2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer: engine knocking or ticking

Filed Jan 1, 2012 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 151,883 miles · CA

I had gone to a friends house with my boyfriend and our 10month old daughter the car was working great on 12-31-11 at around 5pm we parked the vehicle. On our way home at about 10:45pm we got on the road car drove fine we jumped on the fwy it was foggy and really hard to see we were on the 54 fwy in san diego approaching the 805 south there is a high on ramp we were going about 55 to 60 and all of a sudden I pushed on gas and lost all power to vehicle it sounded like I was in neutral and because it was up hill and curved very difficult to see us with just hazard lights on. I was praying thinking someone was going to take us out. Every car would swerving around us and honking we finally pulled over to the side of the fwy off of the ramp and turned off car turned it back on and it gave us enough power to get to the street exit. Once there again did the same and at that point we parked and left car on the side of the road after calling a friend to pick us up since we didn't want our baby out on the street that late and on new years. I have also had several other problems AC only works on 5 back passenger panel makes clicking noise when on and back AC works when it wants to. Also RPM gauge doesn't function, car alarm is very faint when place on. I have 3 other children and 1 car and now don't know what to do since we depend on the car. We have had small problems with this car and about 5 to 6 months ago my car engine started knocking and had to be replaced however AC already wasn't working and neither was the RPM gauge. When we replaced the engine the car ran great had a lot of power and everything. This was the worst experience of my life and I thought we were going to die.

Filed Jul 17, 2011 · Seats · 59,666 miles · SD

2003 trailblazer developed a ticking when it was cold about 6 months after it was purchased in 2002. Dealer said it was normal and nothing to worry about. Now the radiator fan clutch is out and a dealer wants 790 dollars to fix it . We have 59000 miles on it now. I think everyone has had trouble with these and they should be recalled. Also the front stabilizer bar links failed about a year ago and we had to put new ones on. And the power seat mechanism broke about 5 years ago.

Filed Jan 13, 2010 · Transmission · 84,600 miles · PA

I have a 2003 chevy trailblazer lt. A few weeks ago I found out my 4x4 was not working properly. After only driving my blazer 3 times, at highway speed (70), I heard a very loud knock in the front end shortly followed by continuous knocking and very quickly lost control of the brakes. Due to circumstances being on my side I was able to get off of the highway and place the car in park and have it towed to the garage. Upon review of the front end it was determined the front end differential literally blew apart. My trailblazer only has 84,000 miles and I now have to replace the whole front axle. Most likely at a cost of at least $2,000.00. This repair includes the cost of an axle from a salvage yard...not a new one and entails at least 16 hours of labor. With review of articles posted to auto sites on the internet, this is a very wide spread issue with trailblazers. Why is gm not stepping up to the plate and addressing these issues? I was lucky this morning. My mechanic does not know how I was not in a serious wreck seeing that this happened during morning rush hour.

Filed Jul 29, 2009 · Electrical · 96,000 miles · OK

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 chevrolet trailblazer. The contact stated that the RPM dial fails to move and the speedometer is beginning to fail. Initially, the speedometer made a ticking noise as the speed increased, but currently the dial is stuck at 40 MPH. Whenever the engine is turned off, the speedometer dial does not go back to zero. When the vehicle is restarted, the dial will drop to 35 MPH. When the driver accelerates, the dial moves and remains at 40 MPH. As a result, the contact is never sure how fast she is driving. The manufacturer stated that they were aware of the failures and issued an improvement campaign for those with vehicles that had less than 80,000 miles. Through research, the contact found numerous vehicles with the same failures, but with more mileage. She believes that a recall should be issued because it is obviously a manufacturer defect. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure mileage was 96,000 and current mileage was 101,000. Updated 08/31/09 *bf updated 09/04/09.

Filed Apr 15, 2009 · Electrical, Engine · 52,000 miles · MS

Started hearing a ticking noise coming from under the hood. Took it in to get checked out. Had to replace fan clutch motor at a cost of nearly 500 dollars. 2 weeks later started having crazy speedometer readings.

