Am i wrong ?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 06-26-2008
Posts: 4,152
From: N.W. Burbs Chicago
It's an HHR Super Sport , The relaunch of the famous SS models from long ago, It's not a $13,000 dollar kia disposable car, At least thats what i thought. I know there not going to buy it back, I don't want them too. I just want it fixed.
And whats the point of replacing things on the HHR that only last 10,000 miles
(hatch struts- front end bushings- new velcro for your headliner- front stabilizer connectors, Gee , Lets put these p.o.s. parts on the car, only 10-25% of buyers will bring it in for repairs, The ones that do , we'll replace with exact p.o.s. parts as many times as it takes for there waranty to expire, Then we'll recoup or loses when they start paying for those same , unreliable , faulty, defective parts. (Or switch mfgs.) Whats The worst thing that could happen, Its not like where gonna go under.
Every part replaced before the end of your waranty , Should start a new 36,000 mile warranty on that perticular part. IMO
My SS is my daily driver, And mobile office between jobs, The hatch is opened and closed sometimes 15 times a day, As well as the doors, It's driven between 50 -100 miles 5-6 days a week. It is loaded every day with myself and about 125 lbs of gear.
I'll bet if i would not have driven it , I would not be having these issues.
If i can't vent to you guys then who ?
And whats the point of replacing things on the HHR that only last 10,000 miles
(hatch struts- front end bushings- new velcro for your headliner- front stabilizer connectors, Gee , Lets put these p.o.s. parts on the car, only 10-25% of buyers will bring it in for repairs, The ones that do , we'll replace with exact p.o.s. parts as many times as it takes for there waranty to expire, Then we'll recoup or loses when they start paying for those same , unreliable , faulty, defective parts. (Or switch mfgs.) Whats The worst thing that could happen, Its not like where gonna go under.
Every part replaced before the end of your waranty , Should start a new 36,000 mile warranty on that perticular part. IMO
My SS is my daily driver, And mobile office between jobs, The hatch is opened and closed sometimes 15 times a day, As well as the doors, It's driven between 50 -100 miles 5-6 days a week. It is loaded every day with myself and about 125 lbs of gear.
I'll bet if i would not have driven it , I would not be having these issues.
If i can't vent to you guys then who ?
Senior Member
Joined: 07-05-2008
Posts: 5,464
From: Akron Ohio
Like stated before some have had issues most have not.
Also things like this have been a trade mark of GM for years. We had 2 new GM cars in our family from 63-77 and you should have seen the many isses we had even back in the so called glory days. Mismatched parts failed cam's head liner sag, belts that would not stay on an engine, electrical, frozen calipers and I could go on. When you keep a car a year or less you would expect not to have any issues.
The sad part is often our GM cars were still better than the Ford and Chysler products at the time. FInd a Duster owner or Dodge pick up owner in the 70's that did not keep an extra ballest block and I will show you a dead Chrysler along the road.
The fact is GM did not really start to improver their cars will you get to the neew Malibu. It is the first new car that took advantage of the better work GM is now doing.
The HHR on the other hand is one of the last designs that was done while GM was trying to change. The many issue we have were created in 2003-2005 when this car was designed.
SInce the HHR is not going to be redone it is what it is. Things are not going to change much as the car will die soon as will many of these issues. We will not see most of these problems in the new Orlando since it was done under the new system of building cars.
Also note there are no perfect cars. I have friends that make a lot of money off of Toyota, Lexus, Honda, BMW etc. These are machines and they all have some nagging issues some where.
So either you need to deal with the issues at hand or sell and buy a new car with it's own set of issues. It may be better but then again there are many out there that are still much worse than the HHR.
No matter what the HHR and most other cars today have much less issues and will go many more miles thant the cars of old. Many tend to remember the good old days a little better than they really were.
From what I see here too is most of these issues if take to a well run dealer service department they would have been solved already. The headliner is a easy fix if done right. That is not the cars fault. A poor service department just reflects poorly on a cars quality. People tend to forget the issues resolved the first time and done quickly.
As for the creeks and noises, there is no way to fix many of them. All you can do is take many of the snap on panels off and put a gasket of some kind of pad to prevent them from rubbing. That is about all you can do. The dealers hate these too since many times they are very hard to find. I have chased noise in nearly all the cars I own and to fix them I have had to do it myself. I spend more time in the car under more conditions so I figure I have a better shot at finding it. If I do take it in I do try to narrow it down well.
Also things like this have been a trade mark of GM for years. We had 2 new GM cars in our family from 63-77 and you should have seen the many isses we had even back in the so called glory days. Mismatched parts failed cam's head liner sag, belts that would not stay on an engine, electrical, frozen calipers and I could go on. When you keep a car a year or less you would expect not to have any issues.
The sad part is often our GM cars were still better than the Ford and Chysler products at the time. FInd a Duster owner or Dodge pick up owner in the 70's that did not keep an extra ballest block and I will show you a dead Chrysler along the road.
The fact is GM did not really start to improver their cars will you get to the neew Malibu. It is the first new car that took advantage of the better work GM is now doing.
