Most common 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer problems
Share of the 1,149 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Chevrolet Trailblazer complaints by model year
Best Trailblazer years: 2021, 2022. Years to avoid: 2005, 2002, 2006, 2004. Compare all years →
2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer recalls (12)
Exterior lighting › Brake lights
On certain sport utility vehicles, vibration and heat May cause the tail lamp/stop lamp bulb to loosen in its socket. If this occurs, the bulb May flicker and eventually become inoperative.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the tail lamp/stop lamp assemblies, and if necessary, replace them. The recall began on November 22, 2004.
Seat belts
Certain light duty pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles fail to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 209, "seat belt assemblies." one of the two sensors in the driver's and front passenger's seat belt retractors could be inoperative.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the driver and front passenger safety belt retractors, and replace them if necessary. Owner notification began on June 24, 2004.
Visibility › Windshield wiper/washer
Certain sport utility vehicles have windshield wiper systems that will not turn on, cease operation while in use, fail to turn off/on by themselves (moisture sensitive wiper system), or have continuous windshield washer pump operation because the presence of water within the wiper modules can either cause a short circuit or can…
Remedy: Dealers will cover the windshield wiper module vent hole with a patch. Also, the wiper motor, circuit board, and electrical connector will be inspected to signs of water intrusion and/or corrosion and be replaced as…
Equipment › Other › Owners/service/other manual
Certain minivans, passenger and sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 225, "child restraint anchorage system." the owner's manual does not explain the meaning of the location symbols for the child restraint lower universal anchorage system.
Remedy: Owners will be provided with a supplement for their owner's manual. This supplement describes and shows the location symbols for the child restraint anchors that are located in the vehicle and on the child restraint or…
Electrical system › Wiring › Interior/under dash
Certain sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standards no. 101, "control location, identification, and illumination" and no. 208, "occupant crash protection." these vehicles have an intermittent condition during vehicle start-up in which the instrument panel cluster May not…
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the instrument panel cluster. Owner notification began May 29, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within…
Power train › Automatic transmission
Certain sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 114, "theft protection." these vehicles are equipped with a mechanical override that could allow the ignition key to be removed with the shift lever in a position other than park.
Remedy: Dealers will eliminate these conditions by disabling the overrides. Owner notification began on May 29, 2003. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the…
Show 6 more recalls
Structure › Body
Certain sport utility vehicles are missing welds on the rear floor plan.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the vehicle for missing welds. If missing welds are found, GM will exchange the vehicle for an equivalent vehicle or provide a refund of the purchase price. Owner notification began October 4, 2002.
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
On certain sport utility vehicles, a fuel filter fitting can become disconnected. If this were to occur while attempting to start the engine, a no-start condition would result and fuel would be pumped out the fuel filter onto the ground.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the fuel filter quick connect retainers. Owner notification began September 20, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the…
Air bags › Frontal
Certain passenger, Mini vans, and sport utility vehicles have an air bag inflator on the driver's side that could fracture at a weld during a deployment.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect, and replace, if necessary, the air bag module assembly on the driver's side. Owner notification began August 15, 2002.
Power train › Transfer case (4-wheel drive)
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles equipped with 4-wheel drive. The calibration of the transfer case control module could cause insufficient high speed gear engagement.
Remedy: Dealers will update the transfer case control module calibration to increase gear engagement. Owner notification began November 6, 2001.
Power train › Transfer case (4-wheel drive)
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles (4 wheel-drive). Some of these vehicles were built with a range shift collar in the transmission transfer case that contains cracks.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the transfer cases and update the control module calibration. Owner notification began September 6, 2001.
Suspension › Front › Control arm › Lower arm
Vehicle description: sport utility vehicles. Under certain circumstances the front lower control arm brackets May fracture. This fracture could result in separation of the front lower control arm from the frame.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the left and right front lower control arm brackets. Owner notification began by telephone on April 4, 2001. The followup letter to consumers was mailed May 3, 2001.
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 10 possible defects involving the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer:
Loss of Headlights
The subject vehicles are model year (MY) 2002-2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, 2004-2007 Buick Rainier, 2003-2008 Isuzu Ascender, 2005-2009 Saab 9-7X, 2002-2004 Oldsmobile Bravada, 2003-2006 Chevrolet SSR, 2005-2009 Buick Lacrosse, and 2006-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. This scope includes the Trailblazer/Envoy variants: 2002-2006 Envoy XL/Trailblazer EXT and 2004-2005 Envoy XUV.
Fuel filter quick connect fitting
There is no summary currently available
Fuel pump module leaks gasoline
Odi has received reports that the fuel pump module leaks fuel and or vapor underneath the vehicle.GM states, the failure mechanism is corrosion of the fuel pump module flange which May lead to a fuel leak.corrosion of the fuel pump module flange is the result of the vehicle operating in a corrosive environment.odi has upgraded this pe to engineering analysis (ea07-009) to further assess this issue.
