is..turn the rotors. "normal wear and tear" this is not acceptable to me anymore. my car has had issues with the shocks,the struts, the continued rotor problem, the steering wheel that shudders, and as of today, the power steering is going as well as the steering rack. the potential of me killing myself,my children, or the person next to me has become a reality. i have complained since practically driving it off the lot. gm just refuses to pay, or do anything about this. i have been in touch with the ceo of gm as well as the north america president mark reuss i have expressed my concerns with the safety of the hhr. and i have said that the answer is not to "just turn the rotors for the 35th time". there is something very wrong with this car, and it seems as though everyone that drives one has the same power steering,rotor,at the shudder of the steering wheel. i have plunked nearly 2k into a car that gm needs to be responsible for. an urgent recall needs to be issued or i see the potential of a toyota problem on the horizon for gm and their chevy hhr. i really believe it is going to take someone or maybe many to be injured or worse yet dead before gm will look into this further. the world headquarters told me yesterday that there are no other complaints like mine and i shouldn't believe what i read. they have closed my case and refuse to listen any longer. i know this is not my driving, i am not hard on the brakes, nor have i caused the rotors needing to be turned so many times on the lathe that they are like putting bicycle brakes on a freight train. car is a bit too heavy to stop when you have rotors that are dangerously thin. *tr

Power steering fails while driving, turning the car off then back on temporarily fixes the issue. sounds similar to recall on same year cobalt. *tr

2006 hhr ls - driver's side door handle broke off with normal opening of the door. could not get out of the car without putting window down and using the outside handle. if this was an emergency - i would have been stuck in the car. *tr power steering failure - power steering quits while driving - was going 55 mph. and the power steering just went off.. pulled to the side with difficulty - shut the car off. restarted car - and the power steering was working again. very dangerous situation.

2006 chevy hhr, driving the car, the power steering indicator light came across the info screen, then power steering went out. had to pull over turn the car off & restart, worked fine for a couple miles then it happened again, & now it happens all the time. *tr

2006 chevy hhr power steering failure. lost power steering in a sharp curve. immediate and with no advanced warning. forced to shoulder and almost into a ditch. the warning message and chime worked but that doesn't help you control the vehicle!! fortunately i was driving this time. if my wife had been driving there is no way with her limited strength that we would have made it around the curve. i understand from the internet that this is a recurring problem for hhrs and chevy cobalts. they both use the same faulty power steering motor. chevy has issued a recall onthe cobalts. why not the hhr? *tr

Traveling on 2 lane road at posted speed limit of 55 mph. power steering failed without warning. ability to steer vehicle greatly compromised. this was the second failure of power steering. first failure due to blown fuse. this failure the electronic power steering motor failed. power steering motor replaced. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that the steering wheel seized upon shifting into drive. the power steering light also illuminated on the instrument panel during the failure. the failure recurred on an intermittent basis. the vehicle was not taken to have the failure diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. the failure mileage was 40,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated while driving approximately 10 mph, the power steering system warning light illuminated as the steering wheel seized and excessive force was required. the power steering would only work properly after the vehicle was shut off and restarted. also, the contact stated that the battery was continuously drained and as a result, it needed to be replaced. the contact mentioned that the failure had not occurred until the battery had to be replaced. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the manufacturer made the contact aware that the vehicle was not included in recall nhtsa campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). the approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

Electric power steering failure: this is a known issue by general motors and they have recalled chevrolet cobalt and malibu, along with pontiac g5. the same part is used in the chevrolet hhr, which shares the same platform and many common parts with the cobalt and g5. i have had several instances of power steering failure that nearly resulted in accidents. i feel endangered and general motors does not care. they need to recall this. i have searched and found many many incidents of this occurring on the web. they know about this and refuse to acknowledge the problem. *tr

General motors has recalled all models with known power steering issues except the hhr, they're aware the electric power steering is suseptable to failure, which makes the vehicle less safe to operate. this issue has been recalled in canada. do they want to run all their customers off? if gm doesn't fix or reimburse me for this, it will be my last gm product. it is ridiculous to treat customers this way. they know there are bad parts out there and refuse to make right on it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while traveling 55 mph the contact noticed a chime noise inside the vehicle, seconds later the contact noticed that the vehicle no longer had power steering. the vehicle had not been diagnosed and there were no prior warnings. the current and failure mileages was 63000. the vin was unavailable.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while driving approximately 25 mph, the contact heard a warning chime and the power steering light illuminated on the instrument panel. at that time, the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to turn. the contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle; it functioned properly. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but the failure was not diagnosed. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 38,000 and the current mileage was approximately 52,000. . updated 02/23/11*lj updated 05/02/11

