p0700
P2544
U0073
U2106

2010 2.2
16,129 miles

When the HHR gets hot after 30 minutes or so of driving the anti theft illuminates , car will have poor performance and or the gauges drop dead , low fuel , power steering light , ac starts blowing warm air , driver power window affected , speakers affected. and the traction control button never does anything. (on my other HHRs when i press the traction control button the light illuminates on the dash) sometimes the gauges drop dead before the anti theft light comes , sometimes only the anti theft light comes , most of the time all the symptoms are present when the car is hot . if im driving for short distances the car is fine 100% . After symptoms when car is parked the transmission area/TCM stays hot , hotter than normal , for a long time . a couple hours or so. engine temp is fine according to factory gauge. If i park the car and restart it will sometimes be fine for a few miles , sometimes it wont even start. check engine light comes on but will vanish after a few short no fault trips. Where do i start? Solenoid? grounds? Ive never jump started these vehicles but if they were to be incorrectly jumped does it short something out ? ive checked fuses , ECM was claimed to be replaced with no help to problem.

Thanks everyone for your time.

 

As the first step, check and test your battery. As the battery starts to die all sorts of weird and unusual issues and problems start to pop up. The voltage at rest should be 12.6V, and 14+ with the engine running. However only a load test is necessary to actually test the battery to determine the capacity of it's power, and any auto parts store can test that for free.

Have you looked up the CEL codes to see what the possible issues might be? It might be a good idea to do that.

Yes, if you jump start it incorrectly, you can blow the power steering fuse, or cause major damage to electrical components such as radio and worse.

You say "ECM was claimed to be replaced with no help to problem" - by whom, and for what reason? Did you just buy this HHR?

You also say "engine temp is fine according to factory gauge" - if you are going by the analogue gauge with the needle - forget it - they are not at all accurate. If you want to properly monitor the engine temp you need to use the digital readout on the DIC (see your manual). But do not obsess over every minor fluctuation of the temperature. the temperature should vary between 185/190f when warmed up, to ~210F.

You also say it sometimes won't start - so how do you start it without a jump-start?

PS: the A/C will stop putting out cold when the CEL gets triggered.

 

Yes, check the battery first.Make sure it's shut off for at least 10 minutes before testing it. When you have multiple weird issues that seem unrelated this is often the cause.

However 3 of these codes are transmission related, and the one that isn't, along with the other U code are communications issues. Possible a faulty module. I know there are a few people here that have dealt with transmission codes so someone will chime in soon.

 

U0073 is a fault in the code reader.
U2106 indicates a bad connection or power problem with the EBCM.
The rest of the codes are probably from a bad wire or connection. Somebody has messed with the car all of those other things have nothing to do with the transmission.

The poor performance is a result of P2544.

I suggest you take the under hood fuse box apart and inspect the internal connections and add some dielectric to them.

 

Thanks everybody for their input. the battery is a 2019 interstate so it was replaced recently. which is why im assuming at some point it had gotten a jump. battery reads where it should. i bought this HHR a month ago. department of agriculture claimed to have replaced the ECM through the shop of their choice (whoever that is) and still have issues. After the car gets hot and triggers the antitheft and or dead gauges, restarting the car is a hit or miss. 90% of the time it will start but with low power (limp mode im assuming) ,sometimes it wont crank at all. i just have to either let it cool down for about a hour and it will be 100% fine or play with the locks or just keep trying to resume in limp mode until the car can cool down. im leaning towards a burnt out solenoid , sensor or the wiring of those internal of the transmission cover. so ill work my way down starting with the fuse box. i was just checking with yall in case it was something stupid simple im just overlooking like the battery , tcm ground , harnesses , key fobs , etc . if its not the fuse box , solenoids , sensors or wiring ill look into power steering recall. not sure after that. probably have to bite the bullet and take it to someone who knows better than I. Thanks again yall.

 

How old is the coolant?
if you are going to drain and refill , change the thermostat also.
use an AC Delco 131-158 180 degree thermostat.
Perhaps the coolant has gotten hot and crystallized, you should flush the rad also.

 

The theft light comes on when the system voltage gets below 9 V that is also the point that the computers start failing.
Any electrical problem in the trans would have a code, that goes for solenoids too.
You might check the trans fluid.
The engine temp is from the EBCM code putting the ECM into a conservation mode. That code more than likely comes from the communication error between the EBCM.
I don't know of any reason anybody would replace the ECM, unless it was touched with a hot lead and shorted out.
You would know if the power steering went out. Has the ignition recall been done?
The power steering is a recall on some years but an extended warranty on all years, it won't be listed as a needed recall.

link to check your recall status