1994 Chevrolet Blazer s-10 from North America - Comments

The first major repair was the EGR valve at at 68K miles. The dealer was able to tell me the amount of miles on the vehicle without looking because as he said "yep, they all go with about that many miles." Cost = $750

The next major problem was that I was losing power when I needed it, as if the engine was choking. My mechanic discovered that carbon deposits were breaking away and clogging the valve intakes. He devised a screen to catch the particles before entering the valves that would hold the particles until they get burned up by the engine. It works wonderfully!

The rear window latch constantly squeaks and will begin to squeak again 1 week after replacement. The tailgate latch is a stronger metal than the glass latch and thus gouges out a groove which is the source of the squeak. A very poor design!

Visor fabric is coming apart.

Vent louvers never worked properly.

Electric window motor needed replacement at 70k miles and now the other window motor needs replacement.

Heater coil leaking all over front cab at 118k miles.

I would love to 'love' this truck and somewhat do. It's just that the US cannot seem to put the care into the design and integrity of all the parts of a vehicle.

The little things in the vehicle (vent louvers, window latch, buttons, etc.) are all factors that lead into the overall enjoyment of the vehicle.

It is a tough truck with a lot of engine power.

The engine power is there when you need it and that factors in a lot.

I could almost swear the person reviewing the 94 S-10 Blazer was writing about mine. I just have a couple of other things needing replacement not mentioned. Four wheel drive diaphram valve, fuel sending unit, fuel pump and cpi injection, & changing the ATF fluid & filter was a major pain.

I would also tend to agree with both of the prior comments. My Blazer has had the EGR, Fuel Pump, Starter, Window Motors etc. I had the transimission rebuilt at 103,000 miles. The other major problem is the front ball joints, I have replaced them twice. It has all kinds of power and always will run, I trust the engine, but not anything that is attached. I have now spent too much money to get rid of it, so I will keep it until the body falls apart.

I purchased a 1994 S10 Blazer 4x4 in Spring 1999 to tow my 16 foot Boat (with a 70 HP outboard). I bought the truck with 84,000 km. It now has 121,000 km. It has done a splendid job of towing the boat. As others have mentioned, it has tons of power. It also has good traction in 4 wheel drive mode. I have not had any of the problems others have mentioned. I have had 2 problems, the wire to the rear window that is used for defrosting the window has broken twice. It's a very poor design, the wire kinks where it joins the connector on the window. Only a matter of time before it breaks. My other problem was with the fuel pump. It quit and was replaced at a cost of $500. Oh yes, once the EGR valve got something stuck in it and had to be cleared out by hooking the truck up to the computer at the dealer. This was only $50. I think the drive train is solid, but concur the build quality/finish is not the best. There are many rattles and clunks (drive train slack). Also it tends to surge a bit under load. I have sold the boat and am thinking of selling the truck, but would lose a lot because of the depreciation over the last 3.5 years. May just hang onto it long term. The most annoying thing about the truck is that half the time when you put on the turn signal you rotate the knob on the lever ever so slightly causing the windshield wipers to come on. The wiper should be on a separate lever, not combined with the Cruise control, turn signal and windshield washer!

I'll agree, this sounds just like my truck. I purchased the truck used two years ago. Since then It has not stopped breaking down.

I'm presently on my third starter and third fuel pump.

The ABS system no longer works.

4-wheel drive encoder motor is gone and the repair is in the $750 range. The little green lite on the dash stays on all of the time even though I'm in two wheel drive. It simply will not go into four wheel.

The little vent louvers are built cheap. the first cold morning (Upstate NY) they simply broke off in my hand. I've put in two heater cores. The air conditioning compressor is gone. The Vacuum control system for the HVAC constantly leaks and is very annoying.

I had problems with the engine electrical for the first year. Three tune-ups and a new coil finally got it running right.

It is beginning to rust from the inside out. It still looks fine until you get underneath.

