Chevrolet HHR reliability by year
8 recall campaigns and 3,574 owner complaints across 6 model years. Best year to buy: 2011. Year to avoid: 2006.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 5 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2010 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 6 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 28, more than the 8 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the HHR aggregated across 6 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Chevrolet HHR?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2011 Chevrolet HHR scores 6.8/10 — the strongest in the 2006–2011 range. 203 complaints on file, 3 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Chevrolet HHR year should I avoid?
The 2006 Chevrolet HHR scores 5.8/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 1,006 owner complaints with NHTSA, 6 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2006 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Chevrolet HHR should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2009 (avoid — the electrical system — 5 fire-related complaints and 1 crash-related complaint on the electrical system); 2008 (avoid — the steering — 1 fatality report and 9 crash-related complaints on the steering); 2006 (avoid — the electrical system — 4 fatality reports and 2 fire-related complaints on the electrical system); 2011 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 29 complaints, classified severe); 2007 (high-risk ownership — electrical system: 63 complaints, classified severe). The cleaner years on the data are 2010. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Chevrolet HHR are tracked?
6 model years (2006 through 2011) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 8 distinct recall campaigns and 3,574 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 28 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Chevrolet HHR?
steering is the most-reported category — 1,562 complaints across 6 model years. Average shop repair runs about $700.