Cooling ran would never shut off, 'Steering Assist Reduced Drive with Care', the smell of sweet syrup (coolant), and the temp gauge would not leave 'C'. All of this happened at once. Brought it in as it was subsequently throwing codes. Chevy Heiderbrecht dealership said that the radiator seal at 53k is completely eroded away and needs to be replaced. They said this is a very common issue with these cars (2020 Blazer/Original Owner), and looking online there is a plethora of people with the exact same issue (low mileage, complete radiator replacement due to seal going bad on upper driver side). This is insane, you spend 40k on a car, maintain it well, and the parts fail this prematurely with no available recall? Now I am stuck with an $1,800 bill with no legal recourse? I mean the dealership said it is a widely known issue, and GM has admitted that the seal is bad, but there's no consumer protection from this big of a company? Only thing covered under powertrain warranty is the thermostat (wow thanks GM!) Thanks for any help you can provide.
2020 Chevrolet Blazer transmission complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 75, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On Saturday, March 8, 2025 I was crossing a busy intersection when my car shut off completely and accelerated into oncoming traffic almost causing a collision or fatality. My brakes locked and steering wheel locked. I had to put the emergency brake on in order for the car to come to a stop. We got out of the car in the middle of the street and ran for safety. Scariest experience I’ve ever been in especially with my family in the car!!
Continues "reduced steering assistance', thermostat won't register, stay on Cold, a/c blows warm air. We added coolant, replaced battery. Code goes off, within a few weeks comes back on. About to replace the whole thermostat and sensor. Many many blazers having the same issues.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated while attempting to shift to park, the engine remained running, and the message "Shift to Park" was displayed. A mechanic was called to diagnose the vehicle, and the contact was informed that the transmission control, shifter harness, inline shifter wiring harness jumper, park switch, and other related components were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 77,340.
At around 55,000 miles my Blazer began to show error codes for “Steering Assist Reduced” and “ESC”. After 60,000 it began to intermittently populate the Check Engine Light paired with the "Steering Assist Reduced" message. Then, the engine fan would turn on high, auto-start when breaking would disable, and the steering would become more stiff. Finally, I was able to get a scan on the code and found out that it was my thermostat. After taking it to my local Chevy dealer I was quoted $1100 to repair. When I called my local mechanic I was told they could fix it for cheaper, but they were unable to find an OEM thermostat in stock which usually means there's a widespread issue with that part. Upon further research, I've found a plethora of complaints online where others with Chevy vehicles are experiencing the same issue. This causes: -Greater fuel consumption -Risk for the engine to overheat -Stiffened steering which could cause accidents
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated that upon reaching the destination and shifting the vehicle into park, a warning message displayed reading "Please shift to Park." After, the contact observed that he was unable to switch the vehicle off. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 128,000.
Questions Answered Below: What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The vehicle is at a GM Dealership now and is available for inspection. I have not authorized repairs as of yet. I am being told by the dealership: The ball joint on the control arm on the left side seized snapping the axle shaft - causing the tire to to turn out. The dealership has suggested: Mechanical repair costs $1,850, Plus an additional $2,000 due to wheel well damage caused by the failure. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? I am being told by the dealership: The ball joint on the control arm on the left side seized snapping the axle shaft - causing the tire to to turn out. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Due to my slow speed turning out of the parking lot ~10 mph - the vehicle came to a sudden halt. However, had this occurred while driving any faster - it would have been very dangerous and put myself and others at significant risk. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? It was towed by AAA and has been inspected by the GM Dealership. That is the only inspection thus far. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? Earlier in the day while pulling out of a parking spot and turning the wheel to the left I thought I felt some type of resistance then it went away as I started driving. No other symptoms or warning prior to the failure.
P0128 code- Assisted steering fault Check engine light Ac blowing cold Temp gauge flat lined Need to replace temp sensor and thermostat. Others with this issue have reported steering can completely lock up, which could cause serious accidents which could result in fatalities.
I am getting the message "Shift to Park" displayed while vehicle in park after turning the vehicle off. Looking online, it seems to be a common issue with Blazers as well as other GM vehicles. I found online that "the cause of the condition may be that the park switch in the transmission control (shifter) assembly is not pulling the BCM signal low to electronically show that the vehicle is in the Park position." If this is such a common issue on similar vehicle to mine since 2018 it appears, why is this not a Recall already?!
When you shift it into park, it often doesn’t recognize that it’s in park and begins to roll backwards. This doesn’t happen every single time but at least twice a week and I have to use the parking break.
2020 Chevy Blazer - Shift to Park while Gear is already in Park: While putting the gear in park, the warning chime to shift it into park is initiated. It has happened 3 to 4 times in the past three days. I took the vehicle to the Local Chevy Dealership. The Service Team/Dept. diagnosed that the Transmission Shifter Unit Assembly must be replaced. The 2019 Chevy Blazer had these issues which prompted a TSB/Recall however it wasn't extended to the 2020-year models and Chevy Dealership refused to include it as a warranted repair which just passed 44,000 miles. This is a safety issue, and it should be replaced without additional cost to customer as this issue was already identified as a safety concern in 2019, however Chevy does not want to identify the issue as a covered repair per the manufactures warranty.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated that upon arriving at his destination, the vehicle failed to detect that the gear shifter was in park(P), preventing the vehicle from being turned off. The contact stated that the message "Please Shift to Park" was displayed. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked in the driveway, the vehicle hesitated. The contact stated that while attempting to turn off the vehicle, the vehicle independently shifted out of gear. The vehicle was driven to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The dealer determined that the failure was a power train failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified on the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 49,000.
