NHTSA Complaint #10615879 — 2006 CHEVROLET HHR

AS I BEGAN TO PULL OUT FROM THE PARKING LOT AFTER WORK ONE EVENING, I BEGAN TO HEAR A CHIME LIKE TONE, AT THE SAME TIME A MESSAGE APPEARED ON THE DASHBOARD THAT READ "POWER STEERING..." I TURNED OFF THE ENGINE, CHECKED UNDER THE HOOD FOR A POSSIBLE BROKEN POWER STEERING BELT, BUT COULD NOT FIND THE POWER STEERING PUMP .RE STARTED THE ENGINE AND THE POWER STEERING WORKED FINE FOR ABOUT A WEEK. I LATER DISCOVERED THE POWER SYSTEM ASSIST CONSIST OF AN ELECTRIC POWER STEERING MOTOR AND NOT A HYDRAULIC. AS TIME PASSED, THE PROBLEM BECAME MORE FREQUENT. NOW, ONCE THE CAR BEGINS TO MOVE, IT TAKES ONLY A COUPLE OF MINUTES, IF NOT SECONDS, BEFORE I HEAR THE CHIME, THE MESSAGE SHOWS UP, AND HERE I GO AGAIN, STRUGGLING TO STEER WITH ONE HAND AND SHIFTING WITH THE OTHER, AT TIMES THROUGH VERY HEAVY TRAFFIC. MY CAR IS A STANDARD SHIFT. IT HAS BECOME VERY DIFFICULT TO CROSS LANES WILE STEERING WITH ONE HAND AT THE SAME TIME YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT GEARS DURING HEAVY AND SLOW TRAFFIC. I AM BEGINNING TO SUFFER SHOULDER AND NECK PAIN WHICH COMPOUNDS THE PROBLEM. I CALLED GM ON THIS ISSUE BUT THE GM REP. SAID MY VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED ON THE POWER STEERING RECALL, ONLY RECALLED FOR IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM. I BELIEVE THAT IF THE IGNITION SWITCH AND POWER STEERING ARE RECALLS FOR OTHER MODELS, MY 2006 HHR SHOULD ALSO BE RECALLED FOR IGNITION SWITCH AND THE POWER STEERING ISSUES. *TR