1997 Chevrolet Blazer LS from North America - Comments

Your transmission is gone - when they're on their way out, it becomes more obvious when they get hot (been there and done that). Your engine light was turned off, the problem never fixed, and it takes a little while for the service engine light to come back on (ie - the dealer cleared the codes before you drove it, and odds are it's something simple, not cheap, but simple and was messed up even during your terst drive. May be your tranny sending the code to the computer, too). I would venture to guess that the dealer probably pulled one over on you, and unless they are an exception, you're in for it with this one... Sorry about your luck.

I don't have time now, but I'll be adding my '97 Bravada experience soon. Fortunately I bought the extended warranty - the $9000 for the vehicle is nothing relative to what has been invested for repairs, and it's just under 100K miles. Stay tuned for easy repair tips on some of the common & simple items (rear wiper, front wiper board, heating problems, etc) and a list of what I can recall was fixed (or repaired for now...:)

I feel your pain, fellow Blazer owners. I have a 97 Chevy Blazer and I've had similar problems. I may be able to help a few of you, also.

- Oil Leak = There is a known problem of Blazer's leaking oil. The connection for the oil filter, by design, is at the back of the engine. The modification in to make it convenient to change the oil was a rubber tube with metal ends. After a period of time, these metal ends either rub through the tubing or the tubing cracks. That's your leak, although I can't recall the name of the part. The dealer did the work for me for $300 or so.

- Stalling or not starting (goes dead while driving) = Bad ignition and/or ignition wiring. Replacement only $500-$700.

- Rust in transmission dip stick tube = known recall. Check with the dealer, although may be too late now. Had mine done 4 years ago.

- Replaced radiator = sprung a leak

- Flushed heater core = no heat. Dexacool broke down and clogged it.

- Replaced heater core = Started leaking.

- Replaced left-front hub assembly = Rubbing noise that sounded like I had 20inch knobby tires on the thing. Bearings were out. Firestone said there was nothing wrong with the bearings.

- Idler arm and Pitman arm = Found during safety inspection.

- Idler arm and Pitman arm = Found when investigating knobby tire rubbing noise. Not fixed a second time.

- Rear wiper washer not working = Probably out of fluid. Just kidding. Don't know source of problem.

- Gas gauge not working = I use trip-ometer. When I am at 300 miles, I'm running on fumes. If the oil change guy resets it, I go get a fill up. :) Must be the sending unit in the tank. I'll replace it this summer... if it lasts that long.

- Transmission Problems = Hard shifting and not shifting down under load. Probably valve body, but nothing done yet.

- Vibration in external mirrors = sick driver. I figured it was my replacement of that mirror when I snapped it off against the side of my garage... until I read this forum and found I was not alone.

- "Service Engine Soon" light = Not serviced yet. Will look at the EGR valve for this one.

- Replaced alternator.

- Replaced battery.

- Replaced water pump = sprung a leak.

- Patched tire = Either ran over a nail in my friends driveway, or they are manufacturing tires with nails in them from the start.

- Replaced ignition switch wire (twice) = Wire fried both times. Not sure what the problem was/is. I carry tools and parts to do an on-the-road replacement, if necessary.

That's it for me... so far.

I have a 97 chevy blazer. I can't get the electrical system to charge. I replaced the alternator, but still can only get 10 or 11 volts out of it. my battery is good, what else could it be?

Also have a '97 Blazer w/4.3 engine, and I have experienced many (but not all, thank God!) of the same problems. Bought it used with 54K miles and had to have brown unidentifiable sludge flushed out of the transmission within 1000 miles! The dealer wouldn't cover it since the trans hadn't actually failed. I later learned it was due to Dex cool (previous owner had it removed and replaced with green type) but fortunately it still works OK. Shortly after that it began to stall especially when the weather was hot and the tank was low on gas. Turned out to be a bad fuel pump overheating as it's in the tank and gas keeps it cool! If you have an S10 Blazer and you live where it's hot, don't let it go below 1/4 tank and you'll extend the life of the pump. Extended warranty did not cover those repairs, but I have almost 90K on it now and the warranty is about to run out so I took it to the local Chevy dealer and asked that the A/C be checked out, since it seems to run out of freon every year. Smart service writer sensed a gold mine here and found numerous problems including leaking front oil cooler lines (not covered so I had the work done at Brake Masters for half the price!), leaking intake manifold gasket, oil pan and trans gasket (didn't they replace that thing when the trans was serviced?), leaking front axle seals, and after putting dye in the A/C, found it all over the bottom of the compressor. Extended warranty company has reluctantly agreed to have all of the items repaired and/or replaced at an estimated cost of over $2000! A word of advice - when you buy an S10 Blazer, spend the extra grand and get an extended warranty!

