bartSS

I was about to say................................

russruth

I know everyone worries about the gm warranty, but it seems most people have issues with the Stage 1.

I have the Stage 1 and a trifecta tune on top of that and if I did it again, I'd just go Trifecta and leave it at that.

I mean in a way I'm glad gm offered the stage 1, but the results can be a nightmare, which is a shame considering how many people really love this car.

IMO

hyperv6

The only people with issues are the few you hear about here. The kit has sold in great numbers to many HHR, Cobalt, Sky and Solstice owners. For the number of kits sold have been few in the big picture.

Few people post threads to say Hey My Turbo Upgrade has been perfect.

Often the problems are due to poor dealer installs and people going back to have the guy who can't crimp to do it again.

Other issues like mine are not so much related to the kit or install as it was that my IC was replaced to a unrelated accident.

I often see issues like this even with the aftermarket kits too. I know when the programer came out for the 04 supercharged GP that the engines were losing pistons with detination issues. The series 3 engine was different and the after market company screwed up.

To make a long story short the guys with broken pistons were turned away from GM as it was not their fault and the programer company did not and could not afford to fix the issues. It got ugly for a while.

The key to the install is to have a well trained tech do the work.

I feel bad for the guys with issues but it is part of life a when you modify a car. I work in the performance aftermarket and we stuff like this often with the more modern cars. Sometimes you needs to sort things out. Life is not always a bolt on and you still have to do a little work to make things right.

russruth

We've had this discussion on many threads on this forum but I don't agree with the silent majority theory and though I don't have hard figures to back up how many people have how many problems with the stage 1, I know that with the amount of internal gm paperwork relating to this it's enough to be noticed.

I'm not a bettering man, but I'd probably guess that 1/3 of the people have problems that eventually lead to no boost and no power, 1/3 have intermittent problems and the final third is that mix of people that either just sell the car or don't bother as long as it reasonably runs.

I'm also not going to lay this only on the dealers. Sure my dealer knew little about how to resolve the issues and had I not gone to the owner of the dealership would have probably just washed their hands of the issue. GM was no help as the tech rep just read from a script and it took me reading this forum, pulling tons of data and paying to have most of the work contracted out at my own cost, like stronger motor mounts, moving the IC pipe further and resealing the connectors.

Now there are good dealers like Reliable Chevrolet in Richardson Texas that will go the extra step to get it right, but since they are 1,000 miles away from where my car is, having them fix it would have been time consuming and cost prohibitive.

Still, with the stage 1, this is not some shade tree mechanic upgrade, it's a factory authorized and priced option and the problem is wide spread enough that 1/2 of the dealers I've contacted in the L.A. area won't touch it, so that's gotta tell you something.

Let's face it, as you remind us, the HHR SS is considered old product in the eyes of the new GM. I guess that's good if your in the market for whatever Chevrolet will be offering in the future, not good if you've bought the car, paid for the upgrade and made half a dozen trips to a dealer for some type of resolution only to reach into your own pocket, risk the remainder of the warranty and contract the fixes yourself.

I come at this with a pro chevrolet bias as I own 4, three are SS versions, but the only one I consider solid reliable is the Trailblazer SS because it's a design that GM seems to be good at. Big motor, rear drive, heavy car and old, but decades tested technology.

I also don't follow the theory that the HHR SS is a cheap performance car so we get what we pay for. I also own a Mitsubishi EVO 8 since new and early on when it developed a problem with the gearbox, Mitsubishi flew a technician in from Tokyo to isolate the problem and rebuild the transmission.

He even flew in with parts. My experience with chevrolet was 180 from this and as much as I want to be pro "North American" and show some loyalty to a brand I grew up with, it's obvious why GM bleeds car sales sales and closes divisions.

So, this is probably all for naught as I doubt if anyone from General Motors will ever read this thread, though they should realize that in business there are two rules. 1. The customer is always right. 2. If the customer is wrong, see rule #1.

IMO

hyperv6

Your glass is half empty and mine is half full.

Like you say you have no hard data and can really prove little.

I have now 17 years in the performance aftermarket with all brands and many different kinds of parts. I will be the first to say GM should have made a plug in harness and better informed dealers on this kit. That is a no brainer.

Now on the other hand GM has sold many many of these kits. Even on this site we have had many here that have it on their SS. But the majority of the issues have been with the same handful of owners. Ofen multiple post by the same people with unresolve problems.

I think for the most we have proven the crimp connections are usally the issue at hand in most cases. We also have had a couple of issues where the T map hits the AC. But on the other sights where the Solstice and Kappa guys have this installed most have had little issues and if they do it was the dealer connectors.

