
Black plate (37,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Highbeam On Light
This light comes on when
the high-beam headlamps
are in use.
See Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer
on page 4‑5for more information.
Fuel Gauge
The fuel gauge indicates
about how much fuel is
left in the fuel tank. An arrow on the fuel gauge indicates the side of the
vehicle the fuel door is on.
Here are four things that some owners ask about. None
of these show a problem with the fuel gauge:
.At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gauge reads full.
.It takes a little more or less fuel to fill up than the
gauge indicated. For example, the gauge may
have indicated the tank was half full, but it actually
took a little more or less than half the fuel tank's
capacity to fill it.
.The gauge moves a little when the vehicle turns a
corner or speeds up.
.The gauge does not go back to empty when the
ignition is turned off.
For the fuel tank capacity, see Capacities and
Specifications on page 6‑107.
4-37

Black plate (41,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
AUTO (Automatic) LIGHTS OFF
This message displays if the automatic headlamp
system is disabled with the headlamp switch. See
Automatic Headlamp System
on page 4‑13for more
information.
AUTO (Automatic) LIGHTS ON
This message displays if the automatic headlamp
system is enabled with the headlamp switch. See
Automatic Headlamp System
on page 4‑13for more
information.
BRAKE FLUID
This message displays, while the ignition is on, when
the brake fluid level is low. The brake system warning
light on the instrument panel cluster also comes on.
See Brake System Warning Light
on page 4‑29for
more information. Have the brake system serviced by
your dealer as soon as possible.
CHANGE OIL SOON
This message displays when the life of the engine oil
has expired and it should be changed.
When this message is acknowledged and cleared from
the display, the engine oil life system must still be reset
separately. See Engine Oil Life System
on page 6‑19andScheduled Maintenanceon page 7‑3for more
information.
CHECK GAS CAP
This message displays if the fuel cap has not been fully
tightened. Recheck the fuel cap to make sure that it is
on properly. A few driving trips with the cap properly
installed should turn the message off.
COOLING MODE ON
This message may display on some vehicles. Under
severe conditions, hot ambient temperatures, steep
grades, and towing, your vehicle may experience more
transmission shifting. This is temporary and normal
under these conditions. This does not require engine or
transmission service.
CRUISE ENGAGED
This message displays when the cruise control system
is active. See Cruise Controlon page 4‑8for more
information.
DOOR AJAR
This message displays if one or more of the vehicle's
doors are open. Make sure that the door(s) are closed
completely.
ENGINE DISABLED
This message displays if the starting of the engine is
disabled. Have your vehicle serviced by your dealer
immediately.
4-41

Black plate (46,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
To change feature settings, use the following procedure:
Entering Personalization Menu
1. Turn the ignition on while the vehicle is stopped.To avoid excessive drain on the battery, it is
recommended that the headlamps are turned off.
2. Press and hold the information and reset buttons at the same time for one second, then release to
enter the personalization menu.
If the vehicle speed is greater than 2 mph (3 km/h),
only the UNITS menu will be accessible.
3. Press the information button to scroll through the available personalization menu modes.
Press the reset button to scroll through the
available settings for each mode.
If you do not make a selection within ten seconds,
the display will go back to the previous information
displayed.
Personalization Menu Modes
OIL LIFE RESET
When this feature is displayed, you can reset the
engine oil life system. To reset the system, see Engine
Oil Life System
on page 6‑19. See “OIL LIFE” under
DIC Operation and Displayson page 4‑38for more
information.
UNITS
This feature allows you to select the units of
measurement in which the DIC will display the vehicle
information. When UNITS appears on the display, press
and hold the reset button for at least one second to
scroll through the available settings:
ENGLISH (default in United States): All information
will be displayed in English units.
METRIC (default in Canada): All information will be
displayed in metric units.
To select a setting and move on to the next feature,
press the information button while the desired setting is
displayed on the DIC.
LOCK HORN
This feature, which allows the vehicle's horn to chirp
every time the lock button on the Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) transmitter is pressed, can be enabled or
disabled. When LOCK HORN appears on the display,
press and hold the reset button for at least one second
to scroll through the available settings:
OFF (default): The horn will not chirp on the first press
of the lock button on the RKE transmitter. The horn will
still chirp on the second press.
4-46

Black plate (16,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Driving at Night
Night driving is more dangerous than day driving
because some drivers are likely to be impaired—by
alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by
fatigue.
Night driving tips include:
.Drive defensively.
.Do not drink and drive.
.Reduce headlamp glare by adjusting the inside
rearview mirror.
.Slow down and keep more space between you and
other vehicles because headlamps can only light
up so much road ahead.
.Watch for animals.
.When tired, pull off the road.
.Do not wear sunglasses.
.Avoid staring directly into approaching headlamps.
.Keep the windshield and all glass on your vehicle
clean —inside and out.
.Keep your eyes moving, especially during turns or
curves.
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime.
But, as we get older, these differences increase.
A 50-year-old driver might need at least twice as much
light to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads
Rain and wet roads can reduce vehicle traction and
affect your ability to stop and accelerate. Always drive
slower in these types of driving conditions and avoid
driving through large puddles and deep‐standing or
flowing water.
{WARNING:
Wet brakes can cause crashes. They might not
work as well in a quick stop and could cause
pulling to one side. You could lose control of the
vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water or a
car/vehicle wash, lightly apply the brake pedal
until the brakes work normally.
Flowing or rushing water creates strong forces.
Driving through flowing water could cause your
vehicle to be carried away. If this happens, you
and other vehicle occupants could drown. Do not
ignore police warnings and be very cautious about
trying to drive through flowing water.
5-16

