GM to recall 180,000+ Chevy HHRs

Models without side-mounted airbags fail to meet federal side-impact standards.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- General Motors said it will recall 181,516 Chevrolet HHR wagons Wednesday after finding that some of the vehicles don't meet government standards for protecting occupants from head injury in a crash.

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.

The recall will begin in late March, GM (GM, Fortune 500) said, when the parts become available. The company will send out notification letters to customers.

In 2007, about 99,000 Chevy Cobalt sedans were recalled for a similar problem. The Cobalt and HHR share their underlying engineering. The retro-styled Chevy HHR wagon is a competitor to Chrysler's PT Cruiser.

Owners of affected Chevy HHR models can contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or go to chevrolet.com. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can be contacted at 1-888-327-4236 or safercar.gov. To top of page

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Market indexes are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer LIBOR Warning: Neither BBA Enterprises Limited, nor the BBA LIBOR Contributor Banks, nor Reuters, can be held liable for any irregularity or inaccuracy of BBA LIBOR. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2012 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer The Dow Jones IndexesSM are proprietary to and distributed by Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and have been licensed for use. All content of the Dow Jones IndexesSM © 2012 is proprietary to Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Chicago Mercantile Association. The market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2012. All rights reserved. Most stock quote data provided by BATS.