Really???? needing to vent

[hitman]

OMG guys i love my truck but im seriously thinking i have had it with this truck.
Its a 2003 trailblazer LTZ and im just at my end with it here is a little recap ...Bought it in late Dec, got it home realized battery was toast,not a biggie replaced with one out of my blazer then took in due to sounds under the hood put in a new tension-er and a new Alternator about 700 bucks all complete ...not long after start having the typical dirty throttle body issues kinda freaked more than i needed to but not a fan of the unknown.
Cleaned the throttle body start having all kinds of electrical issues lights intermittently working flashing lights coming up all that then my gear shifter lucked up and the key was stuck in the ignition, thank god i have a great soon to be father in law he towed it to his shop then sent it to the GM dealer all in all was about 550 bucks due to a loose ground and the sensor for my gearshift, then im driving my g/f daughter home from a movie and just dropped her off and about 5 mins later im driving down the road and no power so i pull over and there is smoke coming from under the hood open it and there is a fire down by the cat threw some snow on it sat there for the night and in the morning father in law towed to his shop to have a better look what had happend is the trans line blew off and spewed fluid all over exhaust, fixed the line and seemed to be ok till the next day i started driving to work and slipping like crazy...this point im LIVID drive to the shop trans rebuild im about about 3,000 bucks.
Now im looking at new breaks all around, new front drivers wheel bearing not too mention the new battery i bought (optima not necessary but audio i run why not) and i know this wouldn't me too bad however this is all within 5,000 kms.
If i decide to buy another it will not be chev the last 4 vehicles i have owned were Chev 1 was a cavy z24 lasted about 3,000 km....then chev s10 extended cab 4cyl(i know there not known as chevy's best product) think that was about 1,500 kms then jumped timing and cooked the engine... then i bought a chev blazer zr2 still have it but i have about 3,500 kms on it and i have put about 2,000 bucks into it and its at about 170,000kms.
Sorry about the venting and im not dumping on Chev but i have been very displeased thus far with all the chev products i have owned...im hoping that this truck will turn out to be great but off to a very bad start.
Thanks for the venting session..

 

[ScarabEpic22]

Ouch man, sounds like an unfortunate series of events right there. Both my of my TBs have been pretty dang solid, the trans line rusting out is a known issue for our trucks, especially in the rust belt. Here in WA, rust isnt nearly as big of an issue, my 02 TB with ~130k has minor surface rust on the frame and thats it.

Buy a used trans off eBay for $500 and install it yourself, much cheaper than dealing with a rebuild. 3k for a rebuild?! Holy crap, you can buy a BRAND NEW BUILT trans for $2500 shipped from FLT or RPM.

 

[hitman]

Ouch man, sounds like an unfortunate series of events right there. Both my of my TBs have been pretty dang solid, the trans line rusting out is a known issue for our trucks, especially in the rust belt. Here in WA, rust isnt nearly as big of an issue, my 02 TB with ~130k has minor surface rust on the frame and thats it.

Buy a used trans off eBay for $500 and install it yourself, much cheaper than dealing with a rebuild. 3k for a rebuild?! Holy crap, you can buy a BRAND NEW BUILT trans for $2500 shipped from FLT or RPM.

Its funny the reasoon i even got the trailblazer was my G/F has had hers for years and has been very reliable and after i drove it and put some miles on it really enjoyed it... plus when i saw this one i fell in love with it.
well the $3,000 was for the hose repair and the trans rebuild plus towing etc...plus there was some parts that were cooked from the fire and he showed me them and they were pretty crispy.

 

[Wahugg]

Just happened to me to but its in the leak stage. This is a well known problem in the rust belt and snowy areas. It also tends to leak for a while before it completely blows out.

I don't want to sound snarky when I say this but a good idea is to check everything under the hood and do a once over at least once a week, or every time you fill up for gas. Little preventive things like this will save you money. A $50 pipe vs a $50 pipe and %3000 dollar tranny.

-Wahugg

 

[stormsurge]

Sounds like the owner before you didnt take very good care of it. Got my 03 in 04. Repairs have been brake pads and rotors, a starter a few months ago. A battery last year. Sorry to here your having so many problems. How many miles are on it? If its over 100000 i would expect that stuff from any brand of car.

 

[hitman]

Sounds like the owner before you didnt take very good care of it. Got my 03 in 04. Repairs have been brake pads and rotors, a starter a few months ago. A battery last year. Sorry to here your having so many problems. How many miles are on it? If its over 100000 i would expect that stuff from any brand of car.

It was a damage repair and i saw the pics and went over everything...im very pickey specially when im laying down 5,500 buck of my coin there is 145,000 kms on it now not sure what that is in miles but pretty low for the year.

 

[mike_k]

It was a damage repair and i saw the pics and went over everything...im very pickey specially when im laying down 5,500 buck of my coin there is 145,000 kms on it now not sure what that is in miles but pretty low for the year.

it is about 90k miles which is pretty low for the year

 

[stormsurge]

Not bad miles. 60000 on mine. Someone musta just been hard on it. Hope ya get it going good. Liked my 03 so much last year i picked up a 08.

