Got this car about a month ago for my daughter who is in northern Michigan in school, 2011 LT with 104k miles on it.
Did as much as I could in my spare time before I had to deliver it and was a little hesitant in doing the trip in such a new to me car.
Her semester was ending and I had a deadline.
I'd like to report that the car ran perfectly over the 1600 mile trip. Did it all in one shot, including sleeping in the car for 5 hours early one morning, waking up to 40° temps. Love the way I can fold down the front seat and stretch out fully. I left 88° day time temps with 75° nite temps in S Florida, so I was cold to say the least. The heater in that car can fry eggs. My first morning in northern Michigan saw the lake her friend's cottage is on covered in ice and a temp of 32°.
There was no measurable oil usage, coolant temp with and without a/c on was pretty steady between 181° and 184°.
I cruised between 65mph (mostly) and 75mph with the cruise on 99% of the time and got 32mpg measured manually and 31.8mph with the ecu. I was very pleased with that.
I fly home on Tuesday, so the car is a big load off my mind.
Here's some of what I did.
Changed oil and filter to 100% synthetic Mobil1 0w40
Changed tranny filter and fluid (Dexron VI)
Changed all coolant hoses and changed to ss worm drive clamps
Drained coolant and filled with Dexcool.
Changed all the bad speakers to plastic cone Fosgates and bad radio to Pioneer with bluetooth, aux and usb (that's a must for an 18 year old)
Fixed bad washer grommet with silicone.
Sanded and polished head lite and tail lite lenses.
Welded shut the heater hose port in the tstat housing.
Made a special wrench for the oil filter cap.

I wish I could have had the car for a few months to really go thru it, but hopefull she will do well with it.
I'm so impressed with it, I sort of hate to leave it in Michigan.

 

Welded shut the heater hose port in the tstat housing.

What's all this about?

 

Me too, what is that supposed to accomplish, and just how does one reliably weld pot metal?

 

And the oil is out of spec - synthetic Mobil1 0w40, is not the right weight oil.

As per owners manual:
SAE 5W-30 is the best viscosity grade for the vehicle.
Do not use other viscosity oils such as SAE 10W‐30,
10W‐40, or 20W-50.

Cold Temperature Operation: In an area of extreme
cold, where the temperature falls below −29°C
(−20°F), an SAE 0W-30 oil should be used.

 

Tiapetra, please remember these are all friendly comments for your benefit. I too have a 2011 with about the same mileage. Hopefully the car serves your daughter well and she gets at least a few well served years out of it :)

 

The reason that oil viscosity is important is the VVT works by oil pressure and the journals are smaller than you are used to in iron engines.

With 10W40 oil be prepared to see a check engine light.

 

Gm did this on some vehicles as far back as the 70s that I'm aware of and it was a point of failure if the rubber caps weren't regularly replaced. Happened to me and others I know.
Just fool proofing it for an 18 year old girl.

The housing is cast aluminum and tigged very well, but you are correct, pot metal cannot be welded.

 

0w40, startup is better than 5w in any temp and the 40 still obviously allows for proper VVT operation. There were no lites or warnings for 1600+ miles and I doubt if the valve timing was off, the car would not have gotten 32mpg.
If Mercedes and Porsche delivers their cars with this oil all with VVT, then I have no reservations. Frankly, I more concerned over the timing chains and guides.
BTW, Ford had VVT as far back as the mid 90s and I've got one that has 245k miles on it with only and alternator replaced, nothing else, not even spark plugs using the 0w40 since day 1

 

I guess you are talking about the oil cooler outlet? The rubber cap is available for less than $5. It does take several years before they fail. You could also get a housing cover without the extra outlet for less than $20. https://www.ebay.com/itm/29Y109-2007...ZXOeaK&vxp=mtr

The 10W40 is still a really bad idea. This is a chevy not a Ford, Mercedes or Porsche. The VVT works in a completely different way. But, I guess you know better than the engineers and people who have experienced many VVT complaints due to the wrong oil.

 

Thanks, I'm sure she will enjoy it.

I'm not new to car forums and have seen all kinds of posts. I'm also not new cars, just the HHR. Mechanically, it's nothing drastically different. I have only taken a car to a shop twice in my lifetime and unfortunately they were less than stellar experiences. I prefer to do my own repairs etc. and sometimes it does go past the printed material in a shop manual. I've rebuilt many engines and just about anything else auto related. The only thing I never bothered to learn were auto trannies.
I do appreciate ALL the responses.