working on it

I've had a door seal problem for about a year. After driving on the bad roads in bad traffic playing dodge'em for a few miles, my door seal ( bottom of door)becomes looser - enough for added road noise and sometimes a little airflow. I have to open the door and reseal it a cople of times during my 60 mile commute (each way). I asked a friend with a HHR about this, and he suggested that I adjust the door latch (done) and and another friend with a PT (?) who suggested that I torque the door panel to gain more seal on the bottom (done). Each fix helped for awhile, but not much. I've asked a couple of service advisors, but neither had a clue what I meant. I've messed with the rubber seal itself, siliconed and even added a small strip of weatherstrip to the bottom, but the noise reappears. Any one else notice this on their HHR? Is it specific to the HHR or just my panel ? My wife's Cobalt coupe has no such leak. Suggestions please...Thanks.

843de

Interesting issue you're having, my first thought is "uh oh" he's got an HHR that's been wrecked, but it might not be something that sinister at all.

Have you checked the bolts on the door hinges for tightness, you might have a loose door that's dropping or twisting in the aperture enough to cause your problem.

Another thing to consider is a worn latch mechanism in the door, they can wear out and get sloppy enough to give you fit issues with the door. Check it visually against the passenger side or another HHR to see if it looks worn, they need sparing lubrication but they never seem to get it at service time.

You might need to replace the door seal itself, they will dry rot over time and the hot Texas climate might have accelerated the aging of the foam rubber.

And lastly, back to my first thought, has it ever been wrecked or hit? HHR's have a very stiff structure and it shouldn't deform enough even on the worst roads to cause what you're dealing with. But damage to the unibody can cause excessive flexing and door fit problems.

working on it

Thanks for your reply. I bought it new with 8 miles on it. No wrecks, not even major chugholes. I've used straight edges an comparative measurements versus the Passenger door. I agree about the Texas heat and rubber seals, but my 2004 HD seals as tight as a drum (I silicone all rubber on all non-garaged cars twice a year). However, I haven't tightened the doorframe...I thought that this door was so light, weight sag would never occur. I will check. Now to think about it,during the winter before last (in a freezing rain / ice storm) the door got frozen shut while I was driving home...I had to pop it open with my shoulder. Must've warped it or something. But I've realigned it as best I can, and if I drive on smooth roads the problem doesn't show up. Both doors seem to latch equally, and smoothly, and the gaps are the same all around. Can road vibration loosen the seal? At least with the door(s) so loose and smoothly opening, I'll never have an inside handle break off !! I'll check the doorframe bolts in the morning, Thanks again.

843de

Glad to hear its never been hit or wrecked, now I'm really leaning towards loose hinge bolts or a worn latch mechanism. But you might check the price of a new door seal with the parts department at your dealership and take the gamble of installing it, might just cure the issue. Keep us posted on what you find or don't find.

geg

displacement of Seal - a clear sign of bad latching of door. Check screws on door hinges, as he said.
But I want to draw your attention to the fact that a good latching of door is achieved not only by bolts or lock.
An important factor - itself the Seal. Among the many it serves as a spring. The Lock pulls the door to car body, the elastic seal push the door from the car's body. The balance of these forces hold the door in equilibrium (physics, 4th class of primary school).
I want to say - if your Seal is very broken , your door is always unstable.
Even the tighten screws are equipped with Grover when they are installed on the vibrating mechanism. Otherwise, they become weaker after a short time.
What do you want from the door? Its mass is many times more. The Lock securing the force is many times smaller than the nut.
The Seal has a function of Grover (spring), but your Seal is dead.
Replacing the Seal in any case, it's cheap.

working on it

I finally checked the doorframe hinge. Tight. But when I was repositioning the extra weatherstrip, I tore about 2" off at the bottom. I can repair with some Gorilla snot, but I will probably end up getting a whole new seal eventually. By the way, it's really too hot outside (110dg officially - 125dg observed, in the garage) to fix today.

SS fan

That's too damn hot, I had to put shorts on today it was 81. My Dad lives just north of lake Texoma, I better call and see if he is still breathing. I'll look u up when I come down for Christmas, should be down to shorts weather by then 81. Oh, back on topic, just buy the seal we all want to know if it will do the trick for you. Stay hydrated my friend

Lucky

Im going with 843. Replace the door weather seal.

nacademus

Sometimes due to heat, the seal will stick to the door and pull away as you open it. This causes the seal to pull its nipples out of the holes in the body that secure it. If any one nipple is pulled from its hole, the door won't seal. Look for a pulled nipple and straighten it back into its hole.

My passenger rear door always pulls a nipple just above and just below the corner at the fender. I have to put it back in probably once ever couple of weeks.

nacademus

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