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Chevy HHR Interior Problems

127 messages,  Last post on Nov 11, 2011 at 2:25 PM

You are in the Chevrolet HHR Maintenance & Repair Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet HHR, Wagon

Messages Page 7 of 13

#61 of 127 2007 HHR LT Remote Start Door control failure and Door Handle failure! by morph00

Jan 17, 2010 (12:54 pm)

Okay, In all my life, I've NEVER had a door handle fail, e.g., breakoff inside the door. And from what I've read, Chevy wants you to by a complete assembly, did they get this from from how Neon's are built, buy a whole unit with only a tiny part broke?
 
First the remote start door remote system quits, replaced fob battery and worked for about a month, then nothing, once in awhile it sort of works. But having a door handle break like this is bad!
 
How many owners have the same problem? If you need to get out of the car, wind window down reach out or use the passenger door! This is a safety issue!
 
I looked online for some diagrams to see how to remove the panel inside to get to the mechanism, nothing readable! Anyone have something?

#62 of 127 Re: 2007 HHR LT Remote Start Door control failure and Door Handle failure! [morph00] by wit2

Jan 17, 2010 (2:24 pm)

Replying to: morph00 (Jan 17, 2010 12:54 pm)
go back and read some former comments someone else has simple solution to fix handle

#63 of 127 Water on Passenger Floorboard by matmaxbev

Jan 27, 2010 (1:33 pm)

#64 of 127 Water on Passenger Floorboard by matmaxbev

Jan 27, 2010 (1:33 pm)

I have an 06 HHR and I really love my car but when it rain and my car is parked in the driveway there is water on the passenger floorboard. I was told they couldn't find where it was coming from, now my car is at the dealer and they have taken the seats out to dry the floor and looking for the leak. Could someone tell me is the a manufacture problem, right now I'm looking at a bill of approximately $560.00 dollars.

#65 of 127 Re: POOR QUALITY ON OVERPRICED PART [markathaleen] by prp1

Feb 09, 2010 (12:33 pm)

Replying to: markathaleen (May 22, 2009 7:32 pm)
I have the same problem. The dealer wants $355.00 for the part plus about a two hour labor charge! This is one of the worst designs possible!! This is a safety issue and GM should have a recall on this problem. They also need a repair kit instead of having to replace the whole door panel.
After reading the responses in the forum I think I will try to repair the handle myself.

#66 of 127 Re: POOR QUALITY ON OVERPRICED PART [prp1] by morph00

Feb 09, 2010 (12:43 pm)

Replying to: prp1 (Feb 09, 2010 12:33 pm)
I'm looking at an epoxy compound called PC10 (ACE hardware carries it).
My break is visible when you open the door and pull the door handle open, so I'm going to mix up some PC10 epoxy and take a small brush and brush it on the break where I can see it, then close the handle, re-open it to make sure it made a connection to the other side. If not, I'll let the initial coating cure, then add another layer and test again. The broken plastic does have a rough texture where broken, so the adhesive should adhere well.
 
I just need about 12 hours of 50 + degrees for the epoxy to cure.
 
Ken

#67 of 127 another broken handle on an HHR!!!! by wonkaswheels1

Mar 27, 2010 (5:06 pm)

My wife loved the "Majestic Amethyst" color when the 2006 HHR came onto the market. I bought her a 2006 in 2008 and she has had a great experience with the car up until about three weeks ago when the passenger's side inside door handle "released". I was sure it was some type clip device and that it would just need to be reconnected. My wife usually drives the car back and forth to work and we use a bigger Chevy Uplander to cart around our family of six. (parents, two teenagers, and two small dogs). I have been unable to exit from the passenger side unless I roll down window reach over with arm out the window and open the door with outside handle. Today it was raining here in KS and I had enough with the reach over exit maneuver.
 
My wife and I finally have taken the assembly apart and low and behold it was NOT the "released" connection I thought it was. It is hard to describe exactly how we felt when we saw the door handle was actually plastic and that it was fractured. I ran to get online to hopefully try and find a $40 dollar fix with a new handle only to find they were not available unless you buy a whole door panel assembly. Within 5 minutes I found this forum, and one other,where a gentlemen in TN described how he fixed it. After about six bucks at the local hardware store I am about thirty minutes into my repair and have high hopes I can fix this and avoid the $400 RIPOFF that Chevy is charging HHR owners for a fix.
 
It floors me that some engineer thought a caste plastic would hold up under a repetitive stress situation such as the door handle of a car. The design has all the torque place on one thin elbow piece that has no structural integrity. What floors me even more is that we have become such a "plastic" culture. It is stupid to be mad at foreign manufacturers because we are the consumers whom continually by these plastic made parts. We continue to think that the cheaper is always the better choice. Thus we have dollar stores every mile through out the city, What do they specialize in selling? PLASTIC! (from over seas) We are the consumers who shape what is sold to us by continually buying this cruddy stuff because it is cheap.
 
I have been a loyal Chevy owner for many years and I was seriously surprised by the lack of integrity displayed in their design on this part. I am already thinking about removing the other inside handles and reinforcing those before they break. For the next few days, we will use a piece of nylon rope to release the latch so that the car is still useable. Will try and update as I can. THANKS FOR THE HELP!

#68 of 127 Re: another broken handle on an HHR!!!! [wonkaswheels1] by madatgm

Mar 27, 2010 (5:35 pm)

Replying to: wonkaswheels1 (Mar 27, 2010 5:06 pm)
I began this thread by recommending a class action suit. However I found away around the entire issue...at least for me. Although I fabricated a repair and the door is now better than new...on my side anyway, I relieved myself of any future problems by selling the car. Caveat emptor.

#69 of 127 Re: another broken handle on an HHR!!!! [wonkaswheels1] by mrdbrown

Apr 08, 2010 (2:35 am)

Replying to: wonkaswheels1 (Mar 27, 2010 5:06 pm)
my husband needs to know how you fixed the problem with the door panel / handle.

#70 of 127 Re: another broken handle on an HHR!!!! [mrdbrown] by gruffy

Apr 11, 2010 (8:36 am)

Replying to: mrdbrown (Apr 08, 2010 2:35 am)
My son did it for me...he is incredibly deft that way. Chevy would have you buy the whole door panel. All he did was remove the panel and pull out the pin that holds the handle in place. GM won't sell you a handle...of course....so he took two small thin rather flexible aluminum strips and sanded them so they were really roughed up. Then he used special plastic epoxy to glue the two strips to the handle where it broke (and where all of them break). The thin strips did not impede the handle in it's recess, and it's worked perfectly ever since. Main thing, though, is to have the strips rough enough to give a firm "purchase" for the glue. Hope that helps. Sorry for the delay...
 
Gruffy

Messages Page 7 of 13

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