Hi all,

My 2011 HHR is having intermittent issues. It's still under 100,000 warranty and I also have an extended warranty on it. I'm not sure if taking it in will be worth it since it's intermittent.
Any assistance would be appreciated.

FOB - lock works sometimes - I already put a new battery in it - it does unlock without an issue
Stereo - no audio - shows 'connecting' on regular radio station at different times
Liftgate - lights stay on even though the gate is closed.
Front passenger lock - locks by itself

 

FOB - Sounds like worn out contacts. You can CAREFULLY pull it apart and clean it, or get a new one. You should be able to find these at Autozone now. See your local AZ to confirm or AZ.com

Stereo - Sounds like bad reception. Are there any known dead zones for radio reception where you live?

Liftgate - The interior light has a timer. Could be it.

Lock - Sounds like maybe a loose fuse? Or a gremlin.

 

Check the fuses and relays in the under dash fuse panel by the passengers foot well. And the fuse panel under the hood.
The lock issue can be dirty or worn contacts in the FOB , I bought two cases with the key pads for under $10.00 and it resolved similar problems I had.
Check for loose ground wires under the hood and at the battery in the trunk, while you have access to the battery stop by AZ and have it load tested , it is 4 years old now

 

Fwiw. The 100k mile warranty is for the powertrain. Most likely GM would not cover with the warranty any of those issues you are having.

 

I'm thinking gremlins! It's so random. We put in a new battery when we got the car, so but I can get it tested. We did check the fuses under the hood and all were good. Also there aren't any codes, just had it checked.

Do I get the FOB from the dealer or can I just get a GM one? I assume it needs to be programmed.
I live in San Diego and I've never had bad reception in a car/truck.
The tailgate lights stayed on for over 2 hrs. I don't think that is normal, it normally will shut off after 30 seconds.
The lock is the weirdest - it will lock when I'm driving. At first I thought it was because there was someone in the passenger seat.

 

Just to clarify. You do know the HHR has automatic locking doors ? You said the passenger door would lock while you were driving ? Not sure on this since it should already be locked while in motion. How do you know it's trying to lock if it should already be in the locked position ?

Here's the details from the owners manual.

Automatic Door Lock
On vehicles with power door locks, the doors
automatically lock when the shift lever is moved out of
(P) Park for a vehicle with an automatic transmission.
For a vehicle with a manual transmission, the speed
must be greater than 5 mph (8 km/h).
The automatic door locking feature cannot be disabled.

 

Loose ground wires! They have had many a laugh right in our faces ! Don't discount that the battery may have a dead cell , but I think the electrical ground wires need to be double checked and the fuse box down on the right side of the console by the passenger foot well!

 

Like the plunger is binding?

Just about everything else has been covered before. Might I suggest giving the search tool a shot?

 

Yes it used to lock when I started the car then unlock when I put it in park - I have an automatic. Now it locks sometimes, then doesn't lock. My mom was out last week and noticed that it wasn't locking when I started the car but was locked when we stopped. Which would appear that it locked while I was driving

I will double check the ground/fuses and have the battery tested.

Thanks for all the input! Hopefully I can avoid taking it in for service.

 

could be the old pending P1818 TCM code, disconnect your negative terminal on the battery for at least 30 minutes to reset the computer systems , I just had this same issue yesterday, my code reader showed pending P1818, I searched the code in the search window. It has fixed the issue , I will keep an eye it for now! (my Left eye )