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Chevy HHR Brake Problems
If an issue is coming up when youput your foot down, this is the place to discuss it!
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Winter temps have finally arrived here in Ct and with them I get a brake fluid warning and red brake light warning plus 'ding ding' to make me look. Problem is really a false indicater of fluid level (in my case, DO NOT ASSUME ITS FALSE) and there is a fix available and dealer is ordering new part to correct. It only shows up when temps are in low 20's or less and only when brake peddle is firmly pressed and held for 20 secs or so. I am just posting this in case someone else should see it and wonder.
The other day, I was driving and saw the vehicle in front of me slow to turn off. When I pressed my brakes, I heard a horrible grinding noise that reminds me of when you try to wind up a toy in the wrong direction. My pedal would not depress and the car would not even slow.
Since that day was cold and there could have been a bit of ice, I pumped the brake to see if the ABS had just locked up. Mind you, I live in KY, so there is rarely ice on the road... but I'm originally from OH, so I did it instinctually. The brake pedal felt like it was locked in the up position. Luckily I had been about 6-7 car lengths behind and by the time I got up in his rear, my brake pedal released (still with resistance) and I was able to slow enough not to hit him.
I took it into the shop and they said everything was working fine. Fine? I asked what they did to come to that conclusion and they said they took a computer read and nothing unusual had happened. I asked if they were able to tell when the ABS had been engaged (because this would have been the only time) and they said the computer doesn't track that. They explained that since the car was stopping fine for them, everything worked properly.
Does anyone have any advice to share here? I don't have any warm fuzzy knowing the car dealer dismissed the fact that I almost rear-ended a pickup truck while going 45 mph. I saw a another posting about "something" rotors, but I don't know enough about cars to even know if that could be related.
I'm also a bit leary of this dealer because after I signed the papers to buy the car, they informed me that while they were a Chevy dealer, they were not recognized by GM and could not give me the special financing. Does this mean they don't meet GM standards? They've been the only car place in town for ages.
I decided to file a similar complaint ODI10179551 so someone knows it has happened more than once.
SAME THING! I bought a new '07 HHR-LT in early May. The VERY NEXT DAY the steering wheel began shaking violently whenever I braked from any speed higher than 40 MPH. Brought it back to the dealer and they said the rotors were "out of round" - this is a NEW car! Six weeks and 2,400 miles later the shaking returned whether I was braking or not. It was like the front wheels were not balanced. The same service mgr. apologized for the recurrence, stating that the original repair person was not terribly experienced (wow, what a confidence builder for me to trust THAT dealership!) He said they turned the rotors again and the problem was fixed. The car drove fine for about 24 hours, then it developed a distinct clicking sound whenever I applied the brakes at any speed. I'm fed up. I'm getting rid of it!
So far the only complaint other than brakes was that the fools at GM tried to sell me a roof rack without cross bars. When we got the car home we looked for the cross bars all under the seats and in the boot. The dealer said they were extra. I asked for the section of the user manual that explains how to use it without them and they could not tell me how to put a small boat up there or anything else. I told them I was bringing the car back as defective and they gave me the cross bars.
is the brakes.. made very funny sound grind then klunk... after making way home slowly... taking the front wheels off .. discover that the inside pads of front rotors are gone on the passenger side.. and on drivers side are 1/2 the thickness of the outside pads... it appears that the calipers are not engaging properly...
any one know of this
When it started again I was resigned to the belief that they (the brakes) were just to light for the vehicle. Mine is a LT2, so I have 17 in wheels. At about 26k my wife took it back and they ground them again and all was well again.
It started to wander on the freeway around 32k so I went back again to have the alignment checked, and was told that the tires were half worn and that was the problem. I was born at night.... you know how that goes.
I wanted new tires anyway so off to Sears for Goodyear Assurance treads. Great tires by the way.
At 41k they started to surge again and finally exiting the highway I experienced a violent shaking. Back to the dealership to be told that the wheels were over torqued by Sears. Now I'm an aircraft mechanic and I kind of know maintenance and I know a line of crap when I hear it. The only problem is I’m out of warranty at this point, and they want $500 to correct the problem.
