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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 11
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
71,447 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.

2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer electrical problems

electrical problem

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2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #57

Jun 192022

Trailblazer

  • 206,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that while parked in her driveway, the passenger side door caught fire without warning. The fire occurred overnight and in the morning, the contact and her boyfriend discovered both her passenger side door and front passenger seat melted. The contact believed that the fire smoldered overnight and eventually burned out on its own. The fire department was not notified and a fire report was not filed. The contact called the dealer and was informed that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The contact's boyfriend discovered that the wiring inside the door had melted which may have caused the fire. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be serviced or diagnosed. The failure mileage was approximately 206,000

- Seattle, WA, USA

problem #56

Jun 212020

Trailblazer

  • miles
I was just sitting in a drive thru and my passenger side window just started smoking and now it will not go down.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #55

Sep 102020

Trailblazer

  • miles
Rear hatch license plate lamps blowing out, flickering also hatch lock clicks repeatedly, without touching electric lock buttons. When opening the hatch the license lights go on/off on/off. The hatch lock clicks repeatedly. The hatch wire harness covered with a 'rubber boot/sleeve', when moved causes lock clicking and plate lights flickering. The hatch lock intermittently locks but will not unlock. Vehicle usually parked. Obviously unable to see license lamps when in motion.

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #54

Sep 282019

Trailblazer

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Low beams stopped working, took it to the dealer who replaced both bulbs and it worked for a couple weeks now low beams randomly shut off while driving, especially at night. Airbag sensor keeps turning on and off and the horn stopped working. The airbag sensor seems to come on more on longer trips around the city with more turns.

- Las Vegas, NV, USA

problem #53

Jun 102019

Trailblazer

  • 70,000 miles
Can turn over but doesnt start have to keep playing with key untill it starts and will once in awhile just lose power while driving sometimes can put in neutral and will start back up but sometimes have to pull over to wait and restart cant drive on free way afraid it will die out in traffic

- Midlothian, IL, USA

problem #52

Nov 282018

Trailblazer

  • 84,883 miles
It bag for front driver light is on do not know why? there is some kind of electrical short and I've had it checked by two companies cannot find it I've had new battery, new alternator and still car stops working I get car jumped and can put key in ignition to try to start car and when I shut car off too soon or why I try to start car it's not working and then I cannot get key out of the ignition this has happened at least 5 times car only has 84883 miles on it this happenes if front of house when I go to start car. I am listing last time this happened was today but the airbag for the drivers side is always on now for about 5 months

- Braintree, MA, USA

problem #51

Aug 092018

Trailblazer

  • 172,654 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My window in the rear passenger side malfunctioning.... it would let down on it's own.this happens when my vehicle in drive and when park.

- Macon, GA, USA

problem #50

Aug 182018

Trailblazer

  • 143,339 miles
Engine dies while driving (losing propulsion, steering, brakes, etc.) and the key will not restart when turned forward (in neutral), while coasting, but will restart when the key is turned back and then forward again. In this case, coasting down and braking and turning right, possibly with right turn signal on. Died right before starting to turn the steering wheel at about 15-20 mph. It was a clear dry 100 degree afternoon, on smooth pavement. We live on a bumpy dirt road that is just over a quarter of a mile long to reach our house. Similar to other GM ignition key / no air bag recall programs for similar model year vehicles, such as the HHR. There is no recall, but how many people does this happen to" any deaths, yet" I don't believe the air bags may have worked, should we have been involved in an accident. There was no information shown in the diver information center display (dic) and there were warning lights on in the dashboard, to indicate that the power was on to the instrument cluster (ic), but that the motor was off. I could not select brakes and steering as being affected, but with no motor, there is no vacuum brake boosting going on, and no power steering either.

- Casa Grande, AZ, USA

problem #49

Sep 092017

Trailblazer

  • 160,000 miles
I was driving down the highway and my lights just went off. The interior lights were on but the headlights went out. I stopped the car, turned it off, waited a few minutes and turned it back on. The lights did not come back on. The high beam lights still worked and I drove home with my brights on. When I got home and turned off the car I tried them again and this time they came on normally. This is the third time this has happened at night that they just went off.

- Bolivar, MO, USA

problem #48

May 082017

Trailblazer

  • 150,000 miles
My son and I were driving 65 mph on the interstate.... car just died, no warning. I had to veer suddenly to the right to make the ramp or take a chance on the shoulder. Since this first time the car has also not wanted to start. I thought it had to do with the alarm locking me out, but it appears it is the ignition switch. The car has on multiply time died while I was driving. I've tried reaching out to Chevy and GM but, each is wanting me to pay for a diagnostic. I do not have the money to spend on this. I don't want to die because I can't afford to pay for their faulty ignition. Please help us.

