jbbadboy

I've been noticing a few "noises" over the past month while driving my HHR and wanted to get the thoughts and opinions of the experts: you. This is what I've been experiencing:

1. Creaking. This noise just baffles me. I've noticed a creaking sound that seems to come from the right side of the vehicle (could be wrong) which only lasts for about 1-2 seconds. The weird thing is that I only hear it once and it seems to happen just as I've started driving after the HHR has been sitting for hours. After that -- nothing. Have any of your heard of this?

2. Squeaking. This one sounds suspension-related to me but I'm not sure. I have noticed a faint squeaking sound a few times when going over a speed bump. Could it be shocks or struts?

3. Rattling. A very faint rattling can be heard in the front end of my vehicle when driving at low speed. To me it seems as if something is loose in the left front wheel area.

Has anyone ever experienced these sounds? What do you think is/are the cause(s)? My HHR is still under warranty (2006 LT bought in 2007 with 46K km's on it) and I'm about to take it in for the armrest warranty issue so while I'm doing this I'd like to take care of these issues as well. I've already had the steering column issue taken care of so I'm hoping it's not related, although I'm no expert.

Looking forward to your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Jeda13

My SS sounds like a Tin Can. I attribute it to poor design and poor build quality in Mexico. The fit and finish on the vehicle is terrible. My wife's Honda (built in the US) is tight and made with higher quality plastics. Any wonder why "American" car companies are in trouble? You'll probably have to live with it until you buy a better car.

Jim

prod

These are some of the common issues that may be causing the noises:
rattling - could be the stabilizer end links or steering column
sqeaking/creaking/scraping could be the stabilizer to frame bushings.
All are common issues and should be fixed under the 3yr warranty.

suburbanjunior

Just had work done on my 07 with 27000 "squaking noise" was from the seals going bad on rear shocks. They replaced and so far no more noise. At first I thought the noise was up front. We'll see.

Good Luck, John

pitbull76

I don't know about the first two, but #3 is probably the steering column or stabilizer links as prod suggested earlier. Get it done before the warranty expires.

kornellred

I know what Jeda13 is talking about. One of my sons bought a new Honda Civic, and you would swear it was carved out of granite. My 2007 HHR LS, while I have not experienced some of the more disappointing noises I see described on this forum (I only have 7400 miles on it), still gives me pause when I hear the random creak or groan that I feel should not occur. In a cold weather start-up, the engine sounds like a cat getting it's tail run over by a rocking chair. It goes away completely when the engine temp gets up to normal.
All, and I mean absolutely all, vehicles are randomly plagued with issues. As well built as my son's Civic was, it had plenty of mechanical issues - enough to make him get rid of it. Another acquaintance bought a 2008 BMW 7-series sedan for about 60 grand. It has more issues than Carter has liver pills. The straight-6 cylinder head had to be replaced, for Pete's sake! It's a downright beautiful machine - when it works properly.

Don't get to feeling too bad about the build quality of the HHR. They had to cut corners somewhere to make the vehicle affordable. I feel that the plus column has more check marks than the minus column. But I think I am going to start driving my HHR more, so that my bumper-to-bumper warranty won't expire with only 16,000 miles on the odometer!