Hi All! I bought Harvey new in January '06, and have had no major problems. This week, however, the key has been getting stuck in the ignition after I turn the car off. I have to start the car back up again, and the key will come out after the second shut off. Anybody else have this problem, or any suggestions about this? Thanks!

 

My key became completley stuck had to take it to the dealer. They had to order a new shifter assembly. Meantime on the bottom center of your steering culumn there is a little panel you can remove and there is a little white button that releases the key. Have your dealer look at it immediately.

 

i realize this is a common problem on the HHR's. Iwill pass on a little advice i think i saw on motorweek many years ago. The mechanic on the show mentioned that people should limit how many keys and junk they have dangling from their car key chain. The more junk you add to your key ring, the more weight that dangles from your ignition. Over time, he said it is possible to do damage to the ignition lock itself. Once i owned a condo and i had about 6 diff keys for the front door, garage, mailbox, rec room..etc..plus 2 vehicle keys and a car alarm thingy. At present i have 4 keys and the usual key ring doo-dad. Gonna knock it down to just 2 car keys, but i hate having my house keys seperate cuz i tend to forget one or the other. I did ask a locksmith about this advice i saw on tv and he tended to agree..to just limit the keys and make it simple. Sounds like GM just has a faulty key lock ignition and hopefully its a recall of some sort under warranty.

 

I had the same problem, only with mine it was intermittent, and I could always turn the key back to run, move the gearshift back into drive, then back to park and get the key out. Took it to the dealer and they replaced the shifter assembly, and no problems since. Hope it helps.

 

it's a common problem, many owners got it and was repaired under warranty

 

what dan said

 

you're warranty covers this problem.

 

yep what dan said again

 

Here's a thread I started back in May of 06......

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/general-hhr-4/help-1904/

 

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/key-stuck-11089/

Dealer repaired mine, no charge. The downside was they kept the car overnight.