Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-72
I agree with all that I have read. I currently own a 1996 Blazer and I previously owned a 1993 S-10 Blazer. By far and away the two worst vehicles I have ever owned!
Three things are a given when dealing with these vehicles:
1. You will almost always replace the transmission by 60,000. miles. I replaced two units in my '93 Blazer, and one, so far, in my '96 @ 51,000. miles. I have gotten to know my tranny shop owner very well and he says these vehicles keep him in business!
2. Braking systems on these vehicles are really junk! It pains me to think of the money I have spent on brake repair and maintenance. The front rotors are under-sized for this vehicle, plain and simple!
3. Oil cooler lines WILL and do leak like a sieve. Don't put off replacing them. I had a line rupture and dump the engine oil while I was driving. Saved the engine by immediately pulling off to the side of the road and shutting it down. Had my wife been been driving "her" vehicle at the time, who knows.
Other problems I have experienced and paid dearly for include EGR/Carbon accumulation in the intake, wiper motors, heater core problems and BRUTAL GM service departments.
I will NEVER own another GM product as long as I live!!!
I just bought a new 03 GMC Z71, and all I can say is that I will never own another GMC, or possibly American car again. Why you ask? Because in the 7000 miles I have put on it, it has already been to the dealer at least 5 times, b/c first the electronic mirror went out, now the A/C controller needs to be replaced b/c it sticks on hot, and the latest news is that the front diff. output oil seal is leaking oil. What a piece of crap, over $30,000 and a bunch of problems. The best part is what the service person told me about the seal "The shop foreman and a tech. are looking at it, they said the seal my have not had a chance to seat off yet, they cleaned it up and want you to come back in 1000 miles to reinspect it". I guess they think no one knows a damn thing about seals, it's a frickin lip seal that the stupid workers who only care about the pay check cut when they assembled the differential, what a load of crap. I guess all I can do is add this to my knowledge, NEVER BUY GMC AGAIN. I hope I can help someone from making the same mistake as me, Don't buy GMC.
Every problem that has been described above has happened.
Because of brake failure and accelerator I had to crash my 1996 green chevy blazer---DO NOT BUY THIS CAR-IT IS A DEATH TRAP---. On the Grand Central Pkway in NY, the accelerator stuck to the floor, the brakes failed, no matter how hard I applied brake pressure. In order to stop the car I had to crash into several poles, go into a hill and crash into another poll and chain link fence. I had my daughter and my one month old granddaughter in the car, I was afraid I was going to flip over. This car takes to long to stop-brake failure, it speeds up at odd time when driving. We have had a new engine put in the car-$4,000;
the oil is disappearing-we cannot find the leak. this car was purchased used, and the dealer did not tell us the problems this car had, such as brown gook in the radiator, leaky values, stalling, engine died on interstate 95, had to be pushed off the the road. We paid 10,000 for this used DEATH TRAP, 4,000 new enginee, battery 95 dollars not counting other expenses, and lack of responsibility from the dealership. I wish I had seen this website before I put my families life in jeopardy. Thank you for being here. Loretta, NYC.
After reading all the other comments, I think I must have lucked out with my 94 S-10 Blazer. Original front brake pads were worn out at 17K. Gouged the rotors, no grind, no squeal, no warning. Lower ball joints replaced at 22K, 48K, 66K, and 84K. Last time with non-GM parts. Upper ball joints at 48K, 66K, 84K, and 110K. I'm on third EGR valve. Fuel pump went at 82K. Front brakes have been a constant problem, most pads lasted less than 22K. I replaced front rotors with HEAVY aftermarket units which seem to work better also Bendix guaranteed for life? pads. Heater core went at about 86K. Rear window and tailgate require almost constant lubrication to eliminate the squeaks. Lower front fenders and doors are rusting from the outside in. Door drain holes are not clogged. Rust spots in various locations, all from outside in to me this indicates a poor paint job. Oh, I'm also on my third windshield and my insurance will only replace if it can't be fixed. I have had bullseye cracks replaced in each of the windshields. Also have leaking oil lines to the oil cooler.
97 Blazer. Same song different verse, brakes, air conditioning, gas gauge, tires, outside mirrors, ect. This is the fourth GM product I've owned that turned out to be a junk pile including chevy citation, pontiac phoenix, and chevy astro van. You would think I would learn. Never again, GM!
