Problems with 2007 Chevrolet HHR STEERING

Cruise control set at 70 on highway, dry pavement, daylight hours and no precipitation occurring. vehicle suddenly started drifting to the left and as i went to correct it, my steering wheel did not respond as it should have and my car continued to go off the left side of the road hitting the guard rail several times. all this happened instantaneously at high speed. six days later i received the bulk mail form letter from gm dated january 2015 informing me that my vehicle "may experience a sudden loss of power steering that could occur at any time while driving". i can only speculate that such prior knowledge might have equipped me to handle the situation with any sort of readiness, which gm is assuming it would do by this letter. they need to do more! i am posting here because gm customer service rep never asked me what happened and when i attempted to tell her, she did not accurately understand what i was saying and did not accurately or completely take my statement. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while driving approximately 3 mph, the steering wheel seized. the contact crashed into a large rock and the power steering warning light illuminated. there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the power steering needed replacing. the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 200,000. updated 6/25/15*cn the consumer stated the vehicle was taken to the dealer who advised the failure occurred frequently. updated 9/18/15 *js

While changing lanes power steering failed. shut off car. restarted and power steering was working. power steering again failed on 01/10/2015. gm has a recall on the 2009 and 2010 hhr for this problem but does not include the 2007. however paragraph five of the gm news release, dated 2014-03-31 states that 309,160 non-turbocharged hhrs from the 2006-2008 that are not subject to the recall will be given lifetime warranties for replacement of the electronic power steering motor. the service rep. at the local chevrolet dealer pulled up my vin number and said the unit had been replaced at some earlier date and replacement at this time is not covered. this is a very serious problem with the hhr and all models must be included in the recall. i expect my hhr to steer and stop. thank you. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the power steering motor needed to be replaced. the vehicle was repaired but the failure persisted. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer, who diagnosed that an electrical component attached to the power steering motor needed to be replaced. no further information was available on the specifics of the diagnostic testing or if the vehicle was repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 77,000.

Driving as normal when the power steering suddenly failed and the warning light and chime sounded that fact. after turning the engine off, the power steering again worked. the same event happened later in the day. this is a very dangerous failure and after research, numerous 2007 hhr's are experiencing this as a common failure. apparently it is a short in the electric power steering unit mounted on the steering column. chevy absolutely needs to recall before a serious crash occurs if one or more hasn't already occurred. *tr

The power steering in my 2007 hhr has went out thks it's the second time! the first time was when the recall fur hhr 2009 & 10 came out. i was told then they could fix the wiring and i would have to pay! now the whole thing has to be replaced and i believe this is something that should be done by gm not myself! i know gm has lots going on right now with all the part issues and i'm not trying to cause anymore drama, but i feel right is right and i should not have to pay 1179.25 for something that i can't control! i'm just asking for help to take car off my car and to check on the safety for all other hhr 2007 customer! thank u for reading this and have a blessed and wonderful day! *tr

I was driving down the street and the power steering stopped working. i was in a construction zone and there was no shoulder. i had to drive a few miles with no power steering in order to safely pull over. i shut the car of and back on and it started working again. this has happened 3 times now. i could have crashed and hurt someone. i see there were recalls on the same part but for different years. *tr

I was traveling approximately 20 mph and went to turn onto a street when the power steering went out. there was a dinging sound and it showed power steering on the dash display. i was inches away from an accident. i have already taken the car into the dealer last week for this same issue. i had the steering go out a couple of weeks ago. the dealership, don hewlett chevrolet, georgetown, texas, said they replaced the power steering motor and it was fixed. i almost had a vehicle accident both times. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while approaching a stop light traveling approximately 15 mph, the power steering warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to a repair shop, where the contact was referred to check with a local authorized dealer for inspection, diagnosis and repair. the vehicle was not included in nhtsa campaign id number: 14v153000 (steering). the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 50,000.

