2008 Chevrolet HHR problems
Owners have filed 784 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Chevrolet HHR. Steering is the most reported problem area, at 39% of complaints. Next are electrical system (14%) and fuel system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 784 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 39% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 37 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 37 and 4
- Typical mileage
- 74,000 miles 619 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 89 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 51 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 100 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 95 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 107 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 71 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 50 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 25 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 14 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 9 |
| 200k+ miles | 8 |
What the data shows
Of the 619 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 74,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (264 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 37 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 37 injuries reported; 4 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 6 model years of the Chevrolet HHR with enough data (325 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet hhr. The contact stated that the driver was traveling approximately 35 MPH when another vehicle crashed into the vehicle. The driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over, crashing into a ditch. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver was killed and a passenger was injured and transported to a hospital for treatment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 chevrolet hhr. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the vehicle veered to the left and crashed into the front end of a truck. The driver was killed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact stated that the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign numbers: 14v047000 (air bags, electrical system) and 14v171000 (electrical system). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 315,000. Updated 11/12/14 updated 4/29/2015
A woman lost control of her hhr, crashed and died, very likely provoked by the electrical assited steering controller failure, follow link below: [link removed]
Started vehicle and was exiting parking lot at approximately 10 MPH. Heard a click, power steering was not available and the dic showed "power steering". Drove the car for a short distance to see if it would correct. Shut off the vehicle and started back after a few minutes. Power steering was working normally. Drove a few hundred feet, heard a click again, power steering went out again and dic again displayed "power steering".
Whial driving the power steering assistance turns off/fails and the power steering light showes on dash. When you stop and cut the car off and back on it works again for a wial then fails again.