Problems with 2006 Chevrolet HHR STRUCTURE

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while attempting to exit the vehicle, the contact stated that the door handle fractured and he was unable to exit from the vehicle. he stuck his hand through the window and opened the door from the outside. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where they inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that he would need to replace the entire door panel. the manufacturer was not notified nor was the vehicle repaired. the current and failure mileages were 25,000.

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while attempting to exit the vehicle, the handle fractured, making it impossible for the contact to exit the vehicle from the driver side. the dealer diagnosed that the door panel would need replacing. the vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileage was 25,000.

Inside driver door handle, broken off, have to roll down window to open door or cross over to passanger seat to get out. *tr

Inside door handle on my 2006 chevrolet hhr broke off when i opened the door. this creates a safety issue for the driver as the door cannot be opened from the inside without lowering the left front window and opening with the outside handle. if the electrical system is damaged then the window will not open. the driver would then need to crawl over the center console to the right door or the front seat to exit the cars rear door. in a collision or fire the driver may be injured, panicked or confused and not be able to exit the vehicle. the plastic handle should be replaced with a more substantial metal one. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that he attempted to exit the vehicle but the door handle fractured. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection and they stated that the door handle assembly needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 89,000.

Driver side internal door handle broke off leaving the door inoperable unless the electric window is opened and the hand put over the door and opened on the outside of the car. this is also a hazard because if the car battery is dead then how do you get out of the car? *kb

The inside door handle has broken off completely there is no way to get out of the car unless you roll down the window and they are electric? now the passenger side still has the handle but it does not work either? they are cheaply made but should last longer than 5-6 years. so after calling chevrolet and seeing if there were any recalls or service bulletins for this issue i was told to take my car to the nearest dealership and have them check it out. so i did and they told me that it would cost 497.00 per door because they would have to replace both inside door panels. it is not a safety hazard and there are no bulletins to fix this? what happens if i get in an accident and my windows don't go down because they are electric? this to me is a safety hazard! i will not be able to get out of my car! i call it my kidnapping car because you can get in but you can't get out unless you roll down the window and use the outside handle. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while parked, the contact attempted to open the front driver's side when the interior door handle fractured. the contact was able to open the door by using the exterior door handle after opening the window. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technicians advised the contact that the door panel would have to be replaced. the failure recurred after the repair. the vehicle was repaired a second time. the approximate failure mileage was 39,800.

The interior door handles on the 2006 chevrolet hhr fell off. the only way to fix it is to replace the entire door panel just for the cheap plastic handle for approximately $500.00. if i was in an accident and the car would not start again, i could not get out of the car through the driver's side because i would not be able to roll down the window to open the door from the outside. or if the car were on fire, i simply would not be able to escape. this needs to be a recall item as this is a huge safety factor. a bigger safety factor that the latch on the pop up middle console on the chevy hhr that was recalled back in 2008 (i think). there are blogs all over the internet of people like me who are experiencing the same problem. i am a single working girl who simply cannot afford a $500 interior door panel replacement for a cheap plastic handle because this is not reasonable. i tried to get chevy to replace it and they simply said they would give me a $40 discount. that is ridiculous!!! i bought the car be cause it was economical and not one thing about this replacement sounds economical. this is a safety hazard and could lead to a death. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that the door panel interior was interfering with the opening of the door. she also mentioned that she would have to wind down the window in order to open it from the outside. the vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that she needed to replace the interior driver side door panel. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 80,000. updated 3/7/11 *cn the consumer stated he/she was unable to open the door, unless he stuck his hand out the window to open it from the outside. updated 03/14/11

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that after a severe rain, there was an accumulation of two inches of water on the front passenger floor board area. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they informed the contact that the water leaked in through the heater ducts. the technician recommended that the carpet be replaced due to the possibility of mold growing. the vehicle was in the process of being repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 45,000. updated 06/17/11*lj the consumer was informed the seal came off aorund the heater switch which allowed water to get in the heater and caused the motor to only have one speed. the consumer was also informed the carpet would never dry and eventually, it would grow mold. updated 06/21/11

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that water leaked into the front passenger side floor through the air intake. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but it was not inspected or repaired. the contact called the manufacturer who stated that there were no related recalls. the failure mileage was approximately 81,000.

