Do it yourself..at least you get pads for life...unlike the dealer where its a consumable and its your dime each time. Brake pads arnt that complicated that it would affect anything else under warrenty.

 

Ok, not to be disrespectful to a fellow HHR owner, let alone a brother "Robert" but why are you so insistent on going to the stealership to have your brake pads replaced? Is it that people from Michigan are a little slow? I thought it was only if one was from Wisconsin. The brake replacement can be performed for a cost closer to the prices you were quoted for the pads alone. If you can't get it done for that price PM me and I will get it handled for you.

 

I wouldn't let those idiots (that dealer) work on my wheelbarrow!

 

Hold on a minute. The only reasons I was considering going to the dealer was because of a lack of time on my part (work, family, etc) and the original braking issues with this vehicle. I have a 2008 HHR SS with automatic and experienced the low vacuum issue and lack of braking when it was cold. Luckily that problem appears to be resolved with the addition of the vacuum pump upgrade. If the dealer does the brakes then no one other than GM has touched them if there are any further issues. This is the only vehicle I've ever owned with a braking problem from the factory (a huge oversight on GM's part) which is why I didn't want to give them an out because someone else did the brakes.

The reason for the original post was questioning just how soon I should have expected to perform a brake job. To me 27K miles seems way too early and I wanted to hear from others with similar miles to find out if others if this is normal. I also wanted to get a sanity check on the price since it seemed way out of line.

For what the dealers want I may very well end up setting aside some time and doing the job myself. There is no way I would pay what they were asking to install the pads. I have the procedure from the factory service manual and it doesn't look too bad. If I do them I'll do what I did for my 1995 Dodge RAM (176K miles now) which tended to eat front pads every 20K miles. I bought two sets of lifetime pads so I'd have a set ready to go and just swap them out when needed and return the used set. The parts place hated it since I kept the receipts and never had to buy another set of pads for it. They weren't too much and the second set ensured I always had a set to use. That way I avoided tearing it apart and leave it in pieces while running to the store or just to find out they were 'out' and I needed to put it back together.

 

I don't have an SS, nor do I know the OEM pricing BUT, if they are priced higher than the "regular" HHR, as some are stating here, then I would be very careful about the pricing that is quoted outside of the first dealership.

MY discounted pricing for the OEM HHR front brakes is approx. $100, which is about $40-$50 off of list.

Next, if the job is done according to the Service Manual AND GM recommendations, they WILL NOT just turn the rotors. They will need to be checked for runout to do a good, and professional job. The install will be done with this consideration....that has no chance of returning with a customer complaint. They WILL NOT be "slapped" onto a lathe, as your local Auto Zone or chain brake repair will do, and turned to eliminate just the scoring in the rotor.

While I do have some problems with dealers labor rates, the labor pricing is based on the labor per hour. Check and see what a specific dealers rate is at. It should be posted near or in the service area. Next is the "book" allowance for the amount of time to perform a specific job. Again, I have trouble with this, in most instances, but still, it is used to determine the TOTAL labor price. You could ask what the dealer is figuring for the total repair time. But in my opinion and with other consideration, 3 hours would not be unreasonable for a total front and rear replacement with rotors set up and turned correctly.

To directly answer your question regarding the need of front and rear brakes in 27K miles.......yeah, TO ME, that sounds a little soon. But it is dependent on your driving and use.

Good luck with whatever you decide and keep us informed.

 

If you are going to do the labor to install (Lifetime) brake pads why does it really matter when you actually do the deed. Let's just say you could manage another 8K out of the existing pads, how would it matter if you do it now or in 8k when the weather is much hotter. You will only be paying for one set of (Lifetime) brake pads whenever you decide to do it. I would suggest to do it now so that you don't create extra heat for the rotors by using brake pads with a small amount of lining left. That should be a no brainer.

 

^^^^^^^Agreed^^^^^^^

or if your pads are not to the point of cutting into the rotor, it may save a little off the price. Although it's terribly hard to find a reputable repairer to not want to "true" the rotors.

You know, I was just thinking....what if this was a "come on" by the dealer. Maybe you should pull a wheel and look/measure the pads, ALL THE WAY AROUND.

I'm doing this from memory (which is not that good) but I believe the usual consideration is 1MM of thickness for critical replacement....2 MM you will be needing soon....4MM don't worry about it (open for correction).

 

Do your own brakes for $50.00-$80.00 and put highend ceramic pads in.

I paid $60.00 for wagner ceramic top of the line pads and timed the brake job in under 11 min, and that was with a cig and goose island break.

 

That price just seems way out of line. Even our BMW was cheaper than that for dealer installed pads and rotors in 2005 anyway (although I put new rotors and pads and sensors on myself last time for a bit more than half what you are being quoted). I drive pretty hard, and my stock rear pads are only about 50% worn at 40,000 miles. Something just doesn't add up here.

 

I just did the fronts on my SS a few weeks back and new top of the line pads and rotors at NAPA were $185 and about 1.5 hours to change them in my driveway. Next time it will only likely only take an hour. You'll need a lug nut wrench, breaker bar, torque wrench, 2 sockets, a short extension and a floor jack.

Ira