Ignition Problems of Chevrolet HHR - part 2

I have a 2007 chevy Hhr and bought it used at a Chevrolet dealer in winslow, arizona in 2009. And I've been reading about problems with this car. I've only had the car for almost 2 yrs. My key gets stuck in the ignition and won't come out after I park the car. I noticed the problem last summer and took it to the dealership. They just told me how to get the key out. There was a cover under the steering column and the auto guy showed me the little pin. He told me to push the pin toward the driver window and this will release the key to the "off" position and the key will then release. It has been occurring more frequently and now it occurs everytime I turn the car off and try to turn the key to the "off" position. I've read it has to do something with the gear shift. My gear shift also gets locked in the park position. GMC has recalled the 2009 chevy Hhr's with this same problem. I think all Hhr's should be recalled and fixed for no charge. . This is a very dangerous problem. The traffic safety administration needs to look into this safety problem. Thank you for your time in reading this email. . .

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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.

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The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated that he was unable to remove the key from the ignition. He depressed an unknown switch under the steering column and was finally able to remove the key. The manufacturer was contacted and referred him to the dealer for further assistance. The dealer replaced the shifter assembly. The failure mileage was 32,600 and the current mileage was 32,700.

Key will not remove from lock in ignition when car is placed in park.

My key continues to get stuck in the ignition. About 4 months ago this happened and I took my car back to the dealer,they charged me $50. 00 to get the key out they say they greased the ignition I guess. I was looking through my car manual and it tells you how to get the key out of the ignition. I don't think the dealer charging me $50. 00 was fair. Is there some way that can be fixed? I can not afford $50. 00 and I'm get tired of putting my finger in the hole under the steering wheel to release the key.

See all problems of the 2006 Chevrolet HHR 🔎.

Key stuck in ignition. Unable to remove without using the release button under the steering column. Taken to repair shop to see what the problem was. Was advised that the gear shift is not going completely into park, therefore the key will not release. Was also advised that my car is not locked in any one position, so while driving the shifter will switch from drive to natural. No work done to fostly, contacted dealer who advised same issue on 2009 Hhr's and they are being recalled, but mo open recall on 2006 at this time.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact was unable to turn the key in the ignition and start the vehicle. When using the key fob, he was able to use the remote start feature. Once the vehicle was started, he was unable to shut it off because the key would not turn in the ignition. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they were unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 15,254 and the current mileage was 26,000.

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The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated when the vehicle was placed in park, the key would not release from the ignition. The contact was concerned that the vehicle could possibly roll away when the vehicle was parked because the computer would not register that the vehicle was in the park position. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileage was 73,000.

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated the gear shift would not move from gear to gear while the vehicle was in operation. In addition, the contact stated that the key would come out of the ignition without the vehicle being locked in the park position. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repairs. The failure and current mileages were 43,000. Updated 10/27/10.

Key does not come out ignition, have to push safety button under steering wheel to release keys.

The contact owns a 2009 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, there was an abnormal noise coming from the bottom part of the steering column as the steering wheel seized. In addition, the contact stated that the ignition became fractured while in the on position as the esc and the check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the ignition and the power steering motor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred on numerous occasions. The contact was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v153000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 19,000.

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.

When putting the car in park, the key would not remove from the ignition. Also, the car could be shifted through the gears without pressing the button on the shifter. There is a safety issue in that the gear shift can be bumped into and out of various gears. After opening the center console, I discovered that the plastic plunger that goes down through the shifter had broken, and in the process allowed the metal pin that closes the contact with the ignition to come loose. This has occurred approximately 6 - 10 times in the past 2 weeks, with increasing frequency. I called the local dealership, terry labonte chevy in greensboro, nc only to be told that I had probably spilled some liquid.

Ignition will not turn to lock and key cannot be removed.

Key is unable to be removed from the ignition when car is in park. During the last two months I have had to use the release switch under the steering wheel every time I turn the vehicle off. I have taken the vehicle into the dealership, but because I am now out of warranty they would not offer any repair solutions without a costly inspection.

Ignition key does not come out of the steering column it is stuck in the ignition ,car starts and shuts off but the key cannot be removed.

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated while attempting to exit the vehicle, from the drivers side, the interior door handle fractured. The contact was unable to access the exterior door handle and fifteen minutes later, he was assisted in exiting the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for the failure where he was advised that the entire door would need replacing in order to correct the failure. The vehicle was not repaired and the door handle remained fractured. In addition, the keys would sporadically become stuck in the ignition and the contact would have to engage the emergency release button in order to disengage the keys. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where he was advised that the ignition lock cylinder and remote would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 21,000 and the current mileage was 27,920. Updated 05/25/11.

The key to my 2006 Hhr would not come out of the ignition. As a result the automatic headlights would not go out and the vehicle could not be locked. This happened while I was traveling, which put my personal safety at risk and if I left my vehicle for any reason it could have easily been stolen. I have been online and found that several other owners have experienced this problem.

I couldn't remove the ignition keys from my 2006 chevy Hhr. The dealer advised that this was a common complaint with Hhr's and cobalt's and that the entire shifter assembly needed to be replaced, at my cost since the warranty had expired. I investigated the issue on on-line forums and found the issue was as follows: " a small actuator rod that goes through the shifter stalk falls out due to the stalk cracking where the rod goes through it. The key release then never gets activated so you have to use the manual release button on the bottom of the steering column. This shifter unit is completely unserviceable and the entire shifter block has to be replaced. Note that with no actuator rod the shift lever is free to move without pressing the shift button on the front of the shift lever, so it could accidentally be moved to another gear while driving, even reverse. . . . Chevy is wrong for putting such a cheap and flimsy device on the car. " this is point that I made to the gm customer complaints department but they stuck to their guns that warranty had expired. To my way of thinking even the replacement shifter is at risk in the future with having the same problem. Reading other on-line complaint logs, I note that because of the cost of replacement, it was being advocated that simply using the manual release button on the steering column was an acceptable solution to the problem. Obviously this leaves driver's in a potentially dangerous position if the shifter is accidentally moved while the car is moving. As such I feel that there is reason to have gm recall these vehicles to replace these "cheap" shifters and to reimburse owners such as myself that have incurred steep replacement costs.

