I've had my HHR for 3 months now and so far, so good! I do have some questions though that I'm hoping to get your expert answers to.

My HHR makes noise. Some of it good, some just noticeable and some that may or may not happen in the future.

The good: My stealth stereo system. I've got my 12" Kicker solobaric sub box, a Rockford Fosgate amp and capacitor in the back, nicely covered from sight by the cargo shelf in the upright position. I still have the factory head unit to make it all look stock in the cabin but I do have a remote bass control installed in the little rectangular mini storage area between the front seats.

The noticeable: I sometimes hear the seat(s) creak while driving. It doesn't bother me but it would be nice if it wasn't there. I've read that there is a TSB on this. Does anybody know where the creaking comes from? I'd like to fix this myself if possible.

I also have a very slight on again/off again clicking sound from the headliner at times (not stereo induced ). It's near the back of the sunroof opening. Again, it doesn't bother me but it's better if it wasn't present. Short of getting the headliner pulled, is there any DIY fix for this?

The possible future noise: I'm debating whether or not to install a cold air intake. The CGS looks the best but I like a quiet drive and don't want my HHR to sound like a boy racer car. Does the CGS intake add noise and if so, how much? Also CGS related, do you have free access to the oil filter with a CGS installed or do you have to remove it like the stock intake housing during an oil change?

Finally, after doing my first oil change this week and trying to reset the oil life indicator I saw the menu on the computer. My Canadian HHR is in metric and has the speedo in km/hr. If I switched to imperial on the computer (I assume this is an option), will the speedo then show m/hr and calibrate accordingly or is it just for computer display purposes only. I think it would be really cool if switching speedo readings could be done, especially for cross border driving.

I think that's all, at least for now. Looking forward to your answers. Cheers!

 

To limit noise, I used a dynamat hood liner and it did reduce noice more than the oem hood liner. Yes the filter is very accessable.

The DIC will re-calibrate every thing if you switch mph/kph.

 

I can offer my opinion on the cold air intake,I installed the K&N and it`s great,not much noise when just drivin around ,you hear it when you step on it.As for the creak in the seat mine was just a little WD40 on the pivot point of the back and it`s OK now and it`s been 6 months.I also had the clicking sound in the sunroof,I brought it to the dealer and they fixed that.You can change the speedo from Kilo`s to MPH`s.I hope this helps from Canuk to another.Check out my gallery for pics on the K&N intake.

 

Seats: There is info on this regarding lubrication that will fix the issue. Call the dealer.

Headliner: It has attachment points with simple Velcro. You can fix it or take it (again) to the dealer and complain.

Intake noise: Heck, the factory intake is well designed, does not restrict airflow and is actually a real cold air intake. I've got plenty of scientific testing to prove this, even though I still think it is an ugly thing and agree that the (proven to loose power) CGS hot air intake is the best choice for looks at this time. The only "advantage" of the CGS is looks and , as you stated, will "sound like a boy racer car".

Hey, the HHR is a fun car. Enjoy it and do what you want.

But don't get caught up in the false HP improvents that has been previously been hyped here by people who don't really have a clue.

 

+1

I was going to do this as well until I did some research and saw the kits at the place that tinted my windows and on display at Autozone. LOL Seems more like the "gimmick of the day" rather then something really useful (unless everytime you park you raise your hood). Then I guess it looks good.

 

There is one thing I wonder about when changing from Metric to English on Canadian HHRs.

Since Canada used to use Imperial measurements, would the average MPG be calculated using US gallons or Imperial gallons?

 

I'm assuming that it would be US gallons. The speedo doesn't have the dual speed numbers showing (separate markings for km/hr and mph), just one set of numbers. Without actually trying it, I think it would be awesome if, by changing the DIC from metric, the speedo would re-calibrate, calculate and move the needle on the speedo to correspond to the correct mph speed and not just change the odometer/trip/fuel economy numbers only.

Has anyone actually tried it?

 

The speedo does change to MPH and the anolog indication changes also. Have tried it while in the US. You can actually see the needle drop to indicate MPH. Hope this helps.

 

When my HHR had a mere 300 miles on it, I began to notice a vibration noise from the headliner. By 500 miles it sounded like a rattlesnake when I was up to speed. I found a spot just above the passenger seat where you could rap the liner with your knuckles and it would vibrate/rattle with that odd noise, so back to the dealer it went. It was a pretty long misadventure, but eventually they had to replace the headliner entirely; the liner had been manufactured wrong and layers of the material within were separating, or so I was told. For a while they were telling me they were going to have to remove the windshield in order to get the job done, but wound up doing the replacement just by going through the hatch and the doors.

I hope this is not your problem...I got mine fixed and it's now quiet and you would never know it had been replaced, as they did do a very good job, but going through all that, with the wait involved getting the part, getting it installed, etc. is a major hassle. With any luck your situation is just the Velcro issue, which is no biggie at all.