Driving down highway power steering goes out, alarm buzzer and lights on dash come on. after being shutoff if worked until a few days later. same thing. shutting off seems to allow it to reset itself. investigation shows the steering is the same part number as a cobalt but 2007 hhr isn't on recall only cobalt. the hhr was actually manufactured in late 2006. purchased new. *tr

A warning light comes on in the dash and then the power steering goes out,causing the car to steer very hard.before this started to happen, for the last couple of years every time i applied the brakes the steering wheel would vibrate very bad. i had everything checked like brake pads,rotors,shocks,tires etc. nothing ever seemed to solve the problem.now with the power steering going out, i checked to see if there was a recall on this problem. i was told there was a recall about this same problem with the chevy cobalt which is basically the same car. i don't understand why a recall has not been made on the hhr. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, a warning sound chimed and the power steering light illuminated. the contact merged the vehicle to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. after five minutes the contact restarted the vehicle and attempted to drive, but the steering wheel had become very difficult to maneuver. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 154,000.

I own a 2007 chevy hhr with the same problem thousands of people are having. the power steering just quits! there is a recall for different models of cars with the same bad part number as mine. why aren't all cars with this same power steering motor recalled. the car isn't the issue the bad part is. there should be a recall of all cars with this part currently installed. *tr

It doesnt matter what speed i am driving or how long i have been driving, my power steering will randomly go out. sometimes i can make it an entire trip without it going and sometimes i cant even get out of my parking space before it goes. the only way to get it to to work is to shut off the car and turn it back on. ive taken it to a mechanic and he said that the power steering motor was dead. i cannot afford this part and i dont understand why some of the newer hhrs are being recalled and the 2007 is not when there are plenty of complaints and issues of the same nature. my car is near about impossible to drive and i live near a high volume population and i am afraid that my lack of being able to safely drive my car could result in an accident.

While driving the power steering stopped working. a chime sounded and the dashboard panel indicated "power steering." we stopped drove a short distance to our destination without incident, but with great difficulty steering. when we started the car again, the power steering worked. however, since that time the power steering will stop working about 90 percent of the time. if we turn the car off and restart it, the power steering works for a short time and cuts off. from internet research we are aware of many others having this same problem. *tr

Hhr was idling, and in park. moved vehicle a short distance and parked to load item into vehicle. when re-entered the hhr to drive away, noticed the power steering message in the console area and the 'assist' was no longer functioning. when having the dealer look at this the following morning, they informed me that it was shown to be a re-call problem as listed in document #3972684, indicating that this condition may exist in hhr's with model years from 2006-2010. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that the steering wheel became hard to turn and the steering warning light illuminated. the steering wheel resumed normal function after restarting the vehicle. the manufacturer advised the vin was not included in nhtsa campaign number 14v153000 (steering). the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 44,000.

Power steering goes out while driving. this is a recall item on the 2008 model year, needs to be a recall on 07-08 years also. inside door handles brake, making it impossible to get out of the call without rolling down the windows. both are broken on my car. been to many chevy hhr forums and this is a common problem. if you lose power you can not get out of the car. *tr

Power steering warning chimed and displayed on dash and all power steering went away making vehicle hard to steer. *tr

My son is just learning how to drive and we were in a parking lot practicing. we heard a ding and then there was an error message saying service power steering. we had lost power steering. we shut the car off and back on and it was ok for just two more turns then gave us an error message again. i know gm issued a recall n140115 for some years and models and then a service bulletin number 14119 which states my year. when i called chevy to get clarification they said my vin number did not qualify for this. if all of these other years are having the same issue why do they not qualify??? the service bulletin just states non turbo engine which i do not have. below paragraph is form gm's web site. so why do some of us have to pay for this problem and others do not. in addition, 309,160 non-turbocharged chevrolet hhrs from the 2006-2008 model years (and several hundred 2009 models) and 96,324 saturn ions from the 2003 model year that are not subject to these recalls will be given lifetime warranties for replacement of the electronic power steering motor. gm bulletin 14119 covers the following cars where gm dealers will replace the power steering motor for the life of the vehicle. 2006-2008 and early production of 2009 chevrolet hhr (non-turbo) 2003 saturn ion. *tr

On 8/12/2014 , i had the recalled ignition switch replaced on my 2007 hhr. on 8/13/2014, while driving into the parking lot of an out of town mall, my power steering went out and the power steering warning message came up.i pulled over and turned the engine off. i then restarted the engine and the steering was fine. i drove directly to my dealer and explained what had happened. they said that there had been recalls on the steering assist motors but he did not think they were on my model year. he looked it up and said mine was not included. he said if they had one in stock he could have one installed the next day at my expense. i had the new motor installed on 8/14/2014, but after reading all the complaints from other 2007 hhr owners, i feel that this should have been a recall replacement. i was not willing to take the risk of my or my wife's" safety. *tr

