Kookie

LOL, I'll second that. For both sides. And the leak, and the blower fan, and the blower resistor, and the shifter key problem. I bought the 2006 and now have 136k. I guess that isn't too bad as far as problems go all in all. The thing is, I was cheated by that 36k warranty. Also, was treated poorly by my dealer Les Stanford in Dearborn MI. I don't think I will ever buy another GM product even though I had been doing so for most my life.

(BTW, still have never gotten a decently quiet aftermarket blower fan motor. They all sound like a jet engine and I work at an airport, lol.)

RICKYVB

I hear ya Kookie. I've had 3 HHRs now. 2008 brand new off the showroom floor, and 2, 2006 HHRs. So far, all have had the same Random Right hand turn of death problem.

Mechanics have told me it is a defective Cobalt steering box of some sort that controls the electric power steering. Uggghhh...

Other then the random, Hard right turn while going straight and the poor traction in wet or snow. I still love the HHR but, just like normal. GM gets out the kinks and problems then ditches the vehicle down the line.

Honestly, they should have made a Pickup version with the 31mpg and front wheel drive.
It would have looked way better then the SSR. :/

My opinion of course.

cc732

I can't thank this little car enough for the cold weather starting ability.
I drive school bus for two 2 hr. shifts per day.
We've been dealing with sub-zero F. temps here in the Detroit area for almost 2 weeks. I keep the block heater plugged in overnight and it starts right away. When I need to go home, it kicks over and away we go. When I need to go back for the afternoon shift, I unplug it and it's ready to go.
She still has the factory installed battery from Dec. of '05.

InfusionRN

2010 with 156k and going. I had a throttle
Sensor replaced twice -
Convinced the second time was a misdiagnosed.

Mustang5513

I wish I could say mine was reliable. It is far from reliable. It's had two recalls and has had to be taken to the shop on more occasions than I care to count. I would venture to say it is a LEMON. The Chevrolet dealer wonders why I call it a lemon.
I point out the fact that I did not have it 2 days before having to bring it back for a "Service engine" light. Then the transmission linkage broke and cost $130 to repair-not covered by warranty. It has had at least 3 other trips in for repair as well. The bad part is I haven't owned it 2 years yet. I will say that I haven't had to be towed home yet like the last vehicle I owned.

Frenchy42

Coming up on 100k miles on mine and very few problems. The only things that I've had go wrong(Knock on wood) are the reverse light switch(about $12 at autozone and 20 minutes to change) and the A/C seems to have dropped its charge, haven't had the chance to get it looked at though.

All I can say is, those who think about going to another manufacturer and swearing off GM, it's not going to help. Yes, GM didn't have the best build quality when it came to some of the HHR's, but EVERY manufacturer has problems with some of there cars. Short of the really high end brands(and even some of them have their problems), I've seen just about every make/model out there that has had problems everytime the owner turns around. Be it Ford, Honda, KIA, whatever, you will find lemons in every brand.

Sorry, had to rant. This is one of the things that bugs me, is people saying/implying that every domestic car every is a POS...

benkhanobe

I was researching Toyota , before I zeroed in on my 2009 LS- lots of complaints about stuck piston rings on the VVT-i engine. They were burning so much oil that they had to top it up every couple hundred miles- no help from Toyota- they won't admit their design flaw. . Seems that it was a bad piston design= the drain holes get sludged up and the move to 0-20W oil with low friction pistons & rings = not enough tension to scrape the oil off the cylinder walls after 50,000 miles. The race to get an extra 1mpg means that a lot of Toyota engines won't even make it to 100,000.

donbrew

"I point out the fact that I did not have it 2 days before having to bring it back for a "Service engine" light. "

Did you bother to read the Owners Manual? The part about the gas cap.

Have you seen the new police cars? 2014 Chevrolet Caprice, formerly called Pontiac G8, but really an Australian Holden.

TrkQn99

This is by far the easiest to own car I've ever had. Bought it new in June 2007. Nothing but basic maintenance until November of 2012...this is when I did struts, shocks, tires, alignment and control arms. She had 88,000 miles on her when all of this was done. She handles well in the snow with exception to the blizzard of 2010 when nothing moved in NYC. In the time I've had her she was nearly totaled in a t bone accident and you'd never know it by the way she looks and drives. She has 110,000 miles on her now and going strong. Just had a body makeover...new paint and minor body repair.