Are Trail Blazers any good?

[kokomon...@hotmail.com]

I'm thinking about getting a Trail Blazer, mainly for its towing
capability. Otherwise I'd probably get a front drive wagon or minivan.
Anyway, I have these questions:

1) Is that new six reliable? I have driven one and it is smooth and
powerful, but GM has a history of not getting it right the first time on
reliability issues. Are there horror stories on that engine yet?

2) What kind of "real world" gas mileage do these machines get. In
particular, does anyone know what they get at 75-80 mph on the
interstate?

Thanks in advance for any info.

[Jeff]

Already out of the playoffs. ;D

<kokomon...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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[Bigdaddyking]

In article <3CFC17...@hotmail.com>, kokomon...@hotmail.com
says...

So far, the two people I know with them love them. The one had one of
the first Trailblazers made, and there were some problems, but it's been
great since then. The other friend has an Envoy, and 4 months without
any problems at all. They both get about 16-17 mpg around town, and 20+
on the higway at about 70, but you might do better, since they drive them
pretty hard, and neither one really cares about milage. I haven't heard
anything bad about the new engine..

BDK

[RD]

I have an Envoy, but am very familiar with people who have Trailblazers, too.
You should join the Edmund's onlne forum where both are discussed. There are
about 10 postings a day, and you can ask your questions directly to Envoy or TB
owners. The forum is called "My 2002 Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Olds
Bravada." The address is (you will have to copy and paste this):
http://townhall-talk2.edmunds.com/WebX?5...@63.vya4aDbw2Ws^3@.eea2017

There was a batch of engines in 2001 that had some problems including failure
because of some increased porosity when the engine block was cast which later
resulted in a split cylinder sleeve, but even at that it was a very low
percentage within that batch, and most reports are anecdotal. I have not seen
reports of engine failures in the last several manufacture months, and I read
newsgroups and forums a lot. But I suppose almost any make/model has *some*
percentage of engine failure. As far as the rest of the vehicle, all of the GM
triplets have some minor problems that are being worked out in the first-year
models, and GM has been forthcoming with TSB's to correct them. Most have been
with software updates in the computer modules. If you buy a TB, I'd just be
sure it's one manufactured recently, definitely since Christmas. My Envoy was
a 2/02 build, and I haven't had any problems except a couple places where
weatherstripping is loose (not enough glue). Some TB/Envoy owners of the SLT
(luxury) models have had some trouble with wandering electronic outside
mirrors, a few with fan noise, but there are fixes for that, and hopefully the
newer builds have that corrected. If you read the forum I mentioned above, you
will get a feeling for what people think of their vehicles and the problems (if
any) they've encountered. Overall, most are happy and enjoy the power and feel
of the I-6. It's so quiet, sometimes I think it didn't start when it's
actually running :) Your mileage will very somewhat on what size axle ratio you
get. If you do a lot of towing, you'd likely get the larger ratio.
Good luck.

RD

[kokomon...@hotmail.com]

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the forum you mentioned.

I have one additional question. I would tow occasionally, but not
often, so for most of my use I would be best off with the "tallest"
available axle ratio. My question is this. If I use the "3" postion
rather than drive when towing, will the torque converter clutch still
lock up? If so, getting the standard gearing but towing in 3rd, at
least in hilly terrain, should work well for me.

TIA

[Michael V]

I have an Envoy XL (7 Passenger) SLT 4.10 gears. I have about 2,500
miles so far. I really like Japanese brands as a whole. I could not find
much in the fit and finish to complain about. Of all the SUV's I test drove
the Envoy flat out beat every one. The smoothness and power is very
impressive. I tow a 3,500 lb boat. It's a beast! I find the AC/Heat
system a little to complicated to operate while driving ( to many menus to
deal with).

Gas Mileage: 87 Octane - 15 MPG around town - 18 Highway. Tachs 2.5K RPM's
@ 70 MPH. Got 20 MPG w/92 octane and noticed that the engine was
noticeably peppier. (10:1 compression ratio may have something to do with
it).

no reliability issues so far

-Max

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