Only just logged on 5 minutes or so ago and yes I'll admit I looked it up. I am with you on the "read the manual" thing!

 

Wow .....Logic !!!!

 

A couple of things I got my oil changed at the Chevy dealaer that I bought the HHR from they did not reset the DIC I had to do it and I have OnStar on the monthly reports it ells the oil life and at what mileage the oil should be changed.

 

A feature I find about useless, or rather bothersome is the rear hatch release. If the battery ever goes dead or the release switch goes out, the rear hatch door will be useless. It should be replaced with a manual release of some sort. My Astro had one similar and I was always afraid it would quit working and I'd be stuck with what ever was in the back. At least it had a side door to get into and out of with ease if it did go bad. Also I agree why the 2 mileage counters on the DIC? They reset at 999 anyway, so what good is that? The mileage available is sort of misleading, if you fill up and it says 450 miles but this tank full you drive really mountainous areas, your mileage will be a lot less, the ole gas guage is still the instrument of choice....The little light on the ceiling is distracting at times and all the functions on the dash, radio and shifter have background lighting anyway, I always turned up or down the dash lights as needed. One feature also I've really seen that is silly, the compass on the mirror, as if I had any control which way I was going. The roads generally dictate which way i'm traveling, and the road signs tell me in much larger letters which way I'm headed anyway. Guess it would be OK if I were in a real SUV in the wild, but I don't think my HHR was made for much wilderness driving. The little tube on the core support, anyone figure out what that thing was?
Don't get me wrong, I really love all the other features on my HHR and really love the little car. Just as this thread suggests, somethings are just not necessary. The oil life indicator is a real scary thing to me, last oil change was 6,000 miles ago, still at 65%. I thought I heard a little wrist pin or lifter rattle this morning when I started my car, a little cool outside for a change. The wiper delay is a great feature to me, slowing in drizzle, speeding up above 50 mph. It seems my lights on wiper on doesn't work correctly, unless I'm not reading the manual right. Lights supposed to come on automatically if the wipers are on for several minutes. Maybe the headlights do, but the dash lights indicate they are not on. I think if the lights on the dash goes dim, then the lights should be on, maybe not, I have not got out and looked or have noticed if the taillights are on also. Lights come on when it gets dark out anyway.
What are those velcro straps that came on each visor?
Why is the no traction light on when you set the park brake?
Danged window switches, need to be higher up, maybe on the door. dangerous there so therefore, useless unless you enjoy distracting driving.
Along with those long door lock knobs.
One other thing I guess why I'm at it, The choice of audio in todays cars. AM, FM, Satellite Radio, 6 disc CD, Premium sound?. The speakers are in the floor in the back and the subwoofers in the very back of the car? They are not very large, but does sound OK, But really... soo many choices in one unit?
Some of this stuff comes under what we would change about the HHR, but some of it is useless too. You know what they say about the one with the most toys? And the HHR really is a winner in my book.

 

Heres an idea for the 2008 models; instead of leaving the rear windows still why dont they make a motor to act like a vent so that the'll open from the back moving outwards.

 

<The wiper delay is a great feature to me, slowing in drizzle, speeding up above 50 mph. It seems my lights on wiper on doesn't work correctly, unless I'm not reading the manual right. Lights supposed to come on automatically if the wipers are on for several minutes. Maybe the headlights do, but the dash lights indicate they are not on.>

Ok here goes, the lights go on if the wipers are on for I think about 30 secs. If it is not dark enough for the auto light to turn on the other lights the only way to know if they are on is to turn on the Bright Lights by using your swiitch, if the indicator comes on then the headlights are on. Note this means you have to push the switch forward as if you wanted the lights to stay on bright..

 

Thanks, never thought to try that, I'll do it next time. Was hoping the taillights came on, if not they need to be on in heavy rain to be seen, was why I was asking. Hate to get hit in the rear because wasn't seen. Dark Grey and heavy rain?.... Thanks, again, I'll check that.

