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.
7.9
pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$500
Average Mileage:
73,450 miles
Total Complaints:
86 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
not sure (56 reports)
replace instrument cluster (22 reports)
use a GPS on the dash (5 reports)
not fixed, too expensive (1 reports)
replace stepper motors on gauges in instrument cluster (1 reports)
05 Trailblazer Speedometer Repair - A good site about this apparently very common problem, talks about the common symptoms you see when your speedometer starts acting weird and how to fix it for 03-06 Trailblazers.
Odometer went crazy. Called dealership, they contacted GM representative and GM didn't want any part of it. I had no idea so many others had same problem. I really like this vehicle. I did have to have a new thermostat in December 2008, but guess that can't be related to odometer. GM should cover with recall. Have not had fixed, there was a sudden turn in the weather (cold) and that was my first thought of cause. We need a recall.
Chevrolet should recall this problem since it's happened to too many Trailblazer owners. The speedmeter will show that you are going 2, 3, or 4 times faster than what you are really driving at. There is no way to know just how fast you are really going.
I was on my way to California over Thanksgiving and in the middle of driving I took my foot off the gas for a moment and instead of slowing down the speedometer continued to raise too the point where I was going faster than 120 MPH. I tried stopping and turning off the car but that didn't work. The next morning my brother had to pull the speedometer out and put it back on 0. The speedometer seems to only work now when the heater isn't on and if I am not driving a long distance. This has happened about 9 more times since then. For the last week or so though the speedometer won't go above 35 if it gets hot or I am driving a long distance so I have to rely on my RPM's to know how fast I am going. It seems like once the car is turned off for a while and has a chance to cool then it works!!!
I just went to this website to file a complaint http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
so if anyone else is having problems then go to this website. Maybe if they get enough complaints they will do a recall.
WTH?? I was stopped at a traffic light. The light turned green. I lightly stepped on the gas and the speedometer shot up to 60. It kept climbing higher and higher. It said I was going 120 (the highest number) in a parking lot. Then it went even further, eventually pointing straight down, and even started to come back around up to 0 again. I thought it was going to make a complete circle. I turned my Trailblazer off and back on thinking this would reset something, but it didn't help at all. Now I see others have this problem and is quite expensive to fix.
Is it worth fixing? I can't afford to get it fixed, so I guess I'll just go without a speedometer. This really sucks. I was just thinking how much I like my Trailblazer for the past 4-1/2 years, but not so much anymore. Now what??
- Kathy D.,
Navarre, FL, US
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Ok, I really wanted a Trailblazer until I actually owned one. This thing has been a nightmare since I drove it off the lot. Yesterday while driving 70 mph, or so I thought, people were zipping past me. When I pulled off the freeway and was practically crawling to a stop, my speedometer said I was going 55 mph. I stopped and turned my truck off and the tac is stuck around 15 mph. I did some research and saw that Chevy isn't recalling this issue even though hundreds, if not thousands of people are experiencing the same problem. The better car will win and it's not Chevrolet. Fix my problem.
Googled 2005 Trailblazer LT speedometer problems and was shocked to see how many others with the same problem. GM should have a recall for this problem that they definitely caused. Very very poor quality on their part and from what I am reading on this website, they need to own up to the problem and pay for fixing or damages caused by this problem. Mileage is only 30,000. Dealer wants about $600 to fix. I will try to make some noise with GM but don't know how far I will get. I will also jump on the band wagon with others and try to get/force GM to do a recall.
I noticed on this website that this vehicle also has problems with fuel gauge and tachometer - oh sh*t! Not looking forward to that next.
Was driving home from helping a family member. My Tach was reading 2100, my speedometer was reading 85 mph...not possible. Now my truck is doing 110 mph sitting still...just like the old Vette advert. Piece of crap electrical system.
My speedometer is going haywire. It will work and all of a sudden it drops to below zero. It will occasionally hover between 5-10 mph but will drop down again.
Speedometer sometimes works perfectly, then it will suddlenly just sit below zero and stay there until it decides to move again. Occassionally, will hover around 10-20 MPH, no matter what speed being driven. Seems like a consistent complaint. Local Chev dealer quoted around $650 to repair....
We bought our Trail Blazer in 2006. About 6 months we was driving threw town going about 20 miles per hour.......Then my husband looked down and it showed we was going 120mph!!!! Days after that, the gage would go up and over 100 mph.Finally after a week ....It stopped working all together. We took it to the dealer they told us it would be over $350.00. I think this should be covered by them! And some more good news about our 2005 Trail Blazer our gas gage stopped working too.......And this means MORE MONEY!!!!! And buy American????? WHY??????????????????????????????????? THIS PISSES ME OFF............THEY MADE THE SH*T!!!! THEY SHOULD REPAIR IT!!!! THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS NOT OUR FAULT!
My neighbor has a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe, her speedometer cable cluster went bad as did mine. Chevrolet had a recall on them, so I filled out the form sent in the all the required documents and they told me no they would not be reimbursing me my money. My neighbor did get a reimbursement check for hers though. So thats nice that they know they have a bad part but will only cover it in some models. I will never again buy a Chevrolet.
I have a 2005 Chev Trailblazer that the speedometer cluster is out. I love my SUV but will not pay 500.00 to get tht fix. Went to Chev dealership and was informed that my truck past the 36000/3 year warranty so guess what I'm S.O.L but hey why sure I pay 500.00 when so many ppl are having the same problem..
Just makes me made, cause this should be a recall with all the people having the same issue. I can't find a Chevy place anywhere anymore who is will to do work.
my chevy trailblazer speedometer is not reading the speed am going sometimes it wont read at all
this is the second time a bought a second speedometer but it went bad again. what's going on with this thing i ready have a ticket cause i dont even know how fast i was going.
Contacted Chevrolet because I know that other similar vehicles are having the same problem, they started a file, just in case of a recall. I have to pay for it out of pocket, should be around $450, but it is a real problem. Hope others that are having this problem report it, and maybe it will prompt a recall.
My car is under 45K miles and is less than 5 years old and my speedometer quit working. It would get stuck and show you were going way faster than you really were. After you shut the car off and restarted it would eventually work it's way down to 0. After about a week it completely stopped. I had to take it to a dealer and I spent $630 to get it repaired. On top of this, the lights on my radio have all gone out and my rear wiper fluid stopped working. CHEVY SUCKS
It started off my lights blinking intermittently for last two years. Speedometer started working off and off beginning of Dec. 2008. Engine Light came on Dec. 19, 2009. After a week and a half of waiting for the instrument cluster to come from the dealer and be built, having my car and the dealer every day at the crack of dawn for a week straight. (just want I took Christmas vacation off for). Paid $120 to diagnose. The job was suppose to be $450 total. After all of the non-customer service I received in a week and a half - I received an additional $50 bill for one time good faith charge on top of $120. I was monetarily compensated, which I appreciated. My precious holiday time and inconveniences and crappy customer service was unacceptable. Not happy!
My 2005 Trailblazer's speedometer is either 10 miles too fast or 10 miles too slow. Calling the dealer I was told " your vehicle is out of warranty so it will be about $400 to $450 to replace the instrument cluster." That was the end of the conversation. It is out of warranty by time only, it has 33,331 miles on it. It is just not right.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Odometer went crazy. Called dealership, they contacted GM representative and GM didn't want any part of it. I had no idea so many others had same problem. I really like this vehicle. I did have to have a new thermostat in December 2008, but guess that can't be related to odometer. GM should cover with recall. Have not had fixed, there was a sudden turn in the weather (cold) and that was my first thought of cause. We need a recall.
- raymo, Chesterfield, MO, US