hve 2007 2.2 hhr auto transmission. vehicle has 61k. my problem is that when i first start it in the morning it wants to either jump into gear or pauses when from park to reverse or drive to engage,YET if i allow it to warm up 4 min,it works great,it'll work great all day even if it sits for hours idle to restart it.original fluid(though I baught it second hand with 30k) it shows no CHECK ENGINE LIGHT,
what do I do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

theoretically you shouldn't start any car(cold) and put it into gear immiediately. both my hhrs had to warm up before the gear changes are smooth and fast. so there may not be anything wrong with the car, just needs to get up to operating temp.

I always noticed when my old 2.4l was cold, it never wanted to shift into 4th until it really warmed up... everynight(winter driving) i would leave work on 50mph speed limit road, and it would take a good 2-3 minutes of driving before it would finally shift to 4th and hit the sweet spot for gas mileage.

i always at least let the rpms settle(30-45 seconds) before going anywhere(if the engine/tranny are cold) which is a good reason to have remote start

sitting for 3-4 hours is different than sitting for like 12 hours overnight also. the car can still be warm in a smaller time frame. but over night it wont be



WELCOME!

 

to the forum enjoyhhrs!

Even though your HHR only has 61k on the clock, you did buy it used and there's no telling how those first 30,000 miles passed, I'd have the transmission serviced as the symptoms are indicative to me of either a low fluid level or "burned" fluid.

 

I believe that the TCM does take temperature as a data point.
I'd also check the wiring connections, as that's easy and cheap.

 

....or low fluid/ dirty filter

 

Where would fluid go, that would not be obvious? (puddles under the car)

 

venting...or who knows what went on thru out its life...heat does cause fluid evaporation. Its not a sealed system.

 

The first thing you do whenever you have a transmission acting up is to get the fluid/filter changed. I don't buy the GM idea that you never have to change the trans fluid one bit. One of the first things I did on my HHR I just got a few months ago with 86k on it was to have the trans fluid/filter changed.

 

I can see many members have provided you with their thoughts about your situation with your HHR. How are things going with this?

 

I am not trying to start a debate, but I have researched the owner's manuals of various model years for the HHR and in the Maintenance Schedule section there is a section that recommends at a certain mileage reading on a vehicle that the transmission be checked and changed to include filter.

I hope you have a great holiday.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service