I was driving my 2006 hhr that has electronic power steering (eps) which failed for no apparent reason on 4-18-2010. there were no events leading up to this other than i was just going about 1mile from work to home. there were no crashes or injuries as a result. on looking into the problem i found that gm has a recall on other vehicles that has the identical electronic power steering but the hhr is not one of them on the recall list.. i did find the 60amp fuse blown that protects this system from overload conditions. there were no hard turns against the wheel stops either right or left. the fuse just blew. i replaced the fuse just today 4-19-2010 and thus far the system seems to be operating normally. as to why the fuse blew in the first place well that's the million dollar question! *tr

While driving a tone alert sounding and power steering warning came across digital display, at time lost all power steering and could hardly steer auto to the side of roadway. after calling the chevrolet garage was told this is a common problem with the electrical motor and several others were recalled but not for the hhr i have. if the electrical motors are failing in other models gm should replace all the electrical power steering motors to avoid accidents. *tr

2006 chevrolet hhr - under normal operating conditions, while driving at low speeds (15 - 25 mph) and turning to the right, car will "chime", "power steering" appears on the control panel and the power steering will go out making vehicle very hard to drive. once car is shut off and restarted, power steering begins working again. took vehicle to local mechanic, was told that the electronic steering control unit and entire steering column needed to be replaced. cost would be $1,355. taking it to chevy dealer today for second opinion. purchased car used in 2008 with 27,000 miles on it. currently has 77,000 miles. happens approximately 4 times per week for the past month. *tr

Power steering motor failure. this happens under normal driving with no warning what so ever. it does not matter if you are on the freeway or around town, it has happened during both. the vehicle does flash power steering on the information center. this is the fourth time this has happened in the past 6 weeks and i am concerned about replacing due to having the same problem with the replacement part. my wife is the primary driver of the vehicle and has stated that it is very hard to control. today she was driving home when the failure occurred. she was almost home and the steering began to work properly while she was in the middle of a right hand curve. she had ample amount of pressure on the steering wheel at that time to keep the car in the road (at a reduced and safe speed) and then suddenly she had power steering again. she ran into the ditch but no damage was done that i can find. both her and my children use this car daily and with its current problem, i don't feel it's safe drive or sale. *tr

2006 chevy hhr power steering is failing. (stutters on and off) *cn

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated the power steering would fail whenever the vehicle was in operation and would reset itself within a mile. the dealer advised performing a diagnostic to determine the cause of failure. the manufacturer also advised having a diagnostic performed, at the owners expense, before they would provide any assistance. the failure mileage was 61,000.

Why isn't the hhr being recalled as well as the cobalt, as they both have the same steering components? *tr

I have a 2006 chevy hhr. every since the weather has been getting warmer my car has been loosing it's power steering function. this will happen at anytime of the day and at any place. i can be at a complete stop or driving on the highway and will lose all steering capabilities. this seems to be the same problem that was found in the 2005 - 2010 chevy cobalts. if i pull over and turn the car off then turn it back on it helps for a while until it does it again. this has been going on for about a month now, today is march 21st 2011. when the steering goes out the odometer will say power steering and there will be a chime that goes off. my mechanic has not been able to figure out what is wrong with the car since it never does it when i leave the car with him. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the driver stated that as she drove through an intersection at approximately 35 mph she lost total control of the steering wheel. the contact struggled to drive the vehicle onto the emergency lane and turned the vehicle off. the driver was able to restart the vehicle and it began to function properly. the driver was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer. the current and failure mileages were 63,000.

