- Federal regulators are investigating an estimated 865,000 General Motors SUVs, including the 2005-'07 Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Rainier, for defective fuel gauges that give inaccurate fuel level readings.
- Other vehicles involved in this probe include the 2005-'06 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT, the 2005-'07 GMC Envoy, the 2005-'06 GMC Envoy XL and the 2005-'07 Saab 9-7X.
- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 668 complaints about the vehicles alleging inaccurate fuel gauge readings.
WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are investigating an estimated 865,000 General Motors SUVs, including the 2005-'07 Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Rainier, for defective fuel gauges that give inaccurate fuel level readings. Other vehicles involved in this probe include the 2005-'06 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT, the 2005-'07 GMC Envoy, the 2005-'06 GMC Envoy XL and the 2005-'07 Saab 9-7X.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 668 complaints about the vehicles alleging inaccurate fuel gauge readings.
"Of the 668 complaints, 58 incidents were alleged to result in a vehicle stall," said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in its defect investigations summary. "Of the 58 stalling incidents, 43 complaints reported stalling because the fuel level reading indicated more fuel availability than what is actually in the fuel tank.
"One complaint alleged a vehicle crash after the vehicle stalled while exiting the interstate, became disabled and was struck from behind."
NHTSA said the complaints "show an apparent increasing trend, with more complaints received within the past year." It has opened a preliminary evaluation into the matter, which is sometimes the precursor to a recall.
"We are cooperating with the NHTSA investigation," said Alan Adler, GM spokesman, in response to an e-mailed query from Inside Line on Wednesday.
Inside Line said: If you own one of the aforementioned GM SUVs, be aware that the feds are looking into complaints about the fuel gauge reading.
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will2fish says:
08:30 AM, 05/19/2012
my 06 trailblazer is also malfunctioning, I fill her up it shows emty.wtf. does anyone have anwsers? does the dealership fix it at their cost? please let me know
swshikles says:
10:35 AM, 04/16/2012
I also have the same issue with my 2005 Envoy fuel sensor unit. I fill the tank and the gauge goes to empty, the low fuel light comes on and the chimes sounds. After a few miles the fuel gauge reads correctly. When I get to a little under a half a tank, the gauge goes to empty and the light and sound show starts again. This is very annoying!!! I drive 120 miles a day so I am filling up every other day cause I have no idea just how much fuel I have left.
glopez2985 says:
09:20 AM, 04/11/2012
My 2005 Trailblazer EXT has already had the fuel pump dropped once to replace whatever was causing the gauge not to work...Guess what...It has done it again! Who should I contact about this?? This defnitely needs to be addressed...
madatchevyoner says:
07:35 PM, 04/04/2012
I own a 2007 trailblazer and started having fuel guage problems at 45,000 miles.The guage goes from full to 1/4 to 3/4 to empty and the miles to empty message acts the same way.I use the trip meter so I dont run out of gas.I have a friend who owns a 2006 trailblazer and he got a recall notice,he bought his new and I bought mine four years old from a chevy dealer.I hear that the goverment is investigating the problem?I would like to know if there is a recall or campaign to fix the problem.I bought this vehicle so I could have a reliable vehicle for my family and am not too happy.I also own a 1999 chevy silverado and replaced the fuel level sending /pump TWICE!!! What is the problem with chevrolet?
zgallman says:
11:07 AM, 03/31/2012
Who could I contact to file a complaint? My gas gauge started screwing up a couple of weekends ago in my 2007 trailblazer.
gasgaugebroke says:
08:24 PM, 03/03/2012
i also have a 2005 trailblazer ext. and my gas gauge doesnt work at all and stays on empty no matter how much gas you put in and i have a friend that has the same problem and all his gauges in his trailblazer have stopped working it is about time gm and chevy step up to the plate and do something about this instead of passing the buck
i am in canada so the problem is everywhere not just in the USA
silvia4 says:
11:16 AM, 12/13/2011
About a month after reciving the letter it started happening to me. Why will GM only pay 50% of the cost to repair it? the cost estimate i received was $700! I didn't pay good money for a defective car!
dashnab says:
12:19 PM, 10/23/2011
Hello I have just payed off my 2005 Chevrolet trailblazer that I payed on for 2 years and I have had the same fuel problem 8 months after I bought it. First it was the speedometer. The dealership gave me to big of a high price when I was still paying on the car. Then the fuel light went out after I was able to get the cluster instrument fixed. I first started smelling gas and the fuel gauge would go all the way down to empty than up. It then it just completely stayed on E with the light on indicating there was no gas, when There was a full tank. I complained to the dealership over and over. After suffering for a year I payed my car off and received a letter about a recall on the fuel level sensor very dangerous part of a car. The dealer tells me after I have reached over 120k mi and that I didnt qualify that I would have to pay 1200 dollars for a faulty part on their behalf, which is hazardous and dangerous for a child especially being electrical and fuel.
cjslandman says:
02:49 PM, 10/18/2011
Before edmunds drinks GM's kool-aid you should ask for a copy of the letter which went out to owners. It states that if your vehcile has more than 120,000 miles then there is no assistance. The NTSB should be ashamed for drinking the kool-aid and letting GM get away with a non-fix.
leam1 says:
02:38 PM, 10/03/2011
Hi I also have a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer with the same problem the gas gauge either show a little gas then the next time I drive it, It will show its on no gas and the light stays on. And yes I have ran out off gas the whole system just shuts down while your driving. It sounds like it has been a problem for years when will it be fixed. It really should not take this many years
Thanks