Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (doors, hood, frame, rust, paint and trim).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 Chevrolet HHR owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The front door handle broke on the passenger side of my car in 2013 we had taken the car to the dealership to inquire about this, since this is a safety issue not being able to get out of your car if something dangerous was to happen. At that time the dealership told my husband I that there was nothing they could do about it. Then again in 2014 the driver side door had broken also. So now I have two broken doors on my car that you can only get out of, if someone lets me out of the car or I roll the window down. I feel this is a major safety issue. If I were to get into a serious accident were I was unable to roll my window down and did not have someone riding in the back seat (say car caught on fire) then this could lead to major problems if not death. Also when my husband had an accident neither airbag deployed. …
In September 2013 when I went to open my door to get out of my car the door handle snapped. I was unable to open the door unless I turned the car back on, rolled the window down, reach outside, and open the door using the exterior door handle. This is on the driver's side. I had it replaced (approximately $195.00). On July 25th, 2015, I went to get out of my car and the same thing happened. The door handle broke. This poses a major safety and life threatening issue. If someone was in an accident and the car caught fire you'd die before you could get out of the car. This needs to be fixed by Chevrolet at no cost to the owner. I've been driving for 35 years and have owned piece of crap cars and never had a door handle break once, let alone twice. I spoke to Chevy customer service and they said it was unfortunate but I would have to pay for the repairs myself. Really?? …
On August 28, 2012, the electronic power steering motor went out on my 2007 Chevrolet HHR. We went across the oncoming lane and it was extremely hard for my husband to get it back into the right lane. On 8/30/2012, we took it to a GM garage and they replaced it with a reman. Powering steering motor, giving us a one year/12,000 mile warranty.. On July 9, 2013, I was driving the HHR out of state and was coming out of a slight left hand curve when the power steering motor went out again, which I was not able to steer the car and it ended up in the right hand bank/ditch. Less than one year and less than 12,000 miles later, the GM garage said that they would replace the power steering pump if we brought the car back to them. That is impossible because the damage was more than enough to total the car and it happened in another state. They said there is nothing they can do. …
We were driving west on I-40 in az. A 2 ton truck with a long flat trailer blew it's front drivers tire. The tire came into our lane my husband swerved to miss it then the truck came into our lane forcing us off the road my husband couldn't gain control of the Chevy HHR again. It sent us into a rollover we rolled 2-3 times. The driver's side of the car all collapsed around my husband the roof forced his neck down. The roof ended up down to the steering wheel. My husband suffered a crack in his 3rd c-spine & a broken thumb & lacerated fingers when the car ended up landing on his hand which had gone just above his head. I had to unbuckle my husband to get him into a position so he could breath. 2-failure of the roof to protect the driver the roof encroached into the drivers space causing major bodily harm. 3-car was scrapped. No need at this point to replace or repair.
There is a massive blind spot to the drivers front left side. This prevents being able to see medians going into a left hand turn. I was aware of this problem, because I have come very close to hitting them 5 times or so because of the lack of visibility. This most recent time, I tried my best to judge the medians location, but when it entered into the blind spot, I judged the best I could and still hit the curb. I have never been in an accident in all my driving years (7 years!).. This was the first time I had hit anything. I am very upset with Chevy's huge blind spot that causes so many problems while taking left's near medians. I have always owned a Chevy, and I have to say that I am not impressed at all by the HHR for this problem and problems with the suspension.
My family and I were involved in a motor vehicle accident on or around 04/29/12. I was driving the vehicle when suddenly I lost control of my vehicle for an unknown reason which caused me to nose dive and rollover several times down into an embankment, and no air bags deployed, which is surprisiing considering how severe this accident was. My vehicle was considered totaled by my insurance carrier as the damages exceeded the value of the car. This was a single vehicle accident (no other vehicle was involved) therefore my car insurance carrier placed the blame on me and the root cause of the accident was never determined. I can honestly say we are very lucky to have lived thru this accident.
While traveling on an interstate hwy, at approx, 65 to 70 MPH I felt the car pull hard to the right, after going into a spin , it became hard to apply brakes and to try to correct or control the spin , there were vehicles including a semi all around my car. As I slid off the traveled portion of the hwy. My car impacted the wall head on. I was slammed into the dash . A moment later I calmed down and thought to myself why didn't the airbags deploy? I hit the wall at least at 35 MPH, then I saw the car was not running, I saw the key had moved to off, I started the car and drove home.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 Chevrolet HHR. The contact stated that the interior driver side door handle fractured. The contact had to use the exterior driver side door handle to open the door and exit the vehicle. The dealer previously replaced the driver side door handle and the panel; however, the repair did not deter the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 20,000...updated 02/01/16 03/30/18
Excessive rust on internal rear bumper support. It's to the point of flaking. This metal support is mounted to the body, between the vehicle body and plastic cover. This is on a vehicle with only 31,000 miles on it. I have since tried to cover the exposed areas with a industrial rust converter chassis saver type of paint.
Interior door handles to open the car doors from inside car broke off on both drivers and passengers sides. The only way now to get out of the car is to roll down the window and open the door from the outside. In an emergency situation we could not easily get out, posing a life threatening danger. Vehicle stationary.
Body complaints in other HHR years
Frequently asked questions
How common are body problems on the 2007 Chevrolet HHR?
NHTSA has 43 complaints about the body & structure of the 2007 Chevrolet HHR, 6% of the model year's 726 complaints. The component named most often is body (20 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2007 Chevrolet HHR body problems?
No. NHTSA lists no body & structure recall for the 2007 Chevrolet HHR, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2007 Chevrolet HHR body problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 68,000 miles, and 11% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 6 crashes, 0 fires and 8 injuries to body & structure problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.