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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.

2.5

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
59,541 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.

2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer fuel system problems

fuel system problem

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2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer Owner Comments (Page 2 of 3)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #24

Sep 102010

Trailblazer 4WD 6-cyl

  • 40,000 miles

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

Chevrolet Trailblazer (2006) fuel gauge does not work. Gives no indication of amount of fuel in tank.

- Germantown, WI, USA

problem #23

May 152011

Trailblazer 4WD 6-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
Have a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer that only has 36,000 miles and the fuel gauge is not working properly. If I fill it up, it will show empty and the empty alert will start sounding while the light comes on. Eventually it will start working after about 80 or so miles. Then when the tank gets to about 1/4 it starts acting up again. I have seen many complaints, in fact hundreds if not thousands, of people having the same issue online.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

problem #22

Jun 182011

Trailblazer 4WD 6-cyl

  • 89,055 miles
1.fuel gauge on our 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer ls sport with 6 cyl. Engine became erratic going up and down without relation of how much gas was in the gas tank. This started when vehicle mileage was below 40,000 miles. 2. now the fuel gauge always reads empty, and we have to go by trip mileage to determine when to fuel up. Once June 18, 2011) when we hadn't filled the tank fully, the distance on it was misjudged and ran out of fuel on a main thoroughfare during heavy traffic. Thankfully an accident didn't happen. 3. we had checked the internet about this problem and found it wasn't rare, but quite prevalent on our vehicle and similar ones, due to defective fuel sending units having contacts corrode. We put in a bottle of GM fuel treatment, with no change. The expense to replace the combined sensor/fuel pump unit that is located in the gas tank isn't worth spending as the replacement part is identical to the original and the problem will happen again. If the fuel runs out in an intersection or rush hour traffic a crash could result that could cause injury or death..

- Fort Blackmore, VA, USA

problem #21

Jan 012011

Trailblazer 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the vehicles fuel gauge was defective. He mentioned that the device started showing an inaccurate reading and now it stopped working completely. The dealer nor the manufacturer were not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 60,000. Updated 03/29/11 updated 05/02/11

- San Diego , CA, USA

problem #20

Jan 102010

Trailblazer 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 105,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. While driving approximately 45 mph, the contact observed that the fuel gauge reading fluctuated and suddenly failed to operate. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where they stated that the fuel tank sensor was defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000. Updated 2/28/11 updated 03/03/11

- Virginia Beach , VA, USA

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problem #19

Aug 222010

Trailblazer

  • 33,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel gauge did not function properly. It would register empty then shift to a full reading and give incorrect readings altogether. The contact called the manufacturer and was told that he would receive a call back which he was awaiting. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The current mileage was approximately 34,000. The failure mileage was approximately 33,000.

- Renton, WA, USA

problem #18

Aug 012010

Trailblazer

  • 130,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. After refueling the vehicle she restarted it and the gasoline cap light illuminated on the dashboard. The fuel gauge was also reading as if the fuel tank was empty. The vehicle was not taken to be examined for the cause of failure and was not repaired. The failure continued to occur. The failure mileage was 130,000 and the current mileage was 141,000.

- Dalton, OH, USA

problem #17

Jan 022007

Trailblazer

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the low fuel warning light remained illuminated and the fuel level gauge was stuck on the empty reading despite there being a full tank of gasoline. The vehicle was not under recall. The vehicle was neither diagnosed of repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.

- Rio Alto , CA, USA

problem #16

Mar 012010

Trailblazer 6-cyl

  • 42,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel level gauge would continuously read inaccurate fuel levels. On one occasion, the contact ran out of gasoline, yet the fuel level gauge did not display that the fuel tank was empty. In addition, when the vehicle was out of gasoline, the horn would not operate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the contact was informed that the fuel sending unit would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 42,000 and the current mileage was 51,000. Updated 11/11/10 updated 11/18/10

- Woodbridge, CT, USA

problem #15

Oct 302009

Trailblazer

  • 51,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that when the fuel tank was full, the fuel level gauge would read between empty and one-half full. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the contact was advised that the failure was common for his make and model, yet there was not a recall for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileage was approximately 51,000.

- Albany , GA, USA

problem #14

Jun 032010

Trailblazer

  • 101,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated when refueling the vehicle, the fuel level gauge would not register the amount of fuel in the fuel tank. The vehicle was neither diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was 101,000 and the current mileage was 107,000.

- Kasson, MN, USA

problem #13

Jul 052010

Trailblazer 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. While driving approximately 55 mph the fuel gauge stayed on empty after fuel was added to the vehicle. After driving approximately 50 mph the fuel gauge began to move toward the full fuel level indicator. The failure occurred for approximately two weeks. The failure was not diagnosed by a dealer or local mechanic. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 51,000. Updated 09/15/10. Updated 09/16/10

- Macon, NC, USA

problem #12

May 032010

Trailblazer

  • 113,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that after filling the vehicle with gasoline fuel, the fuel level indicator displayed an empty fuel tank. The contact was unable to determine the amount of fuel in the vehicle because the failure would occur intermittently. In one instance, the vehicle stalled because there was no gasoline in the vehicle and the fuel level indicator displayed inaccurate fuel levels. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where she was informed that the fuel pump assembly would need to be replaced. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted in relation to the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were approximately 113,000.

- Orlando, FL, USA

problem #11

Sep 012009

Trailblazer

  • 89,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel gauge did not function properly. It would fluctuate between empty and full. The failure progressed until the gauge always read empty. The contact called the manufacturer and was offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000. The current mileage was approximately 94,000.

- Lexington , SC, USA

problem #10

Feb 202010

Trailblazer

  • 45,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that the fuel gauge malfunctioned; it would display a full, empty or a half tank when the tank was full. The VIN was unavailable at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000. The current mileage was approximately 48,000.

- Akron, OH, USA

problem #9

Jun 162009

Trailblazer

  • 40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated the fuel gauge displayed an inaccurate fuel reading; whenever fuel was added to the fuel tank at any capacity level. The failure became progressively worse which resulted in the fuel gauge reading at zero. The vehicle was not repaired when the complaint was filed. The current mileage was 54,000. The failure mileage was 40,000.

- Sanford, FL, USA

problem #8

Mar 082010

(reported on)

Trailblazer

  • miles
2006 trail Blazer fuel gauge inaccurate the consumer stated when there was a full tank of gas, it registered empty for several hours and then it would read full, then empty again. Also, there was an error code for the tank level sensor circuit.

- Unknown, DC, USA

problem #7

Jan 112010

Trailblazer

  • 74,302 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph on normal road conditions. The driver observed the fuel gauge displayed an inaccurate reading intermittently. The failure occurred at any given fuel level capacity. The vehicle is in the process of being taken to an authorized dealer for inspection. The failure mileage was 74,302. The VIN was unavailable.

- Winterhaven , FL, USA

problem #6

Nov 202009

Trailblazer

  • 42,800 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The fuel gauge inaccurately displays the amount of fuel present in the fuel tank. Usually the gauge when indicate fuel, when there was not fuel present. The vehicle has not been inspected, because the dealer while charge a diagnostic fee. The current mileage was 43,200. The failure mileage 42,800.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

problem #5

Jul 242009

Trailblazer

  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The fuel gauge displays inaccurate readings on the instrument control panel. Usually it displays fuel when the fuel tank was empty. He was advised that the repair cost $600. No repairs were made. He has not been provided with any assistance by the GM manufacturer. The failure mileage was 65,000.

- Land O Lakes, FL, USA

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