Black plate (21,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
To save fuel, run the engine for only short periods as
needed to warm the vehicle and then shut the engine
off and close the window most of the way to save heat.
Repeat this until help arrives but only when you feel
really uncomfortable from the cold. Moving about to
keep warm also helps.
If it takes some time for help to arrive, now and then
when you run the engine, push the accelerator pedal
slightly so the engine runs faster than the idle speed.
This keeps the battery charged to restart the vehicle
and to signal for help with the headlamps. Do this as
little as possible to save fuel.
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand,
Mud, Ice, or Snow
Slowly and cautiously spin the wheels to free the
vehicle when stuck in sand, mud, ice, or snow. See
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out on page 5‑21.
If the vehicle has a traction system, it can often help to
free a stuck vehicle. Refer to the vehicle's traction
system in the Index. If stuck too severely for the traction
system to free the vehicle, turn the traction system off
and use the rocking method.
{WARNING:
If the vehicle's tires spin at high speed, they can
explode, and you or others could be injured. The
vehicle can overheat, causing an engine
compartment fire or other damage. Spin the
wheels as little as possible and avoid going above
55 km/h (35 mph) as shown on the speedometer.
For information about using tire chains on the vehicle,
see Tire Chains on page 6‑68.
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out
Turn the steering wheel left and right to clear the area
around the front wheels. Turn off any traction system.
Shift back and forth between R (Reverse) and a forward
gear, or with a manual transmission, between 1 (First) or
2 (Second) and R (Reverse), spinning the wheels as
little as possible. To prevent transmission wear, wait
until the wheels stop spinning before shifting gears.
Release the accelerator pedal while shifting, and press
lightly on the accelerator pedal when the transmission is
in gear. Slowly spinning the wheels in the forward and
5-21

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
California Proposition 65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Doing Your Own Service Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Adding Equipment to the Outside of the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Gasoline Octane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
California Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Checking Things Under the Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-12
Hood Release . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-19
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-21
Manual Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22
Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22 Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-22
Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-24
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-28
Windshield Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-30
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-30
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-33
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-34
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-38
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, and Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-41
Center High-Mounted Stoplamp (CHMSL) . . . . . 6-43
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-44
License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . .6-46
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-47
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-48
Tire Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-51
Inflation - Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-54
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-55
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-57
Tire Inspection and Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-60
6-1

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
Section 6 Service and Appearance Care
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-62
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-62
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-65
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-65
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-67
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-67
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-68
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-68
Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-70
Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit Storage . . . . . . 6-78
Changing a Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-78
Removing the Spare Tire and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-80
Removing the Flat Tire and Installing theSpare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-82
Storing a Flat or Spare Tire and Tools . . . . . . . . . 6-87
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-91
Appearance Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-92
Interior Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-92
Fabric/Carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-93
Leather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-94
Instrument Panel, Vinyl, and Other Plastic Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-94
Care of Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-95
Weatherstrips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-95 Washing Your Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-95
Cleaning Exterior Lamps/Lenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-95
Finish Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-96
Windshield and Wiper Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-96
Aluminum or Chrome-Plated Wheels
and Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-97
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Sheet Metal Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Finish Damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Underbody Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Chemical Paint Spotting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-98
Vehicle Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-99
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-99
Service Parts Identification Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-99
Electrical System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-100
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-100
Headlamp Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-100
Windshield Wiper Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-100
Power Windows and Other Power Options . . . 6-100
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101
Floor Console Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-101
Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-104
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-107
6-2

Black plate (38,1)Chevrolet HHR Owner Manual - 2011
3. Disconnect the red positive (+) cable from thevehicle with the good battery.
4. Disconnect the red positive (+) cable from the other vehicle.
5. Return the positive (+) terminal cover to its original position.
Headlamp Aiming
The vehicle has a visual optical headlamp aiming
system. The aim has been preset at the factory and
should need no further adjustment.
However, if the vehicle is damaged in a crash, the
headlamp aim may be affected and adjustment may be
necessary.
If oncoming vehicles flash their high beams at you, this
may also mean the vertical aim needs to be adjusted.
It is recommended that the vehicle is taken to your
dealer for service if the headlamps need to be re-aimed.
It is possible however, to re-aim the headlamps as
described. The vehicle should:
.Be placed so the headlamps are 25 ft. (7.6 m) from
a light colored wall.
.Have all four tires on a level surface which is level
all the way to the wall.
.Be placed so it is perpendicular to the wall or other
flat surface.
.Not have any snow, ice, or mud on it.
.Be fully assembled and all other work stopped
while headlamp aiming is being performed.
.Normally loaded with a full tank of fuel and
one person or 160 lbs (75 kg) sitting on the
driver seat.
.Have all tires properly inflated.
.Have the spare tire is in its original location in the
vehicle.
Headlamp aiming is done with the vehicle's low-beam
headlamps. The high-beam headlamps will be correctly
aimed if the low-beam headlamps are aimed properly.
6-38