- Alice, TX, USA

problem #47

May 312017

Trailblazer

  • 100,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving both of my headlights stopped working. This effected both daytime running lights and low beams. High beams are still operational. Researching the issue easily shows that the issue is a faulty headlight relay. I even tried to replace both bulbs and checked all fuses to verify. I contacted the service department of frei Chevrolet in marquette Michigan and they refused to even tell me if they had the parts in stock to resolve the issue. This will be the last time that I deal with them.

- Ishpeming, MI, USA

problem #46

Nov 082016

Trailblazer 4WD 8-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
75K on 2008 Trailblazer.... instrument panel lights and audio display work intermittently. Seems to be connected to cold temps? they are off at startup but as SUV is driven and warms up... the audio display appears. The radio/cd player work even when the display is off. Just started happening this fall (2016). Also.. the low tire pressure light comes on only in cold temps but goes out after driving a few miles.

- Lexington, NC, USA

problem #45

Jun 062016

Trailblazer

  • 120,000 miles
I have had my 2008 trailblaer for a year now. I have been having major electrical issues for the past few months including my battery light and other popping up ramdonly and my truck not wanting to drive or run right. Now my exhaust manifold is completely cracked thru,

- Alexander, AR, USA

problem #44

Dec 022015

Trailblazer

  • 110,000 miles
Takata recall, my 2008 Chevy Trailblazer has 110,000 miles on it and for the past year it seems that I've been having electrical problems. This problem have been going on for about 6 month. Every now and then my car wont start and I have to get a boost off to get it started again. I took my SUV to get the battery and alternator checked and they said everything looked great. Then after that I noticed that my rear brake lights were going haywire with blinking lights going on and off and the car was not on. After I noticed the blinking lights, I went to try to start the car and it was dead. Also, my front passenger door motor went out, so the window wont go up or down.. this is very frustrating can someone please tell me if there are recalls on any of these problems.

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #43

Oct 012015

Trailblazer 4WD 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 30 mph, there was a burning odor coming form the vehicle. The contact also stated that while driving, the driver's side window and door lock lost power causing the door to be unable to lock. The contact also stated that the headlights dimmed at night. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, who diagnosed that the window motor switch, the HVAC temperature control motor, and the rear locking assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and proposed a discount toward a new vehicle. The failure mileage was 50,000.....updated 04/15/16

- Pierpont, OH, USA

problem #42

Feb 012015

Trailblazer

  • 35,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the driver side door window would not close and the door locks randomly locked and unlocked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electrical door mechanism was faulty and needed to be replaced. In addition, a burning odor was present inside the vehicle coming from the driver side dual climate control. The mechanic diagnosed that the temperature actuator was inoperable. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The contact also indicated that the liftgate would not open. The failure mileage was 35,000.

- Piepont, OH, USA

problem #41

Nov 042015

Trailblazer

  • 139,000 miles
The contact owns a 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer. While the vehicle was parked, the front passenger side window erroneously rolled down and an electrical burning odor was present inside the vehicle. While inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that the window switch was charred and melted. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 139,000.

- School Craft, MI, USA

problem #40

Sep 262015

Trailblazer

  • 90,000 miles
I recently started having problems, one being my brake lights don't always work. I took it to a local Chevy dealer and was told it all had to do with an electrical problem as is impossible to fix. Shouldn't my vehicle be recalled? I'm a safe driver and it's a bit upsetting knowing that I don't know if and when my break lights are working. Especially when I have small children with me. We recently moved, as my husband was following me, he was the one that noticed my brake lights weren't working.

- Boyceville, WI, USA

problem #39

Sep 162015

Trailblazer

  • 92,082 miles
On )9/16/15, I was driving my 2008 chev Trailblazer on the highway at 55mph and the ignition switch failed and the the vehicle rolled to a stop. It would not start again and was towed by glenn's towing service faribault mn 55021 to harry brown's service center faribault mn 55021. They replaced the ignition switch and charged $389.25. I'm concerned if they put in the same switch with a defect or one that has been improved to eliminate the defect as Chevrolet has been recalling ignition switches on other vehicles but not the Trailblazer. I was lucky I didn't get hit when the truck stopped.

- Faribault, MN, USA

problem #38

Sep 092015

Trailblazer

  • 76,000 miles
The driver door module does not work when it rains. I took this to a dealer and after they tested it told me it needed to be replaced $500. For part plus labor that they could not quote. I checked on line to find out if GM had recall on these vehicles and found that they did 2004 - 2007 mine is a 2008 experiences the exact issues that the others had but GM can't help me because my VIN # is not listed. Why did GM not try to help me with this issue" when over 184,000 vehicles where recalled for this issue. What do I need to do to see if I can get help to replace this" I wouldn't ask but I feel its only right to replace it after all those vehicles where recalled and mine is doing the exact same thing. It happens every time it rains apparently it leaks in the door some how and it gets wet and want work it controls seat heat, all door locks and windows and driver window. I purchased this vehicle used in 2014 and it has done it every since I have owned it by the time it gets back to the dealer its working again. Usually a day or so and it will work. This time its not working

- East Earl, PA, USA

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