Was talking to 2 owner/mechanics at local gas station today. They were asking me about my HHR and how I liked it.
The subject of the new HHR-SS came up and I was telling them that it has the 2.0 litre turbo charged motor.
There response was,"that's the one that they recommend Mobil 1 oil and it costs $90.00 for the oil change because of the difficulty getting at the oil filter".
Apparently they were told that some diassembly was required to get at the filter, which incures extra time.
They had not had the opportunity to see first hand how true that statement was.
Anyone aware of this issue? It would be nice to know, especially for those of us who do our own oil changes.

 

How many quarts does the motor take? Mobil1 is about $7 a quart (if I recall), so 6 quarts could easily set you back $42. But it's worth it - less wear on the engine, and longer service intervals.

 

I haven't heard anything about the SS oil filter, not too many SS models around or too many people with them. It might be a good idea to check out a 2.0 Turbo forum or a sky/solstice forum to see what they have to say.

As a side note, if I could get my oil changed at a dealership with synthetic (mobil 1) for $90 I'd be pretty happy. Dealers around here charge about $129-$140 for a synthetic change. What I do for oil changes is provide my own Mobil 1 and get them to charge me for a regular oil change. It works out to about $40-$50 for the oil and $30 for the cost of a regular change (labour.)

 

I've never seen M1 for $7 a quart, mostly around $3-4.

The filter's also pretty easy to change on the regular HHR, even with the shroud in the way.

 

Hummm, change the oil twice a year,,,,,,,90 bucks ( if that's true) $180 a year to dust off some of the big V8's. ..........well worth it.........motorhead

 

My mechanic friends were implying that the extra time needed to change the filter was what put the price at the $90.00 range, not the Mobil 1.
As soon as we get an SS at my dealer, I will verify the oil filter thing.

 

Well, the filter sits at the same location on the block; it even looks as if it's the same part as for the other Ecotecs.

http://www.allcarnews.com/gm-ecotec-turbo-engine/

However, it's not clear if it's partially or even completely covered by the engine's plastic cover. There's also the possibility that something hooked up to the engine is in the way and needs to be disconnected to gain access.

So my guess is that it's the engine cover that's in the way. That's what.... 3-4 bolts?

Yves

 

Looking at the last two photos on that site, it appears to be in the same location. I don't think it would be any different than the 2.2 and 2.4 motors.

Loosen it a bit, angle it to the right a bit, and lift it out.

 

Depends on where (and when) you buy your oil.

I use Pennzoil Platinum in my 2.4 and bought a couple of 5 quart jugs for $18.49, and got a couple boxes of PP for $16. I have enough Pennzoil Platinum for 2 1/2 more years of oil changes (change every 6 months)

 

Yves,
Thank's for the link.
I agree with you 100%. After looking at the pics, it look's like the difficulty could be with the air box onfiguration. No big deal to me.