hey what's up everyone, i had a very very minor accident the other day and knocked the headlight a little out of alignment

anyway, i was going to remove the bumper cover, but i must be missing a screw somewhere, i got the 2 on both sides by the radiator, the one by the front wheels, but it seems to be caught on something, i couldn't believe that you have to remove the quarter panels just to get at the lights?!?!?!

i searched around, but couldn't find a how-to on the front bumper removal, would someone mind giving me a hand or pointing me in the right direction?

thanks
Mike

here's a HOW TO I received from "Mr. Mod" CJ Krause when I first joined here:



I have removed the front bumper
you have to take off the 4 screws to the left and right of the middle of the radiator.

then there is i screw and 2 fender push pins in each fender well

and there is 2 under the bumper that have to be removed right by each fender well
there are tabs by the headlights and and i used a very small flat head screwdirver to work it loose. you just have to watch it.

TYVM Mr PNOY

I know I'm not a genius...but didn't I read somewhere that you can access the headlight by removing the tire and removing the fenderwell inside?

If I am mistaken...I will crawl back in my hole. :nuts:

here's a HOW TO I received from "Mr. Mod" CJ Krause when I first joined here:

thanks for the help, but there is no way that the bumper will come off that way without damaging something!

i was able to take off one tab, but the other side just wouldn't come loose...that guy must have used one hell of a thin or small screwdriver to get it loose

Here's (http://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2323) the thread I was talking about that mentions taking the wheel well apart to get to the headlight.

Just had the front bumper cover off an HHR to do flames on the car. CJs correct remove the 4 screws at the radiator area, one each side in the wheel opening bumper cover fender area. The 3 push in clips in each fender wheel that attach to bumper cover and the clip at wheel liner at lower front bumper cover. Put slight outward pressure on cover at fender/headlight area use a thin bladed flat screw driver to release clip that attach in slots in the cover. Once they start to come loose they come loose quite easily. I've had both the front rear bumper covers and they both attach with the same type of clips. Trust they will come loose. They headlight adjustment screw is accessable thur the inner fender apron inside the engine compartment.

hey what's up everyone, i had a very very minor accident the other day and knocked the headlight a little out of alignment...
Mike

I just rear-ended someone Friday :( (with the HHR... for all youse wise guys out there..) Anyhow, did your bumper pad crinkle up in your accident? I was thinking about trying to pull my bumper cover and straighten out the shock material that's under it. (It looks like that's the only thing that's making the cover not re-align itself -- it sets a little proud under the right corner of the hood grill.)

I don't know how fast I was going. (I took off too quick behind someone turning right on red.:red: ) But there wasn't any metal that was damaged, and the variance in the bumper cover is almost unnoticible. It felt bad from inside, and I was expecting bad stuff happened. She took it like a champ, though!! :thumb:

I pulled the cover last night. Sorry I didn't get pics. I was typing out a long verbal description of the parts, when I realized that it would probably be more confusing than helpful. After you remove the screws and pop out the pins (I found it best loosen them with a small screw driver, then use a pair of chain nose pliers to pry/twist them out), then the clips in the area around the headlights and the wires for the fog lights and side markers will be holding it on. There are two long/deep tabs at the inside and outside corners on each side (these tabs keep downward pressure on the cover). The hidden edge of the cover slides into a metal slot/channel in the fender and slots in the cover slip over catches in the bottom of the channel. The flat bladed screw driver is used to push down on the catches. If you pull down on the cover, you'll see the catches. It seemed to me that if you can push in, and up on the cover, then pull out on the cover, they ought to be able to clear those catches. When I got the first side loose, I saw that at least a couple of those slots were cracked. Not broken out, but there was a crack on one side or the other of the slot.
Putting it back together was simple. Just pushing it back into the channel.
I was able to get shock absorber material re-arranged, but the inside bumper was flattened on the side that took the impact. So I'll have to see if I can't find that part online. The bumper cover itself seems to be a double walled setup (maybe they're all that way), so I couldn't reform the bumper pad for myself.
One last note (in the never ending post... at least for me), when the bumper cover comes loose, it's gonna hit the ground. You probably want to make sure it lands on something soft. Everyone here who does this stuff all the time probably expects that sort of thing, but i didn't. Next time I'll have a blanket down, or make sure I'm far enough forward so that it falls on the grass.
Good luck with yours!

