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.
NHTSA action number: PE11014 fuel gauge inaccuracy and randomness of information. Ran out of fuel twice on interstate due to inaccurate information. Safely got to side of road both times and required road service to provide fuel to get to next station for fuel. Other gauges were providing bad information and had to replace entire instrument panel to repair. Repair cost $391.80.
The fuel gauge on my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer reads empty most of the time and at other times when it does register fuel it can't be trusted. The cluster on this vehicle had to be replaced when the speedometer would stick and could not tell how fast the vehicle was traveling. This repair cost me over $600. This is a very dangerous situation to be in. The online blogs show many people having the same problem, but Chevy wont recognize this problem.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact noticed the fuel gauge stopped functioning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a technician stated the fuel assembly inside the fuel tank needed to be replaced. There was an open investigation, NHTSA action number DP10001(fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump). The contact stated the speedometer also stopped functioning after the fuel gauge failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the speedometer was repaired. The fuel gauge was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 38,000.
My gas gauge failed and caused an inaccuracy in the amount of gas in my vehicle. It now remains with the light on and at empty. I have been clearing the miles at each fill up to monitor approximately 300 miles per tank. I feel there should be a recall on this due to the numerous amounts of vehicles with this problem. It is definitely a safety hazard!
- Reedsburg, WI, USA
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The gasoline gauge would not read accurately. If we filled up our gas tank, the gauge would read empty. We never really knew how much gasoline we had in the tank. We had the fuel level sensor replaced on 9/02/09. This was a very costly repair. We feel that GM should do a recall on this part and we should be reimbursed for our expenses.
The fuel gauge of my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer has a mind of it's own. It stopped working correctly at somewhere near 85,000 miles. It no longer ever shows a full tank, even after a fill up, stopping just short of 1/2 full. The gauge then will go up and down from this point at will, moving usually down to "E" as I sit idle at a traffic light. I can fill up, and less the 150 miles later, it will show empty, even though I've used less then 1/2 a tank of gas. I have run out of gas on a busy highway because of this condition, even as this gauge showed 1/4 tank. I was not hit, but was very close to getting rear ended. I am now hearing this is a common problem with certain GM vehicles.
Fuel gauge stopped working. Filled up gas tank and fuel gauge remained on empty. Took into dealership in Oct 2010, 67,864 miles on vehicle. They advised it was a know problem. Had repaired at cost of $800.
The fuel gauge is inaccurate. The fuel gauge will read empty, even after the gas tank is full of gas. The fuel gauge will also jump to 1/4 of a tank and then immediately back to empty.
2005 Chevy Trailblazer, gas gauge does not work all of the time and when it is working it is not accurate, shortly after filling tank, low fuel alarm sounds. The alarm is a distraction, in addition there are times when it indicates there is fuel and the vehicle runs out of gas, the creates a hazard, getting stuck on the highway.
My wife's 2005 Chevy Trailblazer's fuel gauge failed. She was driving on the road thinking she had a 1/4 tank or so of gas when it was actually empty causing her vehicle to stall which nearly resulted in an accident. Fortunately for us, the driver behind her had ample distance to stop before hitting her vehicle. When the Chevy dealer was contacted they indicated they were aware of a faulty pickup (?) in the tank and but it has not been recalled by General Motors. I feel it should be recalled by the manufacturer and fixed. If this occurred on the highway there most likely would have been a serious accident. Thank you for your time and please mandate a recall for this serious and possibly dangerous defect.
I have a 2005 Trailblazer in which the gas gauge is defective. About 6 months ago, it started sending the alarm of low fuel even though there was plenty of gas in vehicle. Now, the gauge goes up and down and eventually will be in the empty position even after I have filled it up. Need to get vehicle fixed, but waiting until a recall occurs.
I have a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer that has a defective fuel sending unit. The vehicle will not display fuel level. My research shows that this is a common problem with the Chevy Trailblazer/GMC Envoy. The defect if left unrepaired can lead to stalling during operation and lead to vehicle crashes and or death or serious injury.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Columbus, OH, USA