The HHR on the other hand is one of the last designs that was done while GM was trying to change. The many issue we have were created in 2003-2005 when this car was designed.
SInce the HHR is not going to be redone it is what it is. Things are not going to change much as the car will die soon as will many of these issues. We will not see most of these problems in the new Orlando since it was done under the new system of building cars.
Also note there are no perfect cars. I have friends that make a lot of money off of Toyota, Lexus, Honda, BMW etc. These are machines and they all have some nagging issues some where.
So either you need to deal with the issues at hand or sell and buy a new car with it's own set of issues. It may be better but then again there are many out there that are still much worse than the HHR.
No matter what the HHR and most other cars today have much less issues and will go many more miles thant the cars of old. Many tend to remember the good old days a little better than they really were.
From what I see here too is most of these issues if take to a well run dealer service department they would have been solved already. The headliner is a easy fix if done right. That is not the cars fault. A poor service department just reflects poorly on a cars quality. People tend to forget the issues resolved the first time and done quickly.
As for the creeks and noises, there is no way to fix many of them. All you can do is take many of the snap on panels off and put a gasket of some kind of pad to prevent them from rubbing. That is about all you can do. The dealers hate these too since many times they are very hard to find. I have chased noise in nearly all the cars I own and to fix them I have had to do it myself. I spend more time in the car under more conditions so I figure I have a better shot at finding it. If I do take it in I do try to narrow it down well.
Senior Member
Joined: 08-06-2008
Posts: 1,761
From: Grand Haven, MI
Like stated before some have had issues most have not.
Also things like this have been a trade mark of GM for years. We had 2 new GM cars in our family from 63-77 and you should have seen the many issues we had even back in the so called glory days. Mismatched parts failed cam's head liner sag, belts that would not stay on an engine, electrical, frozen calipers and I could go on. When you keep a car a year or less you would expect not to have any issues.
The sad part is often our GM cars were still better than the Ford and Chrysler products at the time. Find a Duster owner or Dodge pick up owner in the 70's that did not keep an extra ballast block and I will show you a dead Chrysler along the road.
The fact is GM did not really start to improver their cars will you get to the new Malibu. It is the first new car that took advantage of the better work GM is now doing.
The HHR on the other hand is one of the last designs that was done while GM was trying to change. The many issue we have were created in 2003-2005 when this car was designed.
Since the HHR is not going to be redone it is what it is. Things are not going to change much as the car will die soon as will many of these issues. We will not see most of these problems in the new Orlando since it was done under the new system of building cars.
Also note there are no perfect cars. I have friends that make a lot of money off of Toyota, Lexus, Honda, BMW etc. These are machines and they all have some nagging issues some where.
So either you need to deal with the issues at hand or sell and buy a new car with it's own set of issues. It may be better but then again there are many out there that are still much worse than the HHR.
No matter what the HHR and most other cars today have much less issues and will go many more miles thant the cars of old. Many tend to remember the good old days a little better than they really were.
From what I see here too is most of these issues if take to a well run dealer service department they would have been solved already. The headliner is a easy fix if done right. That is not the cars fault. A poor service department just reflects poorly on a cars quality. People tend to forget the issues resolved the first time and done quickly.
As for the creeks and noises, there is no way to fix many of them. All you can do is take many of the snap on panels off and put a gasket of some kind of pad to prevent them from rubbing. That is about all you can do. The dealers hate these too since many times they are very hard to find. I have chased noise in nearly all the cars I own and to fix them I have had to do it myself. I spend more time in the car under more conditions so I figure I have a better shot at finding it. If I do take it in I do try to narrow it down well.
Also things like this have been a trade mark of GM for years. We had 2 new GM cars in our family from 63-77 and you should have seen the many issues we had even back in the so called glory days. Mismatched parts failed cam's head liner sag, belts that would not stay on an engine, electrical, frozen calipers and I could go on. When you keep a car a year or less you would expect not to have any issues.
The sad part is often our GM cars were still better than the Ford and Chrysler products at the time. Find a Duster owner or Dodge pick up owner in the 70's that did not keep an extra ballast block and I will show you a dead Chrysler along the road.
The fact is GM did not really start to improver their cars will you get to the new Malibu. It is the first new car that took advantage of the better work GM is now doing.
The HHR on the other hand is one of the last designs that was done while GM was trying to change. The many issue we have were created in 2003-2005 when this car was designed.
Since the HHR is not going to be redone it is what it is. Things are not going to change much as the car will die soon as will many of these issues. We will not see most of these problems in the new Orlando since it was done under the new system of building cars.
Also note there are no perfect cars. I have friends that make a lot of money off of Toyota, Lexus, Honda, BMW etc. These are machines and they all have some nagging issues some where.
So either you need to deal with the issues at hand or sell and buy a new car with it's own set of issues. It may be better but then again there are many out there that are still much worse than the HHR.
No matter what the HHR and most other cars today have much less issues and will go many more miles thant the cars of old. Many tend to remember the good old days a little better than they really were.