I own a 2006 chevy hhr lt. thanksgiving day i went to move my car out of the driveway and when i tried to get out of the car the interior door handle on the driver door came off in my hand. i have done my research and found this is a common problem with this vehicle. i even walked up to another hhr i saw on a parking lot and it had the same problem. my safely concern is that i cannot open the door without rolling down my window and reaching outside the car to the exterior handle. if i was in an accident and had a electrical failure i could not exit the car because i could not roll down the window. everything i have found in my research is that chevrolet is not recgonizing this as a real problem and from what i have seen/read they have been unwilling to correct the problem when it occurs or help the vehicle owners in any way. i have checked on the repair and found that the door handle itself can not be replaced that you have to buy an entire door panel for over $400 and that is just the part, no labor. how can this be a known problem, and chevrolet not stand behind their product? the inability to exit my vehicle in the aftermath of an accident greatly concerns me and should concern chevrolet especially with the multiple complaints i have read online of this issue occurring. *tr

2006 chevrolet hhr interior door handle failures. in my instance the plastic handle that is used to open the door on the drivers side broke off. this is a widely complained about issue on the web. if you google "hhr drivers side interior door handle broken" you get 1000's of people discussing this issue. the cost to repair is very high and people are not doing it. chevy does not sell just the plastic part, they require you to purchase an entire assembly, the cost runs nearly $600 with labor for a plastic part. the issue is that dealerships do not stock this part, they need to order it and it takes time, this is a safety issue as the only way to exit the car is to open the door from the outside, so that requires rolling a window down and opening it from the outside. if you needed to exit the vehicle in a hurry, such as after an accident, you would not be able to do so. this is a great concern. besides the fact that this is being reported as a problem and chevy is not trying to rectify the situation, or to even provide the part outside of purchasing the entire assembly. *tr

Inside driver side handle broke off, unable to open door from the inside the electronic window must be opened and door opened from the outside. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that water would enter the vehicle behind the glove compartment every time it would rain and the passenger side floorboard would become saturated. the dealer advised that the seal of the frame behind the glove compartment was defective. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact was concerned with the potential development of mold and fungus if the failure was not corrected. the vehicle was not repaired. the current and failure mileage was approximately 18,300.

I own a 2006 chevrolet hhr, today when i parked my car the drivers inside door handle broke and i couldn't open my door. i have found many complaints online about this problem and have searched for replacement parts. none to be found. the only solution is to replace the entire door panel at a hefty price. my concern to this matter is the fact if you get in an accident or there is a fire and the door handle breaks you can't get out of the car. therefore i feel strongly this is a defect on the part of gm since the handle is made out of plastic and can't take the stress of continuous opening. apparently they have not responded to many complaints about this and i find it necessary to report this matter. this could be a major problem if someone is trapped in the car and can't get out. *tr

Chevy hhr 2006 drivers side interior door handle broke off in hand during normal use. made of cheap plastic. auto maker states that the only way to repair is to completely remove the door and pay. all of this for a piece of plastic which should cost pennies to replace? i suffer from neck pain and have trouble rolling the window down to reach out and open the door. they have to fix this at their cost. this is obviously no fault of the owners and only due to faulty (plastic) equipment they are using. *tr

Chevy hhr interior door handles break off easy and without warning. no improved handle is offered. this would make it hard to get out of the car in case of emergency. being excited you may pull on the door handle a little harder. if there is a stress fracture in the handle you will not be able to see it. *tr

My hhr driver's interior handle broke off a few weeks ago. i feel that gm needs to recall 2006 hhr cars and replace the door handle. i do not have $400.00 to give the dealership. a month ago i just paid for key ignition switch to be fixed for $400.00. *tr

Clear coat bubbling and peeling. *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.

Interior door handle broken. door must be opened using outside handle. handle is plastic. entire interior door panel must be replaced. part costs $400.00 plus labor - replacement handle is plastic also. car is 2006 chevrolet hhr with 53,000 miles. *tr

My interior door handle on my 2006 chevy hhr broke off in my hand when i tried to open the door. i looked up online to see if anyone else has had the same issue and sure enough..pages and pages of the same story. i called to get a replacement handle and was told it would cost me $300 for the entire door kit. i don't want an entire door, but evidently gm designed the handle to be an integrated part of the door trim. then i called gm customer service, they told me they have never had a single complaint about this happening ever before. i find this to be a total lie since i just read of a woman who called gm to complain and they told her the exact same thing "we've never had a single complaint". i cannot open my car door from the inside. this is a safety concern for me. if i were in a wreck or if the battery died i would not be able to get out of my car, as i have to roll down my window, reach out and open the door from the outside. i'm very upset by this entire situation. i love my car, but whoever decided a plastic door handle was a good idea and then to integrate it so you had to buy an entire door package to replace it...needs a swift kick in the behind. this should be a recall. many people are having the same issues and it is very unsafe. *tr

