2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT

No clear pattern

0.7% of complaints about the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2004 vehicle, but with only 304 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is electrical system (147 complaints), typically at 5.4 yr or about 63,000 miles.

Complaints: 304
Median age at failure: 5.4 yr
Median mileage: 65,000 n=252
Crash / fire / tow: 5.3% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

04V527000 2004-11-01

Exterior lighting:brake lights

ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, VIBRATION AND HEAT MAY CAUSE THE TAIL LAMP/STOP LAMP BULB TO LOOSEN IN ITS SOCKET. IF THIS OCCURS, THE BULB MAY FLICKER AND EVENTUALLY BECOME INOPERATIVE.

AN INOPERATIVE BRAKE LAMP WILL NOT CONVEY THE DRIVER'S INTENTION OF STOPPING TO DRIVERS IN FOLLOWING VEHICLES, AND AN INOPERATIVE REAR TURN SIGNAL LAMP WILL NOT CONVEY THE DRIVER'S INTENTION TO TURN TO DRIVERS IN FOLLOWING VEHICLES. BOTH OF THESE FAILURES CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.

In owners’ own words

Power train 1,000 mi 1.1 yr in service

MY 2004 CHEVROLET, TRAILBLAZER HAS NO TRACTION. I WILL NOT EVEN GO THROUGH WET GRASS.*AK

Power train 39,000 mi 1.5 yr in service

TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARD FROM 1ST TO 2ND, SOMETIMES WHEN AT A STOP IT STALLS BEFORE TAKING OFF, SOMETIMES RPM BOTTOMS OUT. 4 WHEEL DRIVE ONLY USED ABOUT 3 OR 4 TIMES, EACH TIME IT STALLED BEFORE GOING INTO 4 WHEEL THEN WOULD NOT COME OUT OF 4 WHEEL FOR ABOUT 2 OR 3 MINUTES. *JB

Power train 46,000 mi 2.8 yr in service

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING UP A DRIVEWAY AT 10 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION SLIPPED, AND WOULD NOT ACCELERATE WHEN THE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN IN FOR SERVICE.

Fuel system 73,000 mi 4.9 yr in service

"SERVICE ENGINE SOON" LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK IT TO DEALERSHIP. WAS TOLD THAT THE FUEL CAP WAS BAD AND THERE WAS A CRACK IN THE FUEL TANK. REPLACED BOTH PARTS COSTING $946.73. *TR

Other Trailblazer EXT model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Trailblazer EXT model years

How to read this