Recalls


CampaignManufacturerManufacturing dateType# of units affectedDate Owner notified MfgRecall Initiated byManufacturers of recalled vehicles/productsReport Recieved DateRecord Creation DateRegulation Part NumberFMVSS Number
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH
08V444000GENERAL MOTORS CORP.from 05/30/2006 to 06/30/2007V (Vehicle)29642212/23/2008OVSCGENERAL MOTORS CORP.09/03/200809/03/2008571201
Defect SummaryGm is recalling 296,422 my 2006-2008 chevrolet hhr vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 201, 'occupant protection in interior impact. the door on the storage bin in the top center of the instrument panel failed to remain closed as required.
Consequence SummaryThis standard specifies performance requirements to provide head impact protection for occupants.
Corrective SummaryA redesigned latch will be made available. the recall began on december 23, 2008. owners may contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, or through their website at http://www.gmownercenter.com .
NotesGm recall no. 08157.customers may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov .

Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES - DOORS - LATCH
PI-0011A02/01/201110038344Ready06/15/2011
PI-0011A02/01/201110038344Gm: the front or rear door may not open from the inside or outside handle, the door will not unlock with any method. the probably cause an incorrect installation of a handle component. *rm06/15/2011

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
07/10/2011
 Originally the passenger interior door handle broke leaving us unable to exit the vehicle without opening the door using the outside handles. now the driver interior door handles broke and we cannot exit the vehicle without lowering the window and opening the doors from the outside. this has to be a safety issue because we could potentially be trapped inside the car in an accident.
06/24/2011132000
 The front passenger's door latch broke under normal wear and tear because it is made of plastic. you cannot open the door from the inside once it is broken, it has to be open from the outside or you have to be tall enough to reach over to the outside door handle and open the door. lot of complaints because the only way to repair broken handle is to replace the entire door panel a cost of over $250.
04/04/201172000
 Tl* the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that the driver side door handle fractured from the vehicle while attempting to exit. the contact was unable to open the driver side window and had to climb to the passenger side door to exit the vehicle. the contact spoke with a dealer and was told that the entire door panel would have to be replaced and even although the vehicle was under warranty, the door handle was not and would be the liability of the contact. the failure and current mileage was 72,000.
04/04/201172000
 Tl- the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated when they were trying to get out of the vehicle; the driver side door handle broke off. the contact had to crawl over the passenger side seat to get out of the vehicle, because they could not get the door open or the window to come down. the contact spoke with a dealer and was told the entire door panel would have to be replaced and even though the vehicle is under warranty, the door handle is not. the failure mileage and current mileages were 72,000.rl
02/15/201157417
 Driver door interior door handle snapped off. dealer will not help. entire door panel must be replaced. cannot guarantee recurrence
09/01/2010
 Tl-the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while the vehicle was parked and the engine turned off a front seat passenger attempted to exit the vehicle and the door knob broke off. months later the driver's side door knob broke off. the contact stated she had to roll down the power windows and used the outside latch to exit the vehicle. the vehicle had not been taken to a dealer for the failure. she contacted the manufacture and was advised she would have to pay for the repairs. the failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 56,947. vwb
12/30/201051000
 I am an owner of 2007 hhr with 51,000 miles. i locked my car went into the store came out and the driver side door would not open. the remote button would work the lock up and down button but still the door would not open from the outside handle. i then put the key in the door and still it would not open. the lock flips up and down with the key and the remote but the door handle will not open the door. the handle is not broken. so i entered the car by the passenger side door, crawled over the seat and shift level to get behind the wheel to drive home. after arriving home i could not get out of my drivers side door. it would not open from the inside, so i had to crawl over the shift and seat to the passenger side to exit the vehicle. i have a torn muscle in my arm so it hurt to do all this. i took the car to the dealer and they replaced the latch inside the door for $397. that's outrageous. that was 7 days ago. today, i went to town with my husband and the passenger side door would not open. now i could not exit on the passenger side. this is crazy. same thing on the passenger door. will not open from the inside or outside and i had to crawl over to get out. this is a severe safety issue and for people who have disabilities it is definately a safety issue. also, if we were to have any accident or emergency we would not be able to get out. what if a child were in that seat. the dealership said they did not have anyone with this issue but after looking on the internet it is a very big issue and needs to be recalled to fix it before someone is killed or seriously hurt by not being able to open the door to get out in any situation. the door will not open from inside handle or outside handle so you are stuck inside or locked outside.
06/01/200840000
 Tl- the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while parked the contact reached to open the drivers side door and the latch broke off. the front passengers side door latch broke on another occasion. the contact stated in order to get out of the vehicle the doors must be opened from the outside. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for repairs. the contact stated the vehicle will be taken into the dealer at a later time. the manufacturer was not contacted. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000. ds
12/30/201051000
 I am an owner of 2007 hhr with 51,000 miles. i locked my car went into the store came out and the driver side door would not open. the remote button would work the lock up and down button but still the door would not open from the outside handle. i then put the key in the door and still it would not open. the lock flips up and down with the key and the remote but the door handle will not open the door. the handle is not broken. so i entered the car by the passenger side door, crawled over the seat and shift level to get behind the wheel to drive home. after arriving home i could not get out of my drivers side door. it would not open from the inside, so i had to crawl over the shift and seat to the passenger side to exit the vehicle. i have a torn muscle in my arm so it hurt to do all this. i took the car to the dealer and they replaced the latch inside the door for $397. that's outrageous. that was 7 days ago. today, i went to town with my husband and the passenger side door would not open. now i could not exit on the passenger side. this is crazy. same thing on the passenger door. will not open from the inside or outside and i had to crawl over to get out. this is a severe safety issue and for people who have disabilities it is definately a safety issue. also, if we were to have any accident or emergency we would not be able to get out. what if a child were in that seat. the dealership said they did not have anyone with this issue but after looking on the internet it is a very big issue and needs to be recalled to fix it before someone is killed or seriously hurt by not being able to open the door to get out in any situation. the door will not open from inside handle or outside handle so you are stuck inside or locked outside.