96 blazer LT 2wd 130000 miles: 5 complete sets of front brakes. 3 rear pads. Alternator at 37k, 60k, 100k, and 130k. Head gaskets at 80k. AC compressor at 55k. Check engine light came on at 110k; dealer said it needed O2 sensors. All four were purchased at NAPA at $129 each. This shut the check engine light off for about two weeks. Now the dealer says there must be a bad ground somewhere. Power brake booster at 90k. Power locks do not work when it is hot out, dealer says there must be a bad connection somewhere, but he can't find it. Wipers stopped working and were replaced under recall. Maintenance is one thing, but this truck needs its own GM visa card.
My first 1995 Blazer was wonderful, nothing went wrong. I was struck on the driver's side and sent tumbling several times. I purchased my second blazer 1996 from Blossom Chevrolet Indianapolis, In and it has been nothing but a nightmare. Brakes have been replaced, ball joints and again the ball joints. The idler arm was also replaced and now it's loose, and will require replacing again. Air conditioner quit working after I took it to Blossom to repair a hose. And the same hose is making its noise again. I have about replaced everything on this blazer and would torch it, but it's paid for and I have spent too much money on it. I blame Blossom Chevrolet for not checking it as it should have been before selling it to me. It cost a lot of money and should give me better reliable performance, but instead it has given me a bunch of headache's. GM should recall all this blazers back and give us our money back or a more reliable vehicle. Maybe that's who should be receiving all this comments. This might make them think about testing their vehicles better before putting them out on the market with such a high price tag. Fed up in Indiana.
I just purchased my '96 Blazer LT from a bank as a reposession. Took it in immediately to have the thing checked out by my mechanic because the bank would not allow it. He replaced the idler arm, water pump, refilled the cooling system with the recommended coolant and the brake pads and turned the rotors. He also recharged the AC. After one trip to Ohio (from NE TN), the AC had to be replaced because we did not know that the compressor was shot. Also replaced the drier at the same time. Drove around the city and discovered that the battery was not charging. Replaced the alternator with an aftermarket with lifetime warranty. Cost of vehicle: $5500. Cost of repairs (so far) : $1,100 (I have my fingers crossed after reading all the previous comments!!!)
I presently own a 1994 Chevrolet full size Blazer and have put 123,000 miles on it without ever doing anything, but oil changes, lubrication and one tune-up. I took the original spark plugs out at 95K and they looked brand new. It is the best car I have ever owned and I have owned Ford, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Jeep and Honda in 35 years of driving.
Hello I am the owner of a 1996 Chevy Blazer 4x4 and I have had nothing, but problems. at 43K the transmission went at 93K the engine went that cost me $4,000 and Chevy did nothing for me. I am very disturb at Chevy and I am not going to give up. Hope you don't give up either lets make them pay for these problems. P.S. there were lots of other problems too. Treat your customers fairly GM!!! THANK YOU!!
Wow...it's amazing how consistent problems our with the Blazers. I bought mine from my father with 66K on it and since then, here is what has been replaced (car now has 118K on it and its S-10 Blazer, Automatic, LS) :
1. Oil Lines
2. Belt Tensioner
3. Wheel Bearing (right side)
4. Upper AND Lower ball joints (both sides) -Upper were under the Chevy recall.
5. Radiator
6. Water pump (twice-first one had manufacturer's defect in the cast aluminum)
7. Transmission first went around 82-86K, then 6-8K after that the rebuilt one went...now, at 118K that one needs to be replaced-transmission shop charged me $950 for the work this last time-still not happy with that cost though.
8. Rear window lock went on me as well... had to have dealer replace for about $300 (I believe)
I am not getting a "popping" sound whenever I back up my car and turn the wheel. I think it's the torsion bar, but not sure.
-GB.
Wow! Either everybody bought their Blazer's from a junkyard or I've been extremely blessed. I own a 1995 Blazer LS with 163,000 miles on it. In that time I've had to:
put a new starter in it (131,000)
a new muffler (rusted out at 148,000)
the upper and lower ball joints at 110,000 (quit
complaining people, b/j's lifespan on the blazer is 75 to 100,000)
and I personally changed the dirty fuel filter, air filter, and spark plugs and wires as part of the tune up. Nothing leaks, nothing has "broke" and she performs beautifully on a regular basis. I couldn't have been more blessed. If you have any questions about 1995 - 1997 Blazers you can e-mail your questions to kkab228@hotmail.com. Have a good one.
