Author Topic: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?  (Read 7956 times)

Tallpine

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #25 on: November 23, 2009, 02:33:26 PM »
We have a little HHR which is handy in town and gets great mileage on the hiway.  =)

OTOH, we have to be really careful not to overload it coming back from the city with several weeks' groceries and a half dozen or so 50lb sacks of animal feed.  You basically have to make two trips to haul what the Suburban will haul  =|

A mid-size 4*4 sounds like a compromise but in reality is the worst of both :(
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Ryan in Maine

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #26 on: November 23, 2009, 03:53:48 PM »
Bad.

Good:


(Biased)

roo_ster

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #27 on: November 23, 2009, 04:49:46 PM »
As far as the little Ford Ranger's skittish handling, I suspect that it was the original "Mini Me" Twin I Beam suspension Ford used on the Ranger. Anything with that front suspension was skittish if it had a load in the back.  Heck, I recall driving a 1-ton dumper that got that way with a load of soil in the back.

In the late 1990s, Ford saw the light and gave the Ranger a real font suspension, in this case dual wishbone up front.

That used to be the thing:
1. Fords had better quality than GMC/Chevy, esp in engines (small block puff of smoke on startup, anyone?)
2. GMC/Chevy had better handling under load & fewer front suspension issues.

Now, Ford no longer uses the Twin I Beam abortion and Chevy has better engines & all-around quality.

Dodge can be had with a Cummins turbodeisel. 
Regards,

roo_ster

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thebaldguy

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #28 on: November 23, 2009, 07:45:31 PM »
My girlfriend and I have had several family members who drove the Trailblazer. They liked them a lot. They all had the 4x4 models and haven't had any problems. I see quite a few of them on the roads as well.

Headless Thompson Gunner

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #29 on: November 23, 2009, 10:05:38 PM »
And that, Boys & Girls, is how we celebrate the wonderful diversity that is APS.

One man's junk is another man's treasure!   =D
Diversity indeed.  Life would be boring if we were all GM fanboys.

:P

French G.

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #30 on: November 23, 2009, 11:24:19 PM »
Diversity indeed.  Life would be boring if we were all GM fanboys.

:P

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #31 on: November 24, 2009, 12:04:08 AM »
Quote
One man's junk is another man's treasure!
Didn't they teach you don't-ask-don't-tell at your former workplace? =D

MechAg94

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #32 on: November 24, 2009, 12:11:58 AM »
On Trailblazers, my mother has one that has been dependable, but she doesn't put many miles on it.  I'd rather have the Tahoe, but that is just me.
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Gewehr98

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #33 on: November 24, 2009, 01:33:19 AM »
Who, pray tell, is a GM fanboy?

Looking in the driveway and garage, I see a Jeep and Harley currently in the mix there, and the Jeep was a trade on our Hyundai...

(Also looking to buy a well-kept AMC Eagle as a "fun winter car" this week!)
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ramis

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #34 on: November 24, 2009, 10:15:03 AM »
I'm going to look at a '02 trailblazer tomorrow. 4 wheel drive and 80,000 miles.

Hopefully me flashing cash will get me a good deal.  >:D
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brimic

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #35 on: November 24, 2009, 10:48:17 AM »
I bought a TB new in '04.
It was nice because I could buy a really stripped down utility model- only options on mine were a limited slip rear diff, 4wd, and a power driver seat. Cost was around $20K after I my chief negotiator (my wife) was doen with the dealer :laugh:

Right now it has close to 80,000 miles on it.
Only issues so far have been with the computer module which crapped out and went into 'limp home' mode at about 10,000 miles. Dealer said it was part of a service bulletin to reflash the cpu, fixed it for free, and never had a problem again.
The other issue has been with cheap gasoline- don't put cheap gasoline in these trucks. We usually fill up with Mobil or BP, but on occasion filled up with a cheap no-name gasoline when out of town. Often times we get an engine error code, I'd take it to Advance Auto parts where they'd hook up the OBDII to it and find a 'misfire on x cylinder.'  Probably due to GM using some sort of electronic timing wizardry to run a 10:1 compression engine on 87 octane, you put in some crap gasoline and you get a ping or missfire.


Dislikes:

Rear wheels squeal around tight corners- but its what I would expect with a short wheelbase, tight turn radius and a limited slip diff.
Transmission feels too 'car-like'- kind of mushy instead of solid positive shifts.
gas milage- not the best but its not unexpected. Usually 17-18 for daily commuting, 19-20 on long highway trips.
Sheetmetal quality- the bottom edges of my doors are starting to rust. This to me is unacceptable for a 5 year old vehicle that kept relatively clean/waxed and kept in a garage.


