OMG! jx3, I think you are right! I think I was just forgetting to hold the brake when I was trying to shift! Feeling pretty stupid .

Come to think of it, I wasn't just jumping in, starting the car and off I go, in which case I probably automatically go through an almost instinctive starting sequence, which includes holding down the brake pedal prior to shift, but I have been cleaning/detailing the car, so I've been moving the car a bit around my driveway to position it for shade/grass/vacuum cleaner access, ect (rural property - long/weird driveway). So the seat position has been moved, settings have changed, and I'm not really going anywhere, just moving the car a bit, so my regular routine is disturbed!

You guys have been a GREAT help! I'm so embarrassed, I sure feel stupid!

I'll try to remember to CONSCIOUSLY hold down the brake pedal each time I try to shift out of park, and let's hope that I never have this problem again!

Just to show you how much I LOVE my HHR, I actually waxed it! In 20 years of car ownership, never ONCE have I bothered to wax any of my cars. Cars were nothing more than a convenience, an expensive, polluting piece of sheet metal. But the HHR feels more like a friend than a "thing". (Okay, I officially have lost it! - But thanks for being helpful anyways)

(By the way, I used a spray on, wipe off wax, and boy, does The Hearse look sharp! I'm a believer!)

 

It looks great! I love the look of black vehicles, just hate to keep them looking that way.