Hi Guys,

So I got a nice little 2006 HHR, 120k miles in an estate sale for $2300.

She has a few minor interior issues, which thanks to the this forum I'm fixing up: Broken passenger side door handle, Cowl leakage with a soaked carpet, Driver side door is a little finicky to open, Air conditioner/lights have a slight power issue (as if they get less and more electricity sometimes), low tread tires.

Overall though, she drives great. Straight as an arrow, great breaking, smooth shifting, solid suspension, no real oil leakage, etc.

But there are no maintenance records, which worries me.

I got an oil change, ordered parts for fixing the door/cowl leakage, and will order new tires from wall-mart (they have a good deal on some Uniroyal tiger paws which have good ratings)

I've thought of changing a few things before the trip including:
Coolant flush
Breaking fluid
Spark-plugs and spark plug cables
Cleaning injectors, air intake

Anything else you guys might want to change/fix up/look into before a cross country road trip? Planning on spending the next 5-10 months on the road while I work online.

I'll also be getting a good jack, lug wrench and tool set. Again, if anyone has any tips, tricks, etc, they will be greatly appreciated.

We are heading out of the Tampa, FL area, over to New Orleans, then San Antonio, then over to New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, CA, OR, WA and thinking of visiting Vancouver before crossing over to Chicago, and heading back down the east coast.

I have no rush or fixed plans, just take it one stop at a time, as I'm leaving everything behind at a friends house and will be getting airbnb places to stay while on the road. I'll probably be staying anywhere from a few days to a month or two if I really like a place/depending on how much work I get. I'm a freelance web developer.

 

The Owner Manual has a schedule routine maintenance in it. I suggest you assume nothing has been done and do what is recommended for 100,000 miles at least.

Online Owner Manual available through the link in my sig.

 

Slight power issues with the a/c and lights? Better slip by an auto parts store and get that battery and charging system checked (most will do it for free).

and get that leaking cowl issue fixed asap - part of the power problems above might be related to the water leak - which can take out the heater motor or more likely the heater motor's resister. Just to a search for "butyl patch" in the search box at the top of the screen for more info.

If you do the coolant flush, I'd suggest replacing the thermostat as well in case it hasn't been changed recently - they can jam open if it's the old style and prevent the engine from warming up fast enough, and generate a p0128 CEL code.

Injector clean............ I wouldn't bother with that unless there are specific problems related to them.

Sounds like a fun project to get back into shape. Oh, if it's the inside door handle on the passengers door, you can swap the handles from the front door to the back door if that gets you by for a while.