The interior door handle of my 2006 chevrolet hhr broke off during normal use. it's made from a cheap plastic. this is a serious safety hazard as a person cannot quickly exit the car if this happens. if my driver's side door just broke, how soon before the other three in the car break off from normal operation. this is a manufacturing defect and should be taken care of from the manufacturer. the dealer wants me to pay $400-$450 to replace a $10 plastic door handle that they poorly designed. this should be a recall from gm to replace these cheap handles before someone does have a serious situation. *tr

2006 chevy hhr . the drivers side door interior door handle snapped off in my hand when i tried to open the door, smacking into my knuckle and almost causing my hand to fly back into my face. the door must now be opened by rolling down the electric window and opening from the outside handle. two dealers so far refuse to fix the issue, telling me they don't have parts. *tr

The power steering doesnt work anymore, both of the front inside door handles broke off, water leaking in passenger front coming from the moter area somewhere i called the dealership but no recalls and i have read on numorus forums of other people having the same problem but gm still hasn't issued a recall. *tt

I have a 2006 hhr and the plastic door handle on the driver's side has broken off. i have to leave my car running , roll the window down, stick my hand out of the window, open the door from the outside, roll my window back up and then kill the motor. i, too, was told it would cost $400.00 to replace the door panel. this is a total ripoff!!!!!!!!!!!. gm/chevrolet or whoever manufactured this car should be ashamed for putting in a cheap piece of plastic. there should be another way to fix this without putting out $400/$500 for a broken piece of plastic! and that probably does not include tax and labor! *tr

The door handles on both the front driver and front passenger side of the car have broken. you cannot open the car door from the inside unless you lower the window. if the electrical systems failed such as in an accident, the occupants could be trapped inside the car. even when replacing the door handles by paying for the repairs yourself, the handles just break again before too long since the same materials/parts are used. a quick google search shows 100's to 1000's of other owners of the 2006 hhr with the same problem. *tr

I have a chevy hhr and the rear bumper support is rusting at only 52+ miles. water is laying on the steel support and there is nothing that stops this water from collecting and rusting the support away. my car hasn't even been through it's first tuneup yet and i haven't owned the vehicle 1 year yet. i have brought the complaint to gmac customer care center and my local chevy dealership. the dealer wanted me to pay $112.00 for them just to inspect the rusting rear bumper support. the defect was found by philip a representative from hayes collision center in sacramento, ca 916-482-7819 a contracted collision center for the same dealer that wants to charge me the money to inspect the problem. mike daugherty chevrolet in sacramento, ca 916-482-1600. hayes collision center was contacted by a representative from gmac customer care center raphael ext 41461 @ 1866-790-5700 and my gmac customer care and gmac inquired if the rusting support was it due to the mileage or the year of the vehicle. philip at hayes collision center told gmac that the rusting rear bumper support is a manufacturing defect and should be addressed and corrected. hayes was wondering why the part wasn't made out of high grade aluminum instead of steel because water is getting up under the bumper cover and laying on the steel bumper support which is damaging a major safety item. stopping a rear collision impact from harming the passengers. the rust is like cancer and will not stop until the support is completely rusted through. weather or just a simple car wash can cause water to get on this steel part and cause further rusting. there hasn't been any resolution to this major issue from either mike daugherty chevrolet or gmac customer care center. *tr

While opening the left front door from the inside the plastic chrome door handle broke off in my hand making it impossible to open the door from the inside. this will impair the ability of the occupants to exit the vehicle in the event of an emergency. *tr

Drivers side door handle broke off without warning. the part requires the complete door panel being replaced for a cost of $466. my concern is what if this happened in an accident and i could not get out of my car and it was my only option for a way out. *tr

Front passenger door on 2006 chevrolet hhr will not open from inside or outside. front drivers side door does same sporadically. no damage to doors from physical damage, they just stopped working. *tr