I own a 97 blazer 4wd and I have experienced the same problems. I have just replaced the fuel pump and a week later my car stalled and I could hear the fuel pump making that whining noise when it died as I slowed down to go around a corner. Also it stills starts slow when I turn the key on. Anybody have any ideas or suggestions, please help.

I own a 97 GMC Jimmy, which I purchased new. I have experienced many of the same problems previously mentioned in this forum. The vehicle is a nice looking vehicle for 7 years of age and only has 67k miles, but it has been a maintenance nightmare. I am on my 3rd alternator, 3rd water pump and 4th battery. The transmission was leaking and had to be rebuilt under warranty at 20k miles. I have replaced the ignition switch twice, in Oct 2000 at 44k miles and again in August 2003 at 64k. The a/c compressor went out in 2002 at 55k miles. I also have the rusty transmission dipstick, which someone else has also previously mentioned. In addition, just this week the wipers quit working as my wife was driving home from work in a rainstorm. She had to pull off of the road and pull on the wiper arms to get them started. I searched Alldata and other websites and found that there is an extended recall on some mid 90's GM trucks for wiper motor modules, but the dealer and GMC both tell me that my vin # is not included in the recall. Thus, I had to have it repaired at my own expense. Also, fuel consumption has always been a problem. I only get around 15mpg around town and 18 on the highway. In comparison, I also own a V8, 4.6, Mercury Grand Marquis that gets 21 in town and 28 on the highway. The Jimmy's 4.3 Vortec is nice engine with plenty of power, but all in all this GMC Jimmy has nickeled and dimed me to death.

I bought a 97 Blazer a few month ago. It only had 42,000 miles and I thought it was a steal. Since then, I've had problems with the transmission slipping, strong smell of gasoline when I accelerate or turn corners, air conditioner only blow through the vents when it wants to, and gas gage not working. It looks good though!

I own a 1997 chevy s10 with the 4.3 and I have had several problems with it myself, fuel pump, ac compressor, and that darn heat, what heat. the dealer and the extended warranty company did not want to repair it for me. so I did some investigating last year, THEY DO KNOW ABOUT THE DEXCOOL!!!, the dealers were sent a bulletin about it, it says that the coolant "coagulates" when mixed with air. I told them that I have never opened the system since the owners manual says the coolant is good for over 100,000 miles, therefore the radiator cap was bad, and a faulty radiator cap would therefore cover a system flush, with my persistence the agreed to pay for the $400 flush. the heater worked for about 6 months, now no more heat, its time for me to get that dexcool out and replace it with the green stuff since I am out of warranty now. my alternator is now going out also as well as my intake leaking antifreeze. I hope for no more problems with my truck.

I bought my 1997 chevy blazer 2 door 4.3 262 cui in July of 2002. I bought it with 48K on it. Since then I've replaced the wiper module, (3) rear view mirror switches, both door gaskets, gauge cluster, 3 alternators, battery, 2 sets of brakes, 2 sets of upper ball joints, 2 sets of lower ball joints, idler arms, transmission, engine, head gasket, intake manifold, (2) transmission pan gaskets, oil pan gasket, door pins and bushings, and fuel pump. Well I love my truck what can I say. Thank god for extended warranties, but what do I do now that my warranty is up in 2500 miles. SELL IT. UHH HUH even though all this has been replaced and the truck is like brand new I don't trust it too much so I think it's time for something new.

I couldn't believe my eyes while I was reading these comments - it's like I was reading about my own 1997 Chevy Blazer. I bought it new in August 1997. It now has 83,000 miles and died on the side of the road yesterday for the? how many times - I've lost count. I just had the computer "flashed" the day before. I agree with the previous comments - it does look good on a flat bed tow truck! My list of repairs is the same as everyone else - I'm on my 4th set of brakes, 3rd battery, new water pump, intake gasket, O2 sensor, plugs, wires, cap, rotor (3rd this year). I'm now having issues with transmission shifting hard and dash lights going nuts. I can't believe the amount of money I'm going to have to put into a vehicle in order to get rid of it!

