desertrat

I have a 2007 HHR with 162,000 miles. This car still has the original alternator and it still charges perfectly and makes no noise. In my opinion, however, this unit is probably passed its service life. The HHR has been the most dependable car I have ever owned, and I've had 50+ cars over the years. I'm thinking of keeping the car dependable by replacing the alternator before it fails, but there's the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!". If any of you have replaced your alternator, how many miles were on it?

Note- A new OEM alternator can cost anywhere from $290-$450 or so. I will never buy a rebuild as they never seem to last long at all. Summit Racing has a good price for new, followed by Rock Auto.

Doc brown

I think it was around 140k. I was getting "Check Charging System" messages. Nothing wrong with doing some PM. I put a fuel pump in my old 2008 Sierra last year as a PM measure. The truck had 160k on it and I didn't want to break down on a camping trip. I decided to trade it a few months ago, so in my case it was a waste of money to do the fuel pump, but at the time I was thinking I'd have a couple of more years.

I agree about it's reliability. The HHR was probably one of the best cars I've ever owned. Due to circumstances it didn't make sense for me to keep it so I sold it. The good part is my dad has it now.

Greybeard999

Still on my original...

Oldblue

Still the OEM in my 2011. Just about 10 years , build date was May 2011

231,000 klms or 143,537 miles

Lonwane

Original @174k.
Still charging strong.

sleeper

My 2008 still has the OEM, but only 34K miles..