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:
4 / 10
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
62,530 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.
Both the speedometer and gas gauge quit working. In doing research, this appears to be a problem with alot of other owners of this vehicle; this should be a recall. This could be a very dangerous combination with the speedometer not working and if fuel runs out on a busy highway for example. I was just quoted over $880 to fix and declined due to the cost.
Cluster instrument panel failed. RPM odometer doesn't work, speed ranges from 80-off the charts, gas gauge not accurate. Apparently big problem w/over 300 complaints yet no recall. Firestone just quoted me $700 for a remove and replace instrument cluster gauge. $600 for the gauge itself. I can't afford that.
Like many people my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer has several issues regarding the instrumental panel. The first time this occurred was during a cold snap and all of the gauges got stuck on the down or off position. After some time some of the gauges (ie. Speedometer, tachometer, and oil pressure ) starting working again however, the majority of the time the readings were inaccurate. After some time elapsed (this year - 2012) the tachometer and oil pressure gauge stopped working completely. This has become an extremely hazardous situation because no vital information is being provide to the driver and the manufacture will not fix the issue.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the instrument panel malfunctioned. The contact also stated that the speedometer, battery and temperature gauges were providing erroneous readings. The vehicle was not taken to dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 52,000 and the current mileage was 63,000. The VIN was not available.
The lighting, both interior and exterior, flickers this causes disorientation and inhibits my ability to drive safely. It has also caused me to be pulled over by police because he thought there was something wrong in the vehicle. I do not even like driving at night anymore because I'm afraid they will go out completely.
- Marion, IA, USA
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My speedometer does not work at all. The heater and A/C don't work. My fuel gauge does not work. The interior lights inside my car do not work, the right front passenger window does not work. Basically my entire dashboard does not work. What did Chevy do about it?? sent me a letter stating they are willing to pay half of the cost to repair the fuel gage but it would have to be fixed at a Chevy dealership. I could get the same thing fixed at my mechanic and pay the full amount and it would still cost me less than having the dealership fix it and Chevy paying half the costs. Don't think I will be buying another Chevy anytime soon.
My gas gauge always reads empty even when the car is full. Engine light always goes on and off between a matter of days. Recently my heat went out in my car we changed the resistor and found out one of the prongs were burnt out. A week later the heat went out again. Looked at the resistor and the same prong was burnt out!! I'm getting really fed up with this vehicle!
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the speedometer failed and would display that the vehicle was traveling much faster than the actual speed driven. The contact state that while in a parking lot, the speedometer erroneously displayed that the contact was traveling 30 mph when the accelerator was not being depressed. The failure would recur intermittently. The instrument panel lights would become extremely dim when the failure would occur. The vehicle had not been inspected. The failure mileage was 55,000 and the current mileage was 125,000.
Intermittently while driving at various speeds the headlights and dash lights will go dim for a few seconds then return to normal. The voltage gauge also drops, then returns to normal.
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that instrument cluster malfunctioned and the fuel gauge provided inaccurate fuel level readings. The contact the ran out of fuel twice due to the faulty fuel gauge. The contact did not take the vehicle to a dealer nor was it repaired. The failure mileage was 64,000.
The speedometer in my vehicle suddenly shows over 120 mph no matter what speed I am traveling. I have found this to be a common complaint. The fuel gauge is also very inaccurate never showing more than 1/4 tank of fuel regardless of how much I put in.
The speedometer at any given moment will go haywire. Will read over or under what speed you are actually driving. This is caused by a faulty instrument cluster. Safety concern is that you do not notice right away that the speedometer is out of whack so you don't know how fast you are actually going, leaving you vulnerable to driving too fast for road conditions and potentially causing a very serious accident. This is a known problem in the 2005 Chevy Trailblazer and GM will do nothing to repair this.
The Trailblazer I bought seem to be more of a headache the a sport vehicle. I wish I had look better at all the information the was out there. I will not purchase another one, or recommend this vehicle to anyone. Sorry I bought it.
My speedometer all of a sudden jumped to over 70mph when I was only going about 30mph. Since June of this year it has happened numberous times. Now it just sits at the bottom of the speedometer when it is turned off.
The fuel gauge went out in my vehicle. My speedometer is doing the same thing and my oil gauge. How is that not a safety recall! called they said there was no recall. Received a notice that they would pay half of repair for the fuel gauge. After warranty was up.
I was driving on the freeway when I noticed my speedometer suddenly went to 100 miles an hour. I knew this could not be the case as my gps showed I was traveling at 55mph. It then went to 120miles an hour and flip. Flopped back and forth. I went to the Chevrolet dealership and they informed me it was the electrical cluster and even though there were many complaints, Chevrolet would not pay for it. The cost to me would be over $500 I live on a small social security check, so could not afford to repair it. Next at 85,000 miles the fuel gauge went haywire and would not register any fuel although I would fill it completely. Also, the lights blink off and on when I am driving at night, so, I am afraid I will be stranded somewhere in the dark with my car quitting all together. This was my last car purchase before I retired and I am just sick that the Chevrolet company will not fix these defects...they fix the same cluster in their Chevrolet trucks....why not in the cars? by the way, I just got a letter last week saying they would "split the cost " to fix the fuel gauge...(my cost is $200 1/3 of my social security check!!
The SUV was going about 40 mph when the instrument panel showed 120 mph... it will not go back to normall... it does now show 100mph even with the car off.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Frisco, TX, USA