These drum brakes suck. Sorry, but they do. I have drums on my '69 Camaro and they don't squeak. But my '07 HHR squeaks every single time I apply the brakes. Everytime. It's between the time you first apply pressure to the pedal, to a point right before moderate braking. So, that applies to all braking situations, except a panic stop. It's freakin' embarassing!

I bought it new. It now has 21k on it. I've had it in to the dealer at 4k, 10k, 14k for this problem. (It's been squealing since 16 or 17k). Each time, they try something different.

 

Ok I'll throw my 2 cents in here.

If your drum brakes are still making noise......

First take a file or course sand paper to the leading edge of the lining material on the brake shoes. Sand/file a small 45 degree taper this keeps the leading edge from forming a wire edge that can cause squeals/squeaks when braking.

Also check that the rear brakes are adjusted properly. Too much/ to little drag can also make for dust build up that can make drum brakes noisy.

 

I did use some 600 grit paper on the shoes to see if that would make any difference. It hasn't. After I blew them out and cleaned them, they made the same squeal; I don't think it's a brake dust issue. I think it's either damage to the drum surface by road dust or perhaps, drums that are just "tuned" for harmonics, like when you run your finger around the lip of a wine glass. Either way, it's getting old. I have an appointment this week. I will post what the dealer does.

 

I took my HHR in today. They're keeping it for the weekend. As far as the squeaky drum brakes go, the service advisor told me intially that "the brakes are dusty, and we're going to clean them".

I told him (on the phone), that no, they were not dusty, as I had the drums off 3 days ago, and they are clean. (I blew them out myself) He then said they were going to lubricate the brake shoe parts (not the linings). I'm doubtful the noise is coming from the shoes contacting the sides of the backing plate, but I will see what happens. I asked if they had test driven it since lubing them, and he didn't know if the mechanic had done that yet.

He also said, that this was about all they could do for it under warranty. That's my signal to call the District office if/when they start squeaking again. I still have 14k miles of warranty left on the car, and I'll be da$@ed if I'm going to pay for a legitimate fix.

 

Got my car back today. According to the service receipt, the mechanic "cleaned shoes, scuff and adjust. Brakes needed to be cleaned and adjusted" I had the drums off last week and thoroughly cleaned them myself...

I'm holding out little hope that this is the final fix. In fact, the svc. mgr. said on the phone last week, that "this is about all we can do under warranty".

So if/when they squeak again, I'll be looking up that phone number in the owner's manual and calling GM.

I wonder how much and/or how hard it would be to put rear discs on the car, like the SS model? I wonder if GM would entertain that, as opposed to buying my car back, under the Lemon Law?

 

Ok being a girl I don't know much about this stuff but I have the same problem. It started RIGHT AFTER they refinished or whatever they do to the rotars. The last time I brought it in I told them it did this and they told me ALL cars do this and it is normal. So what is the deal is it normal or should I be complaining? The car is going back in the next few weeks for some issues and will bring this up again if I have to.

 

UPDATE: I now have 33K miles on this car and the drum brakes still squeak. Last week, I bought new drums and shoes from Advance Auto and installled them. They still squeak. I give up. If anyone has a fix (besides selling the car or putting on rotors), I'm all ears.

 

Im right there with you. Mine have squeaked since about 10k. Took it to the dealer and they told me the brakes are not covered under warranty because they are considered a "wear item". I told them thats BS and alot of HHR owners are having this problem, and if they want to play that way fine Ill just take it up with GM personally. They did end up looking and adjusting them under the warranty, however 2 days later they started squeaking again. I know have 31k and they still squeak, Ive been trying to figure out what to do also.

 

Since this seems to be a fairly common problem I'd suspect this may have something to do with the material used in the manufacturing of the linings. I'd try throwing a set of Raybestos premium shoes on it and see if they make any difference.

 

My car has 2k miles on it the fronts have squeaked from day one, dealer says there not aloud to replace anything because mechanically they work fine and it isnt a safety issue, this also appears to be GM's stand on it because they printed off the official letter from gm stating not to fix for squeaks that this is normal.