Filed Feb 28, 2009 · Engine · 157,500 miles · NJ

Since I purchased my 2003 chevy trailblazer in jan 2004, I had it returned twice complaining of a ticking sound from the engine. Local dealer would not address the issue as the noise would come a go..I issued a complaint to the dealer and they got upset but never volunterred to fix the noise.. Last month a loud noise came from my engine, like a vacuum sound.. I lost power and was forced to leave the truck at a gm dealership.. They fixed made repairs by replacing the clutch pump. Cots me 900.00 for repairs. Now 3 weeks later I noticed that the ticking sound from the engine has disappeared.... If the chevy dealer only addressed this problem a few years ago when I originally complained , I may not had to dish out 900 for repairs.. Thank you chevy! And you wonder why your going out of business.! Good riddins!

Filed Mar 24, 2008 · Engine · 70,804 miles · NJ

For approx. 2 years there had been a constant ticking when my 2003 chevrolet trailblazer was running. Questions about the noise was dismissed by the service technicians as normal. Finally on 3/22/08 my fan clutch failed causing an overheat problem and a constant loud noise, along with a service engine light. Upon investigating this issue I found literally thousands of complaints on the internet regarding the chevrolet trailblazer and its premature fan clutch failures. To correct the failure I had to incur the $724.00 repair.

Filed Jul 13, 2007 · Engine · 49,890 miles · MI

I brought my 2003 trailblazer in for service to my gm dealer while still under warranty for a ticking noise. The noise is intermittent and the periodic rate is constant regardless of engine speed RPM's. I now have 50k miles and the fan clutch motor failed and operated at 100%.through research online, the ticking sound is directly related to the fan clutch failure many gm trailblazer and envoy owners have experienced. The fan operates at 100% due to the fan clutch failing resulting in loss of power. I too have experienced what is described by many as the "lear jet" sound. The sudden loss of power at high speeds in my opinion is as safety concern and gm should recall this defective fan clutch motor. Customers with my 2002 and above have complained on several websites on this issue.

Filed Mar 6, 2006 · Body · 44,000 miles · MI

Hatch back/lift gate hatch back binds and back window explodes in the mechanics face knocking him to the ground. This lift gate mechanism has failed for the second time. This time there were potentially severe consequences. This time I attempted to open the hatchback and it started binding, so I immediately closed it and took it to the dealer. Since this had happened before, I knew immediately what was happening. A friend picked me up and drove me to work. One hour later the dealer called me and said that the window exploded when the mechanic opened the hatch back. He said it blew up in the mechanics face and knocked him to the ground. The dealer says this is an insurance claim and somehow tried to blame the whole thing on me. I was in shock. It will take a week to fix as it involves body work, etc. The dealer's body shop explained that the high mount stop light and trim are attached with double face tape and if they come loose they bind inside the hatchback. I don't feel it is my insurance company's responsibility to pay for something the dealer caused. First, I think they sent a rookie mechanic to look at my liftgate and he forced it open which caused the explosion of glass. Secondly, this is a very dangerous problem created by chevrolet's poor design. Why haven't they done a recall on this. I have read other complaints about the same hatchback failure. Now the dealer is going to fix mine again with double stick tape and this problem is going to occur again. The glass could explode on me on my grandkids or another mechanic. I will be nervous everytime I open that hatchback and I will never, never buy a general motors car again. The dealership treated my husband and I terribly. They knew they had the upperhand in the situation and they knew there was nothing we could do.

Filed Sep 15, 2005 · Body, Electrical · 29,000 miles · NY

These are all of the problems fixed at the dealer with this truck so far: rear sway bar links replaced, rear wiper blade came out of alignment 2 times, right rear door is warped, driver side rear molding is loose, back plate rubber seal out of alignment, windshield wiper tank replaced since it was leaking, A/C low pressure switch inop then replaced, windshield wiper module replaced because wipers would not turn off, sway bar links replaced for a second time. All of these have broken over the past 2 years and nine months and driver's side passenger window for that door is loose. Still is a noise in the front suspension that makes a hard knock onto the steering column but dealer denies hearing it.

Filed Dec 27, 2004 · Suspension · TX

While driving 45 MPH consumer heard a loud knocking noise coming from the front of the vehicle. Suddenly vehicle vibrated uncontrollably. Vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, but mechanic could not duplicate the problem.

Filed Jan 7, 2004 · Engine · 4,000 miles · MI

When it is cold outside and the engine is started it knocks and ticks until warmed up. Gm customer service will offer additional miles on the warranty but no additional time. The dealers will not fix the problem. Gm says it is a piston problem. This problem happens every day below 50 degrees. That is 8 months of the year in michigan. The truck is embarrassingly loud. Sounds like it is 20 years old. It is only 5 months old.