Powering steering went out during right hand turn at slow speed. my wife did not have the strength to control the car into the turn. she stopped the car and i checked my manual for trouble shooting,finding none. i restarted the car and power steering worked. test driving for two minutes the power steering went again. problem seemed too be after car was driven for awhile and system was used longer. car was repaired by having the power steering motor and the steering column replaced by chevy dealer ship. i still have old parts. *tr

Power steering failure during operation. vehicle chimes then "power steering" appears on dashboard lcd. all power steering fails at this point though if you turn the car off and back on it re-engages for a short time - though no warning before it cuts out again. dealer says they need to replace the eps motor (electric power steering) $450. *tr

To whom it may concern, i recently had repair work done on my wife's 2006 hhr lt2. the problem we were having was that she would randomly lose power steering with a warning chime and a notification on the instrument panel. this would be temporarily resolved by restarting the vehicle. i wasted little time and had it tested at classic chevrolet in sugar land,tx. they soon discovered that the power steering motor was faulty. i had them replace it. now i've been a lifelong gm customer and i was very disappointed with this expense, not only was it a failure unassociated to neglect but it was also a very dangerous problem. this problem is also highly documented on the web by many other hhr owners. after gm announced the recall of 1.3mil vehicles with this problem. the hhr was not listed yet but the chevy cobalt and pontiac g5 were. the hhr shares the same power steering motor as the cobalt and g5. gm part # 20763801. jtekt north america is the producer of this motor. from what i discovered on the internet, gm has filed a lawsuit against jtekt in response to this issue. it is still unclear to me how gm has not included this model in there recall. i have recently been denied reimbursement by chevrolet for my expenses. *tr

Dealer states cannot duplicate problems: no power steering not fixed by replacing fuse (eps system), although gm recalled many vehicles with same problem and are aware of issue, no recall has been issued. windows squeal up & down on sunny day, & get stuck shut. windshield wipers came off of windshield wiper transmission. front end sway bars replaced, continued problem, tires wearing uneven, feels like bad bearings, unable to dup. rear windshield wiper fluid pours into interior of car. front left turn signal went then rear turn signal. interior was sold as scotch guarded/repellent of liquids interior is far from guarded against anything water stains fabric. electric power mirrors no longer work. brought car in for service, recall on front head air bags never disclosed to me never offered to repair. *ln

Was coming off the interstate on an exit ramp in a curve and the power steering went out!! almost ran into the concrete side wall of the off-ramp....scared me to death! took it to local chevrolet dealer and they could find nothing wrong. continues to do this to this day... power steering turns off after the car is driven awhile and 'warms up'. researched this online and seems to be a common problem with hhrs same age as mine. a friend's hhr 2007 did the same thing and it cost her $900+ to get it fixed!!! i wouldn't complain, would just have it fixed, except that from my research, this has happened with many hhrs and cobalts made in 2006!! there should be a recall on this because it could easily have caused me to wreck! i am a single mother of a daughter in college...don't have the $ to fix this repair! *js

Power steering failure during operation of vehicle. 2006 chevrolet hhr power steering fails while being driven. turning off the engine and restarting will remedy the problem for the time being. this has happened 2 times. hhr shares several components with the chevrolet cobalt which has been recalled for the same problem. will hhr become part of the recall? *tr

I bought my car brand new and sometimes without warning the engine light comes on and you only have a few seconds to pull over before it shuts down. sometimes the light comes on when i'm stopped at a red light and the whole car starts shaking as if you popped the clutch too fast, except this car is an automatic. i have found through trail and error if i start messing with the computer buttons on the steering wheel that changes the information that is displayed on the dash board it will sometimes reset itself and act okay. other times i have to let it sit for over 20 minutes before it will start up again. there is no set time this occurs, sometimes it happens a few times a day and other times it will go a month without happening. it shuts down at various speeds. sometimes i'm going 65 miles and hour and other times i'm going 20 mph. i have brought the car back to the dealer but they told me they can't fix it until they reenact the problem. each time they have had the car they could not reenact the problem, yet they said they can see there is a problem when they read the computer. i paid $20,000 for this car and am scared to drive it. i can't drive on the highway for fear it will shut down again. i have to take the back roads to get around. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while driving 70 mph the power steering will suddenly malfunction making the vehicle difficult to steer. the contact has to restart the vehicle in order for the power steering to resume functioning properly. the contact has taken the vehicle to the dealership and was informed that the power steering assembly needs to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired at time of complaint. the failure mileage was 19,500. updated 06/17/10. *lj the consumer stated the power steering would fail at any speed, anytime and any place. updated 06/30/10.*jb