A lady ran a red light on springridge rd just south of jackson ms. wife was driving across springridge rd. the lady failed to yield and struck wife in drivers side totaling three cars in the process wife was severely injured (11 days in hospital) no airbag was deployed during accident. still working on full recovery. *tr updated 10/16/2017*js the consumer requested a status update and recall information. *js

I own a 2006 chevy hhr lt2, it has approx. 52k miles, and a rattle, vibration in the steering column has been occurring at speeds below 45mph. also, the driver side floor is continuing to flood with water, and the heater/ac blower has failed or shorted out. lastly, i have had the brake rotors worked on 4 times by chevy, and they are now once again in need of repair. i recently took my vehicle back to the dealer for the rattle in the steering and the water leak. i found numerous tsb articles for the issues, but the dealer and gm are claiming the tsbs do not exist. the repairs will total more than $1100. i was told the bushings, and tension rods are the problem with my steering, and they would need to be replaced. at 52k miles i find it hard to believe these items would fail.. my major concern is my safety related to the steering as well as any possible electrical issue stemming from the water leak.. i do not understand why gm has not issued a recall for the steering issue as well as for the brake rotors. if you go to any vehicle complaint web site for the hhr you will see 100's of postings related to bad brakes. there are also similar complaints pertaining to the steering. the dealership refused to honor or compromise with regards to performing the repairs for free or for a reduced fee. i contacted gm corporate and filed a complaint. i was told the gm district manager would contact me. i am still waiting. *tr

The driver side door interior handle broke at approx 36,400 miles. luckily the handle was replaced under warranty. the whole driver's side door panel had to be replaced. at approximately another 36,000 miles the door handle broke again. we looked online, and there is a company that makes just the door handle to replace. we ordered a replacement handle. they said that they sell about 50-60 handles a week. there are several videos on youtube on how to replace the handle, and many companies online selling just the handle of the hhr. we have never had a interior door handle break within 3 years of owning a car, and to break a second time in another 3 years, and it appears to be a consistent problem with the design of the vehicle according to website groups, forums etc. this is a major safety concern. if the driver interior door handle fails and the driver needs to get out of the car in an emergency quickly, it's not possible. over the years of owning several different cars for many years, i have never had an interior door handle break. *tr

I have a 2006 hhr that we bought in july of 2006. i have noticed in issue of water getting in the car from somewhere under the dashboard, and it is causing the floorboards to get wet every time it rains. i first noticed the issue in august of 2009 and it happened once and didn't think anything of it. the problem has become more of a nuisance since. i called my insurance company and they told me that since there is nothing wrong with the windshield that my glass coverage wouldn't cover it, and that i need to bring it in to my local chevrolet dealer and have them diagnose the problem which is going to most likely cost me an arm and a leg to fix since my warranty is no longer valid. i would like to see chevy actually honor the product that they produce and finally come to their senses and fix the issues or i will have to start buying a different brand, because i don't think that a car that only has 41,176 miles that is about three years old should not have soggy carpets and a mold and mildew issues. sincerely one unhappy customer. *tr

While opening the left front door from the inside the plastic chrome door handle broke off in my hand making it impossible to open the door from the inside. this will impair the ability of the occupants to exit the vehicle in the event of an emergency. *tr

The car has several safety issues. the main concern is that both of the front doors had the handles break off. you cannot open the doors from the inside. you must roll down the window and open from the outside. if the vehicle were involved in an accident or caught on fire and there was no power to the vehicle you are literally trapped inside. i have brought this to the attention of chevrolet but they have failed to do anything.i feel like the vehicle is a rolling death trap. the other concern is that the power steering went out on the vehicle. chevrolet does not make it a recall yet you can be driving along and all of a sudden your power steering goes out. the part is the same as the chevrolet cobalt and chevrolet did a recall on that vehicle for the very same power steering part.

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. while the vehicle was parked the contact attempted to open the front drivers side door and the door handle fractured and fell off of the vehicle from the interior. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the entire door panel was replaced because the parts for the door handle were not sold separately. approximately 18 months later the failure recurred. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 35,000 and the current mileage was 95,000. the vin was unavailable.

