i liked my HHR so much that when my son needEd a car I gave him my 2006 with 160,000 miles and bought another.

The one I bought is also a 2006 but has only 60,000 miles. We just had our first snow and I have to ABS, the light is NOT on on the dash. Drives great, runs great. No ABS. Where do we start.

 

Well, if there is no light on the dashboard, then the on-board brain does not see the ABS error.
First, make sure that the ABS does not really work. A simple test - move forward from the parking spot. At a speed of 6 - 8 miles per hour, depress the brake pedal fully and firmly. No need to accelerate, just a start. If after 2 - 3 attempts the ABS does not work, then it is dead.
Secondly, check the fuse - replace if necessary. After replacing - new test.
If this does not help, I recommend a trip to a specialist.

 

Do you even have ABS on your car ? Not all 2006's were equipped with the ABS system.
Does the ABS light come on when you 1st start the car ? (light on for a few seconds is the ABS doing it's self check) If you don't get that light, then your car most likely doesn't have ABS.

 

Look under the hood a large silverish box in front of the Darth Vader hood is the ABS. 2006 ABS was optional on 2LT, maybe LT.
RPO codes on the glovebox door J41 is standard brakes, JM4 is ABS.

 

Thanks for all the help. I found that the "new to me" car does not have ABS or side curtian airbags. I am kind of bummed as the "old" one does. Why someone would spend extra money on sunroof, upgraded trim and rims, upgraded stereo, and a rear spoiler when they live in the snowy north and not get ABS is beyond me. But I really can not complain to much i only paid $3500 and it has 58,000 miles. So I now just get to learn how to drive a front wheel car without ABS. Thanks for the help.

 

To be fair; ABS was not available on lots of cars in 2006, some were still rear only. 2006 was 14 years ago!

 

Driving without or with ABS is the same, very carefully and pay attention.

 

On the 2006 HHR, ABS was standard on the 2LT and optional on 1LT and LS.

Side air bags were also optional on the 1LT and LS. In addition, ABS was a mandatory option before ordering the side air bags. So if you see a 2006 with side air bags, it also has ABS.

Steve

 

don't worry too much
put good winter tires and everything will be fine
if slippery - use impulse braking
practice not just push the pedal all the way, but slow down in the "pressed - released - pressed" style
you will learn quickly and forget what ABS is. The main thing is to develop an automatic skill so as not to think in an emergency

Sometimes I use engine braking, but it is bad for automatic transmission. In addition, the AT is slowly thinking.