installed new brake pads blead all four wheels, now the pedal goes to the floor almost. when car is off pedal stays high but as soon as car is started pedal gets mushy any ideas did not do this before i chged pads.

 

Welcome to the group first off. Does your HHR have ABS? The reason I'm asking is because bleeding the brakes on a vehicle with ABS requires a different technique. If you have straight brakes, I'd try bleeding them all over again, you may still have some air in the system. One last question, did you change calipers/wheel cylinders/brakes lines/flush the system, since bleeding isn't usually part of a normal brake job.

 

no we just replaced the pads was told by chevy dealer to bleed the system. we did this three times. not sue if this has abs but i dont think so

 

I would try bleeding them again I have had the best luck by bleeding brake by opening the bleeder then pushing the pedal down then closing the bleeder before you release the pedal. using two people ofcourse. I have had better luck using this procedure than the pump them up and bleed procedure. as a side note I have seen some car that you can push the pedal down quite far with the engine running and thats normal. but the brakes shoud stop the car at about 1/4 to 1/2 pedal when driving so you may not have notice that you could push farther if you try. I have seen some people discover this when working on there brakes and are paying closer attention to the pedal. if your not sure stop by local repair shop and have them feel the brake pedal.

 

I THOUGHT THAT BE IT. but we will do this again we did do the bleed with two people. thanks very much

 

Welcome to the site by the way...

I know it's too late to say this but The dealer should not have told you to bleed the brakes for a normal brake swap. Air should not get into a closed system unless there is a leak or the reservoir was so low in fluid it sucked in air. As you were bleeding did you make sure the reservoir was refilled?

 

Yes full

 

I'm afraid that the dealer really did you a disservice by telling you to perform something utterly unnecessary, at the very least I'd let them know that. If you do have ABS you may need to take it or have it taken to a brake shop where they can cycle the valves in the ABS unit to remove the air from the system. The only other thing I can think of to help you along is to see if you can borrow or rent a vacuum bleeder unit, used properly they can really speed up the process of evacuating the air from the brakes. You might try your local auto parts store to see if they rent them.

 

Although not essential, it is the recommended procedure..

Actually when compressing the disc brake puck back into the caliper, one should open a bleeder & allow the old fluid to push out, just have to be careful & not allow air to enter the system. (This sounds like what has happened).
Best done by having a lenght of hose connected to the bleeder nipple & into a small bottle 1/2 full brake fluid. Thus not allowing any air to enter.

After, you top off the Master with an un-opened can of DOT -3

FWIW: I use a Mity-Vac at each bleeder nipple.

 

yep thats correct the idea is not to push dirt and mositure that may have settled in the caliper back into the system.