These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
Tap to open
What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
Loading the problem zones
Recalls
2 recalls on file
Loading recalls
Crash ratings
NHTSA did not answer
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
Loading crash ratings
Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in. Figures for 2007 and older use the EPA's 2008 method, so they may be lower than the original sticker.
Loading fuel economy
True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Trailblazer
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
A history report such as Carfax or AutoCheck pulls in more of the car’s past than these checks can:
Crashes and damage reported by police, insurers or shops, even when it was fixed.
Service visits that shops reported, with the miles each time.
How many owners, for how long, and the states it was registered in.
Whether it was a rental, fleet or lease car, when that was reported.
It only knows what was reported to it. A clean report is not proof of a clean car. Ask the seller first: many dealers hand one over for free.
Red flags in a history
Salvage title
Usually an insurer called it a total loss. In most states it cannot be driven on the road until it is rebuilt and inspected.
Rebuilt title
A salvage car that was fixed and passed a state check. It can be fine, but it is worth less, can be harder to insure, and needs a careful inspection.
Flood damage
Water can ruin wiring and sensors months later. Be wary of a flood brand that vanished after a move to another state.
Lemon or maker buyback
The maker bought it back over a defect it could not fix. Ask what the defect was and how it was fixed.
Odometer rollback
A mileage reading lower than an earlier one, or a title marked not actual miles.
Many owners, fast
Three owners in two years can mean a problem each one passed along.
Gaps in the records
Years with no service or registration. Ask why: it may have sat, been off the road, or been rebuilt.
Title words and rules differ by state. Not legal advice.
Before you pay
Pre purchase inspection
Have a mechanic you choose, not the seller, put it on a lift and look it over before you pay.
Insurance quote
Get a quote on this exact car before you sign. Ask your own insurer and one or two others.
NHTSA did not answer just now, so we cannot show crash ratings. Try again in a minute. You can also check it on their site.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Air bags
Oct 31, 2006 · Recall 06V417000
Certain vehicles originally built with cloth seats that were equipped with an automatic air bag passenger sensing system and later reupholstered with aftermarket leather seat cover kits are involved. Testing has indicated that the aftermarket leather seat covers can cause the passenger sensing system to malfunction.
What can happen
If the passenger sensing system malfunctions, the front air bag on the passenger side may be disabled when it should be enabled, or enabled when it should be disabled. In either case, in the event of a crash that requires air bag deployment, a front passenger's level of injury may be increased.
The fix
Because a replacement leather seat cover that is compatible with the passenger sensing system is not available, general motors (GM) will repurchase these vehicles in accordance with the terms stated in GM's letter to owners. The recall began on november 6, 2006. Owners should contact GM at 1-877-477-1022 to begin the process of repurchasing their vehicle.
Windows, wipers and visibility
Feb 3, 2005 · Recall 05V035000
Certain sport utility vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 212, 'windshield mounting.' the windshield urethane bead may not have adhered to the body in certain areas during the cure process.
What can happen
If a crash occurs, the windshield may not be retained, increasing the risk of injury to a vehicle occupant.
The fix
Dealers will replace the windshield free of charge. The recall began on march 10, 2005. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, or gmc at 1-866-996-9463.
1,734 complaints; the part named most is the electrical
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Jan 12, 2005 to Aug 3, 2026. 10% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 70 crashes, 27 fires, 71 injuries and 1 death in these complaints.
Electrical733 · 42%
Fuel system718 · 41%
Lights162 · 9%
What one owner wrote about the electrical
For several years the low beam headlights would go off and on intermittently. Now, they are mostly off which means I cannot drive my vehicle at night anymore unless I want to blind people or get stopped. I have changed headlamps, relays and fuses to no avail. Now, I see that many others with the same make and model suv have been having the same issue but no…
Filed Dec 30, 2022NHTSA complaint 114994961 of 18 owner quotes
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
15 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Engine, Transmission and drivetrain, Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the electrical
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 365 complaints of 1,734 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
EngineCostly45,000 to 100,000 mi
Half of these 28 complaints came between about 45,000 and 100,000 miles, the middle one around 65,000.
050K100K150K200K250K
Car Hunt Pass or Pro
Mileage for 7 more parts, 1 usually costly
The mileage band for every part owners name, and your car's miles laid across them.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 2 recalls on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the electrical. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look at the electrical first.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the electrical.
Try every switch, screen, light and lock, and make sure it starts every time.
2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer: problems, recalls, verdict · WhipWorthy
Year verdict
Pass, meaning Skip
2.6× a typical year
Skip this year if you can.
Confidence: Medium
Close to the Pass line, so a few complaints either way could tip it.
NHTSA did not answer for 15 years, so this may change.
How the dial was counted
Year verdict: Typical year: 450 complaints, the median of 4 nearby years. Each counted over its first 8 years from January 2004; this one had 1,204.
Same car, better year: 1999 or 2001 Trailblazer (both Worthy)
