First I want to emphasize that the HHR SS is a blast to drive and I look forward to every drive. The feel, handling, acceleration, stability at speed, are absolutely great. That said, I do have some issues with relative build quality, all minor points, but still mildly annoying, and wondering if anyone else had similar experience. 1) Several wire harness connectors were not attached to their mounting points, and were just hanging loose. 2) Scratches on the armrest next to the window switches. 3) Cracked trim ring (base) around the gear shift boot. 4) Tire had slow leak at bead (already posted on that one). 5) Boost guage inoperative most of the time. One dealership visit will take care of everything, so it is not a big deal, just not used to seeing this sort of thing in a new car.

 

I have a lower panel under the steering wheel that is warped and want stay snapped together. The paint looks like some one washed it with a brillo pad ( I am assuming the dealer did this) I also have the gage problem other than that I haven't found anything else.
I think it might be important to remember a few key points on these cars. They are not supposed to be luxury vehicles. I mean I know 25K is allot of money but remember these little jewels start at 18k so I am sure quality control is probably pretty lax. The biggest thing to remember is it's GM hell I've seen brand new Vettes with quality issues and they start at 50k.
Bottom line we bought an HHR with a souped up motor and suspension with some badges and other goodies. Quality control is no better on the ss then the regular ls or lt. Just my opinion your mileage may vary.

 

On old Saabs, when the boost gauge does not work, neither does the boost. Usually (on Saabs) a non-functioning boost gauge means there is a vacuum leak, which causes all kinds of problems, along with lousy gas mileage.
I only offer this information because the turbo is so new, there aren't many experts available yet.

 

Ding, ding, ding...........we have a winner!

 

When I say I am not used to seeing build quality issues in new cars, I am including: 2 Chevy Camaros, 2 blazers, 2 S10 Pickups, 2 Silverados, and a G30 Van. I had zero quality problems with every one of them, and other than a bad circuit card in one of the S10's, never had a single glitch or failure in ANY of them. Maybe i was just lucky, but that seems like a pretty significant sample size.

 

Other than my initial disappointment that the HHR SS automatic has no provision for sport shifting or paddle shifters (as expressed in another thread) , it has been a real fun car to drive. I particularly like the chassis dynamics, and the overall driving experience is great.

However, Some problems have been encountered :

The boost gauge is mounted crooked. I tried to turn it to line it up properly, but it seems to be keyed to be mounted as it is. This is easy to compensate for - all I do is rotate my head a few degrees whenever I look at it, so it looks OK.

There are 2 noises that have bothered me since day one. One sounds like the heater fan has some debris caught in it. At low speeds it makes a metal-to-metal grating sound that goes away when the fan is turned off, or is run at higher speeds. I looked down into the air intake, and I removed the cabin air filter and felt around in the fan housing, but nothing seems out of order.

The other sound seems to be coming from the engine. Again, it is a metal-to-metal grating sound that is not heard at idle, but increases with engine RPM. It is not the Direct Injection sound that this engine makes, and my own suspicion is that it is turbo related. I have owned turbocharged vehicles before, and this is not a normal sound. I am reluctant to take it back to the dealer because I doubt that they have much turbo experience and I don't want to be their guinea pig to educate themselves on the subject. I will keep driving it as long as possible, and hope that by the time that I have to take it in, they will have had some others before me.


My HHR SS was built on Wednesday Dec. 5, 2007. I debated with myself about ordering one to be built in the first batch, but I finally concluded that the first ones built would receive extra scrutiny that would make up for any problems related to being a new thing for the assembly workers. Of course there were several pre-production HHR SS built before the actual production models were built, and the turbomotor and other drivetrain components have been around for at least a year, so the whole thing is not like a completely new model.

 

if u dont have confidence the chevy dealer can fix your turbo motor, maybe you can take it to a Pontiac dealer just to look at it, they have experience with these engines. just a thought

the boost gauge should be leveled under warranty, that's not something you should have to live with.

 

Regarding your boost guage. It cannot be rotated because it is held to mounting ears in the pillar by two long threaded studs that are part of the guage assy. It is all one piece and cannot be disassembled, so the dealer will order a new guage under warranty.

 

The HHR SS I drove had a crooked boost guage too, I was hoping if mine came in crooked it would be easy to fix, guess not.

 

I think crooked is really straight. It is on an angled pillar and depending on your reference it is always straight yet crocked. I got used to it quickly and easily once I accepted the reason. It is a really enjoyable car to drive with it's suspension and quick ratio steering and enough HP to git 'er done.