CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2002-2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer is known for many things, but perhaps it is most famous for its faulty fuel gauge.
This gauge flip-flops more than a politician during election season. Some report that the gauge says "empty" after a fill-up, while others report the gauge says "full" when they're running on fumes. Either way, there's one thing everyone seems to agree on: the darn thing is just wrong.
Following hundreds of complaints and a few accidents allegedly caused by the malfunction, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into the issue in May 2011. Unfortunately for frustrated owners, no recall has been announced.
05 Trailblazer Instrument Cluster Repair - This page talks about the common symptoms that you see when one of these goes bad and what to do about it, also check the blog there for an article about the fuel gauge problems.
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2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 6)
This vehicle is a total junk full of defective equipment, one of them being the instrument cluster. I bought this car with cash, so no warranty. Right after purchase I noticed something was off with the fuel gauge. The car wouldn't take gas but the gauge displayed not quite full. I didn't think nothing of it. A couple of months after, my wife ran out of gas. She told me the gauge displayed a quarter full.
I took the car to the pump and filled the car, it said it was empty!!! It ended up being the fuel pressure sensor which is located inside the tank and is part of the fuel pump assembly which means I had to replace the fuel pump. I didn't have the money for it at the time.
After that each gauge started dying one by one. The rpms dead, the speedometer would be all over the place, stating at 90 sometimes all the way down in the blank area and sometimes would act more like a clock than a speedometer. Then the battery gauge also died. At that point I wouldn't even trust the gauges.
This is a big problem. I had to resort to counting miles so I don't run out of gas and using my phone's gps for speedometer. This is just the smallest issue on this clunker.
The headlights work then shut off. (on the way to work in a downpour, no less) Dashboard lights partially working. (if I go over 40 mpg can't tell what my speed is) Was working correctly for a couple of days, now nothing. I checked for recalls and there are recalls for 2006-20xx (NHTSA 14V755000 ) Just wondering, after finding on the internet, numerous 2005 owners with same problem, why this model wasn't included in the recalls? Thank you
About a week ago my speedometer started acting up. I would start up car and it would read was already doing 30mph. So I was about to fix that and get a new cluster, then it just started to act normal. Today was driving home and the oil pressure gauge was pegged at 80 all of a sudden. I pulled over, shut the car off and it was still reading 40. I turned it back on and it went back to 80. I don't know if this is the same instrument cluster problem or something more important. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I don't really have the money to play the buy a part and see if it works game.
- Sarah P.,
Angola, NY, US
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My RPM tach isn't working properly. Sometimes it shows 1,000 when I'm driving 55mph, which we all know is wrong. Hasn't acted up in a while but I'm not going to hold my breath.
driving down interstate cars passing me speedometer said i was doing 85. i pulled over to a complete stop and it said i was doing 110mph. didnt know my truck would go that fast. next the gas gauge stopped working after running out of gas several times and the now the oil pressure gauge went. took to dealership. said it would be about 5000$ to fix it. car isnt even worth that. this is the worst vehicle i have ever owned. dont think i will ever by a chevy again. no recall no nothing.
Have had my Chevrolet 2005 Trailblazer since Feb 2006 when I bought it with 250 miles. Really love the vehicle until in 2011 the oil gauge quit registering? Then the engine light started coming on for no reason and will not go off, this started summer of 2012. The gas gauge quit registering Sept 2012, I called my Cheverolet dealership as I had done some research online and found out that for my year and model there was a recall because of the gas gauge issue. Took my vehicle there and was told that my Blazer fit the recall but that Chevrolet would cover half of the recall. Although they did cover it. I was told by the dealership that my entire dash cluster needs to be replaced in order to have working oil gauge. Also now my RPM gauge has stopped working and the speedometer now is fluctuating from not reading to at times working? Really upset about this as I have been the only owner of this car and finally paid it off last April 2012. After researching my problems online I discovered that there are many people having the same problems that I am having. Chevrolet needs to come around and make good of correcting and fixing this problem as it is a problem that should have never occurred!!!! I believe in buying products manufactured in the USA but to not come forward and admit they had a problem with the Chevy Trailblazers dash cluster it ridiculous and very upsetting. I was told that the repair would be 400.00 to 500.00 dollars which I do not have and should not be expected to pay when is was definately a faulty dash cluster that Chevrolet was installing in their vehicles. I am hoping that Chevrolet will make good on this problem. This is not the first faulty dash that I have had, I had a Chevrolet S-10 Blazer 1990 that had a digital dash that completely went blank and I had to take it out and take it to someone other the Chevrolet as they could not help me. I also bought that vehicle new and needless to say was not helped by Chevrolet with the repair of that dash?? HELP please as I do not have the funds for the repair on my 2005 Trailblazer and would really like it fixed. Thank you.
If it wasn't one problem it was another. Once I fixed something then something else went wrong. I can not get a break. I thought this was a good purchase but as soon as it went out of warranty everything is going wrong.
