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 / 5
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
95,843 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.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. While driving approximately 45 mph, the engine seized without warning. As a result, the vehicle lost all electricity and power steering. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 133,800.
My husband and I were traveling home from a weekend out of state. We were coming into Chicago traveling towards Wisconsin where we live. Just before the first toll booth on I80/I94 traveling at highway speeds, we hit a slight bump in the road and lost all power to the car. We managed to coast the car over from the far left lane of a 5 lane highway to the right shoulder of the road out of harms way. The car was towed to a Firestone dealership on a Sunday afternoon; we were told after a systems analysis was completed that the car would have to be towed to a GM dealership. The closest was in homewood, il. After GM fixed the car, I asked what would cause something like this to happen. I was told by the dealership, it is something that just happens. Knowing the gravity of what could have happened, this is very upsetting. I really believe the Trailblazer should be also noted on the GM recall of autos before another family has to experience what mine did or worse. Thank you
My wife was coming home from work. She started her car and backed up, went to shift to drive and something broke stranding he in a empty parking lot on a Saturday. She was in a traffic lane and blocking the handicap parking space. I have owned cars for many years and never had such a thing happen. Why did you make an all steel cable and mountings and then put a tiny plastic end on it that brakes all the time. The parts house and the service shops all said it happens all the time and you must buy a replacement from the dealer. They know it is a problem as they must stock the cable assemblies that cost a lot to change. Please redesign them and change the plastic end to a stainless steel end and retrofit all cars, SUV's and trucks that use this part.
My wife, daughter and myself were driving on Idaho state highway 70, a narrow, winding, two-lane road with little to no shoulder, when the motor stopped and ilost all power-brakes, steering etc. I was fortunately able to steer the car over to a wide spot on the shoulder and stop. I was unable to re-start the Blazer and called aaa to have it hauled to knudtsen Chevrolet in coeur D'alene, Idaho. In another half hour we would have been driving 70 mph on interstate and the outcome could have been disasterous if the car had failed then in high volume traffic. The next day I was advised by knudtsen that the ignition switch was the problem. I wrote a follow-up letter to the owner and the service manager called a few days later indicating that since my warranty had expired neither GM nor knudtsen could help me with the $268 charge for replacing the switch. Since then I have been told GM and knudtsen would split the cost three ways since I was a long-time customer (three Blazer). I have not yet received any reimbursement as of this date. Is this possibly another car which should be on the recall list?
I was driving down the highway when the check engine and low power lights came on. I lost all acceleration and my RPM's dropped to nothing. Codes that came up were for the throttle body. I read a complaint that states GM knows about this issue. Why haven't they done anything about this?
- Kimberly, WI, USA
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Every time that I stop at a stoplight and start to go, the oil pressure drops to zero, the check gauges light comes on and message says oil pressure low and it cause the vehicle to act up and drive extremely slow, sometimes causing it to shut off or go into shut down mode. I googled this issue to try to figure out the problem that causes this and seen that several people have this issue with the Trailblazers. I spoke with a GM certified mechanic and he told me that this is a very common issue with the Trailblazer and said its either faulty wiring or oil sending unit. This issue is very dangerous to have happen and could (and probably has) cause an accident or someone to be stranded. With so many people having this issue, there is no way its just a coincidence. Whatever the problem is there should be a recall for GM. I hope this issue is thoroughly investigated and something is done to fix the problem. Thanks
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact was driving approximately 5 mph when she smelled a burning odor. The engine was powered off and the contact then noticed a fire had erupted from under the hood. The fire quickly began to spread but the contact was able to exit the vehicle without injury. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire and a police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed to determine the cause of the fire. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.