Brake lamp failure
The office of defects investigation (odi) opened this investigation on model year (my) 2002-04 Chevrolet trailblazer vehicles.GM reports that other vehicles sharing this platform and brake lamp design are the my 2002-2004 Chevrolet trailblazer ext; GMC envoy, xl, xuv; Oldsmobile bravada and 2004 Buick rainier.complaints allege that the rear brake lamp does not operate when the brake pedal is depressed.there is no…
Windshield wiper failure
The subject vehicles (Chevrolet trailblazer (ext), GMC envoy (xl), and Oldsmobile bravada) are built on the gmt360 and gmt370 platforms and were originally equipped with a windshield wiper assembly referred to as the ?family? Design module (p/n 15171306 base, p/n 15171307 for vehicles equipped with rainsense automatic moisture sensitive wipers).the windshield wiper assembly is located inside the plenum at the base…
2002 trailblazer/envoy fuel tank leaks
See attached report.
Pincher/chafed wiring
Fuel pump module leaks gasoline
During the course of this ea investigation, odi observed that the majority of the complaints (88%) and warranty claims (94%) were reported for vehicles that are registered for use in the salt belt region of the us.this area includes 20 states in the northeast, mid atlantic and the midwest regions and the district of columbia.consumers in the salt belt region reported to odi that they could smell fuel vapors in their…
Brake lamp failure
GM states that some brake/tail lamp bulbs can prematurely become inoperative due to malfunctioning brake/tail lamp sockets.on March 2, 2004, GM initiated a 6-year/72,000 mile special policy for 989,487 subject vehicles to inspect and replace the rear brake/tail lamp bulb socket assemblies.on April 4, 2004, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe04-032) based on consumer…
Windshield wiper failure
On September 17, 2003, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe03-042) to investigate alleged windshield wiper failure in certain model year (my) 2002 and 2003 Chevrolet trailblazer and trailblazer ext, GMC envoy and envoy xl, and Oldsmobile bravada vehicles.the investigation was upgraded to an engineering analysis on January 6, 2004, and the scope was expanded to include certain…
What 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer owners say
Transmission & drivetrain all 310 →
Electrical under dash shorting out. Causing accessory plug to shoot sparks as well as causing dash lights to go out, and front panel to stop working. Ac electrical quit working after. 4wheel drive shifts randomly in and out of 2 and 4 wheel drive, causing the transmission to get stuck in neutral. Motor solenoids and sensors keep failing and shorting out due to electrical issues. Vehicle unsafe to drive.
Transmission cooling lines that run next to the catalytic converter/exhaust pipe are prone to 'rust-through' due to the insulation wrap that has been added because of being so close to the high heat source. This insulation traps moisture and salt in northern areas and causes the lines to corrode and leak transmission fluid. I feel this is a potential fire hazard as the fluid can drip directly onto the exhaust components. Fortunately I could smell this after I pulled into my garage otherwise I would not have know of the leak. Depending on when the leak actually takes place and the rate of leakage this could also result in transmission failure if the driver is unaware that the vehicle is losing fluid, ie: extended highway driving. From my understanding this corrosion and resultant leakage is very common and should be listed as a safety recall. Thank you
Electrical system all 181 →
Tl contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH, a smoke odor emitted into the vehicle. The vehicle was driven to the residence and parked when the contact discovered black smoke coming from under the hood. The contact stated that although the key was not in the ignition the headlights would not go off and the vehicle sounded as if it was trying to start without the key in the ignition. The contact extinguished the fire with a fire extinguisher. The fire department came and filed a report. Prior to this incident the contact stated that while stopped at a red light with the brakes engaged, the engine rpms increased and the vehicle jerked without warning. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 192,000.
1. My drivers side window and door lock is shorted out and wont operate at all. While driving causing the window to remain down during a rain storm and impeding my visibility. I see they have recalls on other years for this exact same problem. 2. My seat belt cathes really tight and wont release casusing me pain. 3. My headlights regular beams keep coming loose and blowing out.ive had to fix this three times and I have only owned the vehicle for a week. Twice during driving at night once I am not sure when it blew. 4. The front suspension is having problems and I believe May be a recall issue. It makes loud noise like its cracking or breaking, while driving.
Engine & cooling all 160 →
The car rmp goes high when accelerating it's a common problem with the cooling fan which the company is aware of it but aren't held reliable! It's a shame that nhtsa hade many complaining about the issue but aren't holding the manufacturer responsible this could of hade me and my family in an accident!
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer. While driving at approximately 65 MPH, there was an abnormal noise and smoke appeared from the hood. The vehicle suddenly caught fire. A police and a fire report were filed and no injuries were reported. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the engine was replaced. On another occasion, while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the contact attempted to change lanes and another vehicle attempted to make a u-turn resulting in the contact crashing into the driver side of the vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The hood caught on fire. The fire was extinguished by an individual. A police and a fire report were filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 148,000.
2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.2L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | RWD | 14 / 20 / 16 |
| 4.2L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | 4WD/AWD | 14 / 20 / 16 |
EPA ratings. Class: SUV.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer a good car?
Based on 1,149 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2002 Trailblazer rates use caution: 1.7× as many complaints as a typical year of the Trailblazer at the same age. It is one of the Trailblazer years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer?
The transmission & drivetrain — 310 complaints, 27% of all complaints for this model year, most often about automatic transmission. Next are the electrical system (181) and engine & cooling (160).
How many recalls does the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer have?
There are 12 recalls for the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer, the most recent from November 1, 2004 (brake lights). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Chevrolet Trailblazer?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2021 and 2022. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 2005, 2002, 2006 and 2004. See the full Chevrolet Trailblazer years comparison.
At what mileage do 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 65,000 miles; 37% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
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.