It's not being narcissistic, it's being rational. 99% of the garbage posted in the Technical Discussion is just that, GARBAGE. I'd be willing to bet that hardly anyone who posts there actually owns an HHR and is merely trolling to build up animosity towards the vehicle and brand.

Besides, if he really put 36,000 miles on it in one year, he either bought a rental car or drove the hell out of it. Trannies don't fail after one year unless they've really been driven hard, especially a proven unit like the 4T40/60 series.

 

Well I have an update:

The Good News: It wasn't the transmission, that is okay(or so they claim).

The BAD News: The clutch burnt out. They "tried" to say that it "would not be covered under my warranty" because in their opinion, this fell under "normal wear and tear".

I politely(er,... well I did add a few "choice" words ) informed the dealership that no vehicle that I have ever seen or driven rolls off the showroom and 6 months later the clutch blows up. If I expected that, I would have bought a Yugo. Clutches should last to 150-200K miles. I dont care how you drive your car, is is not "normal" for it to burn up at 20K miles.

I also informed them that they WOULD(no folks, I didnt give them a choice) repair this at THEIR EXPENSE, AND they would provide me with a rental car of MY CHOOSING.

I told them that it would be cheaper for them to incur a $500 loss(OPTION A) than to have me send over a lawyer to "straighten it out" for them (OPTION B; do not pass go, do not collect $200). They promptly apologized, offered me a drink, and said they would have this taken care of at no cost "as a courtesy".

 

Keep in mind, for every "problem" you read about - there are a hundred "satisfied owners" whom you never hear anything from! That is always the way it is - especially in online forums.

Personally, my HHR has been used to prototype many aftermarket parts, has been dyno'd 7-times now, driven in excess of 100mph on many occasions (for testing), and has done many 1/4-mile timed runs while testing as well.

She still purrs like a kitten and seems like she'll have no problems exceeding the 100,000-miles before a real "tuneup" or other service is needed. The only problem I encountered was taking out my A/C condenser with a rock on the freeway ($800 lesson: install lower grille protection of some kind!).

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater...

 

Mike-

Thanks & you're Right, as I am a member of a few on-line antique Harley D. forums as well,
generally only hear about problems when they occur there too.

I have no intention of throwing out the baby (HHR Panel) with the bathwater..
Just trying to learn as much as I can, before-hand..
That's all..

www.FlatheadPower.com

 

either I missed it while reading on this or was it mentioned as to are we talking about 5spds or autos here???

 

The first poster that opened the thread had an Auto. Bisho1P posted about a problem with his manual trans more recently. This confused me at first too.

 

I call BS.

First of all, if I'm a service manager looking at your Whelen siren and strobe kit, I'm going to think you're using this thing as police livery and your powertrain warranty is now void. Second, it's going to cost a hell of a lot more than $500 to replace your clutch and provide you with a rental car of "your choosing".

I don't know who you're trying to impress, but you haven't found it here.

 

HHRCrafty, your attitude is completely uncalled for. It is not BS, it is what happened. I don't even know what you are referring to as "police livery" but I am an Emergency Medical Technician, and about to be released as a Paramedic. Everything I have on my vehicle, I am authorized to have and use. I was referring to the cost of the actual part, not the overall expense of pts+labor+rental car, etc.... I am not trying to impress anyone, certainly not you, god knows that isnt even possible based on your general attitude towards others.

As for "police livery", I'm sorry but havent you noticed a fair deal of police cars are CHEVROLET Impala's??? And in case you also didn't know, it is standard procedure to equip police cars with emergency lights/sirens/radios/radar/etc.... And did you also know that the Chevrolet service department that services your car, is also likely the same service department that services your local police cars. How does that make their powertrain warranty any less valid, if they drive their cars even harder than anyone?

Perhaps you are lucky to live in a city in Kansas with more than 3 people, and if you call 911 and ambulance and/or fire engine will be there in less than 8 minutes. UNFORTUNATELY, what you dont realize is, there is a good part of the country where EMS is underdeveloped, and the only reason you are even able to get help in an emergency is because people who are going about their daily lives, stop, drop what they are doing, get in their cars with their emergency lights and siren, and drive to the station to get an ambulance or go directly to the scene.

I take offense to your post calling everything "BS".

I am simply stating:
1). What happened
2). What was done about it
3). How the situation was resolved
and
4). Provide a heads up to anyone else who may be having the same problem.

There is no need for you to be an ******* about it. If this problem doesnt affect your car, and you dont care to get a heads-up of a potential problem, and cant play nice, get an attitude adjustment or take it elsewhere. This forum is a place to exchange ideas and contribute in a civilized fashion.

 

This is true. BUT what is also true is these vehicles are all equipped with AUTOMATIC transmissions.
I too am surprised Chevrolet and /or your dealer will warranty your clutch at no cost.

 

I've tried to stay out of this. But I do have to say that I would never expect GM to replace my clutch when I'd put 21k on the car in 6 months.

BTW, Paul, I mean no disrespect by this, but I'm one of the few people here who have seen you drive. I know it was at the track at Bristol but if you drive that aggressively on a daily basis I think your driving style may be the culprit here. That's a LOT of hard driving in a short time. I have had many cars with clutches before and until I went through a few clutches did I learn that the problem wasn't the clutch, it was how I drove.

That being said there is also a possibility that you did indeed get a bad clutch, still under most all warranties I've had a clutch is considered a wear-n-tear part.