 

[Boricua SS]

im in the same boat as you... except my problem is covered under warranty.. my issue is, will the SS still be the same when i get her back... you can check out my thread entitled "spun a bearing in the beaSSt" and you'll see why i might give her up...

its not because of a laundry list of problems, but mainly due to confidence in the truck... so im contemplating trading her in too...

 

[leehype]

Sounds like you have had bad luck with Chevy. Hate to say it, but this isn't the first time I have heard someone have way too many issues with one brand name. I have had an 02 envoy for over a year now, and the only thing I have had to do is one oil change, thermostat, battery (BTW, Optimas turned to crap when they moved to Mexico, don't waste your money one them) and one headlight. Now, I owned some Fords, and those were my broke down every other week problem. Then there is my Jeep, and I have beat the tar out of that, and she is still running strong (I have more in repairs in her than you have spent on yours though, not bragging.)

Some people just have better luck with different brands than others, might be time you looked at another one. Not to judge you or anything, but it sounds like you could have bought 3 or 4 cheap used cars in the time you have owned your TB rather than repairing what you have. Just trying to be real here, not mean. We have all heard the brand bashing, some are all Ford, and some are all Dodge, quite a few of these guys have arrived at the brand of there choice by reliability.

 

[gmcman]

I want to say the trans was not refilled to the proper level giving you the slippage. When a trans slips real bad, pull over and check the level...it will only cause more damage driving it.

With the trans line fixed, battery cable fixed...hopefully you didn't drive it too far while it was slipping and all will be good.

 

[Mooseman]

Sounds like your truck and mine were built by the same Friday night crew. Bought my truck last year with a knocking engine and a bit of damage on the front bumper. Replaced the engine, bumper and headlight. Other stuff I sorta expected were brakes and lower balljoints. Then the surprises started coming up. Rear axle seals, power steering pump, bolt that holds the power steering lines to rack broke and puked the fluid, ignition coil (at least I had lots of spares), front hub bearings twice (Raybestos and now Timken), all four end links with the fronts that won't stop loosening and ovalling the holes, alternator (3 times, long story), rear heater core, A/C non-functional (front evaporator leaking), continuous P1345 code that I hope I just repaired today with the replacement of the camshaft actuator because I also replaced the cam and crank sensors several times with several CASE relearns. Also replaced an upper balljoint, all stabilizer bar bushings to fix a mystery clunking noise, the rear HVAC actuators died during the first alternator replacement, the rear A/C will never work because I had to cut the line to the rear evaporator to replace the heater core which is now useless because of the dead actuators, the rear hatch window pops open on its own when it's really cold (>-15C). I'm sure I'm forgetting some but you get my drift.

I'm just now starting to beat this thing. I replaced the trouble prone EV fan with efans and improved my gas mileage. It had been terrible since the fall and suspect that the EV fan was failing and partially locked up. I also replaced my camshaft actuator today after suffering with a P1345 code when cold since I've had this truck. Crossing my fingers and hoping no code in the morning.

I feel your pain brother but I'm determined to beat this thing into submission!

 

[hitman]

Like i said im not bashing chev...they make some great vehicles i guess i just haven't owned one yet...i will continue to throw parts at it till its good.
I love driving the truck its very comfortable and i still get a semi when i see it sitting outside work , but there is no guarantee that if there is much more parts needed its not going to be seeing more air time then the general lee....Possibly pics to follow:wootwoot:

 

[fadyasha]

I've got the same model 2003 LTZ and love it! Very reliable and put about 70,000 in mileage since October 2010. Yeh that's alot Thankfully (knock on wood) I've never had any serious problems. Just your basic wear and tear.

You my brother have had some bad luck with this car. It's the same for me with the Seat Ibiza. I've owned 3 of them 88 model 94 model and 2004 model. All of them suck me dry. The 2004 was in the garage for a month after owning it for like a week!

spent a hell lotta money on it too! I say take her in for a full checkup and make sure nothing else is dying on you. I'm really sorry again! it must really suck! You'd be like scared to drive the car and just waiting for something to happen.

Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[hitman]

I've got the same model 2003 LTZ and love it! Very reliable and put about 70,000 in mileage since October 2010. Yeh that's alot Thankfully (knock on wood) I've never had any serious problems. Just your basic wear and tear.

You my brother have had some bad luck with this car. It's the same for me with the Seat Ibiza. I've owned 3 of them 88 model 94 model and 2004 model. All of them suck me dry. The 2004 was in the garage for a month after owning it for like a week!

spent a hell lotta money on it too! I say take her in for a full checkup and make sure nothing else is dying on you. I'm really sorry again! it must really suck! You'd be like scared to drive the car and just waiting for something to happen.

Good luck and keep us updated!

Thanks Bro
I really do love the truck such a fun truck to drive comfortable and a nice all around ride.
I just did the front breaks and fingers crossed, the crappy part is i make trips back to On (about 16 hrs) and im so nervous to take it there but a few weeks of trouble free driving and ill be good to go, I'm usually pretty aware of my truck and usually can tell when something is not right, i just really want to stop having to put necessities on it so i can put some goodies on it.
My G/F was really the deciding factor in me choosing this truck as she has had hers for about 150,000 pretty trouble free kms (aside from normal wear parts)
Soo fingers crossed she is good now.
Thanks again all...