The power steering feels stiff not able to make right turns without the stiffness. power steering lights constantly on since this problem occurred. my power steering is electrical and for some reason i believed that the ignition recall my have something to do with this not sure. *tr

Power steering shows on the display at random time. driving down the interstate at 70 m.p.h or driving through town at 35 m.p.h., even driving down my driveway (which is not long)...power steering. first happened on the interstate, after arriving home and shutting the car off nothing happened for a while and i almost forgot about it. but as of wednesday it is happening 3 to 4 times a day. wow! it's terrible to try and steer without power steering! i am going to take it to a mechanic next week to see about getting it fixed, looking at $400.00 @ the dealership and i cannot afford that. *tr

On sunday july 27 2014 on a very curvy road, the power steering quit working., there was warning dong, then a message, "power steering" lucky we were driving slow. there are big drop off on the road. at home i restarted the car. the power steering worked. i call my local chevy dealer, he couldn't find a recall for my car. i looked up gm web site. it stated 2009 & 2010 were on recall for this problem, " all other 2006 thru. 2008, non turbo models not subject to this recall will be given lifetime warranties for replacement of the electronic power steering motor" i contacted gm,they said it wasn't covered. this is a safety issue. it should be covered by gm. *js

As i was heading out to work my car dinged power steering on the dic and became very hard to control and the panel shut down. the past week the car will surge in and out, as if it's racing. the car has lost all power steering to the vehicle and is in need of replacement, this is just two weeks after it came out of the dealership for the recall fix for the ignition, i find it very odd i've had no power steering issues until the ignition was replaced. the dealership is aware. i also called gm who is aware and cannot do anything. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle lost power steering and the power steering light illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 69,200.

The power steering goes out intermittently and is very hard to steer but when you shut the car off and turn it back on it works. i have had this situation happen on sharp curves and it is not fun! someone at gm needs to recall these cars, not just some of the 2007 models. i took it to my local gm dealership and they wanted to charge me 123.00 to diagnose it, not going to happen! i have read several posts that say that the power steering has a lifetime warranty on the power steering pumps, i will have to call them to find out! *tr

While driving on the hwy, the steering became "stiff"; a chime sounded and the read-out said "power steering". the steering responded as though the car had been put in neutral and turned. i drive 100 miles a day going to and from work. this may happen once or it may happen several times a day. it has happened in the middle of a turn and a collision was narrowly avoided. this car belongs to my mother, who is 75 years old. i've been driving her so she doesn't have to deal with the problem. she doesn't have the upper arm strength to man-handle the steering, especially when it happens suddenly and unexpectedly. i've found the recall on the 2009-2010 hhr's (letter 14115) and it mentions a "... special coverage (gm bulletin number 14119) that will be implemented for my 2006-2008 and early production of 2009 chevrolet hhr...". i cannot find details on this bulletin anywhere. my father has ordered the part for the car. will bulletin 14119 cover reimbursement if he has to pay for the repair out-of-pocket? *tr

On 07/14/2014 we lost power steering assist while rounding a curve. the following morning vehicle was taken to local chevrolet dealership where diagnostic scan revealed power steering motor had failed & required replacement. upon completion of repairs, we requested a goodwill policy settlement for the $322.46 cost of repairs based on a 03/2014 gm newsletter article acknowledging failure and subsequent recalls on "some 2006-2010 hhrs". the request was immediately and unilaterally denied by the chevrolet district service manager without reason. we then wrote to [xxx]. , vp of gm global vehicle safety, in september requesting claim be reconsidered & reimbursement granted. we were contacted shortly thereafter by a gentleman from [xxx]. office stating reimbursement would once again be denied but that recall may be expanded in "a couple of months" to include our vehicle & that we would then qualify for reimbursement of repairs. we feel a reasonable amount of time has passed to justify filing this complaint with nhtsa. substantiating documentation available upon request. refer original gm case file #[xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