2020 Chevy Blazer- bad transmission at 130,000 miles
My shift to park comes on although the vehicle is parked My steering is reduced came on today this is a problem in mutiple forms in regards to chevy blazers
When I put the car in park it does not register and will not come out of accessory more. This is a known issue and gm is making customers out of warranty pay for it
When placed in park the DIC will intermittenly indicate "Shift To Park". At that point, I am not certain whether or not the vehicle is in park. It will often go into accessory mode when this happens. I cannot turn the vehicle completely off at this point. I need to shift it from park to reverse or drive and then back into park. It may take several attempts for it to register that the vehicle is actually in park. The problem is occurring more and more frequently over time. I am about to take it to the dealer for repairs. I believe this is a common problem with many GM vehicles and they ought to fix it under a recall notice.
The contact's wife owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated that on several occasions when the vehicle was shifted to park(P), the message “Shift to Park” was displayed. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,000.
Intermittent Shift to Park Message Displayed While Vehicle in Park. I am seeing an intermittent Shift to Park message when the vehicle has been shifted into Park, and the ignition has been turned to the Off position. My car model is a push-to-start/stop ignition type and this issue prevents me from turning off the car at times. I am having the vehicle serviced currently at my local chevrolet dealership but being subject to a diagnostic fee of $175. A message shows up on the instrument cluster screen stating "Shift to Park," however, the shifter is already in the Park position. Potential cause: The cause of the condition may be that the park switch in the transmission control (shifter) assembly is not pulling the BCM signal low to electronically show that the vehicle is in the Park position.
This vehicle is currently on its third radiator since it was purchased, 4 years ago. That’s almost 1 radiator per year. The vehicle also has transmission issues on the highway. The dealer replaced the torque converter but vehicle is still hesitant and bucking on the highway. This vehicle only has 64,000 KM and would cost thousands in repairs if it wasn’t under warranty.
Steering assist reduced warning came on as I was driving. Electric steering module has gone bad.Temp gage and AC stopped working as well. No accident yet but this is a KNOWN SAFETY DEFECT that needs to have a recall. The steering wheel could lock up. Force GM to recall this vechile before people die!!
Transmission issue, computer repair, constant issues.
As I was driving, my engine coolant temperature gauge went from normal level down all the way pegged to C. Message appears on my dashboard "Steering Assist is Reduced. Drive with Care". Also, radiator fan continuously runs as if the air conditioner was turned on, which it was not. After searching the internet and confirmed by dealerships and the shop I had my car repaired, this same issue with the coolant temp sensor and thermostat is a very common occurrence on these generation Chevy Blazers. It just amazes me and disappoints me that this type of failure on a car happens as soon as 70,000 miles. Should last for much much longer before this type of failure happens.
Transmission skips while driving, there’s some sort of glitch with the electrical that causes the steering assist to shut down and the fan to over work, like it would if it were over heating but the temp of normal.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Blazer. The contact stated that while the vehicle was shifted into reverse, the vehicle failed to respond as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Unknown car will not shift into park without me having to re-shift to park and then the vehicle will shut off after re-shifting.
I'm getting a "Shift to Park" error message. Lights and dinging sound will not turn off during this. I have to restart the car and shift the car from Park, neutral, drive and reverse. It takes sometimes numerous tries to get it to show in park. The problem is getting worse as time goes on. More frequent and harder to get to go into Park.
My 2020 Chevy Blazer began demonstrating possible problems with the transmission in November 2021 which have continued to date. The RPMs will rapidly increase and the car will feel as if it is jolting forward. If driving below 20 mphs, when I try to accelerate to a higher speed, the car will drag and then skip forward. I have videos showing this and have taken it to the dealership on two occasions but it couldn't be replicated and no codes show during diagnositics. The car is currently being repaired (at the dealership since 3/18/22) due to 3 separate concerns that are co-occuring which seems quite strange to me. The thermostat has gone bad, causing my check engine light to come on while driving (and having to have it towed). The car is also not recognize my remote key to operate the car. I am also getting "steering assist reduced" notifications while driving. I had the battery replaced 3 weeks ago because that was felt to be the cause of the steering assist notice, but after 1 week the notices started occurring again. I will also occasionally get "ECM" notices while driving. I don't see how all of this could be happening at the same time and it not be indicative of a more major Powertrain issue. I do not feel safe driving the car, even when these separate issues are repaired because I am fearful of the core, underlying cause.
Shifter will not fully engage park. Vehicle can be shut off while not in park.
The vehicle drops to low gear without warning (check engine light comes on). Causing speed to drop to less than 20Mph max.
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