 

the eng. temp on the DIC is from the coolant sensor that the ECM reads, the temp gage on dash is from the temp. sending unit. Both are reading coolant temp , sensors are one in coolant return to eng. and one is in out to rad. flow. NEXT: the lights that there are talking about are daytime run, if the switch is in the off. if it is set at auto they are on already. the dash lights are not on unless it is a low light. Next the air temp is in the right front fender just above the fog lamp. you will get a slight error from air,eng. temp ect. ect. sit in stop and go and watch it it will rise a point or two then go down as you start to drive at speed. also it is set to be not very sensativd so as not to go up & down more like avg. air temp. oil change is not by miles at all. if you just let the car sit and idle for a week it will show less them 100 o/o and you have not gone 1th of a mile also from the same coolant temp that the ecm is reading not trying to down anyone just trying to put the info out. GM is not super but late mod. cars are HI TECH even on a base LS In 1990/91 a new gm car had 10X the comp. power then the comp's that put men on the moon

 

The seats do fold down to access the back. Also in the manual page 2-14

Emergency Liftgate Release
If the vehicle loses power, the liftgate must be opened
manually from the inside.
To open the liftgate, do the following:
1. Remove the trim plug, located on the inside of the
liftgate near the center, to expose the access hole
in the trim panel.
2. Push the release lever.
3. Reinstall the trim plug.

Every vehicle I have had has had two trip odometers. It allows one to simultaneously track two different mileage events.


The fuel range is constantly recalculated based on driving conditions, distance, fuel usage etc.

The window switches, which the light you refer to is designed to illuminate are not backlit.


If the wipers are on, the lights do come on as per the manual and operate as described. If it is not dark enough the dash lights do not come on, only the outside lights. When it is dark enough the dash lights also come one. This is how the auto light feature works in general.

From the manual:

Wiper Activated Headlamps
This feature activates the headlamps and parking lamps
after the windshield wipers are turned on. For this
feature to work, automatic lighting must be enabled.
See Headlamps on page 3-14 for additional information.
When the ignition is turned off, the wiper-activated
headlamps will immediately turn off. They will also turn
off 15 seconds after the windshield wiper control is
turned off.

see also pages 3-14, 3-15 and 3-16

For holding stuff like say gas coupons.


That is odd.

I think most members would agree these are "misplaced" for sure.


SoCalHHR, one of our supporting vendors sells a solution to this.


OMG do you only want one choice? And you left out MP3. The more options the better when it comes to audio I always maintain.

But to each his own!

 

cvrogershhr, you have some valid complaints and I agree with some of them. However, some I have to contest. My last car was a Ford Windstar designed by female engineers and I must tell you they did a lot of things right. One complaint I had about all Fords is putting the window buttons on the doors. Do you have any idea how often the switches and motors fry in rainy Florida weather? As for the HHR telling you what direction you're going, I don't have that option in mine and I really miss it. I traveled far and wide and that feature helped me find my way more than once. Yes, if you travel the same route every day it's useless. In an unfamiliar area it's a lifesaver, especially in bad weather. Also, I have absolutely no interest in the far back windows opening. I was afraid to leave them open in my van for fear someone could pull that entire window out to steal the car. Yes it had an alarm but who reacts to them any more?

The large door lock poles are a pain, all the cup holders are in poor locations, the window switches are too low, and the visors are almost useless. However, I love the DIC which calculates my mileage for me. I also use the trip odometer but little else. The lights coming on when the wipers run is wonderful. In Florida, it's the law so why not have it programmed into our cars? I too had trouble figuring out if the headlights actually came on but I knew the daytime running lights would make me visable to others. In my long distance travels, I often turned on the headlights for safety which dimmed the interior dashboard lights. With sunglasses on I couldn't read the time on the radio. Yes, you often need to wear sunglasses in the rain down here!

The best advise I can give you is to consider all the things you hated about your old car and compare how they were improved in the HHR. The gas mileage alone is a selling point for me. The price and 0% financing sealed the deal!