I have a 2006 hhr, I've replaced the rear brake shoes twice, drums once, checked to make sure the adjusters are free. Still, the auto adjusters don't seem to be effective. Any ideas as to how to correct this problem?

 

Manually adjust the rear brakes when you change your oil, or every 5,000 miles. The "self adjusters" don't work worth a hill of beans, its a known HHR quirk.

 

Ain't that the truth.

 

And here I thought that it was just me..Crappy rear brake adjuster setup...

 

What it takes to make them work: Back up at 10-15 MPH down a hill then slam on the pedal to attempt a lock up. Do that several times, it helps if you load a few sand bags at the very back of the cargo area.
The problem is there is not enough weight transfer to the rear to get the leading shoe of the rear brakes engaged before the front brakes stop the car. The leading shoe has to rotate counter-clockwise in order to make the adjuster lever move the star wheel.

 

I do the every oil change , inspect and adjust rear brakes, works for me