could be the oil mine DIC is saying 31% oil but that still doesnt explain why it only increases when parked

 

My HHR went in for service yesterday. The dealership confirmed that my fan motor has failed, and I need a new fan assembly. The part is $123, and it will cost around $200-300 total. They ordered it and will install it next week. I had also told them my exhaust seems pretty loud. Lately when I have been driving, it is starting to sound like an old beater or rice burner. I thought maybe I needed a new muffler or something. He said my catalytic convertor pipe is rusted out in one area, so there is a hole in it which is causing it to be loud. He said I need a completely new exhaust system. I asked him, "Can you just repair it or patch it or something?" He says he couldn't because the hole is in an area where patching/repairing would not be possible. Though if it had been further down the pipe, then he would've been able to repair it. The exhaust will cost about $600. Yikes! I told him I was going to hold off on getting the exhaust fixed. He said my car may not pass emissions. I don't care. I don't know what state he's from, but we don't have emissions testing or vehicle inspections here in Wisconsin.

 

Before you let the dealer tackle the exhaust, try a local muffler shop, they might be able to section the pipe and replace the rotten portion much cheaper than a complete exhaust. Is this the down pipe from the manifold or the intermediate pipe?

Since the dealer brought emissions up, depending on where the pipe has failed and the mileage on your HHR this may be covered under the Federal emissions warranty which runs out to 80,000 miles for certain components.

 

I think goetylsd has mentioned he's got much more than 80k so federal warranty is probably out. What has rusted out/broken is probably the flex pipe, take it to a good muffler shop, they can replace that section...... This piece does include the cat so it's not going to be super cheap, but better than a whole exhaust.

 

Greybeard, I think the area you're describing is where it is rotted out. He gave me this diagram. The part the blue arrow is pointing to is where it is rotted out. By the way, my car has 141,000 miles, so I think it is out of all waranties that exist.

 

Yup, that's the flex pipe...... As I said before, check with a muffler shop, unless the rest of the exhaust really is shot, that part (including the cat) is replaceable on it's own.

 

X 2

 

OK, will do

 

Well, I just got around to getting the exhaust fixed yesterday. I would've fixed it sooner, but I didn't want to spend the money on it just yet. I went to a local exhaust place instead of the dealer. They replaced the flex pipe for $208, a lot better than $600. It's funny, you never really realize how loud a car actually can be until the muffler, exhaust pipe, etc stops working and then it sounds loud. After living with the "rice-burner exhaust" for a couple months, I almost forgot how quiet my car really is. I got in and it seemed like a new car to me. In fact, I feel like its almost quieter than it was when I bought it. And it's funny, my car seems to have more power now too. Don't know if that makes sense or if I'm just imagining it, but it seems to have gained a few extra HP. Well, all is good now and everything that had to be fixed has been fixed, and I should be good for a while. Glad to finally be rid of the "rice-burner" exhaust, that sounded like ****.

 

It may have "gained" a HP or two because it's working as it should. (It's more like recovered which is why I quotated "gained") Louder doesn't mean free flowing, which also doesn't mean more HP. Leaks can also cause restriction and flow disruption besides sounding bad. Unless they did a splice, the flex-pipe probably came with a new cat too and you could recover a few HP from that.

Glad you got it fixed and found a good shop that wasn't looking to rip you off.