When driving the headlights all of a sudden just shut off. It is extremely scary at night. I found that I can however use the brights. They eventually come back on. This has been happening for years. I kept hoping for a recall and just found this site to report it. This has happen on city streets and highways. It has happened when there are street lights and vehicle lights and when it is pitch black. The 1st time it happened, I was driving with my child in the vehicle on the freeway.
2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT lights problems
13 complaints (5% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 59,000.
- owner complaints
- 13
- of this car's complaints
- 5%
- typical mileage
- 59,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Turn signal: flasher unit1
- Turn signal1
- Brake lights1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT lights problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT lights
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Exterior lighting: brake lights
- What is wrong
- 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.
- Risk
- 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.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the tail lamp/stop lamp assemblies, and if necessary, replace them. The recall began on november 22, 2004. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, oldsmobile at 1‑800‑630‑6537, buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080, or gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9463.
Recall number 04V527000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Loss of Headlights
The subject vehicles are model year (MY) 2002-2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, 2004-2007 Buick Rainier, 2003-2008 Isuzu Ascender, 2005-2009 Saab 9-7X, 2002-2004 Oldsmobile Bravada, 2003-2006 Chevrolet SSR, 2005-2009 Buick Lacrosse, and 2006-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. This scope includes the Trailblazer/Envoy variants: 2002-2006 Envoy XL/Trailblazer EXT and 2004-2005 Envoy XUV. The original scope of this investigation was expanded to include all vehicles equipped with the subject Headlight Driver Module (HDM). The focus of the investigation was to determine whether actions performed by General Motors adequately addressed any unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety in the subject vehicles concerning the headlights and the HDM that controls them.Under normal electrical load and environmental conditions, the HDM can overheat inside the Underhood Electrical Center (UEC). This can cause the module to fail and result in a simultaneous loss of both low beam headlights and both daytime running lights (DRLs), often with no warning or prior detectability to the driver. This failure can be intermittent or permanent. No other exterior lights are affected. High beams, turn signals, brake lights, and reverse lights are still operational.General Motors addressed this issue with 2 recalls (14V755 & 15V519) and a special coverage program (N172091910). In view of the recalls and special coverage program implemented by GM and the vehicle high beams continuing to operate, ODI has tentatively concluded that the actions taken by GM mitigate any unreasonable risk to safety posed by HDM failure in the subject vehicles.Accordingly, the investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.The ODI reports cited above are available for review online at under the identification numbers in the attached document.
RQ17002
Brake lamp failure
Gm states that some brake/tail lamp bulbs can prematurely become inoperative due to malfunctioning brake/tail lamp sockets.on march 2, 2004, gm initiated a 6-year/72,000 mile special policy for 989,487 subject vehicles to inspect and replace the rear brake/tail lamp bulb socket assemblies.on april 4, 2004, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe04-032) based on consumer complaints alleging brake lights not operating when the brake pedal is depressed.on august 3, 2004 odi upgraded pe04-032 to an engineering analysis (ea04-021).by letter dated october 27, 2004 gm notified the federal safety agency that it will conduct a safety recall (the federal safety agency # 04v527) covering subject vehicles that were not already repaired under gm's special policy.my 2004 subject vehicles built after august 8, 2003 contain improved brake lamp assemblies and are not included in the recall.gm dealers will install the improved brake lamp assembly on subject vehicles built on august 8, 2003 and earlier.the action taken by gm is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.accordingly, this investigation is closed.
EA04021
What 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Lights started flashing, gas gauge went to empty, car died. Restarted drove 1/4 mile died. Stereo system completely failed (whole unit). Keeps popping circuits changed out still doing. Cannot shut off heat due to banging sound. Car speeds up and down on own. Cannot read gas gauge correctly, not sure how full tank is.
I was getting on the expressway & both headlights just stopped working. I drove home with no lights on the front of my car in the dark, very very very unsafe. How do all the lights on the front of your car go out all at the same time.
