Faults:

Service Performed to Date (after 75,000 miles) :

Replaced battery twice (35K, 50K)

Replaced radiator at 36K.

Replaced water pump at 50K.

Replaced front ball bearings at approximately 60K.

Replaced idler arm and a few other steering components at around 65K.

Replaced fuel pump twice (36K, 50K)

Now at 75K, steering is very stiff and there is considerable play near center.

Just can't wait for the next "surprise".

General Comments:

The 1999 Blazer has nice looks and is perfect in size for short trips.

Performance wise, acceleration is very poor and I wonder if it is due to the 3.42 rear gear ratio.

Reliability wise, I would rate this vehicle a 1 on a 10 point scale (with 0 being the worst, 10 the best).

I have maintained this vehicle well and changed the oil every 3,000 miles. I have never towed anything and use it only for general commuting in sunny southern California.

Faults:

Replaced the alternator at 42,000 miles.

Replaced lower coolant line on the transmission at 45,000 miles.

Recline lever on passenger seat broken when I bought it.

Hook/catch thingy on the roll out visor in the cargo area broken.

General Comments:

This SUV is not for those who wish to have cheap transportation. It's expensive to repair if you're not all that good on your regularly scheduled maintenance.

I cannot stress the importance of keeping the tires properly inflated as this baby will drink gas like no other. I keep it all up, my biggest problem is that I can't keep my foot out of the fuel injectors...LOL!

Just keep it maintained and you'll have a great SUV to tool around in. Very powerful engine and will get up and move when you need it to. Too bad the fuel pump shuts down at 95 MPH, but probably needs to since it is an SUV. My baby loves to be stretched out on the interstate every day on the way to work.

Faults:

One owner car, driven mostly in the city and into the country. Garage kept, and always serviced when needed.

In less than 5 years, the car has had the lower ball joints replaced twice, 2002, which was covered by the extended warranty, and again today, 2004, not covered by warranty. It has also had to have the upper ball joint replaced today.

The rotors have been replaced.

The handle on the seat, driver's side broke off and was replaced.

When getting the transmission fluid changed (2003), I was told that there were pieces of metal in the transmission fluid indicating that the transmission may only last another year or so before it will need to be rebuilt.

Today, 8/04, at 70,000 miles, my 4-wheel drive is causing me problems. It appears to be stuck in 4-wheel low, and doesn't want to kick into the 2-wheel drive. It feels as though the the car is being held back, as you touch the gas, it will spurt forward, but when you touch the brakes, it pulsates. The dealership put it on the computer, but it hasn't given a reading for the problem. But yet the message light comes on 'service 4-wheel' and the lights on all 4x4 buttons are lit. It's still at the dealership, so I'm not sure what the cost will be for this.

Today I called the Chevy Main 800 number, complaining about the expense of having to replace the ball joints within two years, the dealership said this was pretty common, but yet the Chevy Customer Service, said they have no record of the ball bearings or ball joints being a problem. They say they have not had any complaints, or they would have considered a recall.

In reading some of the remarks on this website, it appears that this problem is more widespread than Chevy knows, so it's real important that people get in touch with them, if they get enough complaints, they do investigate and possibly do a recall, which means we might be able to get some money back in the repairs that you've paid for.

They did contact the dealer that was working on my car, and agreed to pick up half the costs of the ball joints that needed to be replaced for the 2nd time within 2 years. So, please if you have problems, be sure to contact the Chevy Main hot line. We might be able to recoup some of the money that has been sunk into repairs.