1998 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4x4 4.3 from North America

Summary:

4x4 Junk

Faults:

I have only owned this blazer for three months and the four wheel drive unit is toast. I have to buy a decoder motor.

The windshield wipers work the way they want to. Always crazy.

Back window has problem squeaking.

General Comments:

Since I was young I loved Chevy trucks and blazers now I have a very different view. All my friends ragged me about owning a Dodge and not buying a Chevy. After this Blazer I'm going back to Dodge.

Its like they say " Like a rock" it sits there.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 23rd December, 2004

1998 Chevrolet Blazer XL from North America

Summary:

The worst product GM has ever made

Faults:

Everything that can be fixed, replaced, etc. has been done on this truck.

As soon as the truck was no longer covered under warranty everything needed some level of repair. It is maddening.

General Comments:

I would not recommend this truck to even my worst enemy. No one deserves to drive this kind of vehicle.

My truck was purchased new and has been a total money pit.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 30th November, 2004

1998 Chevrolet Blazer LT from North America

Summary:

I will never buy a Chevy Blazer again

Faults:

I still haven't paid off my truck yet, but here's what I've paid and the dealer has paid on my vehicle.

New shocks at 45,000 from dealer

New tires at 50,000 me

New transmission at 70,000 from warranty and me.

New Rotors at 80000 me.

New air conditioning compressor and flush of unit at 75000 me.

New water pump at 60,000 me.

New alternator me at 78000.

5 of the 7 speakers don't work with the "stereo."

Sometimes the windshield wipers don't work or they just go full speed or the slowest speed.

Sometimes the auto-locks don't work at all either making it impossible to lock the car as the back seats don't have key locks.

Sometimes the automatic windows get stuck either up or down.

General Comments:

Owning this car was supposed to be the a great new adult experience in my life. My job got better and a got a raise so I went and bought this Blazer. Three months after I bought it I went on a cross country trip with the Blazer, about 3,000 miles round trip and the Blazer was great. When I got home I had the oil changed the engine fluids looked at etc. Since then the past four years have been hell, I've been averaging bills of about 200 dollars by monthly and a trip to the shop every other month that sometimes last for a week.

I will never buy a Chevy Blazer again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 8th November, 2004

1998 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4.3L Vortec from North America

Summary:

Dependable, powerful, good sized SUV

Faults:

Windshield wiper/turn signal switch does not always work for the wipers.

Oil lines started to leak at 60,000 miles, but GM paid 80% of repairs.

A couple plastic trim pieces fall off, just kind of a cheap snap on setup.

Gas mileage is poor especially when towing.

General Comments:

I am overall very happy with my Blazer. I bought it new and really has been one of the best vehicles I had.

I tow a boat (3500lbs) and two snowmobiles often and the performance is great, although it really likes gas then.

Previous to this I had a 96 Explorer and traded it for the Blazer, I am happy now with that decision, I am waiting now for my new one to come in.

I would recommend this vehicle, even knowing it sometimes has a bad reputation, but again, mine was great!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th November, 2004

1998 Chevrolet Blazer LS 4.3 from North America

Summary:

A comfortable truck with too many problems

Faults:

At 3,000 miles, the gas filter needed to be replaced. For me that seemed very early, but the dealer stated that this was normal. I still believe it was early.

At 10,000 miles, the calipers on the brakes needed to be replaced.

At 12,000 miles, I needed a new battery.

At 14,300 miles, the wipers began to work even after I turn them off. On many occasions, they will stop working after an hour or so of being used. This problems was fixed many times by the dealer, but they still never worked properly even to this day.

At 15,000 miles my alternator went.

At 19,000 miles, the wind noise could be heard in the interior greatly from when I first bought the truck.

Between 20,000 and 45,000 miles interior parts began to break like the handles on both the passenger and driver side seats.

The lumbar supports broke, door props broke, many plastic parts broke off on the dash board and most molding are cracked or needed to be glued back on.

At 47,000 miles, the four wheel drive electrical system stopped working.

These are the problems that began since the warranty ended:

Around 50,000 miles, I began to notice rust at the bottom of each door. To me, this is to early for a car to start rusting.

At 54,000 miles, the power mirrors stopped to work properly.

At 54,900 miles, the rear wiper motor blew and stopped working.

At 56,000 miles, it needed a new Pitman and Idler arm.

At 59,000 miles, the driver and passenger windows started to jump out of place and need to be pushed back into the window motor to work.

At 60,000 miles, many problems began. First, it began to make a grinding noise every time I would turn left. It turned out the ball bearings were shot.

The truck began to lurch when it would engage from first to second gear, it turned out that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. ($2,100)

The catalytic converter went and was not cheap to replace plus the cost of labor. ($400)

The brakes needed to be resurfaced.

The weather lining on the drivers side began to leak and they leak to this day.

3 out of the 6 speakers blew and have since replaced them all with premium brand speakers.

Water pump went.

Alternator went for a second time.

The trucks alignment keeps coming undone.

At 62,000 miles, the emergency break stopped working.

At 64,000 miles, the whole front end would begin to shake at speeds over 60 mph. The whole front end needed to be replaced.

At 66,000 miles, the transmission went again, but thankfully was covered by the warranty of the transmission shop.

At 67,000 miles, the drivers side mirror began to rattle, but have been able to fix it since then.

At 70,000 miles, my four wheel drive stopped working again. It turned out the vacuum hose that engages it had a hole.

At 72,000 miles, the alternator went again.

At 72,700 miles, the blinkers stopped working.

At 74,000 miles, a new battery was needed.

At 77,000 miles, the truck needed new front U- joints and ball joints.

From 77,000 miles to about 85,000 miles there were almost no problems.

Then at 86,000 miles, the truck began to shift gears strangley. It turned out the gas filter needed to be replaced again for maybe the 10th or 11th time.

At 90,000 miles, the fuel gage stopped working and now reads the wrong amount of gas that is inside the truck.

At 90,500 miles, the glove compartment fell out of place and since then cannot be used because it keeps falling off.

At 90,000 miles I noticed on the rear bumper that the paint began chipping.

At 91,000 miles, the doors sometimes do not close, but they rather just jump back when trying to close them.

At 98,000 miles, the alternator went out again.

At 100,000 miles, the interior door panel on the drivers side door completely broke off one day when I closed the door.

At 100,500 miles, the water pump failed.

At, 104,000 miles, the truck lost oil pressure.

At 107,000 miles, the drivers side door lock needed to be replaced because the door was unable to close at all.

Just today I had to go to the store and was unable to start my truck. It is now int he shop for repair yet again.

Now at 108,000 miles, every little interior part of the truck rattles and squeaks and has broken off somehow.

There is some rust at the bottom of the doors which I have covered up.

General Comments:

Unfortunately, the build quality is not good at all and needs much improvement.

The fuel economy could be better for such a motor.

It is very expensive to fix.

It is very hard to get rid of this truck because many people know how problematic it is.

The retail value of this truck had dropped more than the retail of other cars.

On a positive note, the Blazer is a very comfortable truck and is a perfect size.

Since I purchased this truck, I have invested in tinted windows, new speakers and H.I.D. headlights, new premium shocks and now feel I have wasted my money because I have spent so much on repair.

Do not purchase this truck unless you have the money for repair.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th November, 2004