I have had an ongoing power steering problem (see threat under Problem/Service Issues - Service ESC) now for a few weeks. If I don't have a positive solution soon I will find out if I can trade up the 2008 SS for a 2009. What are the differences? Should I go this route? I have loved this little car so far but I don't like problems... I could've stayed in my 1985 Jaguar XJ6 for that...

 

It has been my experience that Chevy's are not the most reliable cars. I would say the 2009 would be the same. My 2008 (bought a few months back) has been nothing but trouble as well, the 2006 we had was just as bad. I would recomend getting rid of any GM product as soon or before the warranty expires unless you want to spend a lot of cash keeping it on the road.

It really sucks too, the hhr ss could be such a nice car if they would just get all these quality issues resolved. It would also be great if GM would do a better job at training their mechanics as well. I can not believe all the botched repair jobs I read about on here and that so many are basically paying extra to "train" the gm mechanics to install their stage upgrades. That is pathetic.

Basically it is a crapshoot, some get lucky and find a reliable hhr that the fine employees at gm accidentally assembled correctly or you end up with one of the many many lemons out there.

 

How many times has it been in and have you researched your lemon laws? I doubt they will just "swap" you out. Just stay on top of the problems and document everything.

Go from there.

 

15000 and not a single issue. 2009 ss. my 4th gm.

 

I am not considering this a "lemon" issue yet. The dealer has been very responsive and somewhat frustrated to see me come back with this problem. They are now further investigating with GM. They will most likely not do an even swap but I might be interested in "upgrading" if a good offer is made and if it seems worth my while. I only have 8,000 miles on this June 2008 SS. My family loves the car, our dog is comfortable and I love driving it!

 

Sounds like you one the right track and your dealer is working with you.

 

I've owned an '06 Amethyst HHR 2lt(Feb./06) and now have an '08 HHR SS(Mar/08). I have had only 2 problems, none on the '06 at all. I had the rear bow tie changed for water behind the emblem(Minor) and rail dust(some get it most don't) on the paint from the shipping from Mexico. Both were satifactory repairs on the HHR SS. Stage 1 kit installed on the 2nd week of January/09 and absolutely no problems. GM does have some quality as some say they don't. An '09 to an '08 is comparable, but the '09 has better interior lighting.

 

You must be one of the few that never take a car out for a test drive before you purchase it. Most GM vehicles are well produced while a few are not. You must have a dark cloud hanging over you. Most take it for a spin to see if it is to their liking. I took 4 Speed3s out one day and all of them had poor performance and the steering seemed loose. I walked away from those things real quick.

 

Every manufacturer has a weakspot.....

'85 jag....very nice to look at. Those transmissions are a nightmare and the parts were hard to find in the early 90's, so I shutter to think about parts prices now.
My '96 Z71 has 250K miles....and starts everyday. Driving and reliability made my wife claim it from me and she never drives her Mitsubishi GSX anymore.
My '09 HHR has had some minor items I am having addressed, that another driver would probably never have observed. I bought a new car for that reason, a warranty.

Now your real ? '09 and '08.
'09
- Interior lighting was improved
- driver and passenger performance seats
- Performance pkg for '09 has Brembo, exhaust and LSD (stick only)
- option for the digital boost gauge and other options (personally prefer the analog model and storage)
- arm rests and cup holders, I think something changed along the lines here, could be wrong

now that some details are flowing, others will chime in.

 

Again, your assumptions make me laugh. What does taking a car out for a test drive have to do with its reliability? A simple test drive would not tell you if you are going to have sunroof issues a few thousand miles down the road or that there are potintial wheel bearing issues down the road. That is just silly. No need to stalk me on here, that is quite strange of you to do that. Unless the issues are already present on the car, there is no way it will tell you that a new car is going to have those problems down the road.