Wow I like the OPs pic w/ the usb in the top box. My '09 has the usb on the front of the radio. I was using my nano in the car w/ the aux plug, but would always forget to turn it off and would die quicley. So now am using the Ipod and it is never dead and love the radio buttons.

On a side note. the blue tooth feature is so nice.

 

Can someone point me to the GM instructions for installing the PAL on the HHR? I found something for installing in a Saturn somewhere out there, but would like to do my homework ahead of time...

 

The instructions are in the kit. No online help for this project.

 

PAL installation is easy if you know a couple of tips. Anyone can PM me anytime and I'll be glad to help.

 

Got the PAL delivered on Saturday and I had it installed an working and buttoned all up in just under 2 hours. The controls are not as intuitive as the ipod controls, but it all works with a 80gb ipod classic. If you have a bunch of music i would recommend setting up multiple playlists as searching through artists/song titles would be quite ponderous....
lag time when skipping songs is noticeable but less than a second is tolerable...

 

Installed the PAL last night in my 2008 HHR SS with XM.
Maybe they've flashed the units since the original post, but I didn't need to have anything upgraded. Worked out of the box.

I read some of the install notes from others on various forums. I'd say 1.5 hrs in total to do the work without pauses and breaks.

Most annoying part? 13/16" drill bits are NOT readily available in Ontario, Canada. Only place I found one was at Home Depot - Bosch flat head quick-drill type. Not exactly what you need for plastic, but it did the job. Used a file to hone out some flat spots in the drilling for better fit for the grommet.

The only fiddly part was pushing the existing radio cables down behind the radio dash frame area. i wound up pushing them down and to the left for easier access to connect the PAL wiring harness. The PAL harness you need to rotate vertically once it passes through the back of the radio frame and then push down to the left. In the manual, they talk about pushing upwards. Not in the HHR. No room above.

I'll agree the song changes have a bit of latency, and selecting the menus for podcasts/artists/songs takes a bit of getting used to, but it's working fine now and I'm ramping up quickly on the menuing design.
Only down side was podcast long titles. Doesn't scroll them, so if they're not shortly named, you won't know which one you're selecting.

Also, a suggestion - add X1 XM radio as your first favourite in Favourites page 1 on the radio, and you can easily cycle between your radio stations and your ipod using the steering wheel controls. Note: the radio will toggle between X1 and iPod if you select multiple times.

Using it with an iPod Classic 160gb drive with over 5500 songs.
Can try out my iPod touch Gen 3 (64 gb) as well.

 

will try this

 

i have been watching this thread and finally with almost 200,000 miles i ordered a pal and had my local chevy dealer install before a i did a drive to Tucson. What a nightmare, the tech ruined the wiring harness and they had to keep the HHR for another week so they could get another wiring harness in. So i took the diesel excursion on trip. Got my HHR back and the radio display flashes from time to time. And when i switch to XM it flashes back to ipod from time to time. Taking back to dealer on Monday, plus now the fog lamps work when you hit the traction control button and vice versa. I love this dealer and actually feel bad for him.

 

honestly it was simple install. no reason to ruin a wiring harness.. yes its tight SOB of a fit for the wires as such...behind the radio. and no real reason to get the wires crossed on the trac control though...

Ihavebeen happy with my PAL/ipod combo. a few glitches here and there, but nothing that a turn off/turn on of the radio and I pod.
infact, I have an ipod thta has a broken screen which is a perfect fit for the HHR sicne you don't need the screen on the ipod. so it never leaves any more...

 

Hey folks. Well with the old HHR totaled out the body shop let me retrieve my PAL.

did the install, but the problem... the new HHR has XM. so.. onthe PAL there is an extra wire for the XM. of course I don't have the install instructions so I have no idea where the wire needs to go... I am getting both XM and Ipod at the same time.. Where does the XM wire go, IE I need a diagram or install instructions...Now I don't plan on ever activating XM... so could i just unplug the XM feed at the radio and not need to re flash the radio...
I checked the install instructions at the first page, but the link is dead...