guppyfry

Hey all,

Just picked up my new HHR over a month ago. Winter here in Norther British Columbia is limping to a close, and I'm wondering how the HHR performs during the cold season.

I live 35 km out of town in a rural area. So about 10 km drive on country roads to the highway, often very icy, always snowy, not always plowed curvy roads.

My previous car was an old Tempo. With the front wheel drive and good winter tires I did pretty good, felt pretty secure with the handling. Now grant it, I'm a granny driver anyways, but it's nice to feel like you are not going to be visiting the ditches anytime soon.

Sooooo, for you HHR drivers who have weathered a northern winter or two, how did you find your car performed in cold weather? (temps to the -30's or 40's Celsius)

And how does your car handle in snow and ice? What kind of winter tires do you reccommend? I used to have Goodyear IceGrips on my Tempo, the best Darn Tires I ever had. Not sure what is on my HHR now, I got them (the dealership) to throw in winter tires for a pittance. They are very good in snow, but not so good on ice.

Thanks lots!

courthousedeb

We had some pretty serious snow here in Colorado this year and I didn't have any problems with mine at all. The lowest I saw the temp go was around minus 9F. I'm running the stock Firestone Affinity 16" tires too.

Applenut

The best advice I can give is when cleaning snow and ice, open hood to clean out around the wiper arms.

Bertland

I'm from Montreal, Got mine in september last year, want true some good snow storm this year and it perform very well, I'm sure you will feel very secure, GoodYear tire are very good, if you want to pay a bit more the Toyo Observe are very amazing, (LINK) Just when it windy, be a bit more aware, it will catch side wind more then your Tempo

calgaryhhr

Hey guppyfry, my HHR has been through two Calgary winters. It gets by pretty well. By putting some decent winter tires on it will help a lot. I think the Traction Control system is a little disappointing.

The biggest problem it seems to have in cold weather is that it has really poor air flow to the feet. The airflow design seems to be poor in that area and it just warm the feet at all.

GCarp

I noticed two winter related things,
1. The cold feet issue - I made an elbow for the duct to redirect the heat down... made a BIG difference. The mod can be found here: https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/anemic-heater-cold-tootsies-5637/

2. If you have running boards ... make sure you clear off the roof from snow/ice. If it melts and the water runs down along the front edge of the door and re-freezes, you could wind up with a block of ice behind the front edge of the door and not be able to open the door without damaging it.

BTW ... welcome to the club ... and the famous words of someone else on the board - Enjoy the ride...

guppyfry

Thanks for all the advice and tips. It all sounds good!

courthousedeb, I've heard of the winter Colorado got this year. Many a blizzard! Good to hear that your HHR weathered it so well.

Glad to see so many members from Canada. It's going to be good to have access to your combined localized knowledge and experience. So, HHRs' laugh at the worst winter can throw at them then??? Sounds good to me!

Bertland, I grew up in Ste-Foy, just outside of Quebec city. L'Hongrois est ma langue maternel, le Francais seconde, and l'Anglais ma troisieme. (Sorry, have no idea how to configure my keyboard for accents and the 'cedille').

I was expecting the high profile of the HHR to be more wind sensitive, but suprisingly I have found it MORE stable than my Tempo when driving in high winds. I'm not sure why, maybe because of the greater weight? Better traction?

calgaryhhr, if you got through two winters with your HHR, I'm sure I won't have any problems with mine at all. I've noticed the cold feet thing, but if I select the vent to the feet, it warms up nice. Whether the heat is sufficient during the coldest of the cold days remains to be seen.

I just noticed a typo in my introduction: I have an LS, NOT an LT (taht darn dyxlxesia agiain!( (just kidding, I'm not really dixlesic . . . I think . . . ). So, no traction control. But I did test drive an LT with the traction control and took it to an icy parking lot and made some hard stops and starts and though I did feel it when it kicked in, the improvement in traction was marginal. Anyways, I'm counting on my superior driving skills to help me out of slippery situations ;0)

GCarp, yes, I do have running boards (what's an HHR without them???), so I'll be taking your suggestion to heart. I can just see myself crawling in through the back gate because my doors are frozen shut . . . what an elegant and graceful image . . .

Time to take the winter tires off soon . . .

By the way, don't you find it a little bit ridiculous, when you get in your car, and it is -20 outside, and the "ICE POSSIBLE" warning flashes on the DIC??
Really?? No kidding, Sherlock!

number47

Coldest I've run ours' in was -34°C. Car ran like a top.... We do have the factory block heater, and I wouldn't think of trying to fire her up without it at those temperatures. Snow also was no problem, except that the factory aluminum wheels like to gather snow and slush in them, and that knocks them completely out of balance. Had to pull over a few times and clean them out using the snow brush.

Bertland

That a good one

By the way I never plug my block heater, just use Mobil 1 Synthetic motor oil, it keep your engine nice and fresh !! and help a lot when you start in very cold temperature, make the engine easier to turn

number47

I also run Mobil 1 in everything i own(not the HHR yet, as I will wait to hit 10,000 miles first), but not plugging-in your car because you have good oil is still not a good idea. Your cylinder walls, as well as every single part of the engine, will be tighter and often slightly out of round at very cold temperatures. Sure, your oil will flow, ad the engine will crank and run, but you're still wearing out your engine more quickly tha those in warmer climates, or those who simply plug the thing in... Costs about $10/month to keep you car plugged-in every night, and it only need to be done a couple/few months per year, depending on where you live. Cheap insurance/maintenance. GM, Jaguar, as well as a few other makers, have shops/labs and do all their cold weather testing within an hour of where I live, and the above info, RE: wear, comes directly from the sources.