HI all, have not been on here in some time. My 08 HHR 2.2 LT1 has had 4 thermostats installed sence I bought it in 08 new, seems to eat one about every year. Car only has 25000 on it and the dealer does noy seemed concerered but I'm out of warrenty now..

Any Ideas on what is causing this.

Thanks

 

4?!? What sort of issues are you having, and how exactly is the dealer constantly determining that your thermostat is the cause of the problems.

 

I'm curious too. Our 64000+mile 06 is still on the original thermostat.

 

123,000 on our '06, and 68,000 on the '07, still the original thermostats. Something else is going on with his vehicle.

 

Hard to say. What happened to the previous thermostats? What is the diagnosis? They are no longer open or close? If possible, need more information.

Thermostat - a simple thing. Simplistic - a metal bottle with a wax. When heated, the wax expands and lifts the lid - the coolant is released. Upon cooling, the wax shrinks and pulls the cover in the opposite direction - the coolant is locked in the "small circle".

What can go wrong in this simple mechanism? Or the cover have a hindrance to traffic. Or chemical composition of the coolant is so aggressive that corrodes the thermostat.

The first step is to inspect the nest thermostat - the place where he lives. The thermostat should be located exactly, free. There should be no distortion. there should be no foreign objects.
Next - inspect antifreeze. it must be clean. Eliminate dirt and sludge. eliminate waste. grade antifreeze - recommended the GM (this may be important).

While do it. Then we will think further.

 

I would sincerely hope that the dealership that is changing his thermostats is checking all those things you mention...........

 

Most thermostat failures involve being "stuck open". The engine fails to achieve it's expected operating temperature within a fixed time frame, and the engine operates in an open-loop configuration, burning more fuel than is necessary for efficient combustion.

The thermostat cannot fail to operate properly if it is mechanically intact. It is possible, but not likely, that the OP received mechanically defective replacements for the mechanically defective original installation. And then there is mis-diagnosis of a problem leading to the unnecessary replacement of parts......

 

Since you're posting this in the winter, I assume that you aren't getting enough heat from the heater so the thermostat is opening too soon or staying open. You can watch the engine temperature on the dash by bringing up the coolant temperature screen. Mine slowly climbs to 196, drops to 180, rises back up to 195 and settles in between 190 and 195. Maybe they are using some bad parts.

 

I believe you still have the 5yr / 100K Powertrain warranty covering this..

Look & see:

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/problems-service-repairs-42/07-09-10-11-powertrain-parts-coverage-list-22231/

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but a thermostat wouldn't be covered by a warranty anyway, would it?