I bought my 07 LS brand new in December 2007 with 100 miles on it.

The car now has over 70k miles on it and is used for all sorts of things its never been intended for like towing a 2000 lb trailer across the southwest,or loaded with 800-900lbs of tools in the back if im not towing ,and has been honestly tortured since ive owned it off road,mud,baja,ect.

I do adjust the rear shoes every 5-8k miles and I do downshift brake alot since its a 5-speed but at just over 70k miles now the pads and shoes now are just about 50% left and the rotors are just now starting to develop the warping vibration after my last long mountain trip that I hear so many HHR owners complain about.

I have a few questions....

One is has anyone ever had their pads and shoes last this long?
Im not complaining,but I find it extremely unusual,especially since my driving style in most my vehicles tends to kill pads and shoes in 25k miles or less.

Also my car is a base LS so it has no ABS,so does this make my brakes last longer than ABS HHR's?

Lastly the OEM pads and shoes from the dealer are alot more than they are for aftermarket ones,but given the life ive had out of the ones on there im leaning towards buying them. So are the OEM pads and shoes they sell at the dealerships the same as the ones they installed in the factory? And also has anyone in this forum had a good experience with OEM pads and shoes because all I seem to find is negative feedback.

 

Different drivers will go various miles before brake jobs. It would seem you are a good driver/braker. And yes, the OE pads in the parts department are the same as the original. But the DuraStop pads, that they also have, are not, but they are much cheaper.

 

Congrats on the long brake life - you must be doing something right. Try the SEARCH function for info on other brands of pads/rotors - lots of good info out there.

 

Mine lasted till 73,000 on my 06

 

Is your 06 an auto or manual? Also do you have ABS?
And if you dont mind telling me,how would you describe your normal driving style?

 

I dont think ive done everything right,but I try to atleast make sure I adjusted the rear shoes regularly. I have been doing alot of research on what other HHR owners are doing but I would like to find the ones that are as hard on there's as I am on mine before I invest any money on the wrong products.
Im in school and only work side jobs so money is really non existent atm :P

 

As one of the super moderators would you be able to point me to any particular members that you know are unusually hard on their HHR brakes that have already tried different products?

 

I have nearly 82,000 miles on my original brakes 06 LT. When it was in for service last week, I was told that 50% brakes left. No ABS on mine.

 

I got 70,000 or so on the OEM. But.... do not expect that after you change them out, I expect 30,000 at most and inspect every 3,000. New/resurfaced rotors every other pad change. Worse if I don't manually adjust the rear brakes, because self-adjusters do not work; I forgot to adjust last 2 rotations and only got 12,000 from pads & rotors. Yes, I use cheap pads & rotors, but cents/mile plus my own labor makes for cheaper brakes.

If you can't do brakes yourself, it is cheaper to get the "premium" OEM job. If you are capable and have 20 minutes every once in a while go cheap.

 

I figured out the self adjusters didn't work after the first 12k miles and my e-brake wouldnt allow me to do e-brake pulls anymore,so when the e-brake gets sloppy I know its time to adjust them. I usually do all my own work unless I can get the warranty to cover it,the brakes I know they wont cover so I will do them myself and have with all my other vehicles over the years. The HHR has been a treat for me because out of 80+ vehicles ive owned its put up the most abuse with the least problems and least service needed. I usually have to do brakes every 15-25k miles and clutches every 30-40 k miles on all the other vehicles ive owned. So far with the HHR ive only had to do 5 sets of tires and routine oil changes,The tires reflect the type of hard life it leads,and no other needed service work has been done besides covered warranty issues and stuff that was by no fault of the car.