Update, M-W it was 12-16 degrees when it was acting so badly. This morning it was 22 and smooth as silk. Guess that extra 6 degrees made a big difference

 

I live in Michigan also. Shifting is a little stiff until it gets warmed up. Then again every manual I've owned has been this way. What is different about the HHR is the whine - not sure if the transmission or the final drive / differential, but I get a lot of gear noise that largly goes away as it warms up. 5K Mi.

 

Mine whines when it's 32*-40* out. It hates to shift when it's cold.

I'm thinking at this point of letting it get buried in snow and driving my dads silverado for the next 5 weeks just so I don't have to put up with it not liking the cold. I have had other manual cars that were not this bad in the cold.

 

The wife whines when its cold and my shifter is hard..........................

 

Yah, My wife seems to look the other way when my shifter gets hard.

 

:twothumbs

 

^