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New HHR Owners - Give Us Your Report

167 messages,  Last post on Nov 14, 2012 at 5:44 AM

You are in the Chevrolet HHR Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet HHR, Car Buying, Wagon

Messages Page 2 of 17

#7 of 167 Re: HHR Love-Hate Relationship [greyfox_dw] by greyfox_dw

Jul 14, 2006 (11:54 am)

Replying to: greyfox_dw (May 18, 2006 12:43 pm)
Well, after replacing a part on the steering column, as per the TSB, it didn't work and the noise got worse. My dealer's service manager decided to replace the entire steering column to see if that would do the trick.
 
That was it for me...as you can see from my original post I have spent a lot of time at the dealer getting things fixed and replaced since I purchased my HHR LT in February 2006. So, I went to the sales manager at the dealership and told him to take his piece of "----" back and get me into something else.
 
After I told him about everything that had gone wrong with the HHR, they worked out a deal where I was able to buy into a Chevy Equinox for a bit more money...If I could have, I would have gotten out of GM all together!....
 
I must admit that the HHR was the worst mistake I have made in purchasing a vehicle. Over the years, I have owned Hondas, Pontiacs, Chevs, Mazdas and even a Jeep Liberty (in it's first year of production) and never has so much go wrong on a vehicle in the first few months of owning it.
 
Surprisingly, the sales manager at the dealer still says they are having trouble keeping them in stock...I say: how come they still have the same two in the showroom that were there when I bought mine in May and you rarely see them on the road?
 
By the way, most of the problems being discussed here in the forum are now well known to GM. The water on the floor is from the poor quality hose they used to drain the water from the sunroof - it is too soft and kinks easily. The dash noises are from too much plastic on plastic. The chipped paint on the rear quarter panels need to have the sideboards put on to prevent. The antenna is too long and flexible and hits the sunroof/roof. The steering column rattles/squeeks. The mirror on the driver's side whistles because of the trim/design. The windshield's are of poor quality and chip/crack easily. Let's hope they address all of these issues when they put out the 2007 model.
 
I'm hoping the Equinox, that is now in it's second/third year of production, will be a better buy. But I must admit that, given what I have seen and heard (in this forum), I'm not holding my breath.
 
No wonder GM is having so many problems...maybe the rumoured merger with Nissan would be a very good thing. They might learn something about quality control.
 
Anyways, this former HHR owner from Toronto is now switching over to the Equinox forums and I sincerely hope all of you HHR owners don't end up having the same problems I did. Cheers and good luck.
 
Former HHR/ New Equinox Owner
Toronto, Ontario Canada

#8 of 167 Re: HHR Love-Hate Relationship [greyfox_dw] by jaxs1

Jul 14, 2006 (7:28 pm)

Replying to: greyfox_dw (Jul 14, 2006 11:54 am)
Nissan has some unreliable newer vehicles (espeically trucks/SUVs) and Renault has their own reliabilty problems, so I don't see how mixing that mess with GM will improve quality of future HHRs.

#9 of 167 Re: HHR Love-Hate Relationship [greyfox_dw] by imidazol97

Jul 15, 2006 (11:09 am)

Replying to: greyfox_dw (Jul 14, 2006 11:54 am)
.that were there when I bought mine in May and you rarely see them on the road
 
In this area there are many on the roads. So I certainly don't agree that you rarely see them on the road.
 
Plastic on plastic in dash is always a problem in the designs. It requires some careful troubleshooting, usually a skilled technician for troubleshooting on the part of the dealer helps. One problem is that the squeaks and noises can sound like they're coming from somewhere different than they really are inside the car or inside the dash. It can take a real sleuth to find the true source. Many cars have hAd trouble with noises.

#10 of 167 Re: HHR Love-Hate Relationship [greyfox_dw] by poncho167

Jul 16, 2006 (5:22 am)

Replying to: greyfox_dw (Jul 14, 2006 11:54 am)
I don't recall ever reading about plastic rattling, this is a new one to me and the windshield cracking is common on all new cars. The glass on new cars comes from the same place as most automakers get their glass. There are only a couple of companies they all use. I would agree new glass cracks easily for whatever reason, and the replacement glass I have had on vehicles never cracks under the same circumstances so that makes me wonder. Replacement glass has a lifetime labor and parts warranty but factory doesn't..
 
The HHR is a well made vehicle and has been praised for its workmanship. I see them pretty commonly on the road as much as three different ones a day.

