while cleaning hhr today. i leave the rear hatch/door open for an hour or 2. i assume this is why it was hard to pull down. when i got it down i noticed dents on both sides of the top of the door , very close to where the hinges are attached. also had to tighten all the bolts that hold the spoiler on. it was very loose. the 2 are not related. the "shocks" should not lock up just from being open for a while , or have that much resistance. the hinges should be mounted in a way that stress would be spread out and not bend the metal that is so thin. i do not want to go thru the trouble of trying to get gm to give me a new door , shocks , spoiler. i want a product that was made right the first time.

 

Was there heavy gusts of wind, if so that is your problem. The wind will do a jerk effect to doors and rear hatches. I've seen doors bent almost backward because the owner wasn't careful of the wind.

 

Great...make me worry. I was cleaning my HHR today too, and had the hatch open for a long time. I never noticed anything, but now you're making me want to go out and check....thanks a lot!!!

 

it was windy today. but the dent goes out. if it was dented in then that could be from wind. cckid , it is better to know , and take care, but i really don't know if there was anything i could have done. the shocks seemed almost as if they were locked up. i tryed to be gentle when i noticed. it's kinda like the old chevy hoods that were so bad about bending at the spring. at least you could push down on the back of the hood , on top of the spring , to prevent the old hoods from bending. hmm , that makes me think. maybe it was the wind. there shouldn't be any pressure at the hinge , from the shocks. but , by looking at the dent , being pushed out , the wind could have pushed the hinges out so far that they were in a bind. so , my hinges were in a bind , maybe.

 

I think you might be a first with this complaint. Haven't heard of anyone else having the problem.

I suggest the wind also.........maybe a gust which does generate different forces than steady or regular wind. Especially if you sustained needed repairs to the hinges AND the compression struts......kind of rare.

 

My 2 cents for what it's worth! The two things that might be part of the problem: 1) Extreme Cold can cause the Struts to be somewhat stuborn to close? 2) And this I have noticed with our HHR is the Hinges are not the Greatest Quality Controlled item! I have noticed a "Click" and or "Bind" coming from our Hinges! I would assume you could have even a poorer set of hinges that may really lock up when trying to close! I'm just glad we haven't had to put many miles on our HHR yet!

 

Also how many miles are on your HHR ? Might be a Warranty Issue ?