GM to recall 180,000+ Chevy HHRs

[coaster.n3rd]

Full Article here.

Chevy HHRs not equipped with optional roof rail-mounted airbags and sold between 2006 and 2008 failed GM's side-impact tests, said GM. Roof rail-mounted airbags are designed to reduce the risk of head injury in the event of a side-impact collision.
In a letter to dealers, the automaker said dealers would need to install a piece of energy-absorbing plastic to the headliner trim.

[coaster.n3rd]

Very similar to the Cobalt recall in 2007.

[GMCSonoma]

Originally Posted by coaster.n3rd

Very similar to the Cobalt recall in 2007.

yep!

[FenwickHockey65]

:

[Saturn69]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

:

Really. Damn you GM for trying to address a safety concern! Curse you!!!

[SUPERBADD75]

Originally Posted by Saturn69

Really. Damn you GM for trying to address a safety concern! Curse you!!!

maybe he's referring to it not being right to begin with??? and i'm right there with him. this is something that probably should have been caught before the HHR went to lots for sale, don't you think? i just hope it hasn't cost someone their life or caused serious injury. GM doesn't need that right now.

[FenwickHockey65]

Originally Posted by SUPERBADD75

maybe he's referring to it not being right to begin with??? and i'm right there with him. this is something they probably should have been caught before the HHR went to lots for sale, don't you think? i just hope it hasn't cost someone their life or caused serious injury. GM doesn't need that right now.

That's what I mean. And if they've already caught this problem in the Cobalts, they should've been able to fix it in the HHRs.
My only consolation is that at least we're man enough to admit that it's a recall, not a sissy little service campaign.

[jlsaturn]

Shouldn't the shock absorbing plastic... been installed in production?

[CamaroCrazy]

I heard about this last week. I'm too lazy to go and find the previous thread to see if its a repost on this site, but its old news to me.

I do agree with jlsaturn though....and yet somehow this piece of plastic is going to help in a crash just as well as AIRBAGS?

[crooner214]

This sounds like a...what do they call it again...a service bulletin?

[shabodah]

No offense, but, the people who purchased HHR's and Cobalts without side airbags chose to do so. They were offered from the factory, and every salesman I've ever met pushes them before any other option. So, I blame the customers. Seriously. Furthermore, our current safety regulations are just plain silly. Spend some money on driver education and actually enforcing some of the common sense rules of the road before you force us all to add 400+ pounds of crap to our cars reducing our fuel economy from what it should be and increasing our costs.

[milton112c]

This isn't bad at all. The HHR failed GMs standards which is significantly higher than the actual legal standards so its not that bad. They could have just let this go but it shows GM has learned from the past and that quality and safety is nothing to be compromised on.

[goblue]

Delta I is really a mess isn't it?

- Cheap interior (Cobalt) that ranks somewhere between a Corolla and a Kia
- Loud, unrefined base engine
- Bad fuel economy from base engine
- Without side airbags, fails the basic GM standard

Its got decent handling and performance even in base trim, but the rest of the car...old GM. I hope Delta II is truly a competitive package.

[PhishPhood]

So why are there so many recalls recently by every manufacturer over some issues that could be seen to be inconsequential?
..Dodge had a recall in 2006 for cupholders
..Toyota had a recall in both 2006 and 2007 for floor mats
..Honda had a recall of 1 million vehicles in 2005 I believe for a misprint in its owner's manual.

The reason is here...http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/annou...ony/TREAD.html

After the Ford/Firestone Firestorm, Congress passed the TREAD Act to try to ensure that no companies were able to circumvent the Govt's oversight in the way that Ford did during the 90s.

Now if you are the one to hide a problem they go after you and you might go to jail and you might lose your pension and home and all your assets ( note civil penalties ). So now if there's a risk of injury or death - recall it.. get it out into the public, get it fixed and get it into the past - quickly.

The stigma of recalls is going to be a thing of the past soon. The 'Scarlett Letter' issue will mean little or nothing. Most of these recalls are done during a normal service visit and involve no inconvenience to the owner. Every vehicle on the road may be recalled for something or other. There may even be an automated 'Recall' light on the dash that receives a signal from the mothership when one of these is instituted. OnStar is already in place to implement this. Just plug your USB cable into the available USB port in the new vehicle and download the notice to your phone or Blackberry or Palm or laptop. It stays on until the tech turns it off with a scantool.

[WishIhadatruck]

Originally Posted by shabodah

No offense, but, the people who purchased HHR's and Cobalts without side airbags chose to do so. They were offered from the factory, and every salesman I've ever met pushes them before any other option. So, I blame the customers. Seriously. Furthermore, our current safety regulations are just plain silly. Spend some money on driver education and actually enforcing some of the common sense rules of the road before you force us all to add 400+ pounds of crap to our cars reducing our fuel economy from what it should be and increasing our costs.

I'm glad GM is starting to install curtain air bags as standard. I've casually looked on the internet at dealer inventory and never found a Cobalt with SAB's on a dealer lot. I've never seen one on ebay with SAB's either. I'm sure they made a few but they seem to be rare. You can hardly blame the customer when the customers don't have them as an option without ordering them. I suppose the dealers figure they won't be cost competitive if they order them? Making them standard solves the issue.