2000 Chevrolet Blazer ZR2 4.3 Vortec from North America
Summary:
Great vehicle for everyone
Faults:
Bought the truck in summer of 2007 with about 64k on it.
I do not know much about its background, but my ZR2 is unique, it does not have the back wheel rack for being a ZR2; in fact I don't even have a spare for it (need to stop at the local junkyard for it).
Came to find out that the wheel rack was actually taken off; I'm guessing because of an accident the person before me got into, but you can't even tell there was ever even a wheel rack. The holes must have been bondo'd and that area repainted.
75000 miles - someone hit my passenger side front wheel doing maybe 10mph, but enough to knock something loose.. of course had to replace the hub and bearing as well as the ball joint and idler arm too. Insurance covered it; about a good 600 dollars in parts and labor.
75000 miles - had to replace both passenger side fender flares from the accident, and a new paint job on that side.
80000 miles - have a 6000 watt competition sound system, basically made the battery useless... battery wouldn't hold a charge anymore (stock battery) bought a yellow top optima (BTW, great investment, won't die)
82000 miles - summers; over used the AC all summer, never turned on the heat... no heat anymore?? Needed heater core flush or something like that and new thermostat?? I don't know, ask the Chevy dealer.. only 100 to fix (only cuz I told the guy I didn't have more than 100 haha)
85000 miles - back hatch noise, probably just a loose bolt, haven't touched it yet, I'm waiting til it gets warmer.
88000 miles - installed Westin brand brush guard to protect the front.. turns out the only spot to mount it is to the bottom of the frame by your tow hooks.. thus making it bounce insanely because the mounts aren't very strong.. to resolve this problem I welded a plate to the guard and bolted it to the bumper; this way I can take it off and repaint it.
90000 miles - replaced the factory long trails with 31/10.5/15 pro comp mud terrain tires... probably some of the most aggressive, and are very reliable (haven't got stuck in anything yet)
91000 miles - I take my truck offloading all the time.. because of the small size and wider axles and higher ground clearance, this is one of the best vehicles I have ever been in for offroading... she's definitely a climber.
91000 miles - offroading, fell into a ditch, smacked the brush guard on the other side, cracked the brackets attached to the frame, which also holds the stock bumper on as well... had to be rewelded, my fault haha.
92000 miles - headlights didn't seem as bright anymore... I'm guessing because I had black headlight covers on it, so I installed fog lights in my grill and lights on my brushguard... that lit up the road pretty nicely, and annoyed many people as well cuz I aimed my brush guard lights a bit higher than normal.
97000 miles - installed 10000k Xenon HID conversion headlight kit (the blue lights on cars you see all the time)
General Comments:
I've been reading some reviews people have been posting on the ZR2 Blazer, and honestly no one knows what they are talking about... I love my Blazer, it is my baby.
I probably treat my Blazer the worst out of anyone here by offroading with it all the time, and yet there has been nothing major wrong with the truck.
I haven't had a single problem with the engine, and I haven't read any problems anywhere with them, so obviously they are very dependable engines.
Honestly on a scale of 1 to 10, I rate the ZR2 Blazer at a 10 overall because it's an amazing vehicle. If you know what you're doing, you can fix anything on it yourself, everything is right out there in the open.
If Chevy brought the Blazer back with an offroad edition again, I would buy it without even thinking twice about it...
Very dependable vehicle, amazing at offroading, great pick up and acceleration, perfect body angles for loud sound systems, very solid structure, and replacement parts are very easy to come by.
If you are thinking of buying a ZR2 Blazer, take my word for it, you will not regret it as long as you know what you are doing.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 27th January, 2009
7th Apr 2009, 14:07
I own a 2000 Blazer ZR-2. Bought it in 2002 for my wife. (65K) Great truck except for the fuel pump that went out at 80k and then a year later at 100k. (right after the warranty expired)
This little truck does not like speeds above 65mph and I never go faster than that. Too much tire whine and the front end likes to "hunt" at that speed. I changed the factory tires in 2004 with the exact same thing.
MPG is sort of bad, avg 15.5 for a V-6 but off road I think it is more tough than a Jeep W.E. I have never got stuck.
Only other problem is with the rear hatch, can't get it open after my wife backed in to someone at the store, less than 5mph, but hit the spare and now can't open it.
I had a 1998 Ford 4Dr XLT Explorer. I beat the heck out of that thing. 2wd-5sp-4.0 v6. Never gave me a problem except flats (my bad). That thing got avg. 22mpg. I sold it @ 225k/miles.