1998 Chevrolet Blazer

DT: THE CONSUMER PURCHASED A CHEVROLET BLAZER NEW ON 01/28/98 FROM MASSE CHEVROLET OF EAST PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND. THE CONSUMER ALWAYS MAINTAINED THIS VEHICLE AT THE PROPER SERVICE INTERVALS. HAS ALL THE RECORDS. ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2005 THE BRAKES FAILED. IT HAPPENED WHEN TURNING INTO DRIVEWAY AND GOING BACK DOWN THE DRIVEWAY TOWARD THE ROAD. WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE BY RUNNING INTO THE TREES ALONGSIDE DRIVEWAY. THE VEHICLE WAS THEN TOWED TO A GARAGE, WHERE THE CONSUMER WAS TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED SO SUDDENLY. THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN REPAIRED BEFORE. ALL GM TRUCKS FROM 1999 UP HAVE BEEN RECALLED BECAUSE OF BRAKE PROBLEMS. THE CONSUMER DID NOT THINK THERE WAS ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A 1999 MODEL AND A 1998 MODEL. . IT WAS DEFINITELY A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION, WHICH WAS WHY HE WAS TRYING TO CONTACT THE NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL.*AK THE HYDRAULIC LINES THROUGHOUT THE BRAKE SYSTEM WERE CORRODED AND REPLACED. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS SOME SCRAPES ON THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE, BUT DIDN'T CONSIDER IT A CRASH. *JB

DT: 1998 CHEVROLET BLAZER. THE CONSUMER STATED ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND IT WAS DESTROYED. THERE HAS BEEN NO INVESTIGATION TO SEE WHERE THE FIRE STARTED. THE CONSUMER STATE FIRE STARTED IN THE ELECTRICAL BOX BECAUSE THAT WAS WHERE IT GOT THE HOTTEST. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING THE SAME PRIOR TO THIS OCCURRENCE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AND A REPORT WAS TAKEN. THE CONSUMER DID NOT HAVE THE NUMBER. CHEVROLET HAS BEEN CONTACTED, BUT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HELP THE CONSUMER.*AK

1998 CHEVROLET BLAZER. THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORK INTERMITTENTLY. THEY WILL STOP AT ANY GIVEN TIME, DURING WET WEATHER. THE STOPPED WIPER BLOCKS VIEW THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD. NO DAMAGE HAS OCCURRED TO THE WIPER MOTOR/CIRCUIT BOARD OR WIRING. THIS IS A PRODUCT FAILURE THAT GM HAS NOT RECALLED FOR THIS MAKE/MODEL/YEAR. THEY HAVE RECALLED 1996, 1997, 2002, AND 2003 SUVS WITH THE SAME COMPLAINT. AFTER MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH GM REPRESENTATIVES, THEY REFUSE TO REPAIR THE DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT. I MUST PAY FOR REPAIRS OUT OF MY OWN POCKET. WHY WON'T THEY RECALL THE 1998 LINE WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THEM? A QUICK ON-LINE INTERNET SEARCH YIELDS HUNDREDS OF UNHAPPY 1998 BLAZER OWNERS THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THE VERY SAME WIPER ISSUES THAT CAUSED THE OTHER RECALLS. *NM

ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS DID NOT WORK ACCORDING TO THE SETTING ON THE WINDSHIELD WIPER CONTROL. MANY TIMES THE WIPERS WOULD GO ON AND NOT SHUT OFF AND MANY TIME THE WIPERS WOULD NOT GO ON AT ALL. OVER THE SPAN OF 18,000 MILES THE EFFECT HAVE BEEN DANGEROUS TO MY PERSONAL SAFETY. ON SUNNY DAYS WHEN APPLYING THE WINDSHIELD WASHER, THE WIPERS WOULD NOT OPERATE. THIS CAUSES ME TO PULL OVER AND PULL ON THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS UNTIL THEY START AND THEN THEY DO NOT TURN OFF. ON RAINY DAYS, THEY TURN OFF WITHOUT WARNING CAUSING ME TO PULL OVER ON THE HIGHWAY AND RISK BEING HIT DUE TO A DRIVER SIDE VEHICLE EXIT ON BUSY HIGHWAYS TO MANUALLY CLEAN THE WINDOW OR WAIT UNTIL THE RAIN STOPS. I HAVE HAD THE CONTROL REPLACED AT A COST OF OVER $300 BUT THE PROBLEM STILL PERSISTS. I HAVE BEEN TOLD THE MOTOR NEEDS TO BE REPLACED DUE TO FAULTY CONNECTIONS FROM THE PULSE CONTROLLER BOARD AND THE WIPER MOTOR. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY FLAW IN THE VEHICLE AND MUST BE CORRECTED BY GM. I HOPE YOU CAN HELP ALL THE OWNERS OF VEHICLES USING AC DELCO PART NUMBER 15036008 WIPER MOTORS. MANY COMPLAINT HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED AND IT IS TIME THAT THE NHTSA PROTECTED THE DRIVERS OF THE VEHICLES EFFECTED REGARDLESS OF THE PAIN CAUSED TO GM. IF IT SAVES ONLY ONE LIFE IT IS WORTH IT. HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE DIED AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DOCUMENT THE PROBLEM DUE TO THEIR DEATHS? HOW MANY COMPLAINTS DOES IT TAKE BEFORE YOU TAKE ACTION AGAINST AN OBVIOUS SAFETY FLAW IN A VEHICLE? THIS MUST BE ADDRESSED. *NM

