Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1996 Chevrolet Blazer owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
On September 5, 2004, my husband, mother, 8 year old son, 4 year old daughter, and 1 year old son, were stranded in the emergency lane on I-66 east in fairfax county, va with a broken fuel pump. While waiting for a tow truck they were hit by a drunk driver who was traveling at approximately 100 MPH. The Blazer flipped onto its side and skidded a great distance, before finally coming to rest upside down. My 4 year old daughter was seriously injured when the back seat, and the front seat broke and sandwiched her in between the two. She broke her jaw when she was slammed into the small handle above the rear right passenger side door. She also suffered a broken wrist and broken arm when she was thrown into the door. When the back seat broke it caused her to hit the headset of the broken front seat which in turn caused some of her teeth to go through her bottom lip. …
The ABS light illuminated and there was a smell of gas. The manufacturer has been contacted and there was a recall on these items and they have been repaired per the manufacturer. The windshield wiper motor was intermittent, the hatchback light was intermittent and the internal light was intermittent. Recall# 03V159000 and 96V234000.
I recently was on the way home from denver, co on the highway. I stopped for fuel noticing my vehicle was consuming more gas than usual. I fueled up and left. When I arrived home I noticed gasoline dripping on the ground. I immediately called a mechanic. My wife's father is a certified mechanic and owns his own shop in denver. He fixed the leak, but told me the leak started because the fuel lines were rubbing the transmission and showed me. To my surprise the fuel lines were not secured in their proper location. I have never had any work done to the fuel lines or even any work done in the area of the problem. So I took the Blazer back home to colorado springs. About a month later I noticed the fuel smell was back. I popped the hood because I did not see any fuel leaking. …
In jan 99, thermostat appeared to fail and when I opened the radiator cap, noticed what looked like mud/grit in cap. Took the truck to the Chevrolet dealer, they said they did not know what it was. Ended up replacing intake manifold gasket, pulling and repairing/cleaning radiator and replacing thermostat. In July 2002, truck overheated again. Took it to Firestone where they recommended $1200 in repairs to flush out "coagulated" coolant (dexcool). Ended up replacing radiator, radiator cap, and thermostat (again) and flushing entire coolant system. Firestone personnel said this was a recurring problem on the blazers with the dexcool breaking down and turning into a brown, muddy, gummy substance. Accoding to Firestone, GM has several tech bulletins out on this, but they refuse to do anything about it. This dexcool broke down after only 30,000 miles. Why has nothing been done about this? …
1&2) lower left ball joint and idler arm have been replaced, lower right ball joint is showing signs of wear and will require replacement in the near future. 3) 4x4 electric shift just failed last week. Preliminary troubleshooting indicates a #2 failure code which point to either the encoder/shift motor assembly or the transfer case control module (tccm). 4) this is a continuing problem. Whenever the gas gauge indicates 1/8 tank or less and the vehicle stands for more than 2 hours it is difficult to start. It takes 4-5 tries and requires that the gas pedal be pressed about 1/2 travel in order to start. When taken to the dealer for repair with a nearly empty gas tank, dealer claimed that they could not duplicate the problem. Yet, the day before the hard starting problem occured at least 6 times.
Consumer smelled an overpowering odor of gasoline in the garage, upon investigation consumer discovered a wet spot on the garage floor directly below the left rear passenger door, consumer looked underneath the vehicle and discovered the fuel tank had a similar wetness to it just over the wet spot on the floor, the vehicle was taken to a mechanic for further analysis, consumer was informed the fuel tank was leaking and needed to be replaced, the fuel tank had rusted so much that fuel was seeping out and leaking from the vehicle.
I have a 1996 Chevy Blazer and the gas hand floats. It does not give an accurate reading on the gas gauge. I can drive and it will float from 1/2 tank to 1/4 tank while driving. It floats no matter how full or empty the tank is. It has caused me to run out of gas due to the inaccuracies. I have another GM vehicle--1993 suburban that has the same exact issue. I have ran out of gas on the freeway on the way to the airport--only thing that saved me and my children at 2:00 am in the morning was that I have roadside.
Moses lake fire department incident report 2003-1096. Possible problem with fuel pumps installed on 1996 Chevrolet blazers, causing fuel to be released from the fill tube while fueling is being accomplished. Vehicle turned off at time of incident. Owner reports this as the second incident involving a fuel spill during fueling--mechanical investigation indicated a problem with the fuel pump on the first incident and pump was replaced.
Three of the fuel injectors started leaking at the same time causing the oxygen sensors to burn out, which should have been detected when the vehicle was in for drivability problems on previous occasions with no correction. All the front ball joints had to be replaced before 35000 miles due to failure, which resulted in severe noises and vibration in cab of vehicle.
We have replaced the fuel pump 3 times. It has caused us to miss work several days, and put our jobs at risk. We have been out money for towing, parts and labor twice. The third time it failed, it was just past the parts warranty for a grand total of $1950.00. We have to continue to take it back to Firestone to be replaced and make our lives miserable.
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline › Storage › Tank assembly
Vehicle description: 4-door, 4-wheel drive and all-wheel drive multi-purpose passenger vehicles. During development testing, the prop shaft contacted the inboard side of the fuel tank allowing fuel leakage. This leakage was in excess of the amount permitted by FMVSS 301, "fuel system integrity."
Remedy: Dealers will install additional shielding of the fuel tank. This will be added without removing or disassembling the fuel system.
Fuel System complaints in other Blazer years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 1996 Chevrolet Blazer?
NHTSA has 36 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 1996 Chevrolet Blazer, 3% of the model year's 1,153 complaints. The component named most often is delivery › fuel pump (9 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1996 Chevrolet Blazer fuel system problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 96V-234 (tank assembly, Nov 14, 1996). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 1996 Chevrolet Blazer fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 130,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 4 injuries to fuel & propulsion system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.