I need to do all the maintenance on it, it has high miles.
4 new tires this week.
It needs a spare tire and the jacking hardware ( ebay??)
The key fob only unlocks the car doors and the horn chirps when it unlocks
isnt that the opposite of what it should be? It wont lock the car.
Any tips on that would be great.
The transmission will get serviced asap.
oil changed/air filter.
antifreeze flush...new radiator cap--hoses if needed etc
any other items that I should pay attention too???
I want to do all the service myself, other than the tires.
Does the coolant need to be burped by a special bleeder on the intake/block?
paid $5500 for it==150k on the speed meter.
it looks and drives nice. 2.2 engine
And plenty of shoulder room in this, get up and go was surprising, both were a huge plus.
thanks

 

&

 

Welcome!!!!

Key fob - it should both lock and unlock the car - it may be dirty on the inside causing the LOCK function not to work - the fob itself can be pulled apart easily, and the contacts on the silicone pad and on the circuit board can be cleaned with alcohol on the end of a q-tip. Give that a try. If that doesn't work, some members have ordered replacement silicone keypads off the web at a very reasonable price, or have bought replacements at local auto parts stores.

Anti-freeze - sounds like you got it all planned out great - the rad cap and hoses are most likely ok, but give them an eyeball. A few people have problems bleeding it, but a lot of us haven't had any problem at all - just a normal drain, flush and refill. Don't forget to use DEXCOOL.

Check out the HOW-TO section for a lot of good tips on:
- changing the air filter (it does take a bit of time)
- changing antifreeze
- changing sparkplugs

Keep us posted on your progress on your maintenance plan if you can. :)

And at the top of the page you will find the SEARCH TOOL - if you haven't used it already, give it a try, as it can save you a lot of time in finding answers.

and once again - WELCOME - now go get your hands dirty!!!!

 

Welcome to the site.

And may I add to whopper's advice. CHANGE the cabin air filter.

If you didn't get an owners manual with your car, this site has them free for the download.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...s-manual-3074/

 

Oh yeah, GOOD advice on the cabin filter - - which is often the most neglected/forgotten maintenance item on the car.

 

Welcome.

I say a new "radiator" cap is needed. Just my personal experience.

When you change the coolant take the tank OUT and dump it. I have seen chunks of stuff clog up the recovery hose.

 

Welcome to the site. These are neat vehicles. We have two. Have fun.

 

Not a bad deal on a 2011...although that is quiet a bit of miles for one. If it's been treated right you should see lots of life from this motor even with the high miles. My 2011 has right around 47k miles...best car I've owned! Enjoy!

 

thanks for all the replies. We pick it up today in a couple of hours.
This is for my wife. We looked at a few Pontiac Vibe's and a Saturn Vue's
and I saw a HHR drive by and i asked her if she liked that.
She said "oh yeah" how much do they go for?
we found one just down the road.
I was lurking around this site for awhile and everybody seemed to love there HHR so we decided to pick one up. I wasnt thrilled about the high miles but we did a vin history check ( not carfax but similar) and it came back clean.
We used to own a 2009 Malibu with the same engine ( I believe) and that was a nice car and plenty of power. The HHR drives straight, brakes seem good. no pulsing and the interior is spotless. I think they look "kewl"
she's happy..me too..

 

I would also suggest thinking about brakes, rotors and front hubs. Inspect the shocks for leaks and replace in pairs if needed. I also replaced the intake oil control solenoid on mine. I got a 2006 with 158,000 miles on it and completed these in addition to what your doing myself except tires. It's one of the great things about the HHR is that the maintenance so far has been extremely diy friendly.