OK so I've had my automatic transmission 2009 HHR LS with 21800 miles on it for less than a month and it has been well-behaved, but this evening I could not get it out of park for the longest time. I tried mashing the brake pedal, locking and unlocking the power locks, and turning the steering wheel all the way back and forth. It seemed like the interlock was stuck. Then, after the engine was running for a while, the shifter finally slipped into drive. I thought it was a minor fluke, but when I got to the gas station, after filling up, the shifter was stuck in park for a while again. After pushing in the brake pedal and holding it for ten seconds as hard as I could, it shifted into drive. Is my LS mad at me because I want to trade it in for a red SS? But seriously, could it be the cold temps here in upstate New York? After I drove it an hour and put it in park and then back in drive, it did not jam. David in Ithaca, NY - B-R-R-R!

 

Give this thread a read David, there's also a sub thread linked in the last post. It sure sounds like you have a bad Shift Interlock Solenoid, and their misbehavior can be exacerbated by cold weather.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/stuck-park-33022/

 

In a different post, I talked about how I was having trouble with my HHR's cupholders. Well, I just heard from the repair shop. Evidently the hot cocoa I spilled got into the shifter console and gummed everything up. The mechanic says he cleaned it up and as far as he can tell that is the extent of the problem. So I'm gonna have to be real careful with my coffee cup lids!

 

My son did that very same thing to his Nissan Altima. Same results. Wouldn't let him shift out of park. We had to open up the console an clean it up.

 

I just picked up the car. The bill for cleaning up the insides of the shifter console came to $311.00. But I winced. I made a joke about how expensive a 16-ounce cup of hot cocoa is getting. The guy looked at me, gave it some pause, and then said what happened is not really a warranty issue. I was crestfallen. But then he said, "What the heck!" And he proceeded to adjust the amount due to zero! Phew! I'm off to buy a serious travel mug! I sure am grateful! I mean, of all the dumb things to have to spend the better part of a week's pay on! $311 is more than my monthly car payment! A hot cocoa spill? Stupid cupholders! This can't happen again! David in Ithaca, NY

 

thats crazy! just imagine all the thoughts going through the mechanics head about what could be wrong......and spilled hot coco is the problem