Doctuh

I just picked up my car from Pinegar Chevrolet in Republic, MO. Among many other things, they installed a TWM short shifter. TWM gives a $10 rebate if one puts a review of their product on an online forum (they require a picture which I just added). Well, things have not gone well. When I first picked up my HHR, it was a lot better than when I dropped it off (see other thread about the plastic cover). I liked the firm, short shifts. There is a metal washer-looking object on top of the leather shift boot that kept moving around when I was shifting, which sounded like a cheap rattle. I had planned to drive by and ask to the Chevy dealer whether there is some kind of spacer to cut the noise and stabilize it. Meanwhile, when running errands locally, suddenly THE SHIFTER BROKE. The shaft of the shifter now flops about uselessly. The HHR is totally disabled, but I had enough momentum to pull off the road and into a parking lot. I called the dealer just before they closed to advise them about what happened. I had it towed in to them tonight, and they will work on it first thing tomorrow morning. It would be expensive, if not impossible, to go back to stock now and I had planned to drive 400 miles from Missouri to Louisiana tomorrow. At least, it broke before I left. I'm obviously stranded here until this gets fixed. Hopefully it won't need replacement parts from Canada. TWM staff was very prompt in their replies to my emals and helpful with my choosing what knob I should get with their short shifter. Upon arrival, the product appeared well-made and was exactly what I ordered. Now I am stuck with a dead vehicle. I have reviewed multiple posts on the TWM short shifter, and mine is the only one I found documenting a catastrophic failure while driving. I hope this is a simple installation problem and I that I can drive again tomorrow.

Father Azmodius

Have you tried to pull the trim piece and look at what's going on in there? I would suspect that the dealer may have just forgotten to tighten something up correctly. I don't have a TWM, so I can't speak on it as a product, but I would hope that a failure after such a short time would be due more to installation than product.

peevlos

Sounds like they messed up on the install. I know the SS and the standard HHR shifters differ a bit, but for the shaft to just be flopping around (insert Viagra joke) it definitely sounds like an install problem. The shaft pivots on a ball inside the stock pivot cup. maybe they did not bolt it together properly?

I've been running with their short shifter in my car since November, with no issues.

Install was pretty straight forward. took about an 1 1/2 hrs If i remember correctly. About 15 mins of that was fishing out a one of the aluminum bushings that I dropped.

It's actually quite easy to put the stock unit back in

c2vette

This almost sounds like a bogus post to me. My TWM shifter has worked flawlessly for 25,000 miles and I can't even interpret from your description what possible failure could occur, although I suppose some folks can screw up anything (in which case sorry it happened to you). And yes, as pointed out it is relatively easy to go back to stock although I don't know why you would want to. At the risk of stating something lame, could the shifter cable retainers simply have opened up from not being closed properly on the cables? (which would "disconnect" the shifter). Certainly hope this is not a case of a dishonest dealer using this as an excuse to rip you off.

Doctuh

This is a real Chevrolet dealer and a real post. What happened to me is an unusual, but KNOWN PROBLEM with a generally reliable product. Regarding the reply immediately following this one: I made a point of printing the color instructions (only the black-and-white ones are shipped with the product) and handing them to the dealer when I brought the car in the first time. I called TWM and there is a "weak" GM clip on a cable that can fail if it's not fully seated. Other places on this forum caution about this problem during installation and suggest that TWM issue a fix. I called TWM and was told that they will have such a part available SEPARATELY for sale in a couple of months. Dealer on phone conforms that this was the problem, and it will be fixed within a couple of hours. I SUGGEST THAT ANYONE CONSIDERING INSTALLING A TWM HHR or COBALT SHORT SHIFTER WAIT UNTIL THE NEW PART IS AVAILABLE or risk the catastrophic failure that happened to me. My car was returned to me, fixed, this morning and I drove it 450 miles without incident. I can't wait until TWM makes the replacement for GMs weak clip available, so no one else will have to suffer what I did. Get busy, TWM!

stranger

Just my 2 pennies worth....... If ya don't know, man up and read the install directions...... can't understand'em, ask around or call around. Work too fast and you're gonna come in last. On second thought.... maybe just a pennies worth.

JoeR

I've had the TWM shifter on my F23 for quite some time now. Installed it myself so I know how it all goes together. I love it and it is a quality product.

Your dealer messed up on the install. They should fix it at no cost.

peevlos

The GM clip is a known weak link, true. people have had problems but that is not the norm nor a reason to not order the kit. The the "clip" in question is GM's weak part. TWM does not make the part, so why badmouth them? The problem is not with the product, it is with a stock piece that in theory was designed to open and close multiple times to adjust the linkage. Sucks that you have to deal with this but I just have to say, it is not TWM's fault. I wonder how much tape the dealer used to try to keep the clip they broke shut or was it a zip-tie??

Just aside note: I opened and closed mine several times to adjust the cable.

TWM Performance

Hi everyone,

The issue with the clip is mostly known in the Cobalt scene (they use the same shifters as the HHR), mainly because it usually happens when shifting at WOT or using the NLS feature of the SS models and, well, Cobalt are probably driven harder than the regular HHR!

With that being said, the best way to avoid this is to properly adjust the cables when installing a shifter. The cables can be connected slightly off and it will be possible to feel it because gear engagement will not be as smooth as it should be. Or the reverse lockout feature of the SS models will not work as intended. Both shifter cables need to be adjusted correctly so the side to side movement and vertical movement are spot on.

With that being said, we also want to look into this part to come up with a better and stronger solution than the OEM part.

And for you Doctuh, I hope the dealership will be able to compensate for their mistake as it should not happen if the shifter is properly installed and the cables correctly clipped back in place. I'm glad to see they were able to get you the replacement part quickly!

Frank
Team TWM Performance

Doctuh

WOT, I figured out, is wide open throttle

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