Likes:

Very tight turn radius- its nothing to whip a quick u-turn on a normal street. Turn radius is tighter than any other car/truck I've owned.
Plenty of power- the 4.2L straight six puts out around 270 hp. I towed a large pontoon boat 85 miles with it 2 weekends ago- only issue was the short wheelbase made it somewhat hairy at times, but power wasn't a problem.
Good offroad capability.- most of these are driven by soccer moms, but they have a short wheelbase, good ground clearance, plenty of power. They are very good in snow. I take mine through some pretty rough crap on weekends on forest trails in Upper michigan. Never got stuck, did hit a rock pretty hard once and dented a skid plate, but no problems otherwise.
Size- they are 'just right'. They aren't as big as the Tahoes/suburbans, and are quite a bit bigger than the blazers. They are built on their own truck frame- I'm not sure if any other vehicle uses the same frame except the GMC Envoy. Dimensionally they are very close to a Ford Explorer- my Father in law has one of these that I drive occasionally.
Quiet- the road noise is less than expected. The engine is so quiet that they are built with a starter cut-off so that the starter cannot be engaged while the engine is running. The starter is electronically controlled- you simply turn the key to the start positon And let go of it, the electronics start the engine.
-Spark plugs/ ignition parts are easy to get to. This might seem sort of odd unless you changed spark plugs in a vehicle made in the last 15 years. You just pop off the air cleaner assembly, and unscrew/remove each ignition coil on top of the engine to get to the plugs. Each spark plug has its own ignition coil which also serves to seal each cavity in the head to keep grit/grime away from the plugs. I needed no special u-joint extensions nor did I skin any knuckles while changing the plugs a few weekends ago.







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KD5NRH

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #36 on: November 24, 2009, 11:06:50 AM »
I'm going to look at a '02 trailblazer tomorrow. 4 wheel drive and 80,000 miles.

http://www.blazerforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5771

Several of those quirks are common to various Chevy models over a fair period of time. Search the board for fixes to any you encounter.

p12

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #37 on: November 24, 2009, 09:01:41 PM »
Right now it has close to 80,000 miles on it.
Dislikes:
Sheetmetal quality- the bottom edges of my doors are starting to rust. This to me is unacceptable for a 5 year old vehicle that kept relatively clean/waxed and kept in a garage.

Take to the dealer. Sheet metal warranty is good for 100,000 miles or 10 years. As long as nothing hit the bottom of the door and knocked it down to the metal it should be under warranty.

Check your owners/warranty manual.


KD5NRH

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #38 on: November 24, 2009, 11:52:44 PM »
Sheetmetal quality- the bottom edges of my doors are starting to rust. This to me is unacceptable for a 5 year old vehicle that kept relatively clean/waxed and kept in a garage.

Take the paint off, go over the rest of the door with barrel brown to get a nice even surface rust, then boil the doors for 30-40 minutes to set your new bluing.

It really is a beautiful finish.  I just don't have a pot big enough to hold my Blazer's body panels or a burner big enough to boil it over.

Gewehr98

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #39 on: November 24, 2009, 11:59:27 PM »
I'd consider a proper vintage Plum Brown, myself.  Looks good on a Hawken rifle, so no reason it wouldn't look good on a SUV.   =D
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brimic

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #40 on: November 25, 2009, 07:14:02 AM »
LOL. You guys are old school. Maybe I should have it nickel plated for the bling.
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Tallpine

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #41 on: November 25, 2009, 03:01:32 PM »
There was a boat builder up in NS that built a complete wooden body for some brand (?) of little pickup that completely rusted out.  =)
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MechAg94

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #42 on: November 25, 2009, 03:29:28 PM »
There was a boat builder up in NS that built a complete wooden body for some brand (?) of little pickup that completely rusted out.  =)
I wonder how long it took before someone told him that in a wreck, he would get impaled by splinters.
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Balog

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #43 on: November 25, 2009, 03:40:38 PM »
LOL. You guys are old school. Maybe I should have it nickel plated for the bling.

Hard chrome all the way.
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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #44 on: November 25, 2009, 04:16:05 PM »
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French G.

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #45 on: November 25, 2009, 04:53:38 PM »
Screw that, I think I'll cover my '78 GMC dually in A-Grip!  =D
AKA Navy Joe   

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Tallpine

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Re: 2000-04 Chevy Trailblazer. Good, bad?
« Reply #46 on: November 25, 2009, 07:33:08 PM »
I wonder how long it took before someone told him that in a wreck, he would get impaled by splinters.

Where he lived I doubt it mattered much unless he hit a moose.  :laugh:
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward toward the light; but the laden traveller may never reach the end of it.  - Ursula Le Guin