Comments: 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60, 61-75, 76-90, 91-105, 106-120, 121-135, 136-141
I've had my 97 chevy blazer for 2 1/2 years now bought the vehicle with 103,000 miles on it I've had some of the same problems, but love the truck. I pull a 4200 pound boat with it and have never had a problem with the transmission or its 4.3 engine I now have over 145,000 and its still going strong. I found that running high octane fuel in the truck really makes a difference in its performance. Now I'm having electrical problems so I believe I'm going to buy a tahoe because if that 6 cylinder can pull like that I can only imagine what a 350 will be like.
I have had my '97 Blazer LS for nearly 2 years. It had 70K miles. I have had to replace windshield wiper motor, upper and lower ball joints, pitman/idler arms, water pump, intake manifold gaskets, o-rings, etc., U-Joints, serpentine belt (2 times), wheel cylinders, flushed radiator and transmission, and the frosting on the cake came on Monday. Driving on Interstate 5 and heard loud rattling and then a BANG, and white smoke pouring out from under the hood. Lost control, went into a tailspin on the highway with 4 lanes of oncoming traffic, and got it to the side of the road without being hit! That was a miracle. Engine blown. Item police picked up off the ground came from engine block. looked like a connecting rod or something blew. I was told I needed new engine! Ain't that a bummer? They quoted $4500. I filed a claim with my insurance company. Don't know what will come of it.
97 blazer same problems as every one else here.
Wish I would had read these pages before I bought it.
I am working on it, or its in the shop for repairs.
More than I get to drive it.
I never had a car that has had so many problems.
I will never buy another one.
Had car for less than a year and the repairs
add up to more than what I paid for it, now
stuck with it till death do us part.
Nice looking while going down the road on back
of a flat bed truck.
I bought my '97 Chevy Blazer in April of 01 with 48k on it, it is now up to 145k, and the biggest piece of garbage I have ever owned. I've replaced the engine, clutch, and more brakes than I can count. The battery, alternator, radiator, coil twice. The A/c doesn't work anymore. The gas gauge never worked. I'm always needed idler arms and ball joints. Reverse lights never worked, and the turn signals don't work anymore either. Tonight the radio stopped working, made for a pleasant ride home. My girlfriend is afraid to ride in the car. I pray to god someone steals it or it crashes and burns. I do always wear my seat belt, but with the recall, who knows if it will actually save me.
My dad had bought a 1997 Blazer 4WD 4 Door back in 98 used with 40k miles on it. When I got my license he gave it to me for a starter vehicle. The Electric 4WD switch won't switch it into 4WD (I had this looked at and apparently the switch leads to a switch near the battery which leaked Battery acid onto it causing it not to work). The Windshield Wipers work only when I don't need them, and the Gas Gauge is sporadic, it works like 50 percent of the time the rest it is on the Fuel marking. Besides those problems the thing runs great. 180k miles on it and only minor problems typical with any SUV went wrong. But I have to agree Chevys Electrical systems are the worst. But you have to love the 4.3 V6 Vortec Engine. Throw a K&N Gen2 FIPK Cold air intake on it, and a Flowmaster Turbo Muffler and the thing has a nice sound to it.
Where are the spark plugs? I cannot find them at all.
My 98 4*4 blazer has all of the same problems as above 97,s so it's gm as a hole that needs work...Will never buy gm again ! mike
I am the (not so) proud owner of a 97 bravada. Although I like the look of the vehicle inside and out, I am equally sad to report many of the same things have happened to me since my purchase 11 months ago. I am trying to come to grips with my service engine soon light as it has been on for some time apparently due to my knock sensor (or the wire running to it). BTW, for the person asking about the spark plug locations, they are not very easy to get to, especially the middle one on the drivers side. It's like 1mm away from the steering unit. My "dummy" light is also on for O2 sensor bank one. I have yet to determine whether I have 2 or 4 O2 sensors. I am in constant worry of breaking down. This summer I want to make some trips up north, but am not so sure if it will make it there and back. It's a pity to have to worry about such things when my vehicle is really not that old.
I've got a 1998 Blazer 4x4 and have had few problems. It has 110k miles now. I've replaced the alternator twice (second time was a faulty alternator from Carmax - that place sux). The driver side window stopped working, but I just took the door panel off and cleaned the terminals and it works fine. The ball joints and tie rods need replacing soon, and the coil has intermittent problems. The push-button 4x4 sometimes doesn't like to engage, but I don't need it much anyway. For an 8 year old with 110k miles she's not too bad. Hoping she'll last to 160k.
On S10 blazers, with push button 4x4, if you can hear a clunk when you push the button's for the 4x4, but it doesn't light the light's on the switch right, and it doesn't want to switch into four wheel drive, the problem is a 4x4 computer behind the passenger side kick panel. $312.00 at the dealer, around $50.00 from a salvage yard, very easy to change. Disconnect the neg. battery terminal, change the box, reconnect the battery and poof...you're a master electrical engineer. This may fix some other electric prob's also... good luck.
You all have a lot of complaining to do. Like every other car on the road is either flawless or inexpensive to fix. I have a 97 blazer and I change my brakes no more often than I changed on my previous vehicles. It's got 115k on it, and the only "problem" I have is that the fuel gauge doesn't work anymore. Living in VT, that rig will start in some of the coldest weather, and in minutes, I'll have heat. If you're so upset over getting tricked into buying a Blazer, go buy a Huffy. See how that thing starts in the morning.
Same sad story here with my '91 Jimmy & '97 Blazer. So far I have replaced the same things on each of them... alternator, fuel pump, & ignition switch. '97 is now back at the garage. It just died while driving and wouldn't restart. (Probably fuel pump again..)
As the old saying goes... 1st time shame on you, 2nd time shame on me...
Last Jimmy/Blazer/Bravada I'll ever own...
I purchased a 1996 Blazer used with 86,000 miles on it. I had someone "inspect" the car before my purchase. Shortly after I purchased the car, the ball joints had to be replaced $800.00, then the check engine light soon came on. I was told the sensor had to be replaced - that ended up costing $1400.00, and a break down on the side of the highway.
Then the water pump went $350. Because the pump leaked, I had to have a new serpentine belt and battery.
I was getting ready to leave town and the alternator went $450. I smelled coolant and went for an estimate, thinking I had a hose that was leaking Ha!. Dexacool now my estimate is $2570.29 for a new radiator, heater core etc, etc, etc.
The car cost $7000, and I have put $3000 in it, and now almost $3000 again. How can I ever recover? I believe in buying American cars, but this is to much to deal with.
I worked in a GM shop, Blazers, s-10s, m-vans... they all have their problems, but hardly problematic! Some of you are more than likely being "had" by shops or slightly exaggerating your claims.. You have to seriously abuse a vehicle to require replacement of all "ball joints" before 75,000 miles, what kind of roads are you driving on... or are they even paved?
I've seen more "miss-application" of vehicles than anything, pulling more than rated capacity, overloaded, bad driving habits and most of all... IMPROPER MAINTENANCE!!! Seems that the only time the hood goes up is to let the smoke out, it's too late at that point! I have owned just about every piece of junk out there, but as soon as I maintained it and got everything up to a known level of service the problems went away. There is no such thing as "maintenance free", even today!
The cost of driving is not just gasoline and possibly a quart of oil when the light goes on! It all depends on what you drive and how you drive it... simple!
Unicks.
I started my car this morning, everything is fine. I went to put into gear and all I got was click, click, click. Has anyone encountered this? Maybe a fuse... Let me know if anyone has any suggestions...