I got raybestos pads and i'm going to get my rotors resurfaced at Napa.

 

Advanced Auto parts Gold (asbestos) pads front & rear $53 total with my mechanic's discount.
He installed them for a small turkey sub & a cup (not even a bowl!) of chili @ Paul's Pizza in Leominster.
Done for $61

The right front wear indicator started to squeal @ ~65,000 miles
The rears still had 50% life left but WTH why not put the better pads on to match the fronts.
The rotors are still in great shape with no shudder whatsoever.

The new pads are noticably better.

 

I got mine for $50 and going to check out the rotors now to see if they need any work. I'm going to do the pads and possibly rotor replacement with a friend. I like to know how to fix things or at least give it a good try. Having someone around that knows their stuff is a must hah. I don't want to kill my self with a poor replacement job.

 

I run $80 no-name ebay chinese nightmare products, that's $80 for pads and rotors. last equally as long or greater than top of the line wagner products i tried once. They all come from the same handful of offshore factories and get put into different boxes. The HHR is heavy and the brake system is marginal for its size. Key is to keep the rear brakes adjusted regularly to reduce overheating of the fronts, use a torque wrench when putting your wheels on and don't drive like a maniac. The rear brakes do not self adjust at all. I tried the reverse and hit the brakes hard trick, several times after not touching my rear brakes for a year, even though I reverse out of a driveway every day. Both rear star wheels were 8-10 clicks out of adjustment meaning the rears were providing virtually zero braking power to the car. I felt an immediate difference after, the car stopped much more confidently and with much less pronounced nose dive.

 

^^^ this! ^^^

 

I am in the habit of going around my ride after a good run & feel the temp of the rear drums.. I can tell if I'm about ready for an adjustment...

And there is access thru the backing plate, not the easiest to get to. But it can be done.

I generally set rears till they just very lightly sprag, then back off 1 click...

But having them adjusted right is very important to no front brake shake.