This problem with the panel instrument not working is far too common for Chevy not to issue a recall. What are they really expecting us to do? go with Honda or Toyota? Maybe I should have. They need to step up and face the cheap parts in their cars, and give us better customer service. We already gave them tons of our money by putting our trust in their products, and their are clearly failing to step it up.
I have been experiencing problems with my cars gauges. Bought it in California and it worked great for a year and a half, moved to Indiana and it started having problems. At first the oil gauge stopped reading, it's all the way to the right (past the readings). Then the speedometer started sticking. Any day it's cold (normally 32 or less) it will start at 0-5mph and just keep going up. So far the only way I have found to get it to 0 is by unplugging the battery for a few sec. Then the check engine light popped on nothing I have done has turned it off. Then the battery gauge broke, it is just like the oil gauge. I have contacted Chevy and they seem very apathetic to the problems. There are local garages that state the problem is the electrical cluster, but Chevy does not seem to think they are in any liable. It seems that the car is only acting up in cold weather and that could be a problem with the insulation on the electrical cluster. It really irritates me that my car can even tell me how fast I'm going. How soon till another gauge breaks? I believe it is a problem with the cluster.
Gas gauge will not function. I have to reset my odometer every damn time i fill up and wacth my mileage so i know when to fill up. GM states that this is a known issue and has agreed to cover the gauge fix on tahoes and suburbans ONLY. they will not cover the trailblazer. instrument was defective, same gauge used on tahoe, suburban and trailblazer, but they wont cover the trailblazer only. That is why GM just sucks. that is unacceptable.
instrument panel (gas gauge, speedometer, oil pressure) do not work. GM has covered the cost to fix on the tahoes and suburbans, but not the trailblazer (same company provides the same model of gauges to all three vehicles). So I guess since I didnt spend at least 35k on my vehicle new i am not entitled to have a defective part fixed. Great logic GM, you guys just flat out suck. Will never look at a GM vehicle again........this is ridiculous.
FUEL GAUGE AND SPEEDOMETER WENT INOP AT SAME TIME, THEN OIL PRESSURE GAUGE FOLLOWED. LOOKED ONLINE AND SEEN WHERE THERE WERE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS IN THE TRAILBLAZER AND OTHER CHEVROLET PRODUCTS ( ENVOY, TAHOE, AND ETC) AND THAT THEY WERE RECALLING SOME OF THEM. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP AND NATURALLY MINE WASN'T COVERED. CHEVY WAITS 6YRS AND THEN SENDS A LETTER OUT SAYING "OH WE HAVE A PROBLEM" AND IF IT IS LESS THAN 10YRS AND 120,000MI WE WILL PAY HALF OF REPAIRS. HOW CONVENIENT TO WAIT UNTIL THEY THINK MOST VEHICLES WILL BE OUT BY MILES TO OFFER A TOKEN REPAIR. CHEVROLET IS A DISGRACE TO AMERICAN CAR BUILDERS AND THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE PUNISHED FOR HELPING THEM OUT. ANYONE THINKING OF BUYING ONE SHOULD SERIOUSLY RECONSIDER.
On my 2005 trailblazer, the speedometer stopped working correctly. I could be stopped and it would say I was going 85 miles per hour. Then the gas gauge started malfunctioning and the gas light would come on and the low gas bell would ding even when the truck was full of gas. I took it to dealer. It was a faulty cluster. The cluster panel was $285 and the labor was $102. Help this helps all you trying to figure out what is wrong and how much it will cost to fix.
Gas hand stopped working over a year ago, I thought by now they would have had it recalled for faulty Gas gauges in over 150,000 vehicles but I'm still waiting, GM offered to pay half recognizing that it was a fault but limit you to getting it fixed at their dealerships which always overcharge the customer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
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This vehicle is a total junk full of defective equipment, one of them being the instrument cluster. I bought this car with cash, so no warranty. Right after purchase I noticed something was off with the fuel gauge. The car wouldn't take gas but the gauge displayed not quite full. I didn't think nothing of it. A couple of months after, my wife ran out of gas. She told me the gauge displayed a quarter full.
I took the car to the pump and filled the car, it said it was empty!!! It ended up being the fuel pressure sensor which is located inside the tank and is part of the fuel pump assembly which means I had to replace the fuel pump. I didn't have the money for it at the time.
After that each gauge started dying one by one. The rpms dead, the speedometer would be all over the place, stating at 90 sometimes all the way down in the blank area and sometimes would act more like a clock than a speedometer. Then the battery gauge also died. At that point I wouldn't even trust the gauges.
This is a big problem. I had to resort to counting miles so I don't run out of gas and using my phone's gps for speedometer. This is just the smallest issue on this clunker.
Do yourself a favor and stay away from this junk.
- Josue F., Beaumont, CA, US