Check your brake pads.

 

To elaborate on firemans suggestion.......

Apparently you do not know of wear indicators on the front brake pads. They are pieces of thin sheet metal that, when brake pads are at a critical area of replacement, press against the brake rotor and make a "screeching/scrapping" sound.

What you are describing sounds like the classical instance of pad replacement.

 

Thanks Snoopy! I'm at work, and we had a call, so I had to type a short reply for my response. Saving lives comes first.

 

thanks ill stop by the dealership and get them looked at on my day off im just not good with cars now computers im great but cars not so much

 

Thanks! Turned out to be bad Rf wheel bearing and hub.

 

I am getting this sound now on my 2006 HHR... I've had it since late 2005 and never had any brake problems, so I'm presuming the sound I am hearing is this..

When I leave my apartment in the morning to head to work, cruising through the apartment complex at around 15 mph, I hear a constant sound like...

"squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee"

Sounds like its coming from my front left wheel area, and goes away when I apply my brakes, which are still feeling smooth... I constantly check my rotors as I have aftermarket rims which makes rotor inspection fairly easy, and they still appear good as new. the sound is only audible when it low speed like when coasting around 15mph. Apply power through the accelerator peddle and speeding up makes the sound go away.

So, should I presume that this squeeee sound is possibly the brake pad indicator telling me that the pads are finally wearing down?

How easy is it to fix/replace brake pads as a DIY project, and how much do they usually cost? I'm sorta on a tight budget and can't afford to take it to a brake shop...

Are the front wheels the only brakes on the HHR? I'm presuming the rear wheels don't have brakes?

 

1st thing is, usually the brake "squealers" only squeal when the pedal is depressed.

2nd thing is, it could be a number of things, first check to see if the lug nuts are tight,

IF ITS THE BRAKES, There is a how to on brakes floating around somewhere...there are brakes on front and rear. From the questions you are asking I would tell you to have someone do the rear brakes.Drums are kind of complex with a mix of springs and other hardware...Front brakes are pretty easy, IF you are ok with tools and mechanically inclined...

Fronts go a little something like this:
Remove tire (5 lugs)
remove caliper pins (2 bolts 14mm?)
remove caliper and old pads
remove mounting bracket (2 bolts 15mm?)
remove rotor

reverse the process with new rotors/pads

Now there is torque specs, and it is a little more in depth than what I said quickly, so I would look into the how to's very carefully...

 

"Are the front wheels the only brakes on the HHR? I'm presuming the rear wheels don't have brakes? "

you are kidding, right?

 

Actually.. no.

I was not.

I really don't know much about cars, and I presumed there were no brakes on the rear, since the rear wheels really dont... do anything... other then follow the front drive wheels.... the front is where all the power is... I saw no need for the rears to need brakes and presumed all the braking was done on the front.

Hence why I am here trying to LEARN... learn more about my car and what I can learn to do, to save money on its maintenance. As even though I may not know much about cars, I am a technically inclined individual and tend to do a lot of various DIY projects around the home...

I of course have since researched the matter on my brakes further, and understand how I was wrong on this.

 

Check your PM.