#11 of 167 Bought HHR and LUV it by sandy06

Jul 29, 2005 (9:49 am)

I had seen the concept photos and knew I wanted this vehicle. Our local dealership, received a Daytona blue LS auto on a Wednesday evening and I saw it the next morning and well it's mine now. The vehicle is roomy enough for running errands and taking a road trip. The fuel economy rating of 30 mpg is on target and the 2.2L engine has enough power on the freeway on ramp to avoid problems. It had more interior room than I was expecting and the base model had alot of features for the money, even a jack for the ipod. Everywhere I have driven it, it seemed to draw a crowd and questions of what IS that? People passing on the street and giving a thumbs up is a good feeling. I think that GM has a good deal here. I had one dealer in OKC ask for a premium of $1,000 on a black LT, so I went with my local guys on a blue one. Can't wait for accessories to become available. This little thing has a world of custom possibilties.

#12 of 167 Re: Bought HHR and LUV it [sandy06] by charlotte7

Jul 29, 2005 (10:32 am)

Replying to: sandy06 (Jul 29, 2005 9:49 am)
Did you get the GM employee discount on your HHR? I'm curious if they're doing that and if so, how that affects the prices. You still can't build an HHR on Chevy's site, so there's no way to tell.

#13 of 167 4,500 miles so far by izapped

Aug 18, 2006 (9:05 pm)

Yeah, it's not much, but I have had the LT on several long trips already and found it to be very comfortable and enjoyable to drive. I got it loaded from the dealer and the XM really makes travel go by fast. Since it's just my wife and I, we find it plenty roomy for extended trips, only once have I folded down the rear seats for cargo. Performance is pretty good, mileage is okay, but what we like is the ease and comfort of driving it. It just does everything well. Have had stellar dealer support locally, got great GMAC financing with just a trade-in as down payment.

#14 of 167 Re: HHR Love-Hate Relationship [greyfox_dw] by richardr6

Aug 24, 2006 (3:35 pm)

Replying to: greyfox_dw (Jul 14, 2006 11:54 am)
Hmmmm, curious really as the "leak" on the passenger side of my HHR only started last week and I've never had the sunroof open. Here in Florida it does RAIN when it rains so I was wondering how much of a fix is this and where is the damn hose draining to? Besides the carpet of my car?
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
 
Rich R

#15 of 167 2BROCKS by 1brbr549

Aug 30, 2006 (1:23 pm)

I JUST BOUGHT MY 2007 HHR AUGUST 8 2006 IT WAS THE FIRST THAT THE DEALER RECEIVED. I LOVE IT . 28.5 MPG AVG
I TRADED MY 2004 GMC SIERRA WHICH I LIKED BUT NEEDED SOME
GAS MILEAGE. I HAVEN'T REGRETTED IT SO FAR.

#16 of 167 I LOVE MY 2006 HHR & will buy another for sure! by topsk9trainer

Oct 09, 2006 (11:45 pm)

I bought my HHR (my boyfriend's father is a higher up at a local dealer in Illinois) for a very nice price and it's all been beautiful since.
I PUT TONS of mileage on my vehicles and quite frankly was nervous that a Chevy product wouldn't hold up to the early beating it was no doubt soon to receive after purchase.
Well, I'm glad to say that since purchase and driving from Northern Illinois to Phoenix, Arizona (living in Arizona for 11 months) and then driving BACK to Northern Illinois I have not had one problem w/ my HHR. The mileage is UNBEATABLE for a vehicle it's size, I think I should mention that my HHR is a manual (all my cars are). On my way to Arizona my mpg was almost 47. Yes, I did the math myself, I didn't just rely on the vehicles system to tell me...even though it said pretty much the same darn thing. Also, around the city in Arizona (w/ AC on) my mpg on a regular basis was 28-29 and on the highway around that area (w/ AC) was 30-31. Now in Illinois it went up considerably. My mpg here is 31-32 in the city (w/ AC or heat) and about 35 when on and off the highways. Long distances (straight shots) I always get fabulous mpg.
Umm, what else? It handles nicely for a vehicle of it's dimensions and I must admit that I didn't love the body style for awhile. But I am now in love w/ it and look forward to buying it in Black!
So, no leaks/squeeks/static/pings/performance issues and I baby the hell out of my vehicle (as far as always cleaning it!) and I look forward to keeping it looking mint.
 
Good luck and enjoy your new HHR, I know I enjoy mine!
~L in Illinois

Messages Page 2 of 17

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