I believe the problem is caused by over generation of heat from larger wheels and the inability to cool due to the design of the rotors.
Other than the brakes I love the car, so I'm going to invest in cross drilled and slotted rotors that are treated with corrosion inhibitors and ceramic brake pads, and I believe this will cure the problem. I'll get back to ya!
FYI also the is a TSB for the Front of the vehicle to protect the radiator. You need this done ASAP because you could get a rock that will damage the radiator.
RECALL on the headliner for each side of car.
Check this out.....
Hopefully this will help you
Because you have had this problem several times in the past........ the dealership should take care of this. If they do not.... and you have records in the past that this has been done with the brakes. CALL GM. They know this is a problem
Also have them check for the Radiator guard. If you do not have one... YOU NEED IT. A stone will come in below bumper & damage your Radiator.
Also have them check for the RECALL in headliner.
Also there is another one out there for the Front of the Radiator. It is a Stone Gaurd to protect the radiator. You have a 07 & it does not have it.
Have them check the RECALL out as well. Headliner for non-airbags
There is also one for your from radiator. It is a Radiator guard to protect it from stones.
If you do not have side airbags there should be a RECALL on your vehicle as well.
THANKS
HHHAZZY@COMCAST.NET
The dealer here in CT said the problem was warped rotors but had no clue as to why the problem kept recurring. He said they had heard nothing from GM. (A customer of my small business is an out-of-state Chevy service manager. I trust him. He, too, had not heard anything from GM about this problem.
When, once again, the front end of my HHR started vibrating when braking for the FOURTH time, and after reading about the HHR owner who was told it would cost him $500 for another brake fix because his warranty was expired, I finally decided to get rid of my HHR.
I'm now back happily driving a new PT Cruiser again and I do not have to worry about if (when) my car's front end will start shaking violently. The irony for me is that the day GM issued their TSB regarding the warping rotors on HHRs (5-23-08) was the same day I traded in my HHR.
I start the engine, put in gear and it will start to move with 2 feet on the pedal.
Just as it comes to a stop the ABS kicks in and it will than slow to a stop,with a rock hard pedal. no warning lights or codes.
After a fey hundred feet of driving the problem has gon away.
Dealer hasn't found any problems and they are ready to give it back to me.
this has happened 3 times in 50 miles.
Thanks for any input
MARK ASE Certified Master Tech
THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL !!!! Let the world know now.....
I had traded in a 06 HHR LT2 I purchased late 05. fully equipt . Chrome, 17 wheels,2.4L DOHC,6 disc CD, burgondy ( matches my Harley) ,pin striping...very sexy car. Never had a single problem. Lots of power!. I couldn't be happyer.
But I wanted the 265 horse power.
Was I pissed off? I am a former Chevy mechanic from the 70's and I could not believe that these brakes were "shot," so I told the Service Writer to take a hike. Today I finally had time to look at the brakes and lo and behold, the front pads and rear shoes have at least 20,000 miles left on them. They're not "shot" and putting a dial indicator on the front rotors indicated that the left front was really out of round. The right front wasn't too bad, but since I have everything apart, decided to have both the front rotors and rear drums cut and replace the pads and shoes.
I am in the middle of this project on my day off and I now see that there is a bulletin on this warped rotor issue. Can someone tell me what this bulletin says and any ideas why my Chevy dealer was not aware of this bulletin? Do I have any recourse on getting my money back for the brake parts I purchased today along with the machining of the drums and rotors?
You know, I am from the Chevy era when they made former mechanics like me work on the worst pieces of junk; the Chevy Vega and Chevy Chevette. I purchased this HHR because I started to believe the hype that GM had really gotten their quality back up to the Japanese. Don't believe that crap for a minute. This issue has me so mad I am tempted as the previous writer to get rid of this thing and stay off GM for the rest of my life. Buy American? Yeah, I did and got it thrown back in my face...and they wonder why their sales are down.
I knew three people with Vega's with no issues other than being way under powered. Nice looking sporty 2-door.