NHTSA Complaint #10456719 — 2009 CHEVROLET HHR

I WAS DRIVING MY CHEVY HHR WHEN IT STARTED OVERHEATING AND SMOKING AND DIDN'T SEEM SAFE TO DRIVE, SO I HAD IT TOWED TO A DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD THAT ENGINE BLOCK CRACKED AT ABOUT 147,000 MILES DUE TO OVERHEATING. I WAS TOLD THAT IT NEEDED A NEW ENGINE WHICH WOULD BE 4,000. WANTING A SECOND OPINION, WE HAD IT TOWED TO ANOTHER MECHANIC WHO BASICALLY SAID THE EXACT SAME THING. THEN WECALLED GM BECAUSE THE MECHANIC TOLD HIM THAT THERE WAS A TECH BULLETIN OUT ON IT AND THIS WAS A KNOWN PROBLEM ON THE HHR'S SO WE WERE HOPING THAT GM WOULD HELP US SINCE THE CAR WAS ONLY 2 YEARS OLD. GM SAID THAT THEY COULD PROBABLY HELP US BUT FIRST WE HAD TO PAY ANOTHER 200 TO GET IT TOWED TO ANOTHER CHEVY DEALERSHIP AND THEN PAY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS. I WAS HESITANT, BUT HE TOLD ME THAT IF WE DID THAT HE SHOULD HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO HELP US OUT WITH THE ENGINE. WE DID ALL THAT, AND THEY CALLED US BACK THIS MORNING TO SAY THAT THE ISSUE WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE HAD TOLD THEM FROM THE BEGINNING BUT NOT ONLY WOULD THEY NOT HELP US OUT AT ALL, THIS DEALERSHIP WANTS 6,000 FOR THE NEW ENGINE INSTEAD OF THE $4,000 THAT THE FIRST DEALERSHIP QUOTED US. THE MECHANIC SAID THAT HE CAN'T TELL IF THE ENGINE CRACKED BECAUSE THE CAR OVERHEATED, OR IF THE CAR OVERHEATED BECAUSE THE ENGINE CRACKED, BUT EITHER WAY HE SAID HE CAN'T TELL IF IT'S A MANUFACTURERS DEFAULT OR NOT SO THEY'RE DECIDING TO GO WITH NOT SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO HELP US. *TR