The key will not come out of the ignition at times. I take the vehicle out of drive and put it in park several times and do the same with the brakes before the key will come out. My mechanic has said that it is a brake issue and not the transmission.

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

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. While driving approximately 35 mph, his vehicle would shut off completely and he had have no power in the vehicle. He shut the engine off for approximately an hour or more and the failure would correct itself. The failure occurred intermittently. He also stated that at times when he tried to start the vehicle, he had a difficult time removing the key from the ignition. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified about the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 45,000. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000. Updated 3/4/2010 updated 05/20/10.

The contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact stated that the key fails to release from the ignition unless a button under the steering wheel is touched. The contact also hears a strange noise underneath the front driver's side of the vehicle. The noise is heard each morning, when driving over bumps, and after the vehicle has been parked for days. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 50,000.

First the gear shift would not come out of park without having to basically yank the handle with all of my strength. Then about two days later the keys would not come out of the ignition. In looking into this issue on other sites it has been stated that this is a common issue when any moisture (ex from a spill of cleaning) gets into the gear shifter. For this reason the dealership has installed a "temporary fix" being a quick release switch located under the steering wheel. I have looked for this switch since reading about it online and have not yet been able to locate it.

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. On may 14, 2008, after driving for 30 minutes, the contact was unable to remove the key from the ignition when she arrived home. Approximately two hours later, she left home and when she returned, she slammed on the brakes and placed the vehicle into park. She was then able to remove the key at that time. Later that night, she drove to work and could not remove the key from the ignition again once she arrived. Since that time, she is still unable to remove the key and can shift gears without starting the vehicle. The dealer has not yet been notified. The current mileage was 48,764 and failure mileage was 48,761.

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. The contact started the engine to warm up the vehicle. Approximately five minutes later, she attempted to place the vehicle in reverse, but the shifter would not move from park. She waited approximately ten minutes and the failure continued. Approximately 15 minutes later, the gear was able to shift out of park. The contact drove to work and was unable to shut off the vehicle. After several attempts, she was able to remove the key from the ignition; however, the radio was still on and the chime noises remained engaged. The gears were also able to be moved without the key in the ignition. The vehicle has not been repaired and remains in her possession. The VIN, engine size, number of cylinders, and transmission type were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 36,000.

I am leasing a 2006 chevy Hhr. My husband was driving on the expressway when we hit a pot hole and my car died at 70mph! my husband steve put the car into neutral and it started without hesitation and we carried on. Very scary as you lose your power in steering, etc. . . I called the dealership that day and took it for a look over. They could not duplicate the problem and said the car seemed fine so there was no more they could do? on a recent trip to ky we again hit a pot hole on the expressway and again my car died. We were able to restart it and carried on. I belong to a website that is for Hhr owners and I soon discovered I was not the only one having this problem. Some people have this problem without hitting a pot hole or bump of any kind!! a man who had this happen said when he hit the pot hole and his car died he noticed when he went to restart the car that his key has slipped to the "acc" position. He suggested we test our keys by putting them in the ignition and playing around with them. I was interested in trying this as this is a very dangerous issue! I started my car and to my horror discovered that with no pressure I can turn my car off. I only have 4 keys and my remote on my key ring so it is not due to weight of my keyring. I can grab my hanging remote, and other keys (I only held one key) and with no pressure I can turn my car off. I am calling my dealership first thing tomorrow morning b/c I want a key cylinder in place that does not allow for my key to turn with bumps in the road. This is an extremely dangerous problem and since I am not the only one dealing with this issue I am wondering why no letters are being sent. This is most certainly a failure on design and or faulty parts which is a liability if and when it causes death and or serious injury. I look forward to hearing from you so that this matter for all owners with this issue can be resolved. Sincerely, stephanie rogers.

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Hhr. While driving through a car wash, the engine and traction control light illuminated and allowed the contact to remove the key from the ignition. As a result, the vehicle lost total power. He notified general motors and aaa to jump start the vehicle. The owner's manual stated that this may occur if one were to drive through a puddle of water. It also stated that the engine may stall and cause the electrical system to collect water and moisture. General motors stated that the failure was a manufacturer defect, but they did not know how to correct the failure. The dealer and manufacturer advised him to drive around in order to dry off the electrical system. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 15,000 and current mileage was 20,000. Updated 02-06-08.

Initially, I had intermittent problems with my 2006 chevy Hhr. The key switch wouldn't turn all the way off to release the key. I took it to the dealership while it was under warranty, and they informed me that they "couldn't make it do it" (for which they have a record). After about a year-and-a half of this intermittent problem, my key would not come out of the ignition at all. I was out of town, staying at a hotel and had to leave the key in the ignition overnight. I read my owners manual and found the hidden release button in the steering column. I took it back to the dealership, and because I am out of warranty, I have to pay for this repair that is due to poor craftsmanship. After researching this to see if was recalled, I have uncovered numerous Chevrolet Hhr owners that have experienced the same problem, and it is a faulty shift linkage. This item needs to be on the recall list.

2006 chev. Hhr with a problem with ignition key that gets stuck in the ignition*.