I own a chevy hhr 2007, the power steering light has been on everytime i used the car since april 2014. because of not being able to make turns, i almost caused a car accident in highway a month ago. so, i just got off the phone talking to chevy customer service, i was told my chevy hhr 2007 isn't qualified for lifetime warranty of power steering motor replacement, which is conflicted with the news gm released on march 31st, 2014. the news can be found at http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/news.detail.html/content/pages/news/us/en/2014/mar/0331-power-steering.html it states on the news that "in addition, 309,160 non-turbocharged chevrolet hhrs from the 2006-2008 model years (and several hundred 2009 models) and 96,324 saturn ions from the 2003 model year that are not subject to these recalls will be given lifetime warranties for replacement of the electronic power steering motor." from what they said, my car should be included. but i was told by the agent that the policy hasn't been added to the system yet, and they have no idea when will happen. which means, i, a chevy consumer have to cover the cost of replacement of power steering motor. because of the old policy, and there is no guarantee that my car will be included in the new lifetime warranty. i as a driver do not feel safe to drive the car because of the steering might be out of the control again, and i don't feel like gm is being responsible for safety of the driver/chevy car owner. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while driving approximately 20 mph, the steering wheel seized and the contact had to use excessive force to turn the steering wheel. the failure occurred multiple times. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while driving at approximately 25 mph, the electronic power steering failed. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 100,969.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the power steering assist failed and caused the contact to become involved in a crash. there were no injuries reported and a police report was not filed. the power steering warning light was also illuminated. the contact stated that the power steering assist had failed several times prior to the crash. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the approximate failure mileage was 67,000.

Chevy hhr power steering fails at random times and speeds. becomes progressively worse with time. seems to be heat sensitive, does it more on hot days after starting a closed up car. some times happens 4 or 5 times a day, some times much more. pull over, shut off engine and it resets itself every time. it can be difficult to control on a wet curved expressway ramp when the steering suddenly stops working. the same power steering motor was recalled in canada for the same defect across the board. it is time gm replaced these motors and quit playing around. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while driving approximately 40 mph, the power steering warning indicator illuminated and the power steering failed. when the contact turned off and restarted the vehicle, the power steering returned to normal. the failure occurred fifteen times. the vehicle was taken to the dealer, but was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified. the approximate failure mileage was 68,700.

I was driving on a back road with sharp turns. my car binged a sound, a power steering warning light came on the dash. that instant i had no power steering going into a sharp turn. *tr

In june of 2014 my cars ignition turned off as a result i almost impacted with another vehicle. also after this my temp guage no longer worked. took it to bill holt chevrolet where they replaced my ignition switch after i got it back my drivers door will not lock or unlock consistently not even with the key, my service airbag and power steering lights keep coming on, and now radio and instrument panel lights go off. i have to stop turn the car off and restart they might come back on and they might not. i am reluctant to take the car back to bill holt chevrolet as they kept the car for 3 and a half months to repair the ignition. also i can get no satisfaction out of them when i picked up the car the last time my temp gauage still wasnt working they said it had nothing to do with the recall. i am reluctant to drive for any distance as the power steering fails often. i have contacted gm on several occasions and can get no satisfaction from them either. are they not goverened by an agency that makes sure these repairs are done and done correctly. please email me who i need to contact to get these issues resolved. [xxx]@yahoo.com information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).' *jb

My power steering goes off, i pull over and turn the car off then the power steering works for a short time. this happens anywhere from 2 to 6 times a day.my local dealer says my car doesn't have a recall only the 2009 -2010. this doesn't seem right to me. if it's a defect in the -2010 shouldn't it be a defect in my 2007? *tr

On several occasions while driving the vehicle the electric power steering failed causing my son to have to pull over quickly as it was quite difficult for him to control the car. during one event he also described what seemed to be loss of brakes as he said he had the brake to the floor and was not stopping; he had to use the emergency brake; this occurred at the same time as the power steering loss. he has had several instances where he would try to accelerate without affect. *tr

I have never had any problem with my 2007 hhr until today. i was driving down the highway when out of nowhere i heard 3 chimes and "power steering" appeared on my driver information center. the car was hard to steer. i immediately pulled over to the side road and turned my car off. i sat there for maybe 10 minutes before i restarted the car. it started normally, no info center light, but i am afraid to drive this car. i drive 40 miles to work, 80 miles round trip. i am 56 years old and work night shift. i felt like i had lost control. my husband told me there is a recall on my hhr for a power steering problem. i received notification for the ignition switch problem but not the power steering issue. for anyone at anytime but especially a woman at night, this is dangerous,very dangerous....no warning...it just happened! *tr

