Hello,

Has anyone experienced this? My HHR is six years old. Since about one month, I can hear white noise emanating from all six loudspeakers (Pioneer system and stock radio: two front tweeters, two front door speakers, two rear door speakers, haven't checked the subwoofer in the back yet).

- the noise is always of the same sound level. It's completely independent of the volume knob's position.
- there is no correlation with engine or alternator operation etc.
- the noise can be heard when the turning signal or warning chime is activated (and the radio itself is off)
- the noise can be heard both in radio and CD/MP3 mode
- the noise vanishes when the Mute button on the steering wheel is pressed
- the noise vanishes in between two MP3 songs (the short gap when changing to a new song)

It's not really loud, but still bothers me. It only appeared recently. What could it be?

Regards,
Patrick

 

Usually its associated with either a grounding issue or power wire ran to close to rca cables in a aftermarket system. But from all the symptoms youve stated my guess is that the stock radio is on its way out.

 

I too am having this issue. My front passenger floor floods often, and this problem began just after a particularly heavy rain. The white noise in mine is accompanied with a very loud, piercing squeal. It sounds very similar to a CB radio squelch, all only emanating from the rear speakers. Additionally, there is weak sound from the rear and sub.

 

Fix your flooding problem before even looking at the radio issue - that can wait till later.

Being you have a 2006 HHR, there is a butyl patch covering a hole under the windshield cowl that has a tendency to break down and leak over time. The symptoms are water accumulating in the passenger foot-well, and if left long enough, the heater fan resister burns out, and/or the heater motor dies. Use the search tool at the top of the page and look for "butyl patch" for how to fix the problem. It's not a big job - do not ignore it.