Yesterday when i got home i discovered that i could not get out of my driver's door from the inside. the inside handle broke, so i rolled down the window and used the outside handle to open the door. today i tried to get a new door handle only to find out that you have to purchase the whole door panel ($269.71 with my trade discount). this is a crazy way to repair a cheap plastic door handle. i have searched the internet only to learn that this is a problem to many other hhr vehicles. i believe this should be a recall with a better design included for this door handle. the last recall i got was for a glove box catch problem, which was a piece of molded plastic with tape to hold it on. the driver's side door problem is a much more dangerous problem. *tr

The interior handles on the driver and passenger door of my 2006 chevy hhr are broke. i was in the car when it happened, between errands both times. calls/emails made to gm have not been productive. it is a safety issue, i can not exit the vehicle other then rolling down the window and opening from the outside. if something were to happen, i would not be able to get out in an emergency situation. one broke one week, and the passenger broke a week later. the part that is connected to the door mechanism is smaller then a dime and made of poor quality plastic molding. it is the only thing supporting the door mechanism. when emailing gm, i continued to get the run around for days until i threatened to report them to this site. i am choosing to anyhow because i do not feel they have taken proper steps to ensure this is repaired. they did connect me to a dealer, graff chevrolet in grand prairie. they have been extremely helpful and are doing their best to get this taken care of. i would expect gm to have better service, especially with the company in the state it is in! *tr

Interior door handle broken. door must be opened using outside handle. handle is plastic. entire interior door panel must be replaced. part costs $325.00 plus labor. car is 2 1/2 years old with less than 47,000 miles. *tr

I have a 2006 chevy hhr and both driver and passenger door handles have broken off. chevy will not do anything about this. the door handles are hooked to the door panel. i am afraid that if i get into an accident i will not be able to retrieve my children from the back seat. chevy wants to much for door panels. *tr

Few issues that several people also have discussed on the web: **transmission hard shifting. still an issue, garages and dealer have not been able to resolve **key not coming out of ignition. recent issue not fixed yet. may be transmission interlock issue based on internet discussions **leak and water gets in car. gets my heat blower wet and blows out a part and i only have off and high fan settings. ongoing issue as well. *tr

I need your help, 1st,computer broke,then 2nd gear shift, then 3rd sunroof, then 4th back door won't open-son can't get out, then 5th power steering, tried to replace power steering with a used one that we could afford,, now car is locked and won't crank, did what mechanic said to reprogram and it still doesn't work, gm replaced 1st computer, i paid for gears , tried to get gm to fix electric steering, said they would buy parts but not labor >1000, right before we tried to replace the power steering the crank started hanging, 06 chevrolet hhr-no car, help, its so broke, hurt myself trying to drive it, and have been trying to get fixed for over 2 months, its a bomb, now i have no car to drive. gm states its over mileage, thought i bought all warranties, dealer went out of business, palm bay chevrolet, fl, i need some help, multiple times have all but crashed related to can't hardly steer it, turn it, i think i've broke my shoulder with this thing. now i catch a ride with 4 years to pay left on this car, help! its a hazard, i don't have goliaths strength any more! *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. the contact has experienced several failures with the vehicle ever since it was purchased. when exiting the vehicle on the passenger side, the door handle cracked in half and caused the contact to become trapped in the vehicle. she had to exit the vehicle using the driver's side door. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and a technician stated that the door handle failure was a common issue. no repairs were made. in addition, when activating the air conditioner or heating unit, a small amount of air comes out of the vents. the contact could not turn down the heat or air because the dials to control the air and heat do not turn and are permanently set to high. she is unable to adjust the settings. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined that the a/c unit and the switch to adjust the a/c and heating unit needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred two months later. no additional repairs have been made. the manufacturer advised her to take the vehicle to the dealer for inspection. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, but they refused to inspect the vehicle because they did not receive a call from the manufacturer to inspect or make repairs to the vehicle. the failure mileage was 34,083 and current mileage was 75,000. updated 2/5/09 *cn updated 02/10/09. *jb

Door handles in this vehicle are plastic and break. thisis the 2nd time the same door handle has broken. the cost to replace is appr. $300 - $400. in an accident the driver would not be able to exit the vehicle. *tr

Each time it rains water leaks into car causing the floorboard to become soaked causing damage to the carpet and possibly damaging the wires which can cause shorts in turn can cause a fire within the vehicle. please investigate this issue there are numerous vehicles of this model with this issue. *tr

Drivers side door handle broke off when getting out of vehicle. dealer will not repair unless i pay for the repair. this is a safety hazard because you cannot exit the vehicle unless you let the window down. *tr