The drivers door window motor went this weekend. Then I towed it home again last night... I believe it is the fuel pump again...The next thing it gets is a "For Sale" sign.

Bought the 94 s-10 blazer, 4 wheel drive last year with about 90,000 miles. Over the last year have rebuilt the transmission. This was done with a friend who builds them for a living, total cost, $600 for parts and paying friend. Every power window has problems going up and down, drivers side quite all together, nice when you would like some air. I replaced the fuel filter when problems started with it running, then found out it was the fuel pump. I did the pump myself and wow, was that fun, not. Then it started running rough at idle, replaced oxy sensor, plugs, plug wires, cap and rotor, cleaned injectors, still runs like crap. After reading stories on line it is probably egr valve, can't wait to do that. Just this week the power seats quite, checked fuss and it was hot. Assumed there was a short somewhere and then found out the power locks don't work or 4 wheel drive, are they all related, I don't know. Never got a manual with the car to trouble shoot anything. Only get about 17 miles to the gallon, is this normal for this vehicle? Can't get rid of it now, will live with it and keep fixing.

We bought our Bravada "Gently Used" at 54,000 miles nearly two years ago. We now have about 76,000 on it, and we're ready to sell before we have to put any more money into it.

It was really nice at first, and then about a year ago things started breaking. First the battery and alternator failed.

Since then, I've put on front brakes (at about 65,000 miles.), replaced the heater core, emergency brake cable, all four shocks (normal), muffler, warped passenger side exhaust manifold, and rebuilt the A/C system and converted to R-134 (and learned there is a small leak from a seam on the compressor itself).

The digital dash is kaput, (going to be at least $300 to repair), and that rear window squeak is driving me NUTS!!! I'm going to try to get the GM parts recommended to fix the squeak at this site:

http://home.swbell.net/loeryder/parts.html.

I have been dealing with my 94 Chevrolet Blazer since 97, and there has been a constant problem with the EGR Valve. All together I have replaced it four times since the duration of my purchasing the vehicle.

It has been very pricey at about $500.00 a shot to repair this problem, and the bad part is you never know when it's going to act up, or stall out. This is one of my biggest fears due to this being my wifes primary car and her having to tote around the children in the vehicle.

It does stall out, and has stalled out while the vehicle is in motion, and I wish GM could either figure out how to correct this problem, to one, make it more cost effective, and two, to make it safer.

I love the Chevrolet Blazer. But it concerns me with this problem.

I can't believe it!!! Every last comment I've read so far has hit the hammer on the nail. I've had my 94 Jimmy for a year now and have had just about all of the previously described problems.

My truck just stopped running one day on the highway in a storm. The fuel pump went out. I am now having problems with my heater core leaking water and antifreeze all over the passenger side floor. The funny thing about this is that this is my second Jimmy. The first was a 4x4 and not more than a month the fuel pump went out on that one along with the heater core leaking. The thing that really eats me up about these breakdowns is that they are all expensive to repair!

If I can read all of these comments just on this site, wouldn't you think that Chevrolet and GMC would do the same and seriously take the time out to correct these problems and help the consumer out? Hey Chevy and GMC, if you are listening, help the consumer out.

WOW! I can't believe what I'm reading, I've had almost all of the exact problems! At 70k or so the EGR valve went out, replaced it myself for $108 for the part. The drivers side widow motor went out a little before the EGR Valve too. The power brake booster went out at about 90k, cost me $150 to replace it myself. Now I have no dash lights : (, the engine is ideling rough (don't think it's EGR this time... seems more like a vacuum leak...eh), and the blower for the AC/Heater works occasionally, not to mention that it's starting rough. Before all of these problems the 4 wheel drive assembly was replaced all of about 3 times... all under warranty, and it's STILL not working!

I love the truck, don't get me wrong, it's been a great vehicle when it's running well. But as each day goes on it seems like more and more breaks and it's costing more and more money to keep it running well. I'm probably going to fix the problems it has now and if something else expensive goes wrong it's getting a "For Sale" sign.

