HHR Safety & Crash Test Ratings

PF_Flyer

Discuss the safety and crash worthiness of the HHR here.

poncho167

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rated the Chevrolet HHR, Chrysler Pacifica and Ford Freestyle as the safest. The study says the HHR has a 14 percent chance of flipping if involved in a single-vehicle crash, both the Pacifica and Freestyle 13 percent.

The lowest rated SUV was the Nissan Xterra 4x4.

apfelice

We had rented an HHR to do a across America Trip. We enjoyed the car until we got to AZ. We had a 2 ton truck with a long trailer next to us that blew a front tire. My husband swerved to miss the tire & we got back in the lane. As soon as we did the truck came into our lane forcing us out of our lane again. My husband got ahead of the Truck but was unable to gain control of the car. It sent us into a rollover. The drivers side of the roof crushed down onto my husband's head cracking his 3rd vertebrae in his neck. This of course sent him into unconsciousness, which made it so his hands were just flailing. His left hand ended up under the roof of the car when it landed on it's roof. If I hadn't known what to do though my medical training I would have lost my husband because of the faulty roofing system in this car. I will never rent or own this car & I would advise others against getting one until they fix the problem. THE CAR IS NOT SAFE IN A ROLLOVER ACCIDENT, IT DOESN'T PROTECT THE DRIVER AT ALL. :mad: :sick: :lemon:

rpaloti

There was an article in the Times regarding the safest cars for 2007 but I cannot locate it again. Does anyone know the address of that site?

pao

First of all Im glad you are ok...abeit with the injuries you stated to your husband.....but you do generalize the roll over issue...with the apparent force of the rollover I would hesitate to guess any car would or like vehicle would have sustained the same level of damage...looking at the NHTSA site...it gives the HHR a 5 star crash rating for frontal and side impacts..as well as a 4 star crash rating for rollovers.....but realize that rating for rollovers is for likelihood of it occurring and not in protection..

the current safety standard is the roof cannot compress more that 127 mm or approximately 5 inches...when this amount of force is applied.....The applied force in Newtons is equal to 1.5 times the unloaded vehicle weight of the vehicle, measured in kilograms and multiplied by 9.8, but does not exceed 22,240 Newtons for passenger cars. Both the left and right front portions of the vehicle's roof structure must be capable of meeting the requirements.

of course there is no way of telling what amount of force the roof of your HHR experienced during its rollover..Again...glad your are ok....and hope your husband is recovering well

hhrdude2

I bought my HHR after owning Suburbans for 10 years and gas went to $3 a gallon. It has saved me a lot of money. However, I deeply miss my Suburban! Understanding it isn't a big hauler, there are many things I like about the HHR. Well manufactured, great stereo, lots of amenities for under $19k and it looks cool. And I can even put up with a lack of power. But even my wife doesn't like the handling of the car. At anything over 40 mph, if I need to make a fast move by jerking the steering wheel in either direction, I can easily lose control of the car due to a wobble that is very hard to get control over. At freeway speeds I've come real close to getting into a nearly un-recoverable wobble that stops just short of a rollover. This has changed the way I drive the car. The suspension is mushy and requires constant attention while driving. If I take my eyes off the road for even a couple of seconds, the car will drift indiscriminently like it has a different idea of where it wants to go. This, alone, has me looking for another car!

ray80

wobble sounds like a mechanic problem that the dealer could correct, I have noticed any drifting on mine, and the only thing that was close to a wobble is when brakes needed work.

poncho167

I am not sure I know what you mean by a wobble. Have you taken it to a dealer yet? The base HHR has the smooth soft suspension which would be my preference because I don't want to feel every crack in the road. The HHR chassis is based off of the Chevy Cobalts, which has very nice responsive handling, ride. The Cobalt also has the sport suspension option. On the steering side most new cars including these have the electric steering instead of the previous belt drive which some people have to adjust to. Roll over in this vehicle as pointed out in this forum is not very likely for its class of vehicle. It was a 4-star which matched or exceeded others in this class with none being 5-star.

stevesparadise

That's valuable information apfelice! Currently there is no crash tests for the strength of roofs. Just glad the HHR wasn't a convertible!! Sorry to hear about your husband.

My friend had a Subaru Impreza(2004) and hit a tree and flipped over 3 times. He walked away without a scratch. I'm buying a Subie instead. Who want's a car build in Mexico anyways?

poncho167

It's not a question of who wants a Mexican built vehicle but who drives a Mexican built vehicle. Most auto manufactures build in Mexico right now including GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Honda, and of course Volks Wagon. There may be others that I don't recall right now.

elgatoloco

Mitsubishi does not build in Mexico. They have only one North American assembly plant which is located in Bloomington - Normal Illinois.

poncho167

I saw on some internet article that they have some kind of manufacturing plant in Mexico but it may have been a Fuso truck plant or car parts. Couldn't locate it for reference.

That Normal, Illinois plant is about 3-hours from me. It was a joint venture with Chrysler and has had some bad times with poor quality, lay-offs, and harrassment lawsuits. Every year there seems to be talk of closing it for good.

laco

As far as stability, my 2007 HHR was sideswiped by a semi, and I just got the car back.several days ago. Part of the repair was a full alignment. Though I had no real complaints regarding high speed stability before the accident, I have to say the car is far more stable at high speeds then it ever was prior to the accident. They added a camber kit to align it, maybe you should persue that as a possible fix for the 'wobble' you describe.

I thought for a small car it stood up well, considering what hit it, Neither my wife nor I were injured in the slightest.

poncho167

Did your side airbags deploy or was there not enough impact.

laco

None of the airbags deployed. We were fortunate, the damage was almost all sheet metal. The front suspension needed some repair work, but the rest was doors, fender, hood and front end.

donsur

My HHR a 2006 fully loaded was in Destin Florida during May of this year 2008, I was sitting number two at a traffic light. A woman hit me from befind doing around 40MPH while talking on her cell phone. I was pushed into the vehicle in front of me - a Toyota truck. My HHR was squished between the two vehicles. She didn't even hit her breaks. She was driving a Jaguar. My wife was sitting beside me and she was shook up but other than that fine. I was taken to the hospital by amublance and had muscle spasms as a result of the accident. Everything on my poor HHR was crushed in the front and rear. The passenger cage was totally intact and I feel that the HHR saved our lives. I had Onstar and they were great. They immediately contacted me and called the police and an ambulance. In about 5 minutes I was on the way to the hospital. The HHR was totalled and I really miss it. It was the best car I have had in many many years. Anyway, this is my story and how I feel about that great little car.

poncho167

Good to hear that you can still talk about it.

I had some jerk in bumper to bumper traffic cut out in front of me while on a motorcycle a couple weeks ago. I was only doing about 5 mph so I was able to stop but the guy was busy on the cell phone and continued with his lane change. He did notice me but seemed to busy and proceeded with his ignorance.