I too have experienced the problems above. I'm really tired of it and now my car is in the shop for an alternator. I'm not car mechanic smart so I'm dependent on the mechanics to actually do their jobs. The past five months alone I have spent over $4,000 on my 98 Chevy blazer. I've had the front brakes replaced (told I had to get ceramic brakes), ball joints, idler arm, thermostat (twice), heating core, fuel tank and pump ($905.00), intake manifold gasket, and the blinker switch arm. I've also had the radiator flushed, tires rotated faithfully, and oil changes every 3,000 miles. I take really good care of my car since I am a soccer mom - it gets all required maintenance. I figured I was close to having everything completed - but it seems people in here have had to replace the same items more than once. I'm afraid to take it out of town now so I hope to buy another car before next season starts and after reading everyone else's comments I'm definitely not going to buy another Chevy ever.

I have a 97 blazer. Got it with 50k. Tranny was rebuilt around 80k. Under warranty. Then it started to leak 10k later. Dealer said it was from a part of the tranny they didn't even work on and they wouldn't cover it. So I had to pay $900 to have a tranny shop seal it up good. Now I have 125k on it and 3rd and 4th gear clutches have burnt out. Needs another tranny rebuild. Will cost a lot I guess. It's in the shop now. I've read some post and it sounds like I need a tranny cooler. Even though I'm not pulling anything. I guess these trannies get too hot and the clutches break down fast. Anyway, I had the wiper recall problem too. Left me on the side of the road in a really bad seattle rain storm. Back wiper doesn't work at all now. Rear window hydraulics are crappy and don't seem to lift the window anymore. The AC compressor is shot and the dealer wants $1200 for that. I just had the cooling system replaced at $1300. Dexcool crap in there. Clogged it all up. I had no idea and the dealer that sold it to me didn't tell me.

The day I bought the thing a rock hit my windshield and cracked it. On the way home from the dealer!!! It was an omen and I should have sold it the next day.

Anyway, now I owe 12k on the thing and it's worth about 3k. So I can't get rid of it. I do have GAP insurance though. I pray to get hit every morning. I know any little fender bender will total it. Considering it's WORTHLESS!!! Someone hit me please...please...pleeeeeeeeease.

Although there are many things wrong with the 97 S10 Blazer that GM should be held accountable for, this one is a major safety issue:

Picture this -- You get rear ended because the car behind you couldn't tell you were stopping because your brake lights went out (of course you didn't know this because you're driving). You pull over and hit your hazard switch to warn other traffic only to find that those lights don't work either.

There appears to be a faulty connection that causes the lower brake and hazard lights to fail (coincidentally the rear speakers went out at the same time -- don't know if that's related, but you never know).

GM has recalled the 00-01 Blazers as well as some of their cars for this same issue. GM rep says that recalls are done if enough owners report a problem.

97 S10 Blazer owners (and any other GM vehicle owners)

REPORT THIS!

Wow... Vibrating mirrors, gas gauges not working, replacing fuel pumps, electrical system problems?? Sounds like I found the right place to discuss the Chevy Blazer. I am the owner of a really sharp '98 ZR2, which is in the shop today to have O2 sensors replaced (it didn't pass NYS inspection). All of the problems I note above I have experienced. I have a couple of others to add as well:

1. Problems with the emergency brake. It seems like after several months, it doesn't want to work anymore. When I take it in for service, I find out that the cable has been stretched... And no, I am not forgetting that it is engaged, and driving around with it on.

2. Speaking of brakes, every couple of months I notice that the truck is pulling either to the left or the right. I think right away that it is tire pressure or an alignment. WRONG! One or two of the brakes keep freezing.

3. I have a manual transmission. When I am shifting into 2nd and 3rd gears, I have to wait for the RPM's to kick down before I shift. Otherwise, it sounds like I am trying to grind meat!!

4. Recently, the push button 4WD system has quit working. When I push the 4 HI button, both the 4 HI and 4 LO button lights flash together, then it switches back to 2 HI... not sure if this is an electrical or mechanical issue, OR if both problems 1 and 2 are interrelated.

I'm not saying that I don't love my Blazer, I do. It is a nice looking vehicle, and it does turn heads. I'm also not saying that nobody should buy one. What I am saying is to consider your purchase wisely. There is no such thing as a CHEAP repair on this vehicle. If you do purchase one, DEFINITELY spring for the extra bucks, and purchase an extended warranty!

I own a 97 Blazer. I just got my ignition switch replaced. The dealer tried to tell me it was because of my Remote starter. I have had that Remote Starter for 7 years on my truck. They disconnected all of my wires without telling me. I went back and told them to reconnect the wires. Has anyone ever heard of this? After reading all of these comments, it just seems like that replacing an ignition switch is just part of the process.