Was driving approx 30 mph coming to a stop and my power steering light came on and i was unable to steer. turned car off for approx 10 min and light went off and had power back. called the dealership and was told that i needed to have diagnostics done which would run $54 - $119.00. however manual said that if light goes off problem does not exist. the next day 6/2/14 power steering light came on 3 times within 2 hours going no faster than 40mph and light going off when turning car off and then dimmed back on. car is already waiting for 2 recalls to be fixed; the ignition switch and glove compartment. the airbag recall was just completed last month. this is such a safety issue and very frustrating. *tr

Vehicle was exiting parkway when loss of braking and steering occurred causing vehicle to collide with guardrail nearly head on. air bags did not deploy. major damage to front of vehicle as well as rear of vehicle as it swung around and struck the guardrail a second time with the rear of the vehicle before coming to rest across the roadway. *tr

I purchased the car 5/13/14. since that date the car has been "repaired" 16 times, beginning on 5/27/14 for ongoing suspension problems and steering wheel/electrical issues. suspension issues included the sway bar, stabalizer bar and bushings, defective stablink and frozed strut bearing. replaced front struts. steering wheel issues included, replacing of steering wheel complete due to bad wiring, wiring, wiring harness, sir coil replaced, sir coil causing interferance, replaced entire column, ignition switch replacement. the car is unsafe on any road in motion. entire 14 pages of service records available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that while the vehicle was in reverse, the power steering light illuminated and the steering wheel was difficult to turn. the contact mentioned that the power steering light turned off once the vehicle was restarted. the manufacturer was not contacted. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed the power steering column and power steering motor were faulty and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 56,806 and the current mileage was 56,859.

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated while driving approximately 25 mph, the power steering would intermittently fail without warning. the vehicle would become increasingly difficult to control. the vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the power steering assist motor needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure and current mileage were 86,000. rk

I was coming upon an intersection at approximately 5:30 p.m. when there was a chime then power steering message appeared, the steering became very difficult to turn. i was able to get into a parking lot while being extremely hard to steer. i turned off the car and removed the key as my car is on the recall list for the ignition problems thinking that the steering issue was because of the faulty ignition. i waited approximately 10 minutes and started up the car and drove about 5 miles home. on wed 5/21/14 i went to the dealership concerning the steering problem and they told me that my car (2007 chevy hhr) was not on the recall list to have the steering problem fixed. i told them that the older chevy cobalt were on the power steering recall list and it is my understanding that the hhr and cobalt have the same parts. dealer said they could check it out at my cost.. i then asked about the ignition recall and he stated that the ignition problem has nothing to do with a power steering problem. i told him i disagreed. he said to be careful and safe and that they will call me when the ignition parts arrive to fix my car. i was not happy with his explanation and want to know why the older hhr's are not on the recall list to fix the power steering problem? *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. the power steering light illuminated. the failure recurred several times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. the technician was unable to locate the failure. the vehicle has not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 70,000.

Started car in parking lot and placed car in reverse. after a few feet, there was a warning chime and the display said "power steering." subsequently, the car only had manual steering and was very difficult to steer. i took it to the dealership and they confirmed that the motor had failed. it is noted that information on the internet indicated that the power steering motor issues are known and that some models with the same motor (cobalts, for example) have been recalled. it is also noted that the motors have been recalled on the hhr in canada. in addition, it would appear that during april 2014, chevrolet announced a planned recall for the united states - but during may 2014 the dealership had no notice of this. *tr

I had my my children up from school while driving i lost all power steering. i had heard i chime rite before and noticed it displayed power steering on the instrument panel. i did find out that by shutting the car off and restarting it temporarily fixed the problem for a block or so. the vehicle is going to be serviced this week. i don't think we should have to pay for this problem to be fixed when the 2009 and 2010 models are having the same issue and being recalled ours should be recalled also. *tr

While driving my 2007 chevy hhr, the driver interface flashes "power steering", the power assist stops working, and steering becomes very difficult. when vehicle is turned off and then turned right back on - problem is resolved (for a while). i contacted gm customer assistance and was told that there is going to be a recall, but not sure if my model year is involved. on several occasion, i have been traveling at 60mph, power assist goes out, and i have to shut my ignition off while at speed to get it to reset. *tr