Last week my car started a very rough idle then the check engine light came on. It also had a very rough shift into and out of first. I had the codes read at Advance and it came back as p0302. Intermittent misfire cylinder 2. Then the traction control light came on. I replaced the spark plugs ( car has 179000 miles) since they had never been replaced. Lights went out. Today the same thing happened code was the same, so I replaced the ignition coil on cylinder 2 and had the code cleared. Traction control light immediately came on, still shifting hard, still idles hard, after a few minutes of idling the check engine light joined its friend the traction control light. Is it possible there are multiple bad cylinders? Another issue entirely? Also, my HHR is a 2007.

 

Sounds like you went through the first couple of solutions. Here's a list.....

code P0302 may mean that one or more of the following has happened:
•Faulty spark plug or wire
•Faulty coil (pack)
•Faulty oxygen sensor(s)
•Faulty fuel injector
•Burned exhaust valve
•Faulty catalytic converter(s)
•Running out of fuel
•Poor compression
•Defective computer

 

Ok, as stated above. I had codes cleared last night and I replaced ignition coil 2, but the light show is still present and the car is misfiring. A friend (mechanic friend) checked my fuel pressure it reads at 60 I believe that is PSI. I'm not a mechanic. I had had the codes checked by Advance today. Above codes appeared p0302 multiple times. I understand c0561 is the code for traction control disabled. My car had already told me that. Is a fuel injector my next step or is there something else someone would suggest?

 

Give Snoopys list another read - you have already eliminated the plugs, the coil - so it's a matter of checking the rest of the list. The fuel pressure sounds good. You can try swapping the fuel injector with another cylinder to see if the problem moves. If it doesn't, a compression test should be done to check the health of the valves and head gasket. Actually I'd do the compression test before swapping the injector (it's a quick and easy test).

If you use the SEARCH tool at the top of the page, and look for p0302 p0303 p0304 you will find a number of threads on misfires - and a number of them refer to a problem with a valve unfortunately.

And the code for the traction control is a result of the misfires - fix the misfires and the traction control issue will likely go away.

 

I wanted to thank you I just bought a compression tester and found only 65lbs of pressure on cylinder two. Contacting an auto shop tomorrow because I don't think I can pull the head. Any idea if I will damage it worse if I drive it until the shop can fit it in?

 

Ouch - yeah 65lbs is way too low. You should be ok driving it for a short while - I wouldn't want to take in on the freeway much, then again that may be the easiest on it.

If it was me, I'd drive it but be easy on the throttle, especially if the tranny is shifting abruptly. I'd say you should be ok for a few days at least.

Do keep us posted on the status if you can.

 

Will do. It actually drives fairly good..it idles badly and has very rough shifting into and out of first. No longer surging at idle since I had a fuel system flush done yesterday. Shop wanted $150 dollars for a compression test and they didn't have time to do it yesterday, so I bought my retired mechanic friend a tester (his broke) and he performed the test.