The real thing that keeps coming up is the crimp connectors takes a special Kent-Moore tool. Many techs do not want to take the time to hunt them down and try to crimp with the regular tool. This is a problem.

I also understand that your view is also based on a very frustrating side since you are one of the people who has suffered issues that have been a problem to resolve.

At this point we have to agree to disagree that is all there is left to say.

black99lightning

I'm still confused on how it can run great, no issues, for 4 months, yet now I have to reset the Check Engine light daily? On some days its multiple times. Maybe it is something as simple as a crimping issue, but why not all the time? Granted I wasn't involved with the install, it was on there when I bought the car. At this point I wish it wasn't. You would think GM would have made it a simple plug and play. I know Ford does with all of their S/C upgrades for Mustangs. Simple bolt-on and retune through the OBDII port. No cutting up the harness to make it work. No wonder Ford didn't need to be bailed out. And this is not my first GM. Before this I had a 00 GTP, and most recently a 06 TBSS, which I should've kept.


Never gave me a problem either. Superchip tune, CAI, and a catback. But the 14-15MPG on the highway was ridiculous.

hyperv6

Most time issues that come and go like this are a bad connection. This also explains why so many that have the same parts you do don't have any issues.

The fact is GM should have done a connector but we have to remember at the time this kit was done GM had no money. It was strapped more than most really understand. The truth be told this kit would have never been done if they had to make a harness connector. It may not seem to be a big deal but for all they would have had to gone through to make it the kit would have been still born.

Also the truth on Ford few people really understand on Fords issues. Ford a year to two years before GM's issues were as grim. They nearly went out and had no option of a bail out. Even the Ford family looked at selling out. But they took high cost loans to keep the company going and for new product. They leveraged the loans on their plants. If the new cars fail Ford looses their plants. So far they are doing ok but they still have billions in outstanding loans to many of the banks that got bailed out.

So Ford is not all that clean in all of this either. Right now GM and Ford are making head way. Chrysler is a little more behind as they really had no product ready and Fiat has had to do a light make over on the present cars while they get new product done. The question remains will Americans take to the Fiat/Chrysler based cars. Based on the Fiat 500 I hope they can do better. The 500 is not cheap and if you slam the door the mirror flops. Most people would be better off to spend the extra grand and buy a Mini.

Anyway if the kit was done today I am sure it would have had the harness but with all the cars that is was made for out of production they will not change this one now.

Note even the Maps in this kit are Bosch units used in a Alfa Romeo. That is why they had to make new connectors and they point the wrong direction.

I can understand the bitterness of those with those with issues. I feel for you.

I just wish the SS and this kit were just a post BK item and we would have had it the way it should have been.

I am suprised that no one has made their own water tight connectors for this. If someone did they could sell a few.

gmdealerguy

I had my connections soldered last May and has been fine since......but I had waaaaay too may issues with it up until that point and now count the days until its paid off and I can rid of this car........

russruth

I love driving the HHR and since mine is an automatic First day I had dual exhausts installed, then the stage 1, then the stage 1 problems everyone mentions, then fixes for the stage 1 which probably amounted to 6 dealer trips, two dozen factory calls and finally to my personal mechanic to do what the dealer failed to do, which took three trips.

Regardless of all of that, after driving the car for a year, I don't think these cars respond well to changes. An air filter throws a code, I've lost a fuel pump on a short drive and even when everything is working right, IMO this really isn't a car that handles 300 hp well, at least no off the line.

Since mine was an automatic 235 stock hp was too low, though 250 to 270 would have been perfect, if it could be done in a reliable way.

Yesterday I noticed a clunk noise in the driver's side window which gives me pause.

It's a shame, this is a great car to drive and I believe is very unique, but it's also low on the build quality scale and I would be concerned with long term ownership. My heart tells me I would like to keep it for 10 years, my head tells me to sell it tomorrow.

There are some good chevy dealers (though none I know in Southern California and I've visited 4 of them), but the SS seams like a vehicle conceived when GM was trying to find money to keep the lights on.



IMO


P.S. Regarding my wife's SS trailblazer, I'm positive you can drive that monster to Hell and back and nothing will break. It's strong, but as I've said, GM can make trucks, it's these little cars they seem to have issues with.

gmdealerguy

I tried trading in but book is only $12,500 and that is sad. Right now I still owe $17,500 on the car and I am upside down on it due to the value drops so fast. For what GM asks for the sticker price, you dont get much as far as options go. While I LOVE the speed and performance of it, I see now that that is all you get with this car. $29,132 sticker is just way too much for this car. Again, after driving GM cars for the last 25 years, I cant wait to get out of this car and into something better optioned for less.