I have noticed a lot of people have been replacing the EGR valve numerous times. Mine went at approx 90K, then I thought it went again at 160K. I removed the EGR valve at there was some carbon deposits that prevented the valve from closing all the way. I removed the carbon deposits and the EGR valve has worked fine since. I am suspecting others are running into the same problem.

I have replaced the 4wd encoder motor at $800.00, and it is going again as sometimes I need to disconnect the battery for 30 seconds, then reconnect the battery, then hit the button to get it into 4wd.

Anti-lock brakes no longer work and have been disconnected.

Other than this I love the trunk. Lots of power and works well in 4wd.

Hi there.

I am having this EGR problem also and I can't afford 50 bucks a month. what does this screen look like and what materials were used. I am quite handy, I just don't want to use cheap products that will screw my engine up any further.

Please email me at cyberkidd@charter.net.

Mike.

I have had many of the same problems with my '94 Blazer (Tahoe LT Package). It was basically maintenance-free until about 90K miles. Then a major "rewiring" job due to carbon build-up had to be done. The EGR valve went out (about a $350 ordeal) at about 95K. The "spider injectors" went out at about 110K and had to be replaced as the engine was turning and turning and emitting awful gas fumes when cranking. This problem was cleared up, but then the EGR valve went out about 18 months after it did the first time.

Now I have the heater coil problem as noted previously with the fluid all over my passenger side floorboard. Any advice as to what price range to expect to fix this problem would be appreciated (e-mail graham3570@yahoo.com).

My advice to Blazer owners would be to seriously consider trading in at around 100K as the reliability and cost of maintenance has been much greater since reaching this point than what it was before.

But a great vehicle in general.

I have had similar problems as the afore have mentioned. I have a 1994 Bravada. Replaced brakes, exhaust, the normal stuff, 48K:lower ball joints, u-joints, 80K: window motor, 100K: EGR valve (with many removals due to carbon breaking loose), 115K:"spider injectors", fuel pump, fuel filter. Every winter (never fails) the plastic tank ends on the radiator leaks and the rear window defroster hasn't worked in the past 3 years. No drive train problems as of yet.

I am starting to fight the intermittent problem from the digital dash - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - when it doesn't it is all black, you can't see your gauges or speedometer (cause they're LED), the High Beam indicator works as does the light for the transmission selector. I have pulled the dash out and made sure that the pins are seated well in the back of the instrument cluster, but the problem is still there - sometimes. Any advice as to what or where the problem lies would be most appreciated (e-mail sdickinson@westling.com).

Thanks for your time.

Here's another little problem I'm having with my '94 Blazer (I posted a couple of messages above). The left turn signal does not automatically turn off after the turn is completed. The right still works fine. Go figure? Probably something simple, but a hassle, nonetheless.

I showed my automotive illiteracy above as well. A guy at the shop told me the problem is a heater "core" rather than "coil".

I also own a 94 s-10 Blazer.. since it was new. You guys hit 95% of the problems exactly. I guess I was lucky with the EGR valve and anti lock brake problems because dealer replaced no charge due to recall.

Biggest expense was the (CPI) Central Port Injector... you know its shot when you have long cranks at start up.. and smell raw fuel. 700.00 Fuel pump went... and so did heater core.. all over my wifes legs. Alternator went also...

Now 2 of my window door motors are shot.. Drivers door window and rear drivers side motor.. I never replaced a motor in my life.. now I have 2 that are going.. They are very slow to move and stop when they want. You have to wait 5 minutes before window decides to go up... The rear goes down and won't go up,, you need front control to make that go up. Anybody have window motor problems..see email address

Engine is strong, but GM can't make parts to go with it. Oh ya almost forgot rear window defrost wires are the worst I ever saw. They get crushed from the weight of the rear hatch window weight. I have them reattached every year..

It tows great, but the inside is falling apart a slow death with only 70 k. Truck looks great, but built like garbage. jodysdee@aol.com if you have comments...