I just rear-ended someone Friday :( (with the HHR... for all youse wise guys out there..) Anyhow, did your bumper pad crinkle up in your accident? I was thinking about trying to pull my bumper cover and straighten out the shock material that's under it. (It looks like that's the only thing that's making the cover not re-align itself -- it sets a little proud under the right corner of the hood grill.)

I don't know how fast I was going. (I took off too quick behind someone turning right on red.:red: ) But there wasn't any metal that was damaged, and the variance in the bumper cover is almost unnoticible. It felt bad from inside, and I was expecting bad stuff happened. She took it like a champ, though!! :thumb:

Same things happened to me this morning. Totally my fault. the car in front of me started going and then stopped i couldn't stop in time. the other car was fine. It really did sound worse than it looks. a slight crack in the bumper cover and some tabs popped out from under the head lights. Totally fixable. it just makes me mad because i try to be a good driver. i guess we all have our days.

Hey, everyone
Phillip here (Blackbird)
Sorry I haven't been around for awhile...been kinda' busy with the car. Can't afford wheels, so been busy paintin' wheel covers and door handles. Had 'em painted before, but not happy with results. Didn't have a garage or proper tools to do things right. Lotsa' sandin'...had to research a lot about the handles. One thing said I had to pull the inner door covers and remove the glass! I don't THINK so! Good thing I checked some more. Real simple. First time I did it, taped up the whole side O' the car to do it!
Oh, well...live & learn, right?
Well, that's done. Not perfect, but different. Gold anodized.
Now, I'm workin' on a grill for under the front bumper. As usual, can't afford all this billet and aftermarket stuff, so gotta make do. Along with the grill, puttin' in "ram-air", but it would be a whole lot easier just takin' the bumper cover off, instead of all the crawlin' around on the driveway...not as "agile" as I used to be. Been down there before lookin' but it's hard to see all this stuff.
Been lookin' at your posts, and have a couple exploded views from the Chevy garage, but those are about as vague as the owner's manual.
I know about the bolts around the radiator, in the wells, and I think a couple more...not sure...but haven't seen these "snaps" yet, and am also concerned about the body snaps...the black removable things...have the tool, but sometimes they don't wanna go back in and stay there.
Also, anyone wanna "guide" me through the picture sendin' process so I can "show & tell"? Not really too good with computers. Don't Twit, Tweet, Text, or any of that other crap. Sent some e-mail pics once, but tried again, and they wouldn't go. I don't know for sure what I'm doin' wrong, besides gettin' older! Ever have those days where ya' put down your pen for a second, then ya' can't find? Even worse, put somethin' somewhere where you won't lose it...?
Oh, well...didn't mean ta' write a novel here...but I WOULD like to show you guys what I've managed to do.
Thanks in advance. Oh! And have a great Turkey Day! Phillip :thumb:

Over at 1AAuto.com they have a video of bumper removal for bulb replacement, pretty informative. They also have a video on fog lamp replacement for the HHR.

Went to 1AAuto...no video to be found. Contacted them about it. They said there are none. Maybe I missed it somewhere. There's about 14,000 listings for this place. I have a couple buddies at a body shop...large local...very helpful so far. Maybe someone there has done some work. Hafta check on that. I'll clue everyone in on the results. Thanks, though anyway. I appreciate the response. Phillip

Hmmmmm, sorry about the bad info, had it bookmarked and now I get the dreaded 404 error. Guess I should have checked it first, hangs head in shame.

Tried again at 1AAuto. Typed in my make, model, etc., and, Lo & Behold, found it under "Head-light replacement"! Now, don't tell me ya' gotta go through all that grief just ta' change a headlite bulb!? Don't think so. But that whole operation looks fairly simple. Don't have my entire twisted scheme quite worked out just yet, but workin' on it. Still need to know how ta' send pics in here, though...It's amazing what you can come up with when you're on a tight budget...just takes awhile. Phillip (Blackbird)

http://www.1aauto.com/1A/-/Chevy/HHR/-/-/2009
Videos at bottom of page

there is a very helpfull video on www.youtube.com just serach for HHR headlight removal