I just want to get some information out there on my experience: Battery replacement seem ways too often 8/2008, 10/2010, 9/2013 - and there is no notice until you cannot start it one day. First thing to go was the idle pulley. I have had the water pump/thermostat/belts replaced multiple times 50K, 60K, 87K. Headlights and tail lights replaced at least 3 times each. I have had to clean the throttle block plate multiple times or the TB will stall when the brake is applied or heat/ac on. I have come to find out that there are many non-oem parts which I never replaced (I purchased used w/17K miles) and nothing showed up on car fax or other reports about accidents or repairs. I had the gas guage/tank/float repaired while it was under warranty still and then a year later it broke again, and I am still riding with it broken (at least the last 5 years), which of course keeps my check engine light on nearly all the time. I just located the notice that GM is now doing 100% of the repair and I will be making an appointment to get it fixed as I will not pass inspection and I never know how much gas I have. I fill every 200 miles. There are other minor issues such as interior lights going out, both of the front seats have detached from the side molding (only 1 little screw holds them in), the rear washer has not worked in about 6 years. I also have loud noises coming out of the tires/wheels and no one can determine an exact cause, but it's not the brakes or rotors or anything like that. I currently have under 89K miles. I am waiting for the door electrical system to go next as that seems like what is next on the list of TB issues.
I was driving down the freeway when the reduced engine power light came on and I lost acceleration & power. Fortunately, there was no traffic at this point. I was able to drive at a very low speed the remaining quarter of a mile into my work place parking lot. When I pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop my car accelerated and almost hit a wall. I was told by a mechanic that is a throttle body error, and that GM is aware of the issue and not doing anything about it! this is a huge safety concern. And, I see all kinds of complaints all over the internet.
Changing out the air filter as part of routine self check and maintenance. Decided to check the oil and other fluids at the same time. The oil reservoir is bone dry. My oil is changed at regular intervals, at the same shop, since I've owned it. The oil light/sensor didn't come on. The onstar report doesn't show any low oil level. Maybe this is a built in feature from Chevrolet - the "throw a rod in the engine induction system"!!! vehicle is always serviced at the dealer, but they usually don't find anything worth fixing until you bill can come out to at least $1000. The tv commercials they run about Chevy trucks are "like a rock" are very true. This Trailblazer is as useless as a rock.
This SUV is nothing short of a rolling hazard. The "check engine" light is on and off, again, for the past 6 days. Tried to start it up this morning and the engine light was on. As soon as I was about to back out of the driveway, the vehicle started to idle in a manner that caused the rpms to crank way up and then plunge until almost shutting the engine down with violent shaking and loud roaring noise. Yesterday, the stabilitrak warnings (2) came on the dashboard - I was only going 3 mph exiting a parking lot. There was no inclement weather and the road was bone dry. I haven't been able to pick up power and it seems like the more I press on the gas pedal, the slower I go. I live in houston and the traffic conditions really don't allow for a "sudden stop" or loss of power on a freeway where people are traveling at an average speed of 70 mph. I have had 4 other instances of this "check engine" light in 3 yrs. The dealer isn't much help and GM Chevy is no help at all!!!! the tv commercials they run about Chevy trucks are "like a rock" are very true. This Trailblazer is as useless as a rock.
Was driving down a hill and started hearing a loud clanking noise.had check the oil the day before and was right where it was suppose to be. Pulled over when we heard the noise and checked the oil and was completely bone dry and had to add 7 quarts. Got about 10 miles and the car completely shut off. Mechanic had checked what was wrong and it had thrown a piston rod.
Engine light on indicated vapor collection box under car not working properly, and/or needing tune up. Performed tune-up, engine light still on., this, according to my licensed mechanic is a defective design construction problem. That having the box fogged for leaks and subsequent repair or replacement results in multiple situations of the light always coming back on. 2. the master switch on the drivers door went out, during the rainy season and needed to be replaced. I later found out that this was a recall item, but GM, chev, and/their dealerships refuse to reimburse me for the part and even though I took it to a dealership, they did not spray the one I had installed, was not interested in replacing the orig defective unit with the new engineered part, were rude, obnoxious and non professional to my husband, which now has me livid. We received a phone call from a local dealership, never any mail prior to repairing, when asked about the check engine light (under another recall too, for fuel level sensor, the dealership is charging $60 to check it out. Is GM and or Chevrolet finding it necessary to drum up repair costs from the consumer to themselves. This is just a little more or less like scamming.
