Good Morning, if this is in the wrong place pls help me get it where goes. with this post I am looking for more or less general info rather than personal to me if im saying that correct. I have a 2011 chevy hhr LT, purchased approx 3.5 yrs ago with 55k approx. I loved this car at first, now its a love hate relationship. no matter how much i give her she is never satisfied, im starting to think she only with me for my money. so this doesnt become to much info ill just cut it short with whats been done in the last 3.5 yrs. almost immediately timing chain went leading to a brand new engine, was not to long after trans went and shortly after that throttle body was replaced. those first couple weeks with her was tough, joking it was prolly 18 months and after that I no longer had a warranty, bet they was happy. I thought this is great now i have a new car awesome! wrong replaced the front suspension every part pretty much brakes front and back, broken door handles, wheel bearings, intake and exhaust solenoids, windshield wiper arm I found some awesome info on how to fix in these forums. breath....started getting loud and bogged down needed a flex pipe and was talked into a cat converter i dont know i needed, replaced the control arms and the coil packs and i am feeling like i purchased 4 vehicles. at the moment the dash says 130k miles . my question is this, a few of these problems before going bad acceleration was weaker felt bogged down, obviously some worse than others but that feeling that she dont have the get up and go, feeling sick.currently there is no engine codes or noises its just that feeling that this is not normal and is getting worst. it seems i have the luck of gettng engine codes approx 15 mins after broke. everything i listed is in order as it was done some has not been very long ago. can anyone suggest some things i can look at? couple days ago i started getting abs and service esc will come on for breif moments but usually when im stopped at a light or in driveway. always goes away in 5 or ten mins. other than that nothing.

 

How long, and how many miles, has it been since you changed(or checked) the oil?

How long, and how many miles, has it been since the VVT solenoids were replaced? Did you install ACDelco?

 

VVT solenoids would set a code.
loose timing chain due to broken front guide, plausible.
dirty MAF sensor and or throttle body.

dirty oil or low oil can cause these symptoms.

dirty fuel injectors and or low fuel pressure can cause problems

 

i apoligize, i couldnt find my post. luckily i was able to get back to it threw email notification. the oil was changed 2 weeks ago, trans fluid was checked and a tiny bit added. i understand dirty oil causes all sorts of issues with this car. I still have no engine codes , none stored either. it was maybe a year ago I had Tuffy replace the coilpacks flex and cat converter. i was very unhappy with them, wont be goin back. i only went there cause i couldnt do the cat by myself. Is it possible for any of those to be bad allready and wouldnt they throw a code? I was reading the maf sensor can cause this also, is there a way to check? i also read the throttle body could cause this, i have replaced it when it was still under warrant and cleaned it like 6months ago.any other suggestions? im gonna be trying to get some work done on it today so i will keep this open so i can reply immediately if theres any input offered. thank you much.

 

timing chain , funny you said that. its been a concern of mine so i am gonna take a look at it and will upload piks in a couple hours. everything else mentioned other the maf has been addressed pretty much.

 

hint: click on your user name and then choose my posts in the drop down.

My guess is the screens on the VVT valves are getting clogged.

 

solenoids within the last year and ac delco correct, today i noticed they was dirty so i cleaned them. they wasnt to bad tho, oil is clean.

 

I just removed valve cover and looked at timing chain. it feels about as tight as it can be. I took piks of flex as well, can someone tell me how to check this and the cat if ya think thats a possibility of the problem. the coilpacks looked good but i know looks are decieving.

 

Hmm. What kind/type of oil are you using ? The insides have that varnished up look. Not good. Especially the overhead pic showing the cams and valvetrain.

Quote: "solenoids within the last year and ac delco correct, today i noticed they was dirty so i cleaned them."
They shouldn't be dirty. Especially if you changed them recently. I'm thinking this may be related to the oil I was asking about.

 

Agreed, the inside of the engine should not be that color. It's been run low on oil for extended periods of time, and/or the oil never gets changed.

And this engine was brand new just a few years ago?