jgoldwood

Hello, all. I was wondering if anyone had experienced "spongy" brakes? Ever since I have picked up my 08 SS about a month ago whenever I start it up in the morning and back out of the garage the brakes feel a little odd. It seems to go away after it's running for a bit and only does it when it sits overnight. Thanks.

IgottaWoody

Do a search...most the auto SS cars do this..when you first start up the enrichment circuit is kicked in for initial warm up so the turbo is slightly spooled up, vacuum for the brakes is slow to build because of this...if you watch your Boost gage you'll see it hover around 10 then drop to 25 after a few min....25 is where the vacuum builds up...there is nothing really 'wrong' with the brakes, just a design characteristic.There is a kit (free) if it bothers you to much that adds a pump....you actually have brakes at start up, just no assist vacuum...most everybody has the kit installed....I didn't, but Its habit in the morning of being aware of it.....so Ive never had any problems.

harleysshhr

You know GM says the brake problem was fixed in Jan or Feb 09. All SS models after that build date didn't have the problem. My SS was built March 9,2009 and it was fine until I had the stage 1 installed. It has that hard pedal and doesn't like to stop properly when the brakes are applied the first and second time in the morning or after it has been setting for awhile.

robotworkshop

You really need to get that vacuum kit installed to address the issue. Using the remote start is a good in the meantime. However just to rely on that and NOT get the kit installed is a bad idea. Without the kit you just can't trust the brakes on a 2008 HHR SS with an automatic as they are inconsistent. I know of at least one accident caused by this problem.

I don't believe the issue is as simple as just low vacuum. It is more about how the entire system deals with it. What people seem to forget is that these also have the ABS and traction control systems in place that can also be a factor in braking and all of these separate things make up a much more complex braking system. On the Automatic I have felt the lack of power assist (which stopped worse than an old car with four wheel manual drum brakes) where you would have a hard pedal and the car was much harder to stop and required twice the distance as normal. The other and more disturbing issue is that when the vacuum was low and the system was cold there wasn't power assist and it felt like the ABS system kicked in and you'd feel the pedal vibrate as it dropped toward the floor. Once vacuum built up that went away. It seems that the braking system reacts differently as varying degrees of vacuum becomes available.

Since having the vacuum upgrade installed and the latest flash of the onboard systems I haven't run across either issue. With (or without) remote start.

If you just ignore the issue and say that just using remote start is the answer then your vehicle is an accident waiting to happen. If not to you then eventually down the line if someone is unaware of the problem. The only way people find out is if they experience it first hand or are lucky enough to read about it on the forums online. The dealers certainly are not telling people about it and saying that you should use the remote start.

I really do like my HHR SS but the braking issue is a sore spot and is one area that was really screwed up on the early ones.

IgottaWoody

Oh I don't know, over 2 years of everyday driving, guess it just becomes habit to rely on me then to think anything man makes will work everytime.Never had any issues with brakes after understanding whats happening. Of course I don't stick it to the floor after starting it up either or charge stop signs..just me I suppose. Maybe one day when I find a dealer I can trust I'l get the pump.......