Sluggish acceleration from a stop
Moderator
Joined: 01-23-2009
Posts: 26,532
From: Fredericksburg,VA
Or, a simple bad wire/connection.
Most "rebuild the trans" jobs are replacing the valve body and valves/solenoids. The innards rarely ever get looked at.
And, yes those codes don't suggest a rebuild; just checking wires and maybe a solenoid/valve.
Most "rebuild the trans" jobs are replacing the valve body and valves/solenoids. The innards rarely ever get looked at.
And, yes those codes don't suggest a rebuild; just checking wires and maybe a solenoid/valve.
Senior Member
Joined: 09-25-2009
Posts: 159
From: Palm Desert, CA
My '07 with the 2.4 sounds just like yours. I went through the ignition system and injection system using a Snap-On scanner after replacing the throttle body, injectors, and accelerator pedal. Everything was OK, and the CAT does not appear to be plugged. As a last resort I am going to run a compression check, because at 168,000 miles the engine could just be worn out. I always used Mobil1 oil, too.
The HHR has been the most dependable car that I have ever owned, and I have had 56 cars. I bought it in '09 and put 125,000 miles on it. Gradually it lost power, so I think it is low compression. The transmission has always been trouble-free, but I added a cooler in '09 and serviced it every 2 years.
The HHR has been the most dependable car that I have ever owned, and I have had 56 cars. I bought it in '09 and put 125,000 miles on it. Gradually it lost power, so I think it is low compression. The transmission has always been trouble-free, but I added a cooler in '09 and serviced it every 2 years.
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 08-13-2010
Posts: 138
From: Memphis, TN
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 08-13-2010
Posts: 138
From: Memphis, TN
Yes. Back in February. That thread fizzled after the transmission was rebuilt. I re-read the entire thread. (At the time I doubted that a rebuilt was needed and I still do, but that’s water under the bridge.) Last word from OP on that thread was 3/3/2022 and no decisioned had been mentioned at that point.
The codes that came out in that thread were:
Poor engine performance does not explain those codes.
I don’t see how those codes were addressed and I bet they’re still there because nothing has improved and I don’t think rebuilding the transmission would fix it. I don’t know enough about how the transmission controls work but couldn’t those codes be caused by external wiring? If so, it would explain why rebuilding the transmission did nothing.
Nothing wrong with barking up the wrong tree. There might be a squirrel up there, too.
The codes that came out in that thread were:
- P0700 Transmission Control Module (TCM) Requested MIL Illumination
- P0742 Torque Converter Clutch (TCC) System - Stuck On
- P0842 Transmission Fluid Pressure (TFP) Sensor Circuit Low Voltage
Poor engine performance does not explain those codes.
I don’t see how those codes were addressed and I bet they’re still there because nothing has improved and I don’t think rebuilding the transmission would fix it. I don’t know enough about how the transmission controls work but couldn’t those codes be caused by external wiring? If so, it would explain why rebuilding the transmission did nothing.
Nothing wrong with barking up the wrong tree. There might be a squirrel up there, too.
Moderator
Joined: 05-01-2014
Posts: 8,512
From: California
(closest we have to a squirrel)
Senior Member
Joined: 09-25-2009
Posts: 159
From: Palm Desert, CA
HHR acceleration problem solved!
My sunroof has always leaked a little down the roof rails when ir rains, but not enough to worry about. The recent rains in the Palm Springs caused both the driver and passenger sides to get really wet, to I removed the mats to dry and mopped up the excess water.
While the mats were drying I had to go somewhere and got on the Interstate 10 entrance ramp, and the car took off like it had a new V-6! Normally I have to floor it to reach 65 by the time I merge, this time I had to back off as to not merge too fast. WTF??
Apparently the floor mat had been blocking the accelerator pedal from full travel, and it wasn't bunched up or out of place. I had looked at this a long time ago and the clearance appeared to be normal, this wan't the case. Just a month ago I hooked up the scanner and checked everything, and all was normal. The fuel trim was only about 3%, which is excellent. 170 PSI on compression. The CAT wasn't restrictive. There was nothing wrong with the engine.
I feel like a complete idiot, and should, after finding out that something so simple could cause the problem, especially after I had checked it. Now I'm going to trim the floor mat, which is OEM.
So if your HHR has the acceleration of a Chevy Vega, try driving it without the floor mat!
While the mats were drying I had to go somewhere and got on the Interstate 10 entrance ramp, and the car took off like it had a new V-6! Normally I have to floor it to reach 65 by the time I merge, this time I had to back off as to not merge too fast. WTF??
Apparently the floor mat had been blocking the accelerator pedal from full travel, and it wasn't bunched up or out of place. I had looked at this a long time ago and the clearance appeared to be normal, this wan't the case. Just a month ago I hooked up the scanner and checked everything, and all was normal. The fuel trim was only about 3%, which is excellent. 170 PSI on compression. The CAT wasn't restrictive. There was nothing wrong with the engine.
I feel like a complete idiot, and should, after finding out that something so simple could cause the problem, especially after I had checked it. Now I'm going to trim the floor mat, which is OEM.
So if your HHR has the acceleration of a Chevy Vega, try driving it without the floor mat!
