I took my HHR to the dealership today to get rid of my front end clunk (steering shaft) and to investigate a high pitched noise coming from the engine area, only heard outside of the car. It sounded like something electrical to me because it reminded me of an inverter running but apparently they have to remove the intake manifold to replace a pcv orfice. I guess the air through the orfice is acting like a whistle. They said that GM is aware of this issue. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

My noise is gone! They had to plug the old hole and redrill one in a different location.

 

I think I posted this before but if not, here is what we do:


Service Information 2007 Chevrolet HHR | HHR (VIN A) Service Manual | Document ID: 2098886
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#PIP4392: Whistle Noise From Throttle Body Area At Or Near Idle - keywords engine gasket LE5 intake manifols orifice plate - (Apr 14, 2008)


Subject: Whistle Noise from Throttle Body Area at or Near Idle


Models: 2006-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt

2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR

2006 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada Only)

2007 Pontiac G5

2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice

2006-2007 Saturn Sky

2007 Saturn Aura

with 2.4L Engine (RPO LE5)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following diagnosis might be helpful if the vehicle exhibits the symptom(s) described in this PI.

Condition/Concern:
Some customers may report a whistle noise that is heard at or near idle. Upon inspection, the technician should be able to isolate the noise to the throttle body area of the engine. If the noise is compared with others, it may also be determined that this is a noise characteristic of the engine.

Recommendation/Instructions:
If the SI diagnostics do not isolate the root cause of this noise, perform the following steps to improve this noise characteristic:

Follow the Intake Manifold Replacement Procedure in SI to remove the intake manifold.
Remove the PCV orifice plate that is between the #2 and #3 intake manifold runners.
Plug the PCV orifice by placing a small amount of epoxy on both sides of the PCV orifice plate as shown below in Step 4.
Use a #51 (.067" / 1.7 mm) drill bit to drill a new orifice in the location shown below.



Install the PCV Orifice Plate as shown below.

 

I guess I should have searched for whistle instead of high-pitched noise. Thanks for the info. I wondered what exactly they did. The guy behind the counter didnt know much about it and made it sound like they had to drill a new hole in the cylinder head. I was thinking about how many metal shavings made it into the oil, but now I see they did the drilling away from the engine.

 

Yep. I have this problem too. In fact, it is a pretty bad noise, loud enough that non car people ask what is wrong with the car when they get in.

It goes away instantly when you place your foot gently on the gas.

I suspect it is the same problem. Is this problem occurring on some 08 models also (mine is an 08 manual trans LS HHR.)

I HATE the idea of having to have my dealer remove the intake and do this repair to a new vehicle. I fully expect scratches on the fenders, etc when the car is returned (Can you tell I do not care for my particular dealer??)

I guess I do not have a choice but to have it eventually looked at. Right now I am monitoring the situation to see if it gets worse. It seems to be really loud sometimes and not quite as loud other times...