While driving all of the sudden we heard a chime and noticed the power steering came on our car. it became very difficult to drive. we can still turn the steering wheel but it was just difficult. *tr

Started of a few years ago if i turned the wheel all way to left or right power steering would go out. had to turn motor off then on again to reset. now it goes out during normal driving even on freeway. it goes out a few times a day. have to restart engine to get power steering back. *tr

2006 chevrolet hhr. consumer writes in regards to air bag malfunction. *smd consumer sent additional correspondence. *smd the consumer was involved in an accident in 2010, and the air bag did not deploy. also, the vehicle stalled and was recalled for ignition and steering problems. *jb updated 04/15/14

Electric power steering motor failure in 2006 chevy hhr with 2.4l engine. car has approx 45000 miles and the electric power steering would fail while driving. the power steering light would come light on the instrument panel. turning off the car and restarting would fix the problem sometimes, but it would always fail again. the car was taken to the local chevrolet dealer and they had to replace the electric power steering motor. *jb

I have a 2006 chevy hhr. everytime i put the car in drive, i less than a minute the power steering goes out. the light comes on. this makes it very difficult to drive and considering it is my wife's primary vehicle i worry about her because my son in with her often. *tr

My car, chevrolet hhr ls 2006, lost power steering more than 10 times as of december of 2009. i had my car repaired at chevy dealer 4 times already for same problem. each time they fixed the problem, but it came back again and again, and recently it happened more often. i leased this brand new car in 2006. at the end of 3 years leasing, i bought it in 2009. i took good care of it all the time. the power steering failure first happened in dec. of 2009. when i was driving on the road, suddenly it was hard to make a turn, and my car was thrown forward each time when i got oil to move forward. the message "power steering" popped up on the display panel. i had my car towed to chevy dealer because the driving wheel could not be moved at all after restarted the car;however, when my car was at chevy dealer, the problem disappeared and they could not find other problem. then 2 months later, it happened again and disappeared after half day. after this repeated 3 or 4 times, my car was towed the 2nd time to chevy dealer on feb.26, 2010 because the driving wheel could not turned. this time they found something and fixed it. in the following 3 months, this problem was happened and gone at least 3 times. we were scared and did not dare to drive far from home. on may 24, 2010, my husband got same problem with engine light on and he drove to chevy dealer immediately. they fixed it. only one week later, on june 2nd, the car was towed the 3rd time to the chevy dealer for same problem. they replaced the steering column and steering module. my husband picked it up the next day, but just after 2 miles driving, same problem occurred, so he had to drive back to the dealer right away. they fixed it and drove 50 miles to test it and it was good. yesterday i drove it home and it was good too. but this morning, same problem happened again. since it is saturday, the chevy store does not open. we can not go anywhere, even grocery stores. this really is ...

Steering i-shaft failure. *tr

Tl - the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that immediately after turning the vehicle on, the power steering warning lamp illuminated in the instrument panel and the power steering stop working. the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the technician was unable to diagnosed the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 39,000 and the current mileage was 79,441. pm

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while driving any speed over 10 mph, the power steering warning alarm would chime three times and the power steering would fail immediately. the steering wheel would become extremely hard and the contact would have to utilize both hands and extreme bodily force to control it. the manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact to take the vehicle into the dealer; however, they would not assist with repairs since the failure was not covered by the warranty. no repairs were made to date. the failure mileage was 53,000. the current mileage was 61,270.

2006 chevy hhr.. power steering assist failed suddenly. my car had only 17,000 miles accrued. dealer replaced the entire steering column. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while driving at any speed, the vehicle would lose power steering without warning. the dealer and the manufacturer were notified of the failure and advised contact that his vehicle was not under recall. the vehicle was not repaired. the current mileage was approximately 68,000. the failure mileage was approximately 65,000. updated 02/23/11 *bf updated 04/27/11

2006 new vehicle purchase serviced 8 times for multiple failures related to either electrical/braking/abs/ wheels/emissions/ traction control/computer/power steering and or computer issues/all repaired/and resolved at gm dealer/vehicle can not be driven safely when issue occurs the failed system in question overrides driver last incident failure occurred in heavy traffic resulting in removal from service which took 3 weeks to repair/had the conditions been different this may have resulted in a crash. *tr