Ignition problems of the 2008 Chevrolet HHR

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated that the ignition became stuck as he attempted to shut off the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the ignition was repaired. The failure mileage was 45,000 and the current mileage was 46,000.

I live in deltona, FL and drove to palm bay, FL from home and got out of my car, returned to it a few minutes later and started it with the key fob and got in and the key would not turn in the ignition. Had to let the car turn itself off and tried several times to turn the key. The steering wheel was not locked, I walked to a nearby firestone dealer who kindly agreed to let a technician come over to my car and try to turn the key, he was unsuccesful as well after several attempts. He was able to pull the steering wheel into the locked position however was still unable to turn the key in the ignition. I had to call a tow truck to tow me to the nearest chevy dealership, in melbourne, FL. This dealership wouldn't even tell me if they had the part in stock to replace it so that I could drive home they told me to pay to be towed and let them look at it and see what the issue really was. I went online and saw that many other Hhr owners have experienced this issue and they had suggestions on how to correc it, due to the fact that the tumbler was frozen. I walked to a gas station to by wd-40 and sprayed it in the ignition hole and unlocked my sterring wheel adjustment to allow me to pull it up and down as quickly and as hard as I could to get the tumbler to free itself up, to no avail. 1. 5 hours after the issue began the tow truck driver showed up and asked me what was wrong and I told him he could try and he was able to get the key to turn. I drove back home the 1. 5 hours and my husband is ordering a replacement piece to install. Why should we pay to replace this piece when this has been happening to so many owners of this vehicle make and model?.

After driving for more than 10-30 min, at any speed but usually at or above 50 mph, the power steering would malfunction intermittently, steering/handling became difficult. Feels like it's over-correcting or is ice-skating around the lane when keeping the wheel straight. Occasionally Hhr will buck while driving on the highway, would slow down to 55-65mph and still experience rough bucking & poor handling. Took to dealership to fix what I thought was an alignment issue, they said there were no other problems, but still experience them almost daily. Also have had troubles removing the key from ignition after shifting the car into park.

My 2008 Hhr has 45000 miles and is a year and half old. The ignition locked up and I can place my key into the ignition but not turn on. I called road side assistance and since I have more miles than the warranty, I have to pay over $600 to get a problem fixed that seems to happen to a lot of people. I was a chevy guy, however I know now that since many are having this problem and have to pay for it themselves. I will never pay another chevy. Poor quality and poor customer service.

Ignition lock assembly failed and car would not turn off - key was stuck in the "on" position.