Purchased a 2008 HHR several months ago used and has since purchase overheated whenever idle, I'm not a mechanic myself so took it to shop for repairs found the thermostat housing was cracked, they replaced thermostat and housing, did not resolve, then they said the fan was bad cutting out intermittently, so they replaced the fan, which did not resolve, took it to dealership mechanic who said the ECM was bad so they changed it, now the fan "runs in low speed mode only" that the fan was defective, took back to original shop for a warranty replacement, so they swapped it.. still didnt resolve it, the fan was off brand and they are saying to install a OEM radiator fan... is there something else that may cause this, hate to drop another 500 bucks on mechanic guesswork.. currently 2k into trying to prevent the vehicle from overheating when in traffic/idle..

 

What temperatures is it running?

 

The regular HHR's do not have a multi speed fan.

 

Your dealer is a blood sucker. Bad ECM indeed! I suppose one bit of silicon in the entire computer malfunctioned.

You might try giving us some information: engine, temp ranges, when the fan comes on etc.

 

Anybody, else wanna ask my next line of questions?

what thermostat did they install
what coolant did they install
Which engine , transmission
how many miles
how old is the battery

if your dexcool was original , 11 years old , it should have been changed 6 years ago
it could have crystallized and plugged up the radiator.

 

Sorry If answers are not helpful I couldn't find engine size anywhere just fake decoders everywhere... put answers in the quote

When I turn on the engine fan is on and stays on, but if I leave it idle it will overheat in a short time to the point it dumps coolant with the heat gauge maxed, only thing that helps is running the heat on A/C..
Shop is saying the fan is multi speed and the problem is it's not going to "high mode" which I'm reading is based on a resistor in the radiator fan

QUOTE=Oldblue
Anybody, else wanna ask my next line of questions?

what thermostat did they install.. Unknown but it was not OEM

what coolant did they install: when it last dumped most the coolant I put Dex Cool. I told them to flush it when the thermostat housing broke 3 weeks ago but do not see it on invoice or what coolant they used.

Which engine , transmission its automatic 2008 LS no idea what engine
3GNCA13DX8S705222 is vin I cant find decoder

How many miles. 144,000
how old is the battery.. it's old enough it's due for replacement soon.. unless it can cause this then i can try that, but was not noted on diagnostic

if your dexcool was original , 11 years old , it should have been changed 6 years ago
it could have crystallized and plugged up the radiator.

one note the mechanics in this area (maybe most areas) are notoriously terrible with electrical issues, the shop I used for electrical was flattened by Hurricane Michael 10 months ago..

 

Yeah he hit my gf for 1k for a ECM that I could have bought pre programmed and done myself for $260 quoted her 3 hours labor... more like 20 minutes

previous post has most of this from what I see fan runs whole time its idle as soon as cranked and stays on..

 

How do I tell if mine does? Vin 3GNCA13DX8S705222

 

If it's a LS or LT then it doesn't. Only the SS model with the turbocharged 2.0L has a variable speed fan with a module on the fan itself.

IF your temp gauge has pegged or "maxxed" as you stated, then you've probably got bigger problems than a fan issue. If it got that hot you may have a head gasket failure. You should have the info center on the dash (called the DIC) set to the coolant temperature reading so you can tell how hot it actually is. If it gets above 250F, serious engine damage will happen if it hasn't already.

Since it's a LS and by your VIN, you have a 2.2 L engine.

 

I fixed your post, your answers were hiding inside the quote of Oldblue.

The "d" in your VIN indicates a 2.2