Owners have filed 2,979 complaints on the Chevrolet HHR, covering 2006–2011. The system named most often is Steering (1,298 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2007, 2008; cleanest: 2011, 2009, 2010. 137 reports describe a crash, 21 a fire, 6 a death. On average the car was 6.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet HHR
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,979 HHR complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 1,298 Read
Before I knew about the recalls, I had an accident that really scared me. I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school. All of a sudden, I steering wheel jerked to the right and locked. I hit a light pole. The impact of the crash should have deployed the airbags, but did not. Seat belts exploded. The cop said I…
Traveling at 30mph power steering went out and car drove over curb & hit fire hydrant. Unable to steer car at all. Cited by police for failure to control
I was driving down my street south harmony road in bloomington my power steering light came on I lost control I was forced to the right into a ditch over a driveway back into the ditch and I wound up sideways in my street slammed into a tree. I was driving my 2011 hhr as I understand it all the hhr's of 2010 have been…
Electrical System 421 Read
The contact owns a 2011 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled more than five times, which resulted in two crashes. The contact was able to restart the vehicle after each crash. The first crash occurred when the vehicle stalled and struck the front of another vehicle. The brakes failed to stop the…
2011 chevrolet hhr. Consumer writes in regards to vehicle faulty ignition switch problems. *smd the consumer stated on january 8, 2013, as he backed out of the driveway, he hit a pot hole in the alley and the ignition switch turned off. He his some hedges and a snow bank and put a dent in the rear bumper. The consumer…
The contact owns a 2010 chevrolet hhr. While driving 10 mph, the brake pedal failed to respond and the electronic stability control warning indicator illuminated. As a result, the vehicle crashed into a trailer. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was…
Fuel/propulsion System 272 Read
I left vehicle running on my concrete driveway while I ran in the house to get my father for an errand. When I came outside and went to get into the vehicle I noticed a fire in the front of the rear wheel on the driver's side kind of dripping flames from the vehicle on to the concrete. Luckily I reacted quickly enough…
Fuel line leaking right in front of rear driver side tire. Puddles up. Steady leak. And strong odor of gasoline in and outside of the car. Gets me woozy at times. It also gets on my tires and affects steering if I was parked on pavement for a while it puddles back to my rear tire. And makes me worry about a fire.…
Severe fuel leak which caused a small fire. Luckily we had a fire extinguisher handy. This is apparently very common with hhrs and thank god I wasn't at a gas station when the fire started
Structure 170 Read
Our car had engine troubles where it kept shifting back into neutral while we were trying to drive on the highway and then on side streets on the way home. While driving it to get repaired, there was a loud popping noise and the engine burst into flames. The flames consumed a large portion of the car
My family and I were involved in a motor vehicle accident on or around 04/29/12. I was driving the vehicle when suddenly I lost control of my vehicle for an unknown reason which caused me to nose dive and rollover several times down into an embankment, and no air bags deployed, which is surprisiing considering how…
The contact owns a 2006 chevrolet hhr. While stopped at a stop sign, the contact's vehicle was rear ended by another vehicle. As a result, the bumper became slightly detached from the vehicle. The contact looked at the area of the vehicle where the bumper needed to be re-attached and noticed that the metal inner…
Air Bags 155 Read
I was in a side impact collision, my car flipped several times and none of the airbags deployed
The contact owns a 2011 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that while driving 45 to 50 mph, she steered the vehicvle to the left in an attempt to avoid crashing. The contact momentarily lost control of the vehicle, veered to the right across the roadway, and crashed into a guard rail, which caused the side air bags to…
I was in a car accident october 30th 2013 in my chevy hhr. I was on my way to work and I had came to a complete stop at a stop light behind another vehicle. Five seconds there after stopping I felt this huge push behind me that cause me to slide into the vehicle in front of me by another vehicle. In this accident I…
Power Train 110 Read
The contact owns a 2010 chevrolet hhr. While driving approximately 20 mph, the vehicle decelerated without warning and stalled. As a result, another vehicle crashed into the side of the contact's vehicle. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The…
In a parking garage on the 4th floor. Backing out of space. While backing up, I hear a loud boom. Nothing behind me. Thought perhaps a tire failure. Put vehicle in drive to pull forward out of traffic lane, and the engine accelerated uncontrollably. Brakes wouldn't respond. By the grace of g-d or reflexes, I turned…
The contact owned a 2009 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that while driving at 45 mph, the vehicle stalled and the steering wheel seized without warning. As a result, the contact crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained injuries to…
Service Brakes 107 Read
Last june, my wife and I purchased a brand new 2011 hhr in order to provide a safer, more dependable vehicle for our teenage daughters to learn to drive and to have enough room to take our dogs with us when we wanted to go somewhere as a family. In january, on one of the days we actually had snow on the ground, I came…
On november 29th, 2017 I was driving south on the highway and I was about 200 feet back when I noticed that the breaks went down to the floor board and I freaked out and didnt know what to do. There was know light that came on for break or ABS light. I hit a car in front at the stop light ahead and ran into to her my…
I was turning left at a duel left turn lanes, I was on the out side, as I turned and accelerated to 35 the big red truck on the inside lane came into my lane of travel. As I saw this big red truck going across my hood I tried to stop and down shift when the left front tire skidded and the car jerked to the left and…
Latches/locks/linkages 68 Read
The contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that when opening the front passenger side door, the latch fractured and the contact was unable to exit the vehicle due to a disability of her left arm. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer and informed the contact that they would not replace just the handle…
The contact owns a 2011 chevrolet hhr. When the contact depressed the brake pedal, the vehicle shook and vibrated violently. Excessive force needed to be applied to the brake pedal in order to stop the vehicle. When the vehicle drove over a bump in the road, the driver side door handle fractured. The dealer replaced…
The contact owns a 2011 chevrolet hhr. While the vehicle was stationary, the rear passenger door opened without warning. The contact stated that the door would not close when prompted. In addition, the driver's door experienced the same failure. An unknown chevrolet dealer was made aware of the failure and stated that…
HHR years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 15 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 16 | 5 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 24 | 6 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 33 | 3 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 37 | 4 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 471 |
| Average complaints per series | 6.3 |
| Worst single series | 47 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.1 years |
A model average of 6.3 hides a worst series at 47. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the HHR?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2007, 2008 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which HHR years are the cleanest?
2011, 2009, 2010 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet HHR have?
2,979 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2006–2011. Of those, 137 describe a crash and 21 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.