Seeing as we have 35+ inches of snow this year. Of course this is the first winter i have had the HHR. I noticed a few Stupid design's from GM.

#1 What in the heck would you make the driver side wiper blade touch the hood. When the Blades are up in the air, such as to keep them from freezing to the Windshield.

#2 Should have put another piece of metal on the inside of the door. To not allow ice to form in between the Door and the running boards. Also noticed if u have Mudflaps one of the little plastic clips sticks out. Sounds like a 1980 Oldsmobile. untill i stick my hand in there or close the door enough time's and break the ice.

#3 E-Brake against the Passenger Seat.

Other then needing Winter Tire's i still Like my HHR.

 

i have a small gripe with all 3. not enough to care really. i like the car alot. prolly enough to not get rid of it ever. i plan on keepin this for a looooong time

 

My Biggest complaint is probably the Wiper Touching the Hood. Looks like i will be busting out the Touch-Up Paint after Winter.

 

Odd thing, here in the So Cal, no snow issues, but plenty of dust issues. the winds blow so hard that under the wipers sand and grit are plenty. I pull up the wipers all the time. The drivers side hits everytime...but it has never nicked the paint..about the only place though! Todd (uma)

 

Or you could just pull out a socket wrench and adjust it so that it won't hit the edge of the hood...

 

if your wiper is touching the hood then take i to the dealer to realign them and if any paint damage is there, they should fix it for you.

I had this issue as well, when i bought it new, noticed it a couple week s of having it and the paint was already chipped. Had to clean the windshield and cowl and everything because an egg fell from a nest in a tree and splattered my windshield (thought someone had egged me at first but then found the nest later on).

With your wipers up look on the bottom of the windshield for 2 little marks. It will be in the darker part at the bottom and will look kind of like a circle with a crosshair, or something similar. I don't remember exactly, and my wife just left with the hhr (her ABS it out... so i drive it til it's fixed). Each of these marks is where the wiper is supposed to align. So find the marks, but your wipers down and see if they hit. You are probably way under them. One of mine was.

So i took it in, told them, they aligned them, took it to the body shop, and fixed the chip. I can still feel it, but it's better. Mine is above the mark now (overkill) but doesn't bother me at all.

#1 on your list is now taken care of.

 

This is a big one for us in the snow zone. It even seems worse on our SS than it did on our LT. Sometimes when you open the door you think for sure you have damaged the door

 

oh and to the DIY method, i used the dealer since my paint was already chipped. You could pop the cap of the bolt and move it yourself, but I figure I'll let them do it so they have record of it and if it happens again...

 

Well looks like when it stops snowing i'll be taking it to the dealer for Issue #1. Its under warranty so they can adjust it and fix the Chip.

 

Yup, Happen last night i though i bent the lower corner of the Door. Luckily it was just a horrible sound.