Same damned thing just happened to me. I pressed in the clutch and half a greasy spring fell on my bare toe. Obviously misspec'd or defectively manufactured part. Only 44,000 on my car

 

Jeda 13, Rod - anybody else with a manual trans: Do you keep the clutch pedal depressed waiting for traffic signals to turn green? Not that you shouldn't, but keeping the tension on a spring would tend to make a spring failure more likely, if the spring actually has an inherent defect.
At least we know that the broken clutch spring does not render an HHR inperable, and the fix is relatively easy.

 

Actually I frequently shift to neutral at lights because of the stiffness of the clutch. I suspect the stiffness has no function other than to make the operator feel like the clutch is heavy duty; Without the spring the clutch feels wimpy even though it functions normally. But I haven't owned this car long enough to wear out any part; the previous two owners deserve the credit in that respect. The thing seems like the perfect car for me - I just hope it doesn't punish me with too much of this kind of stuff.

 

"because of the stiffness of the clutch"

Interesting. My 2010 SS has a very soft and easy feel to it. Almost effortless.
Maybe your clutch feeling stiff(might be too stiff) could be the reason for your spring failure. You might want have it checked out before and after you replace the spring.

 

The failure is fatigue - just like bending a paperclip until it snaps. Perhaps there is some flaw in desgin that causes variance in the stress on the spring but I suspect either the spring steel was not to spec or the spec was wrong. No operator variable could account for the failure - the number of times you depress the clutch in X miles e.g. all city vs. all trips probably doesn't vary enough to cause a heavy spring to snap. My guess would be that the part came from a low bid supplier with poorly controlled process or bad materials. I've ordered the replacement and will soon be getting my hands dirty for the first time with this car.

 

Nope. neutral it is. The spring is likely Mexican crap, kinda like the rest of the car. Door bottoms are rusted out, started at 2 years, never seen a winter. New thread to start this topic.

Jim

 

Chevy Runs Deep - if it runs. Drove my wife to the train station and on the way back the check engine lit up. Parked the thing in the drive and shut it off. Tried to start - no dice. Too busy to fuss with it, I had it towed to a dealer. As I suspected it seems the switch which keeps you from starting the car with the clutch out failed. Prehaps the lack of spring screwed it up. Not sure why or how and my conversation with the servcie guy gave me no confidence they did either, but its dead until the part comes in. $350 for the repair includiing a $100 "diagnostic fee." This car is beginning to remind me of my 79 Fairmont.

 

Many thanks for the pictures and part number; mine went PING and dropped out just as you described.

The pressure plate is serving as a decent return spring for the meantime....

--Ken

 

I pretty much always leave it in neutral clutch up, when stopped at a red light. I watch the light for the cross street, when it turns yellow I dump it in gear. Old habit from fifty years ago. I don't consider the clutch on the HHR very stiff, but the clutch on the cars in the fifties sure were. No hydraulics, all mechanical linkage in those days.