2010 HHR with 126,000 miles. Noticed about a week ago, my HHR would lurch slightly when moving the shifter from Park to Reverse. Yes, my foot was on the brake. It had no other problems like shifting hard or anything else. I intended to take it to a shop soon but never got the chance. Driving home on the freeway at about 60mph yesterday, the transmission just acted as if it slipped into Neutral and I had to pull off to the shoulder. I tried moving the shift lever to all positions but transmission would not engage no matter where I placed the shift lever. I had it towed to a shop and they're now telling me the "pump" is fried and I need a new transmission at $3400. I have three other HHR's including a 2006 with 250,000 miles on it. I've never had any transmission problems like this AND, not sure I trust this shop. Any advice and/or suggestions here would be great!

 

Sounds right. Price sounds good, but shop around. Transmission failures are unpredictable.

 

Hey donbrew. Thanks for the input but, when you say "sounds right" are you only talking about the price of replacing transmission? OR, Do you believe that based on my explanation of the symptoms, you're also convinced the shop has diagnosed the problem correctly?

 

Welcome to the site, sorry about your issues with your '10 HHR.

 

Both. You have to trust somebody, but verify by shopping around. I would guess around $1200 labor to R&R the trans.

How did they diagnose the "pump"? Or is that what they say to everyone.

There is a possibility the TCM is bad or poorly connected. There is the possibility the Torque Converter is broken. There is the possibility that 1 or more of the solenoids is broken. There is a possibility that the shift cable is not right in some way.

Some shops only have one diagnosis, some shops actually investigate further. I suspect that most shops would say to just replace the whole thing if anything is bad.

 

$3400?? That number caught my attention so I called my transmission guy and asked him. He'll do an HHR trans for $1700 parts and labor, removal and installation. I trust him as he has done a couple of transmissions for me in the past and I've had no problems with his work. Definately shop around. Unless that's for a brand new trans, $3400 is way too much.

 

^what he said...I paid $1400 for rebuild (planetary gear)...shop around for sure...Sounds more like a torque converter to me, specially if you heard no noises. If any parts broke, you would hear some grinding......but its hard to diagnose over the internet...

fluid level should be checked...

 

Thanks all for your input. I definitely plan to get a second opinion and diagnosis.

 

Just a thought , have you considered having your local GM dealer diagnose the issue, I know many don't have a good relationship with one but just maybe they will surprise you, just a thought!!