Just recently, I have discovered that my 2008 HHR is burning ALOT of gas just barely accelerating! You can literally hear it guzzling the gas when accelerating and I barely put my foot on the gas. My car has 99,000 miles on it. What could be causing it?

Thanks,
Signed a girl who doesn't know anything about cars...

 

I'm waiting to see Sleeper's suggestion.

 

Hmmm...OK, a few questions first.

When was the last time it was serviced, oil change, engine air filter, etc?

Is your Check Engine light on, or has it been on recently?

Do you have an automatic, or a five speed?

The more information and detail you can provide, the better.

If your check engine light is on(or has been been on), head to your local Advance, Autozone, Napa, O' Reilly's, and ask them to "pull the codes" for you.

They'll provide you with a printout that lists the trouble codes, post them up here, and we'll do our best to give you an idea of what may be wrong.

And welcome to the forum!

 

I think anyone buying an HHR should buy an OBD-Can scanner and the manual with the codes, I keep both in my HHR so you can learn more about your own HHR, just look at how many codes listed for the HHR, o for the days of early Fords both my 32 Ford and my 36 Ford could be fixed on the side of the road with a few tools in the glove box. of course Im 81 and have remember the days with no computers in our cars. yippee.

 

I'm at a loss to understand how you hear gas being used. What does the noise sound like?

 

Just got the oil changed about 2-3,000 miles ago, just checked the air filter, it was fine, it hasn't been serviced for anything. The engine light isn't on.

The sound, I really can't describe, it's kind of like a "shh" sound when you press on the gas.

 

OK, might have an idea as to what's going on. I think you're describing an exhaust leak, assuming that the only symptom you're having is the "shh" noise when accelerating.

HHR's have a flexible coupling between the engine and the rest of the exhaust system, it allows the engine to rock back and forth in its mounts when you accelerate or decelerate.

These Flex Pipes do fail, and you'll get a whooshing, sucking, or buzzing noise as the engine moves.

Here's a thread on repairing the problem, it's much cheaper than going to your dealer.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/how-tutorial-library-21/how-repair-flex-pipe-31536/

Since most exhaust shops will check systems for free, have it looked at to confirm whether the Flex Pipe has failed.

 

If its the Flex-pipe you better drive with the windows down and you can smell the fumes. be careful.

 

Agree with flex pipe, but also would check the air filter box to make sure it's put back together correctly, but not having a check engine light on would seem to rule that out.

 

lol I used to own an 86 dodge ram with a 318. Driving uphill I could definitely hear it guzzle lol.