Four problems related to tailgate have been reported for the 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The indicated vehicle is my wife's. We bought it brand new on 09/26/2001. She has never towed anything and has city and highway miles. We have had numerous problems: instrument cluster, rear tailgate strap, right rear brake light, (3) solenoids, spare tire dropdown and deteriorated transmission lines. I have repaired all of the previous out of pocket (except for the strap and the spare tire dropdown). Now, my wife was on the way to the bicycle store in her truck, with the bicycle on the back. She was making a turn onto the main road when she heard grinding and squealing, and the speed dropped drastically. Luckily, it was around 10am when there is not much traffic on the road. Reading numerous posts on this website, it is the same problem everyone has had, the transmission sun shell, and no reverse. With 98911 miles, I was about to spend the weekend changing the fluid in the transmission to keep it to spec. Now, I'm looking at a very expensive bill of which I cannot afford. $30 is easier than $1200. And, I'm a manufacturing engineer, so I check fluids regularly, even though the oil change stations check them. Seeing that there are problems with these components, I think that general motors should produce a recall. I'm very disappointed that with all of the complaints, nothing has been done to remedy the situation. We will be calling the dealer that we bought the vehicle from first thing Monday morning.
The fiberglass cowling on top of the rear hatch fell off while driving, dangling only by the brake light cable. I had to cut the wire and remove the piece of body and light. Went to dealer asking about repair, they said it was caused by "use of the tailgate during winter conditions of snow and ice. " they said "we see it all the time. " I asked, since it occurs with high frequency, if it is covered by warranty, bulletin or recall and they said "no, gm considers this an owner/operator error. " in other words, on this vehicle, a 4x4, the tailgate cannot nor should not be used, in the midwest, during periods of snow or ice? alas, I am driving without the mandatory center brake light. Please remedy this situation with proper replacement. Sadly, I see this condition on the same make and model more often than not.
The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer. In March of 2008, the rear hatch glass suddenly shattered. The hatch had just been in use prior to the failure. The contact heard a popping sound and realized that the glass shattered outward all over her yard and driveway. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they stated that the repair would cost $1,200. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop and, with the assistance of her insurance company, the glass was repaired. In September of 2008, she took the vehicle to the dealer because the rear windshield wiper malfunctioned. The dealer replaced the wiper motor. In December of 2008, she took the vehicle to a dealer because the tailgate was closing hard, grinding progressively worse, and the rear windshield wiper would still not work. The dealer repaired the failures; however, the wiper still malfunctioned. In January of 2009, the shattered rear hatch failure occurred again. The contact stated that no one touched the vehicle for at least three hours before the glass shattered. She took the vehicle to another dealer and they stated that it was normal wear and tear; therefore, they could not assist. The dealer also cited that there was poor terminal tension in the liftgate. The manufacturer had not been notified. The contact had photos of the shattered glass. The current mileage was approximately 77,000 and failure mileage was 68,563.
Driving to columbus, the upper molding around the third brake light got caught by the air flow bent up then broke free from two attachments. This allows the upper molding and brake slight to "flap" in the air flow. If this had broke free hit could have hit another car behind and/or broke the rear tailgate window. Did notice a creaking sound when opening tailgate early in the day. Looked and did not see any problems.