Hi gang. I have a 2011 HHR LT. It has 120,000 miles. I bought it last summer. Since I got it out of town, I had a 2 hour drive home to check it out. Other than a hum in the front from what I figure is an aggressive tire tread, it was a smooth trip. I only drive the car in town, no more than 30 minutes at a time, no more than 50 MPH.
Here's the problem: After about 10-15 minutes of driving and braking, I start to get a wobble in the front end. It gets worse when I break. It eventually gets so bad it feels like the wheels are coming loose. If it sits for an hour or so, it drives smooth again. I've seen a lot about warped rotors, but wouldn't that be a problem all of the time? I've jacked it up and shaken the wheels, but I don't feel anything. I have searched through the threads and have seen a lot of similar complaints, but most have no resolution. Some people have replaced entire front ends with no good results. I'm an adequate mechanic and willing to replace bad parts. I can't however afford to replace everything looking for the right answer. It definitely seems to be brake related as it gets worse the more the brakes are used, but it goes away when it sits. Any ideas would be appreciated. TIA.

 

wheel hubs/bearings, Lower Control Arm bushings.

The hum says hub/bearings. End play tolerance is .015 inch so you can't feel it move. At 120,000 the lower control arm bushings could also be bad.

 

Thanks.
Is there a good test for LCA bushings?
I have researched replacing the whole assembly and it doesn't look that difficult.
What about the coming and going as it gets driven?

 

Welcome.

Being the problem comes and goes depending on the usage of the brakes, I'd say it points to warped rotors. The warp often will not be noticeable when they are cold, but will start to show up as the brakes get used and heat up. Ours would almost rip the steering wheel out of your grip it got so bad once they heated up on the highway.

Related issue: it is important to keep the rear brakes well adjusted, otherwise the front disks will be doing most of the work. The front brakes will then get overheated, and thusly warp.

At that mileage, the hubs are about at their end of life, and the lower control arm rear bushing should be checked as well (they are a known failure point).

 

Checking the lower control arm bushing: a visual check of that rear bushing along with a lever of some sort to check for excessive movement and slop should do it.



Not sure what you mean by "What about the coming and going as it gets driven?".

 

Thanks.
The coming and going was with the usage of the brakes.
That gives me a direction. And I read about the rear brakes.
I'll check those things and see what happens

 

Warped rotors, aren’t necessarily warped, but they could be heat spotted.
You can go one step at a time, changing the lca is pretty straight forward.
I would simply clean and adjust the rear drum brakes first, then test drive.

 

^^^ This


Lower control arms will probably need to be replaced, but the brakes will also need to be addressed. I had the exact same issues with my 2007 and both problems were involved.

 

If the rotors need replaced, is there a recommended part?
I see Rock Auto has them from $20 to $80. Do the drilled and slotted rotors function better?

 

I use the top of the line NAPA rotors and pads...

drilled and slotted, no... Primarily for show on a street driven car.