I have a ticking noise in the passenger footwell. Changes with operation of the interior fan. No sound if fan is off. sometimes I can turn fan fan speed up and then back down and the sound will go away for a minute.

 

Possible fan starting to fail, or the bearing is dry , or could be leaves in the squirrel cage. there are Youtube videos for this




the last one applies to the HHR as well, I followed this video to replace my friends fan in her 2008 2LT

 

I had the exact same issue on a previous Suburban I had.

Took out the blower and there was a piece of electrical tape stuck to one of the blower blades. As it rotated, it struck the duct in one spot. Kind of like putting a playing card in your bicycle spokes when you were a kid so it sounded like a motorcycle!

Steve

 

Common problem with the HHR. Mine has been that way for 4 plus years. Only way I have heard to fix it is change out the motor but I am not going to until it fails. I just turn up the tunes.

 

The common repair starts with inspecting the cabin air filter. It May have deteriorated then stick your fingers into the fan and check for stuff in it.

 

And make sure the fan is off for that test!!!

 

I left that out as a test to see if anyone was listening.