All gauges on control panel not working, but all service lights come on check engine, ABS seat belt, reduce power, battery lights. Speed and fuel are impossible to know as well as warnings to observe from lights. 2004 chevrolet trailblazer, speedometer will show a faster speed than you moving or will go to 0 while on the freeway. The tach has the same problem. This is a serious safety issue and it should be recalled now. I heard that they had the same issue on pick-ups and they were recalled. Most instrument backlights have burned out preventing the speedometer and other gauges from being seen at night. Very dangerous. Quick search on internet results in a severe epidemic of this problem with all gm SUV's. A class action lawsuit resulted in a nationwide recall for this problem for all similar vehicles but not the chevy trailblazer or gmc envoy. This seems to be a criminal act by gm. Something needs to be done to protect owners of these vehicles. Driving down highway headlights go out..while driving at night the low beam lights went out, I had to drive home with high beams on, http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2004/chevrolet/trailblazer/electrical+system check out all these other complaints there are hundreds of them and I am one of many. This is so dangerous and a safety hazard to others as well, please get us a recall on these cars the expenses are tremendous.
The RPM gauge, battery gauge and the fuel gauge stopped working. First the RPM gauge stopped and then about a year later the battery gauge stopped and last was the fuel gauge that stopped. The fuel gauge stopped working just a couple of weeks after the battery gauge. I am also having problems with the daytime running lights not staying on periodically. The daytime running lights will go out about twice a year and mainly at night.
Headlights will not work. Daytime running lights don't work. The issue was addressed by chevy dealership. This is a on going problem. Other chevy and gm SUV had been recalled for this issue however this model was not included within the recall.
My headlamps keep flickering off. At this time they don't come back on. For about 7 months they would go off and I would have to pull over and shut vehicle off. It would come on after I let it sit for a minute. Now they shut off and will not come back on.
Low beams went off as I was driving down rural roadway. This was at 10:45 at night on my way to work. Had too sit by side of road for some time with no lights. Finally came back on. This has happened 4 other times since then. I live in a rural area, when the lights go out there are no street lights around to illuminate the roadway. I have had 2 near crashes due to the darkness of the area in which I was traveling. There are no codes being thrown when this occurs, no warnings, the lights just go out. Unable to locate failure point. High beams, turn signals, parking lights work, just not low beams.
Brake lights went out all the time waiting on response.
Starting june 17, 2008, the low beams on my 2004 chevrolet trail blazer lt go out intermittently - the high beams, fog lights, hazard lights, and turn signal lights still work - only low beams causing problems. I keep my lights setting in the postion that they come on when I start my car. I consider this a safety factor. The lights will go out suddenly. I can only document one time that they went out during the day time, but have documented seven (7) times that the lights went off at night. The next space on this form asks for the approximate incident date - I put down the first time. As stated above this has happened seven times at night and at least one time during the day. I can only tell during the day time if I am stopped at a traffic signal behind another vehicle and I only have 2 traffic signals between my home and work. I took my car to sandy sansing chevrolet, pensacola, florida, on june 23, 2008, they said they checked my car for three hours but could not find problem. I would need to bring it in when the lights go out. Unfortunately, the only time I could tell they had gone out during the day time, I was stopped at a traffic signal and before the light turned green, the lights came back on. (my 16 year old grandson was in the car with me and can verify that this happened. In fact he and another grandson was in the car on the night of july 1, 2008, when the low beams went out while I was driving down the road on the way home from the baseball game.
Questions about the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT lights
Does the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT have lights problems?
Owners have filed 13 complaints about the lights of the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT, 5% of all its complaints.
At what mileage do 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT lights problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 59,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT lights?
Yes, 1 recall: 04V527000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT have the most lights problems?
The Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT model years with the most lights complaints are 2003 (23 complaints), 2004 (13 complaints) and 2006 (11 complaints).
Other 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT problems
Electrical 145Fuel system 46Engine 21Transmission 17Acceleration 9Steering 8Visibility 8Airbags 7Body 7Locks 3Seat belts 2Seats 2Brakes 1Tires 1Wheels 1
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