This is the second time this has happened - what happens is I will be driving ( speed once at 35 once at 60 ) and my Trailblazer just shuts down. Instantly. You have no power to get over to the side of the road. P0601 code - this is what shows on my mechanics system. However, when you research that code online. Some folks have spent thousands trying to stop this issue and no resolve. This is highly dangerous - you go from 60 to nothing. My TB has less than 50K on it.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet trail Blazer. The contact stated that the engine stalled without warning while decelerating to a stop. The vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection. The failure was located at the engine motor, which the contact was advised needed to be replaced. The contact also stated that the vehicle consumed engine oil prematurely and the dealer was unable to correct the premature oil consumption issue. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileage was 54,000.
My son and I were out today shopping locally only about 1 mile from our home. The car was fine and everything was great until all of a sudden, the acceleration on the car started to decline even though I had my foot on the gas the car just seemed to do nothing. I was in the middle lane and traffic was vicious, I turned on my hazards and attempted to try and push on the gas. I car came to a stop but the engine was still running, it felt like I was in neutral but I was clearly in drive. I contacted onstar they called the police to make sure we did not get in an accident, as I stated earlier, we were in traffic. I received a push to a safe side of the street and tried to restart the car over and over again, the car started up fine, it just would not go anywhere, no movement. I had to get it towed to my home because it was 110 degrees and I had my youngest child with me. We waited 2 hours for the tow truck, I was dehydrated and faint by the time we made it home. My husband contacted the dealership as we just purchased the car in February of 2013 from ezcarsandcredit in riverside ca, they said don't worry about it, they will have the manager call us back to take care of the problem, that was 4 hours ago and still no call.
The truck has been at a several times into a chevorlet dealer, the check engine light the reduced engine light and the traction control lights all come on at the same time and it causes a failure in which the vehicle losses 90% of power. The failure happens at random time and all weather and traffic conditions. I have had it at two dealers as well have contacted GM executive dept. They have claimed to be fixed several times but it still fails. The issue at hand is that in traffic conditions this failure proves to be a huge safety hazard for myself and other drivers on the road. Its not a used car issue as its an electrical failure issue. I have asked time and time again to have a GM field tech come look at the car but, they insist that the dealer fix it. I need someone more to see and understand the failure comes with at great risks of other drivers on the road. If you goggle this problem you will see others have the issue and I think its worth a recall if they can find a fix for it but after 3 years and several tries they are still unable to fix the issue.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the driver side window started opening and closing independently. In addition, the side mirror started moving forward and backward independently and without activation. After parking the vehicle, the engine would shut itself off and the entire electrical system would become inoperable. Also, none of the doors could be unlocked and the failure would recur for several minutes before the contact would be able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer who advised that the power window module was defective, causing all of the electrical system to become inoperable. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign id number: 12V406000: (electrical system) but her VIN was not included in the recall campaign. The manufacturer was notified of the failure who confirmed that the contact's VIN was not included in the recall, offering no further assistance. The failure mileage was 71,000. Updated 10/10/12 updated 10/10/2012
Recently, I filled my gas tank & low fuel light warning displayed and low fuel light came on. Since then the check engine light is on steady (not blinking) most of the time. The fuel gauge floats back and forth never really letting you know it's true status. The dealers and public know about this issue- yet Chevy refuses to take responsibility and fix the product. It is frustrating & nerve wracking to never know how much fuel you have at any given time, as well as the constant warning lights/ chimes during driving. This is the second serious issue I have had with this vehicle- just a month before had to repair safety issue of stabilitrak turning on at random, after twice it slowed my vehicle- without warning- on the thruway from 55 mph to about 20 mph. I had documentation of 4 trips to dealer for this concern within the first year of ownership but "the computer doesn't show a problem" so 5 years later I finally had the code show up after a close call almost accident. This concern is all over the internet as well & even with contacting Chevrolet & the nys attorney general they still only covered half the cost of the repair. Chevrolet needs to take responsibility for the safety of their products and obviously will not unless recalls are mandated- I urge you to do just that. Thank you
A 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The air conditioning unit, harness and the master switch on the drivers side window failed. The check engine light illuminated whenever the vehicle was turned off. The master switch malfunction prevented all the windows from working properly. Only 1 speaker works radio plays at low volume.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Troy, MI, USA