This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The belt tensioner on my '96 Blazer started to fall apart. I caught it because the belt started squeeling loudly and I was able to reach the dealer before it completely fell off. If it had fallen off, the alternator, water pump, fan and power brakes would have failed immediately. I am writing because I personally know 3 other people who have had this same problem. My friend had this problem on a '96 Chevrolet Silverado. It was repaired under warranty at the time. My father has a '98 Blazer and he just had the same problem. It is being fixed under warranty. My father's co-worker has a '98 Blazer. He had to have the belt tensioner and serpentine belt replaced 3 times already. The first 2 times it was replaced under warranty. The third time the warranty was up but the dealer fixed it because of the on-going problem. It seems that the belt tensioner design could be defective. As I said at the beginning, this should be considered a safety problem. When the tensioner brakes, you instantly lose power to all engine accesories being turned by the serpintine belt.
Consumer tried to stop at an intersection and idler pulley/serpentine belts were replaced. Then, steering locked up, and brakes failed, consumer stated that recall 98V193000 concerning ABS brakes was never done.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cleveland, OH, USA