Rear Bumper Cover & Splash Guard Installation
 

I'm a new HHR owner (never owned a Chevy in my life, but throw enough money at me, i.e. rebates, and I'll consider any brand :D ) and am buying a rear bumper fascia cover and four molded splash guards. Is there anything I should know about their installation which might present a problem? It'll be strictly DIY so any tips from those who have done it would be appreciated. For example, do these GM parts come with whatever screws are necessary? Any drilling necessary? Does the bumper cover use glue, adhesive tape or what?
Thanks for any tips! Btw, I'm very impressed by the HHR so far. I love it's looks and, frankly, don't understand why GM would have to offer a $2,500 rebate to sell a 30mpg car. I even got another $1,500 rebate from a certificate they mailed to me. That $1,500 was the thing that pushed me over the edge in terms of my buying decision. A $4,000 rebate PLUS a few hundred discount from the dealer? NO BRAINER!

Yup! $3500 rebate PLUS almost $1900 in GM Card earnings did it for me, too. Hey, how much do the splash guards intrude into tire space inside the wheelwells. I am still on a tire upsize kick and like the idea of splash guards but need to know if they cut significant space for the tire upsizing. This is really not intended for the thread originator but for those of ya'll members with some splashguard experience. Thnx!

man, wish they would mail me a $1500 rebate!! I could use it as I picking up my new HHR SS in the next couple of days..

Regarding the splash guards.......

I installed a set of the rear molded ones on my HHR. All hardware necessary was included. The directions do have you drilling a single hole for each guard on the underside. Some members here have skipped the drilling step and report no problelm.
As for tire upsizing, they should not even be a factor.

I was looking at both of those when I bought my HHR, but decided against the bumper cover as it only covered the front half where it is unlikely to get scratched anyways. You can see the outline relief on the top of the bumper, thats what it will cover, and it sticks on with double sided tape.
The splash guards are an easy install, you pull out the plastic plugs holding the wheel well cover and use included screws to fasten the guards. They also suggest to drill another hole on the bottom of the rocker panel for another screw, but most people dont feel its needed. They dont intrude significantly into the wheel well, just a layer of plastic on top of what is there already, but if you are lowered, you may scrape them entering a steep driveway or something, depending on how low you are.

Thnx both of you for the clearance info. Looks like the minimal amount would be on the outboard edge, not the inboard area I think might be an issue. Discount Tire would not honor last month's tire prices w/o a printout from last month and like Tire Rack, they have been burned by lawyers so discourage upsizing tires. Therefore, there is no hurry to change Momma's tires except she is heading up into Canada mid-August and the "road" she travels there has minimal clearance so if I raised her HHR 0.65" with tire upsizing, it might help. I will eventually get to a friendly local tire shop and have their expert Bubba check out my situation and give me an honest and realistic answer to what options, if any, I have to go to the 225/60s. I know that even 0.65" higher, the HHR would be easier for this old fart's ingress and egress. I dislike falling into and rolling out of cars. Speaking of rolling..... I have gotten so old that now I only use Viagra to keep from rolling off the bed............. kind of like a kickstand!

Thanks to prod and jx3 for the info. Btw, re the $1,500 rebate, I was curious as to how GM picked me to mail a certificate to (not to imply I was the only one...probably one of thousands on their list). The only thing I could figure is that I bought a Saab in 2005 and got the advertised GM employee discount. That was the only business I ever did with GM until this HHR purchase.

I plan on doing the same Mods this weekend if the weather holds. Instead of drilling a hole at the bottom you can use some 3m Tape, This is what i plan to use.

Also u will have to remove the rear tires for better clearance. Fronts you just have to turn the wheel in for which ever side your working on.

Good tip. Should I be sure to match lugs with holes when I reinstall wheels to ensure proper tire balance is maintained?

I had no problem clearing the stock rear tires. With a phillips head screwdriver, you can start the screw by hand and then tighten on a slight angle. The screws are not deep inside the wheel well. You could also use a socket and phillps bit.