I OWNED A 1996 CHEVY BLAZER. THE SEAL ON THE ENGINE WENT AT 70K MILES. HAD TO REPLACE ENGINE. I NOW OWN A 1998 CHEVY BLAZER, REPLACED THE SEAL IN DEC '04 AND THE ENGINE BLEW AT 67K MILES. HAD TO REPLACE (REBUILD) THIS ENGINE. I HAVE SERVICE RECORDS FOR BOTH VEHICLES. NO REASON TO HAVE TWO ENGINES GO. I WROTE GM AND GOT NO ANSWER. *JB

VEHICLE: 1998 CHEVY BLAZER 4DR 4X4 4.3L VORTEC V6 EVENTS LEADING UP TO FAILURE: NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS FAILURE(S): THERE ARE TWO PRIMARY CONCERNS WITH THIS VEHICLE: 1) FUEL GAUGE DOES NOT WORK, IT WILL REPORT COMPLETE FULL AND WHEN VARYING AMOUNTS OF FUEL THE FUEL GAUGE BOUNCES AROUND(USUALLY BETWEEN HALF AND FULL, BUT SOMETIMES BETWEEN E AND FULL) I AM FORCED TO USE TRIP ODOMETER AND APPROXIMATE FUEL ECONOMY TO DETERMINE TANK LEVEL. I HAVE HEARD SEVERAL TO MANY ANECDOTAL STORIES OF OTHER CHEVY VEHICLES EXPERIENCING THE SAME SYMPTOMS. 2) THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WORK SPORADICALLY. CURRENTLY WHEN OPERATING IN 'INTERMITTENT' MODE, THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WILL BEGIN TO OPERATE IN CONTINUOUS, REGULAR SPEED AND WILL NOT TURN OFF WHEN SWITCH TURNED TO 'OFF' POSITION. SITUATION WILL OCCASIONALLY CORRECT ITSELF AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES. OTHER TIMES I AM REQUIRED TO STOP, PARK, AND TURN OFF THE VEHICLE BEFORE RESTARTING IT TO TURN THE WIPERS OFF. OCCASIONALLY THE WIPERS WILL NOT WORK AT ALL IN ANY POSITION. USUALLY THIS ONLY HAPPENS FOR A SHORT PERIODS OF TIME, WHILE I AM TRYING TO TURN THEM ON BY SCRUBBING THROUGH ALL THE POSITIONS OF THE SWITCH. I OWNED A 95 GMC JIMMY PRIOR TO THIS VEHICLE AND EXPERIENCED THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. THIS MODEL YEAR WAS COVERED UNDER A RECALL THAT ENDED WITH, I BELIEVE, THE 97 MODEL YEAR. CORRECTIONS/REPAIRS: I HAVE HAD NEITHER PROBLEM REPAIRED. THEREFORE, I STILL HAVE THE OLD PARTS. INSTEAD OF REPAIRING, CURRENTLY FINANCIALLY UNFEASIBLE, I AM USING RAIN-X FOR THE WINDSHIELD AND THE ODOMETER FOR A FUEL GAUGE. *INCIDENT DATE IS APPROXIMATELY THE LAST TIME THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS WERE USED. I HAVEN'T DRIVEN IN THE RAIN MUCH THIS SUMMER. *JB