Nukin'

Just picked up my new 09 SS . Took about 12 weeks from ordering to delivery. I was told the delivery was delayed due the car being randomly selected for QA inspections which took a couple of weeks. This is evident with the miles on the car at delivery (22). Wish I knew what sort of miles those were :-(.

On my initial test drive, I couldn't find 5th gear to save my soul (and I've been driving stick since the early 80's). The tech took it out and had the same problem. So they keep it overnight (I didn't even get to take it home the first day). The next morning the dealer calls and says "all is well", you just have to know how to shift it into 5th.

So, back to the dealer and sure enough - you can slip it into 5th if you know where it is. It's weird, if I push all the way to the right and try to push up into 5th it won't go. You have to go about half way between 3rd and all the way to the right.

On the second day of driving it, I noticed that I don't have to lift the lock-out to get into reverse. I'm thinking that's the real problem.

So, asking the group if 5th is straight up from full right deflection of the shifter? Also, is reverse straight down from 5th or do you have to lift the lock-out, move to the right then down?

Thanks for any input - I've got a appt. with the dealer on Monday morning.

Two other weird things, I found an extra door handle lying under the passenger seat (wonder why that was there) and all the badges on the passenger side of the car were missing. Makes me wonder about what the 'QA inspection' was all about.

HillsdaleHHR

to the site!!! Hopefully you get it worked out. As for the inspection, we had one member who had an HHR SS delivered with a standard running board on one side and an SS side skirt on the other

c2vette

I am pretty certain that your problem is the adjustment of the shift cables. Certainly the lateral adjustment (the one on the left) and possibly the fore and aft adjustment (the clip/cable on the right). I fooled with mine a long time before I found the optimum adjustment, and now along with the TWM short throw it shifts very well. You can let the dealer try to get it right, but in the end doing it yourself is likely the best solution. Once correct, 5th is right where it should be with no odd motion required, and reverse requires you lift the lockout and then it is down and to the right also just like it should be. Patience required.

longhornss

This is wrong wrong wrong Fifth is in the same position as it has been since you started driving in the 80's and of course you have to lift the lockout to get to reverse. That is why it is a lock out. anyway look up the TWM shifter install instructoins and try and fix it yourself if the dealer says there is no problem.

Yonash

like c2vette said, the adjustment cables are probably a bit off. i used to have issues with 5th gear every now and then. seemed like if i was really getting on it, it didn't like 5th. if i was just casually going along, 5th was fine. now, i have the TWM short shifter (like c2vette) and i've got mine adjusted just right, for 5th the reverse lockout piece (stock is plastic, TWM it's part of the aluminum) goes right up against the cage for the shifter unit, so i go as far right as it can, then straight up for 5th, and reverse, i pull up on the lockout, and back and right a little more to lock it in. in all honesty, i'd say ditch the stock shifter and just go with a TWM. this unit is AWESOME (just installed today), and you can adjust it to shift exactly how you want it to while you're installing it, since you'll be in there anyways lol

Nukin'

Yes, I was thinking of getting the short shifter but have to convince the wife that it's a good idea to start messin' around with a brand new car. I'll see what the dealer has to say (want to give them a chance) but I've got a feeling I'm not going to get much satisfaction. Looks like there's plenty of positive feedback on the TWM shifter though and I'll take a look at the instructions just so I'm better informed.

jerSSey HHR

I originally test drove the 5 speed, although I eventually bought the auto. During the test drive, I had not driven a stick in many years, and I had no problem rowing through the gears. It was a little stiff, but I didn't have any problems finding the gears. So like someone mentioned, maybe it's an adjustment in the cables of some sort.

HPVOHHR

Yes, as others have indicated, your lateral/side-to-side adjustment cable likely needs some fine-tuning.

Most of us have had to go through this to install the TWM short throw shifter, but this same process should work fine for you.

If you take some of the console apart, you can fix this quite easily. You need to take the trim off surrounding the shifter first though... don't worry, it's not hard to do. The whole process should only take 20 mins or so.

1. First, grab the FRONT of the leather shifter boot at the base, near the bottom of the boot. Pull UP. It should pop up at the front, then pull it forward to get it out of the chrome trim ring. Base of the boot should now be removed from the console trim. Top of boot still attached to shifter though... just leave it like this.

2. Pull out the rubber liner in the storage cup in front of the shifter. Put on a protective glove (sharp edges) and stick your fingers/hand into the rectangular cutout... Pull UP... the silver trim piece should come out.

3. With the silver trim/storage cup removed, you will see two small fasteners/bolts in the area that was covered by the silver trim/cup piece. These are the only remaining fasteners. Loosen/remove these and then the entire top portion/trim of the console can be lifted up and removed. There are some metal snap/clip retainers near the back of the large console trim piece, so you need to pull up with a bit of force.

4. When taking off the console trim piece, you should be able to angle the shifter boot a bit to slip it through the chrome-surrounded hole in the console piece... then you can place the large console trim piece aside.

5. With the trim removed, you can easily see the shifter assembly/mechanism and adjustable cables (x2). The cable on the right is for fore-aft movement of the shifter and the one of the left is for lateral/side-to-side movement.

6. look closely, and you will see the adjustment clips on the cables. Here is the picture from the TWM install manual:



7. Put the shifter in fifth (once you find it ) and then unlock the adjustment clip on the lateral cable (the left one). To unlock it, use a small flat blade screwdriver as shown in the picture. Pry it open to unsnap it. Note that it won't open completely, it just unsnaps slightly. Once unsnapped, the shifter can move around (side to side in this case) without pulling or pushing on the actual cable.

8. With the clip unlocked (and shifter previously placed in 5th gear, before unlocking), move the shifter to the right until it just about touches the shifter base assembly/cage (it will make sense when you do it). Leave maybe an 1/8 of an inch (or slightly less) between the right side of the shifter and the base/cage assembly. Once it's in that position, lock the clip in place. To lock it, snap the clip back into place by squeezing the clip asm with your fingers until it snaps back.

9. With the clip snapped back together, move through the gears and make sure the reverse lockout works as it should too. 5th gear should be much easier to engage now, because the side of the shifter will physically touch the shifter base/cage assembly, guiding the shifter into position, so that you can't push the shifter too far to the right (like you were doing before).

10. Repeat steps 7, 8, 9, until you are happy with the shifter operation. If you're happy, put everything back together in reverse order.


Sorry, it looks like a lot of steps but it really isn't difficult at all. You could certainly let the dealer do it but you'll probably be able to adjust it to your liking better by yourself, and in a lot less time than making an appt. at the dealer. If you prefer to take it to the dealer, maybe these instructions will help them to clarify the problem a bit better.

Hope it helps.

Darren

Nukin'

Talked to the dealer. Yup, looks like the shifter is broken. They got one on order but said it would take about two weeks to get in.

Thanks for all the input - I'm sure I'll have to tweak it a bit once the new one comes in.