I get mine replaced at the dealer. The are warranteed from date of installation. Have had 3 sets on now, no charge.

 

Just got off the phone with GM they seem to NOT CARE. and I had to call them. It's been over a month and no return call....We are on our own it looks like...Class action lawsuit anyone?

 

Hi all ,

All this reminds me of an experience from my former occupation as a mechanic .

I was working at Muffler shop ( with the golden touch ) and had a customer with a Chevette that had been in for frequent front disc replacements .

Turned out that he was rural postman making alot of stop and go ( of course ). I asked him if he ever backed up . He said , well no , even his driveway had a circle . Upon inspection the rears were way out adjustment . He left and I can't remember him coming back .

Not that this story necessarily pertains to all this , BUT... If the rears are not helping the fronts , it can put alot of stress on the poor little fronts .

FWIW

 

Amen, on the keep the rears adjusted. No guidance is given in the HHR customer manual or the service manual that I could find. I found that repeatedly using the e-brake sometimes seems to make adjustment, along with occasionally using the e-brake while backing up.

 

I am willing to bet there are a lot of Automatic SS with low pedals. Few people use the E brake with an automatic and the pedal will get lower and lower.

Often may of these so called claimed war

 

If the rotors are not the problem why is GM replacing them every few thousand miles on my HHR? Don't they know whats wrong if it's not the rotors? If it is a hub or bearing shouldn't they replace that too? If it is a mechanic with a torque problem shouldn't they fix that too??

GM has lost money on my car, you would think they would want to "stop the bleeding" instead of applying a band aid on a serious wound.

GM has hit rock bottom with my HHR. What a shame.

One more thing I got 85,000 out of the front brakes on my PT Cruiser driving the same route as the HHR. Explain that.

 

If it is the rotors then why do many of us noit have the same issue? Contrary to popular belief not HHRs have this issue and most FWD car do have this issue to the same degree.

The bottom line comes down to the the dealer mechanic who can just toss on a set of rotors fast and easy and put you back on the road. By the time the issue comes back this will not be his comeback issue he will have to deal with again. He works flat rate the faster he gets done the more money he can make.

Also I would guess since rotors are cheap GM may want to replace the rotors more than the more costly hub bearing. Not only does it cost more but it cost more labor to replace.

Read the tech section at http://www.bendixbrakes.com/techCorner/faq.php and look at the section on pedal pulsations. It explains this issue pefectly on how it happens and how to fix it. GM's fault in this is more poor hub service than bad rotors.

If you go to http://www.raybestos.com/wps/portal/raybestos and go under technical they have many good videos that not only explain but show what happens.

These web sites are very good and informing on the truth of what the issue is.

Rotor Thickness Variation is much different than warped. The feel is similar but the cause is much different. The only way to really warp a rotor is over torquing so if you are at spec than RTV is the likley cause.

Also read the proper seating or burnishing of brakes as this also can cause the judder many also think is a warped rotor.

When was the last time a dealer told you to properly break in the new pads on your new car or brake job. Seldom to never. If you read the install instructions you need to use care in the first miles to get good service from the brake system. Seldom do mechanics seat them in nor does the factory.

As for GM doing what it does is no different than most companies. They take th easy cheaper way out. Once you are out of warranty it is your issue.

Note most of these brakes issues arrived at the same time as the sealed hub bearings. They are not as durable or as good as the old bearings. The new bearings are often a ball bearing that has less surface area and often is prone to more run out vs the old taper roller bearing. They went to the ball bearings due to the fact they have less resisitance for better MPG. They often can be damaged with miles, pot holes and being curbed. Even a bad tire or out balanced tire can damage them. Often I think the acceptable latteral run out must be under .002". Anymore than that will let the rotor wobble on the hub and wear the rotor uneven. So the noise you hear on the lathe when turning a rotor is uneven surface wear and not warped.

Even many RWD cars have similar sealed hub bearings and get the same wear issues.

The best thing to do is when you have your car repaired be informed and ask if they made the recomended checks and what the specs were. That way you know if they did or did not perform the right work to solve the the real issue. You seldom had to do this in th past but today it is a must. SO much has changed in the last 20 years and the old ways just don't cut it anymore.

If you go uninformed to the mechanic you are at his or the dealer mercy.

Note if everything is in spec the brakes perform very. The same rotors and calipers are in use on many GM cars not just the HHR. We have the same brakes as used on anything from the Malibu, Cobalt, G6, Aura, Sky, Solstice and many other models. The HHR uses very common parts and is far from the heaviest vehicle to use them.

Just watch the Video and read the tech info as it is very informitive.

 

Thank you for your input I will forward this to the Chevrolet Service Manager at my dealership. Right now we are trying to make a trade in deal and the offer on the HHR is so low for a 3 year old car ($5000 per year loss) I am having a very hard time making the deal. I retired last year and it is not as easy as it used to be to come up with about $23,000 to get a new Equinox LTZ, which God forbid could have as many issues as this HHR.

 

The 2010 Equinox and the Malibu are the best vehicles Chevrolet makes IMO. Once I find a buyer for my Tahoe I am getting an Equinox LTZ too.

 

We had two sets of rotors put on in the first 36,000 miles of warranty.
We have the 100,000 mile warranty and even though GM had to put on two sets of rotors, they DO NOT cover the rotors under warranty after the 36,000 miles are up.

We replace rotors and pads about every 20000 miles or the rotors get warped and the brakes start to chatter.