06/01/200840000
 Tl- the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while parked the contact reached to open the drivers side door and the latch broke off. the front passengers side door latch broke on another occasion. the contact stated in order to get out of the vehicle the doors must be opened from the outside. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for repairs. the contact stated the vehicle will be taken into the dealer at a later time. the manufacturer was not contacted. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000. ds
12/30/201051000
 I am an owner of 2007 hhr with 51,000 miles. i locked my car went into the store came out and the driver side door would not open. the remote button would work the lock up and down button but still the door would not open from the outside handle. i then put the key in the door and still it would not open. the lock flips up and down with the key and the remote but the door handle will not open the door. the handle is not broken. so i entered the car by the passenger side door, crawled over the seat and shift level to get behind the wheel to drive home. after arriving home i could not get out of my drivers side door. it would not open from the inside, so i had to crawl over the shift and seat to the passenger side to exit the vehicle. i have a torn muscle in my arm so it hurt to do all this. i took the car to the dealer and they replaced the latch inside the door for $397. that's outrageous. that was 7 days ago. today, i went to town with my husband and the passenger side door would not open. now i could not exit on the passenger side. this is crazy. same thing on the passenger door. will not open from the inside or outside and i had to crawl over to get out. this is a severe safety issue and for people who have disabilities it is definately a safety issue. also, if we were to have any accident or emergency we would not be able to get out. what if a child were in that seat. the dealership said they did not have anyone with this issue but after looking on the internet it is a very big issue and needs to be recalled to fix it before someone is killed or seriously hurt by not being able to open the door to get out in any situation. the door will not open from inside handle or outside handle so you are stuck inside or locked outside.
06/01/200840000
 Tl- the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. while parked the contact reached to open the drivers side door and the latch broke off. the front passengers side door latch broke on another occasion. the contact stated in order to get out of the vehicle the doors must be opened from the outside. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for repairs. the contact stated the vehicle will be taken into the dealer at a later time. the manufacturer was not contacted. the approximate failure mileage was 40,000. ds
12/21/2010100339
 Key will not remove from lock in ignition when car is placed in park.
12/17/201092000
 2007 chevrolet hhr the shifter will not lock into gear and key is stuck in ignition. this is a major safety hazard as seeing while you are driving you can go into any gear at anytime if it is accidentally bumped which can cause a major accident. i had to unhook the battery to turn everything off since the key will not come out of ignition.
12/06/201071000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that when opening the right drivers side door it fractured and she was unable to exit the vehicle due to a disability of her right arm. the vehicle was inspected by the dealer and informed the contact they do not replace just the handle, they would need to replace the entire door. the vehicle has not been repaired. the failure mileage was approximately 71,000. tb
09/17/201056900
 Chevrolet hhr-2007 with 57,000 miles - the inside door latch on the driver's side broke. i found out that the hinge on the latch is plastic and to repair it i have to replace the entire door panel . i am partially disabled and recovering from knee replacement. this is a severe design problem. many people who buy this car purchase it because it is easy to get in if you have ambulatory problems. please help me and other consumers.
06/13/201058000
 Tl-the contact owns a 2007 chevrolet hhr. the contact stated that the inside door handles were made of plastic; the driver side door handle broke suddenly when he opened it. the contact believed that the door handles were a safety hazard. the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the entire door panel would have to be replaced to fix the door handle. the vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. the contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. the vin was unavailable at the time the complaint was filed. the current mileage was approximately 60,000. the failure mileage was approximately 58,000-bk
04/02/201061000
 When putting the car in park, the key would not remove from the ignition. also, the car could be shifted throught 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.
11/23/2009510001
 2007 hhr ls - when trying to exit the vehicle the front driver side door handle broke. thus making the only way to exit the vehicle is to roll down the window and access the exterior door handle. in the event of a serious crash or accident the driver would be trapped in the vehicle. gm's fix for the broken door handle is to replace the entire interior door panel at a cost of $450. the dealership does not stock this item and it has to be ordered which could take up to 2 weeks. gm's poor design of the door handle mechanism could lead to an tragic event and is also a rip off to the consumers who purchased this vehicle. this door handle mechanism needs to be redesigned and recalled by gm before someone does become trapped and killed. *tr
03/15/2009560001
 2007 chevrolet hhr ls while attempting to exit vehicle, with interior door handle in open position and foot on brake, i shifted into park and the automatic door locking/opening mechanism feature broke the handle rendering exit from interior impossible without lowering power window and reaching from through open window to access exterior door handle. in the event of a serious crash this will in effect trap the driver in the vehicle. gm refused to acknowledge this serious defect in design which has occurred many times according to public reports. the door handle is available only through gm dealers at a quoted price of 450.00 dollars . for a plastic door handle that broke due to poor design. *tr