From what I see here too is most of these issues if take to a well run dealer service department they would have been solved already. The headliner is a easy fix if done right. That is not the cars fault. A poor service department just reflects poorly on a cars quality. People tend to forget the issues resolved the first time and done quickly.
As for the creeks and noises, there is no way to fix many of them. All you can do is take many of the snap on panels off and put a gasket of some kind of pad to prevent them from rubbing. That is about all you can do. The dealers hate these too since many times they are very hard to find. I have chased noise in nearly all the cars I own and to fix them I have had to do it myself. I spend more time in the car under more conditions so I figure I have a better shot at finding it. If I do take it in I do try to narrow it down well.
Please don't take our "complaining" about a problem as bashing the car or GM, it's not (in my case). Just looking to make a good thing better.
On a side note, I just finished reading Car and Drivers top 10 for 2009 and was disappointed that their was no mention of the LNF engine. All of the top 10 engines put out LESS hp per liter than the LNF.
Senior Member
Joined: 12-14-2007
Posts: 2,964
From: Toronto ON Canada
Its all about compromise. Sure they could have made the HHR with better parts and less rattles, but it would have cost $2000 more. If I get too annoyed I will start buying aftermarket parts and sound deadener, which will still be cheaper.
Platinum Member
Joined: 01-09-2007
Posts: 16,081
From: SE USA
I tend to hang onto my vehicles for a while.. My last was a 1998 Chevy S-10
I bought new, & just let it go this Aug. 09.....(& yes I had it in for a few warranty issues)...
My S-10 still is around & lots of life left in it.
I hope My HHR will go at least that long.. Cause I really am enjoying it.. & it has way more power that the S-10 2.2 had, plus way more options & etc..
I bought new, & just let it go this Aug. 09.....(& yes I had it in for a few warranty issues)...
My S-10 still is around & lots of life left in it.
I hope My HHR will go at least that long.. Cause I really am enjoying it.. & it has way more power that the S-10 2.2 had, plus way more options & etc..
Senior Member
Joined: 07-05-2008
Posts: 5,464
From: Akron Ohio
Hyper, don't get me wrong, I love the HHR, I have bought 3 new ones. My wifes has no squeaks or rattles, my SS had/has a few that are really obnoxious. Because I love the SS so much I am willing to deal with them, but you can't knock me for wanting to fix them. In the case of the weird "boing" sound (listen to my sound clip in earlier post) the dealer was able to correct what they called the problem. Something was done wrong during assembly. For the console creaking, I can accept that is just part of the car and have tried to fix it myself with some luck. If you or me or anyone finds a good or creative way to solve it, I am sure we would all like to hear about it. After all, that's what this site is all about.
Please don't take our "complaining" about a problem as bashing the car or GM, it's not (in my case). Just looking to make a good thing better.
On a side note, I just finished reading Car and Drivers top 10 for 2009 and was disappointed that their was no mention of the LNF engine. All of the top 10 engines put out LESS hp per liter than the LNF.
Please don't take our "complaining" about a problem as bashing the car or GM, it's not (in my case). Just looking to make a good thing better.
On a side note, I just finished reading Car and Drivers top 10 for 2009 and was disappointed that their was no mention of the LNF engine. All of the top 10 engines put out LESS hp per liter than the LNF.
Finding noises are like fixing electrical issues that are working...not easy.
I just stated with the time this vehicle was built it is part of it's nature sadly and dealing with some of the noises are best done by the person that spend more time in it since they know where and what it is.
As for the boing noise that is not just palstic hitting together and it should be looked at as some other odd noises that are more than cheap interior parts.
I am as obsessed about noises on a car as anyone even the petty ones. I just fix them and go on.
I may have one of the few 1985 Fiero's that make no noise inside. Talk about a rattle trap that's a Fiero or many F bodies over the year.
So please don't take it personel as it was not ment to be. Just sometime if you want something done right you need to do it yourself. THis most true when you are not dealing with a good dealer.
I feel for you as I know what it is like
Senior Member
Joined: 02-16-2009
Posts: 6,038
From: Frankenmuth/Flint, MI
While I wasn't there, I have to agree with hyperv6. I think people forget what cars used to be like. I only know from stories, not experiences. From what I've heard, most people had to tinker with virtually new cars every weekend to keep them running right! And from the horror stories I've heard about how the people worked in the shop (my grandpa being one of them) it's surprising GM didn't go bankrupt sooner! One thing in particular, he said they would put a wood block under the brake when a new guy would be driving the cars off the line, so he couldn't stop and smash the car in front. Isn't that the car you want to buy? They would just wedge a hammer in the door and slam it shut if it wouldn't close properly...
I'm thinking these cars today are great! They last many years and many many miles before major problems. (other than the occasional lemon).
So while there are issues, I'm still happy with mine. Better to have a rattle then to be breaking down all the time!
I'm thinking these cars today are great! They last many years and many many miles before major problems. (other than the occasional lemon).
So while there are issues, I'm still happy with mine. Better to have a rattle then to be breaking down all the time!