Had my new '07 one week today and made my first visit to the service dept. They could not look at car, too busy, my appointment is for Wednesday. Here is the "problem". Runs and rides great. But when I get it up to 45 and above (up to65 is as fast as I've gone so far) I feel a vibration through the seat, and it feels like it comes from rear of car as the steering wheel remains solid. It is NOT terrible, but it's there, just not a smooth ride. I suspect out of balance tire??? I checked the lug nuts and sure enough 2 on the right rear were not even near tight..but it didn't eliminate the 'vibration'. Anyone have this? Is this just the way the HHR rides??
Got some good news today though...my insurance for the year for the HHR actually is $10 dollars a year LESS than for my previous car (an 04 Vibe). In todays day and age, anything Less is good :).

 

No, hopefully it's just an out of balance tire, could be a bad tire or wheel also. Let us know what you find out, good luck.

 

Same thing happened to me but it ended up being a nail in my left rear tire and it was low on air. Check the tire pressure. Good luck and let us know what they find

 

Our HHR rides smooth so its definatley not a common problem. Take it to the dealer and let them check it out.

 

I noticed a 'shimmy' on mine at or around 60mph on (new) flat asphalt. Took it to the dealer, they balanced, rotated, and SCRATCHED my wheels. They never took it out for a test drive , and the problem persisted. Took it BACK in a different day (WITH an appointment)... got there and was told they "didn't have a tech to work on it" . Rescheduled... took it BACK a different day- and was immediately given a rental (at no cost to me) stating they'd need the vehicle overnight . (<-- what a saga!)
Returned to learn they 'hooked up my vehilce to a diagnostic machine' and they ended up rotating a 1/2-shaft 180*, AND had to refit the engine and cradle mounts!!!???
Dealer seemed to make an issue out of the fact that I had barely less than 1/4 tank of gas in my vehicle when I left it with them... and that they had to 'add a few dollars worth of gas' to test drive!!! My prompt reply was there's approx 60+ miles of fuel left in the vehicle when I dropped it off AND I was NOT anticipating having to leave it over night!! They drove it all of 8 miles.

Now... NONE of this cost me any money (besides time) although I can still feel a shimmy (!!!). I'm not taking it back for this issue, due to it being a minor annoyance, as opposed to a full-on issue.
Good Luck in working with your dealer... as I honestly don't believe mine is all that bad. Now if I could only get my service managers head out of his a$$!! (Message to Chevy dealers: LEARN YOUR PRODUCT!!!)
FYI - I have an '06 2LT with 17" polished rims. The dealer DID replace the rim *without* any questions (yet ANOTHER trip to the dealer).

 

No problem with my '07, and I've had it cruising at 80 a few times.

Also, on the insurance, I was driving an '03 Nissan Altima and my premium went down $10 a MONTH with the new ride.

 

My insurance only dropped $20 every six months from what it was with the truck.


My '07 runs and rides nice and smooth, even at 80, so far.

 

Smooth as silk - all the way up to 108mph.



I'm suspect that the driver rear wheel might be bolted on crooked, or perhaps bent. Someone at the dealer hitting a curb could do it. Have them swap out the wheel with another and see if the problem persists.

Best of luck!

 

Well they took it in Wednesday and ended up balancing (spin) all four wheels/tires. Said they were all off a bit from the factory (only 200 miles on the car), and said they drove it and it was better. I took it up to 45mph today, on up to 60 and it starts at 35-40 and peeks at about 55 and maintains the vibration from there on. I did notice that at say 60mph it is vibrating pretty badly (feel it through your legs, seat), steering wheel is solid, but if I back off the accelerator just a tad, but still maintain the speed you can feel it lessen a bit..then I speed up it gets worse...I back off it lessens (it is still present though). I drop it off again this WEdnesday for more repair but already the service advisor/manager, says they are stumped as to what to do!!! Any ideas anyone?