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.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,143 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
Gas gauge reads empty regardless of actual fuel level. It started out as an intermittent, and periodic event. It then would dependably happen immediately after fill-up at the pump. Now, it is continuous.
The fuel gage on my 2005 Trailblazer ls with the 6 cylinder engine, started malfunctioning back in March or April of 2008. The warranty was up on the vehicle and when I checked the price of a new sending unit I found it to be around $350, not including installation. I have not had the problem corrected because of the cost of a new unit. I was told to try adding some fuel system cleaner that is poured into the gas tank, but after three applications I gave up. I read about other Trailblazer owners having similar problems and the dot was looking into the problem and I wanted to add my name to that list of Trailblazer owners affected by this problem.
Gas gauge not working properly. It never reads right anytime. After fueling up it could read anywhere from full to completely empty. When driving down the road it could show half a tank on the gauge then suddenly drop to empty and the low fuel light comes on and shows empty. Concerned that it might fail all together and leave me stranded in the middle of the freeway. Have not had it fixed due to the high cost of the repair.
The fuel gauge on 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer showed over half full when the vehicle stalled while changing lanes on I-5. there was no accident but it was a very scary situation with no power steering and limited power brakes it was very interesting getting the rig over to the shoulder. Once the vehicle was safely on the shoulder (and I quit shaking) I attempted to restart the vehicle numerous times and it would not restart. I called a tow truck, believing there was a mechanical issue. When the tow truck driver arrived and mentioned that he has seen other incidents where 2005 Trailblazers fuel gauge would appear to have fuel while in fact the tank was empty. I our case we added five gallons of fuel and the vehicle started and I was safely able to drive away.
- Creswell, OR, USA
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Yes my fuel gauge does not tell me the correct fuel amount in the fuel tank, when I fill my tank up with gas. The gauge goes to empty and when driving it goes back and forth between empty and full its just a inconvenience not knowing if you are going to run out of gas or not there should be a recall on this vehicle because this seems like a ongoing problem also ill be driving and the headlights will just start flickering on and off please recall this vehicle and have GM fix this problem thank you.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel level gauge was showing an erroneous reading. He stated that he had to refuel every two hundred miles and the fuel level gauge would show an empty reading despite the fuel tank being full to capacity. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the fuel gauge was defective and would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
2005 Trailblazer gas gauge fluctuates wildly. We have been trying to monitor the tank by tracking mileage. My wife used the car and inadvertently subtracted the miles incorrectly and ran out of gas in the fast lane of the 405 freeway !! a very dangerous situation. No one was hurt, just a lot of stress and a rescue mission. The gauge now stays on, or just above empty. Chevy dealer wants $800 for repair and says it's not their problem. My on-line research shows thousands of this car have the identical symptom. Most definitely their problem !! in addition, the speedometer has a mind of it's own. I was pulled over on the I 15 for doing 88 when my speedometer read 70. (I'm 58 and have never had a ticket) on pulling over the speedometer came to rest at 25 mph. The officer understood and let me go with a warning to get it fixed. My problem....I need Chevy to fix it !!
Manufacturer : General Motors Corp. Component(s) : I requests that NHTSA open an investigation into the two safety issues I have listed below. First issue: Performance/reliability of the fuel level sensor installed in model year 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer vehicles. My 2005 Trailblazer fuel tank level sensor is defective and could result in a subject vehicle running out of fuel, stall, and being rear ended by another vehicle. Also May 2, 2011 this is a very serious safety issue. Please check into it right away. I was driving my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer home tonight and the headlights went out while going down the road. I turned the switch off and back on. Still no lights, turned them off and on and low beam to high beam then they came back on and I was able to drive on home. I could have been killed. My 1995 Lincoln town car had the same problem and it was some kind of recall had to do with the auto timer. Is there some kind of recall to fix the Chevy Trailblazer amongst the thousands of complaints that are already against the 2005 Chevy trail Blazer?
I am the owner of a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer I have been having problems with the fuel gauge I put gas in my car and ten minutes later it says empty I have ran out of gas on the interstate almost causing accidents.
I drive a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer. The fuel gauge has stopped working, so I don't know how much fuel is in my vehicle without using my mileage indicator. It seems ridiculous that I paid lots of dollars for this SUV and can't use my fuel gauge. I have not corrected this failure because of the dollar amount it would take to fix it.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel level gauge was reading inaccurately and she was unable to determine how much fuel was in the vehicle. The contact did not inform the dealer or manufacturer of the failure nor was the vehicle diagnosed or repaired. The current and failure mileage was approximately 65,900. Updated 09/21/11 updated 10/05/11
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel gauge malfunctioned and was providing an inaccurate reading of empty. The vehicle was not been inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 101,000. The VIN was not available.
Fuel gage shows full at times and empty at times. Hard to tell amount of gas in tank all the time. Problem started at 41,000 miles. 2005 GMC Trailblazer.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Mishawaka, IN, USA