1998 Chevrolet Blazer LT review from North America

Would never start correctly. Tune and fuel injector cleaner every other tank did absolutely nothing to help. Would crank for 3-4 seconds, let off, crank again and it would fire. Was told by dealer to turn key forward and let fuel pump energize before cranking.. still didn't help.

Would it have been so hard to just put an old fashioned manual lever shift transfer case? The four wheel drive system on this vehicle is overengineered to say the least.

Encoder motor burned up ($475 dealer list)

Switch burned up ($37 dealer list)

Module burned up ($270ish dealer list)

After replacing all of these parts the 4wd still did not work. All of these parts can be found on ebay for cheap. Which you'll need to buy them off of anyways, because the dealer doesn't stock them. There is currently a national backorder for the module, very common failure. All of the above parts are common failures, but of course aren't stocked at your Chevy dealer.

Compass worked..sometimes.

Outside temp gauge never worked until the week I sold it. Then it bounced from -40 F to 140 F.

Door started to sag where it did not shut properly. Common, but kind of early for it to be happening at 70k.

The transmission has moodswings. When shifting from 1st to 2nd gear, it would slam... literally slam into gear. Even with all of the complicated computers in the transmission, the only code this triggered was a generic "transmission" code. Transmission flush, filter, gasket, and cooler did not fix.

Terrible road noise.

Won't hold an alignment. If you need an alignment just park on a curb in the proper direction. :)

Rear wiper motor burned up.

Wiper module had a mind of it's own. Chevy dealer had them in stock and said there was "..a campaign, but no recall, SOL."

Money pit. Gas mileage sucks. Yes it's an SUV, but seriously, it's only a 4.3. If it were a 350 the 16mpg on the interstate would be fine. This was the mileage AFTER the tune up.

Hopefully the above have been enough to convince you not to throw your money away on this vehicle. If not, read other reviews. I was lucky as I did not have to replace the entire front suspension and steering rack like some Blazer owners.

If you have under 100k trade it while you've still got SOME value.

Heated leather, heated sideview mirrors, and self dimming rearview are just a few of the creature comforts the Blazer offers. While these are nice, don't do it. :)