Thoughts on Trailblazers/Envoys

[digitalgpbandit]

I'm looking to replace my Explorer that has become a seemingly bottomless money pit. I've had pretty good luck with the GM vehicles I've owned and the Trailblazers (original ones I should specify) & Envoys fall in to the right size/right price range/livable mpg range & seem like decent vehicles. I worked at a GMC dealer when the Envoys came out, so I know first hand how they are supposed to drive new lol.

I'm open to hear opinions, experiences & what to look out for on these

 

[mguzzo]

I've owned three trailblazers starting in 2013 through 2017. here's my thoughts and notes:

- I had the inline 6 which was a 275 hp workhorse. You can look around for the V8 version but if you're not towing the 6 cyl will be easier on the gas budget
- speaking of gas the 6 cyl averaged about 17 mpg all around. Up to 23 or so on highway

the biggest issues I had with them were

- ignition switch would crap out. the contacts would arc out and prevent the truck from starting. we got stranded once and I had it towed home, it was a 15 minute fix once I got the truck back home. after that I kept a spare in the glovebox. I guess you could do a bypass relay too

- living in Buffalo there was always an issue with rust. The power steering and transmission lines in the engine compartment would corrode. I had to do the rubber fuel injection hose repair to fix leaking lines.

- the engine fan clutch and water pump was also a high frequency repair. I replaced at least three water pumps on two vehicles because the fan clutch would wear out and wobble and take the pump with it.

but overall I liked them, they had good power and a decent ride for a truck frame.

 

[FordMan77]

My brother recently got rid of his 07 I6 TB. Powertrain was great. Things I replaced on it were blower motor resistors, a water pump/fan clutch, front wheel bearings, headlight relay, tailgate latch. The Stabilitrak in this thing was always messed up. Replaced multiple parts and never got it completely right. Figured it was a harness or CPU issue.

Rust in the tailgate was an issue too on the hinges. Wire harness into the gate was also an issue. Fixed that with some new wires/splices. Also had the shift cable grommet break on it which there is an upgrade kit out there for. Once I installed that it was good. Also had the typical dual-zone blend door issues.

Factory radio wiring was a POS. Only had 2 speakers working. Installed new speakers in all 4 doors and still only got 3 working. Tried another working factory HU and same result. Never traced it down since he was trading it in.

 

[mguzzo]

The Stabilitrak in this thing was always messed up.

that was why I ultimately got rid of our last one. the ABS and Stabilitrak was always crapping out, the brakes would start applying by themselves or you'd step on the brake and it would not stop because the ABS was modulating the brakes. weird feeling, so we replaced it with a GMC Terrain

 

[digitalgpbandit]

Good info. Haven't heard about the fan clutches or the abs/stabilitrak issues on these. That seems a little scary with the brakes automatically applying themselves or not stopping. I would think I would have heard about that more than just here

 

[mguzzo]

there is quite a bit on various forums. I replaced hubs and the steering sensor at one point.

 

[idrivejunk]

I worked at a dealer back then but only til 06. Fixed my share as a bodyman. Seems like I remember them having an unusual, simple to repair, partially tubular design on the front end structure that makes welded repairs difficult to protect from corrosion. Out at the front of the aprons. Not a big deal but while you're shopping hey, they probably want equal dough for fixed and unhit specimens. IIRC also, what they might call the upper rail... above the front wheels was repairable by sectioning so an overlap could exist there and if so, could be another corrosion hotspot.

 

[BillBoost37]

Biggest thing I see in New England is the rear frame rusts. It's super common in my area and when looking at them it's the first thing to look at IMO. Steering lines love to pop right at the drivers fender where they put it through a foam water holder. Seriously.

As they get older/miles etc ball joints and all the normal type of stuff. And if you ever have to replace a rack, you can swap the inners/outer rods between the two different racks. Yeah.. fun stuff.

 

[Hurricane87]

Can't believe no one else has mentioned this, so I will. The shift linkage is held together by a plastic grommet that dries out, cracks, and breaks. The metal bar it's attached to has a slot in it, so the chain drops out and you're crawling under the truck to shift it.

You can get an aftermarket replacement for under 30 bucks, if I remember right, so I would get one and keep it in the glove compartment so you're prepared for when it takes a ****. Probably a 10 minute DIY repair, but still a mind-numbingly stupid design.

 

[Jflame86]

The 4L60E was known to have the 3-4 clutches wear out a lot if I'm not mistaken. My sisters '05 TB definitely wore out, and we rebuilt it with a kit and some hard parts we intended to get from the junkyard. Had trouble finding a TB or Envoy with the transmission still in it.

That said I can't speak to the 8's but the I6 was a good motor from what I could tell.