Front end shaking 2009 HHR
02-23-2019, 12:29 PM
#1
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Join Date: 03-17-2018
Location: CA
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Front end shaking 2009 HHR
HI guys and gals.....I need some advice/help trying to streamline my search for the source of a troubling shaking I am getting on front end of my car, particularly when braking, and moreso from higher speeds, harder braking.
I know that warped rotors can cause this and I have changed rotors before on other vehicles for this reason. It could be my problem. But Im hoping someone will chime in with opinions. The car does not pull to either side when braking or driving. It does not pulse as my other car did with a bad rotor. It feels like it is on left front and the steering wheel does shake when this happens, which is every time I brake. It also occasionally feels like it is shaking when accelerating if I stomp on it. The left front tire wore very badly on inside prematurely and I replaced both front tires. Since then, the tires seem to wearing evenly, even with the shaking. I suspected wheel bearings but if I jack the car up and try to get any wiggle out of either side, they feel solid with no play side to side or up and down. Regardless, I put a new bearing/hub assembly on the left front and at first it felt vastly improved but maybe that was just wishful thinking. It still shakes on braking fairly badly.
I looked at the ball joints and tie rods but they did not show anything obvious. Something new has popped up that might just be coincidence, but the last 2 days the tire pressure on left front has illuminated fault with no pressure reading on that tire even though it is at 36 lbs. The light goes away on shut down but reappears after a few miles of resumed driving. That was not there before I changed the bearing.
Other possibilities I have considered are bent rim, poor alignment, shock absorber.....
What would your very next move be in trying to find the source? Thanks for your courteous replies.
I know that warped rotors can cause this and I have changed rotors before on other vehicles for this reason. It could be my problem. But Im hoping someone will chime in with opinions. The car does not pull to either side when braking or driving. It does not pulse as my other car did with a bad rotor. It feels like it is on left front and the steering wheel does shake when this happens, which is every time I brake. It also occasionally feels like it is shaking when accelerating if I stomp on it. The left front tire wore very badly on inside prematurely and I replaced both front tires. Since then, the tires seem to wearing evenly, even with the shaking. I suspected wheel bearings but if I jack the car up and try to get any wiggle out of either side, they feel solid with no play side to side or up and down. Regardless, I put a new bearing/hub assembly on the left front and at first it felt vastly improved but maybe that was just wishful thinking. It still shakes on braking fairly badly.
I looked at the ball joints and tie rods but they did not show anything obvious. Something new has popped up that might just be coincidence, but the last 2 days the tire pressure on left front has illuminated fault with no pressure reading on that tire even though it is at 36 lbs. The light goes away on shut down but reappears after a few miles of resumed driving. That was not there before I changed the bearing.
Other possibilities I have considered are bent rim, poor alignment, shock absorber.....
What would your very next move be in trying to find the source? Thanks for your courteous replies.
02-23-2019, 01:09 PM
#2
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Join Date: 01-23-2009
Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia
Posts: 24,680
Lower Control Arm bushings.
The battery in the TPMS only lasts abot 8 years.
The battery in the TPMS only lasts abot 8 years.
02-23-2019, 05:46 PM
#3
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Join Date: 04-09-2006
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
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x2 what dat Donbrew eloquently stated 
. Check that lower control arm as he says - the rear bushing definitely will not last the lifetime of the car. The bushing is primarily rubber and it does break down, but is easily checked by prying with a big screwdriver for latera as well as vertical movement.
If it is that bushing, a new one can be pressed in, which is pretty much an unlikely job for most people, or the whole lower control arm can be replaced which is a much easier and quicker job for most of us (the cast aluminum one, not the pressed steel one).
. Check that lower control arm as he says - the rear bushing definitely will not last the lifetime of the car. The bushing is primarily rubber and it does break down, but is easily checked by prying with a big screwdriver for latera as well as vertical movement.If it is that bushing, a new one can be pressed in, which is pretty much an unlikely job for most people, or the whole lower control arm can be replaced which is a much easier and quicker job for most of us (the cast aluminum one, not the pressed steel one).
Last edited by whopper; 02-24-2019 at 01:52 AM.
02-23-2019, 05:49 PM
#4
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Join Date: 01-23-2009
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Xqueeze me?
And, of course check and adjust the rear brakes.
And, of course check and adjust the rear brakes.
02-23-2019, 05:53 PM
#5
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Join Date: 03-17-2018
Location: CA
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Thanks Don....I will order control arms and change them out. Question again, I don't know what fe1 fe3 or fe5 is. Rock Auto has Mevotech "original grade" arms for $85. each. Is that the one I want" p.s. this is not a fancy car. it is now merely a commuter device. I just want to do a bolt on replace and stop the shaking. thanks for your help.
02-23-2019, 06:09 PM
#6
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FE5 is for the SS; FE1 & FE3 are basically equivalent. Mevotech is most likely stamped steel NO; you need cast alloy/aluminum.
02-23-2019, 06:56 PM
#7
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Join Date: 10-13-2011
Location: Welland,Ont Canada
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Again , get the Moog LCA’s , if you are keeping the car, the move techs if your selling it or trading it in.
However, tell the next guy you cheaped out , the stamped metal LCA’s aren’t for HHR’s oh, they fit but not perfectly.
However, tell the next guy you cheaped out , the stamped metal LCA’s aren’t for HHR’s oh, they fit but not perfectly.
02-23-2019, 08:21 PM
#8
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ok. thanks. i will proceed as advised. moog.
02-24-2019, 07:15 AM
#9
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02-24-2019, 09:34 AM
#10
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