Well my response is about the same as 95% of the other posters. Wife bought the '95 blazer (junk) AND another car from the same dealer (Smithfield Chevrolet). The sales person lied about the other car being a 'demo'...we found out later it was a rental from Florida. He also lied by telling her the white one she wanted (rather than the black one sitting at their dealership) would cost an additional $1000 dollars because he would have to go get it (I would have walked so fast he would have sued me for whiplash if I had been there). Let's see, where do we begin:
Electrical problems... dealer removed the dash 3 times...1st time kept truck over 30 days!! No rental car..
Service engine light came on before I even straightened the truck out after we pulled out of the dealer's lot.
2nd time to fix whatever caused the light to come on... kept the truck another 2 weeks... again no rental.
3rd time kept truck a week or so, drove over 100 miles on it to try and 'recreate' problem to see what was wrong.
Never got all the popping out. Now the stereo only has the left channel working.
If you use the high beams the lights will go out completely shortly (wonder about trusting Mr Goodwrench under the dash...NOT!!!
The A/C controls stopped working.
I replaced the battery after 8-10 months, dealer promised a reimbursement... wanna see it!!?!?!? Liars & thieves.
Upper console has parts rolling around from the manufacturing plant... of course Smith Chevy's Mr goodwrench couldn't find it, (bet its the spare parts that hold in the dash?!?!)
The paint started 'falling' off in sheets. We were told to wait til last few miles so they could catch all the paint defects before warranty went out. We did and they had replaced the service writers... and yes, you guessed it... the new service manager said it wasn't bad paint... it was bird droppings. This was after it was documented and admitted as bad paint. This bird brain refused to do warranty work... had to go to another dealer. Barely made it in the drive with mileage.
I couldn't tell you how many EGR valves have been on it. And of course shi*vy has a recall on the parts and will pay for the diagnostics...again..wanna see my refund???
I've sent them all the documents and have never heard a word. Probably got 'lost' in the mail...right.
Fixed the EGR problem myself, had to take whole top of engine off and clean carbon deposits out so it could breathe. Their recall is nothing, but a band-aid on the problem. They've never responded when I demanded they fix the true problem rather than swap parts.
Had to have a new speaker in the driver's door.
Back window will just pop open when it wants to.
Driver's side remote stopped working shortly after they replaced the speaker... naw couldn't be their fault after all no one's been in that door, but the manuf. and the dealer... now since the key door lock has fallen inside the door.
The dealer used a pocket knife to pop out the door trim to get inside the door, he cut and broke it in half, but Smith Chevy denies that also...they're the only ones that had touched that car... you mean the manuf. used damaged trim rings in their new vehicles???
The brakes are a deathtrap. I think everyone knows this and is just waiting til the appropriate 'quota' of people die before something is done.
After calling GM and being very kind to the (initially) and they absolutely refused to intervene in any way shape or form; refused to allow any reimbursement for any repairs I paid for because their 'agents' refused to do the work they lie about when they say the vehicle actually has a warranty... I promised them I would give them millions and millions and millions of dollars worth of free advertisement and I do and will continue to do so.
I will NEVER own or buy another GM product. They have taken the last dollar they will EVER see from me. I will strive to change the minds of anyone who is in the market for a shi*vy also. And to think we used to fight over that make of cars in my youth... never again will they scam me.
Another Blazer Story "97" S-10, I share some of the same thoughts and problems as well as I am Mechanic by trade, The Chevy S-10 Blazer is a double edge sword, a lot of power and utility out of a less than good design. the Blazer will eat Ball Joints regardless of how often they are greased, make sure you replace them with genuine GM Joints, the after market joints will last considerable time less than the factory joint 15k, factory joint 30k, make sure you check out the Idler arm and upper control arm bushings during joint replacements. The oil cooler lines, well GM makes an upgrade to their replacement line sets, make sure you ask for them otherwise you will be replacing lines every 40k. Many problems with Fuel pressure regulators and fuel pump pulsaters, make sure you you replace a fuel filter from time to time, a semi plugged filter is most responsible for pump failure, the pulsater is available as a single part and at a minimum cost compared to a pump assembly. I have had reasonable performance and use with the vehicle other than this, it is tough to beat the 4.3 for it's power and smoothness even in towing situations which is how we use ours, (2,000lb camper) and utility trailer at least 3k a year and a daily used family vehicle otherwise. all vehicles have problems and I believe you would be best served to stay away from dealerships and find a good Mom and Pop repair facility you can talk to the owner/repair tech to work thru you repairs.
Good luck.
I had the same problem as the person on 26 June, my blazer
shut down on me while I am driving and no one can find the trouble, that truck cost me a lot of money, but my problem
are finish I give back my truck in exchange to GM and buy another car..
PS.sorry for my writing I am French.