My 06 is at the dealer for a fix of the shaking in the steering on a hard brake. They say it is a bad plastic gear in the electronic steering that needs replacement. I won't know for a few weeks while it sits there for parts. One part didn't come, a bolt, must be coming from China. Maybe I will see it again next week. What a piece of junk!! Shoulda bought a Toyota......

 

To go with your roadstar!

 

 

Why? So you can have a guilt trip every December 7th?

 

I was just talking to Linepainter yesterday, He had the same problem (sounds like) and just had the steering column replaced after going through the "balance the tires routine."

 

I would check for a broken belt or you may have thrown off a balance weight on one of the rims...While your issue doesn't sound like braking I am now developing a slight vibration that I am sure is a warped rotor...time for an upgrade to ceramic pads and after-market rotors...I am not complaining, I got 54,000 out of the stock rotors and Z-man I believe you siad that you have had more than one set replaced...right? I feel pretty fortunate...

 

It could be the camber is off. I had that problem on another vehicle.

 

Minor tire balance usally starts above (+/- 10 lbs) 50 mph. If you are feeling it in the steering wheel look at your front tires. If you feel the shake in your seat, especially in the rear look to the rear tires. Our company spent 5,000 in warranty looking for a cause of tire shake with one of our just delivered units and included the chassis manufacturer, to find a final result of brand new tires being the fault, they were removed and replaced with a different brand and is now smooth riding.

My point is it's not always mechanical as in the vehicle, sometimes the product could have a flaw that is not seen.

 

I got it back yesterday finally, they replaced the steering column. I guess the bolt doesn't come with the kit so had to order it after it was tore apart. But the did help me to decide to repower my '98 toyota RAV4. I have put 600,000 miles on 3 toyota RAV4's in the past eight years with no major problems, just regular maintence. The '98 has 290,000 miles and the engine is getting weak. I just need a dependable car for 230 miles a day of driving.

 

This is not to down play your issue. The HHR is getting a bad rap because of forums which do not represent buyers in general. So to counter this somewhat, I am going to post my experience in each of these types of threads so people who join doing research do not get the terribly skewed idea that the HHR is anything but a fine car for the price.

The HHR is reliable. I have had no problems of significance and I rely on my HHR everyday. It has NEVER let me down.