2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT LT

2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT LT 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT LT
Long-Term Road Test

You already know the editorial staff here is not generally enthusiastic about trucks, but when pressed on the subject we tend to be fairly fond of GM's beasts of burden. The Chevy Silverado has been our perennial pick of the pickups at 5Best Truck time, the Chevy and GMC jumbo utes have won comparison tests, and the mid-size Chevy TrailBlazer finished ahead of the bestselling Ford Explorer in their first head-to-head comparison test in June 2001. That strong finish prompted us to consider running a TrailBlazer through our long-term use-and-abuse gantlet. But by the time we got around to asking for one, and the request made its way through channels, a new stretched version of the Trailblazer, the EXT (as in extended), was coming on line, and we figured what the heck-new is good, and more is better, right?

Wrong.

Almost from the moment our Majestic Red Metallic TrailBlazer EXT LT arrived, our scribblers began waxing nostalgic for the lighter and shorter version of the TrailBlazer. Chevy lists a 350-pound weight difference between the two versions, but our test car was loaded down with $2195 worth of leather, power seats, and automatic climate control; $995 worth of DVD entertainment system; a Bose CD-changer audio system worth $890; and another $755 in heated seats, big tires, a locking diff, and other goodies. All this finery inflated the weight penalty to 511 pounds relative to the TrailBlazer we'd examined in that earlier comparo, for a curb weight of 5148 and a sticker price of $38,720. We'd have preferred the $1500 V-8 engine option, but it was not yet in production, so all that mass was to be towed by the base 270-hp, 4.2-liter six. Hence, our 9.3-second 0-to-60-mph time trailed the comparo truck's by a seemingly interminable 1.4 seconds.

In addition to being heavy and slow in a straight line, the EXT's extra-long wheelbase drew criticism for its parking-lot maneuverability (the turning circle diameter is nearly 40 feet-3.1 feet wider than the short truck's) and its propensity to clip curbs with a rear wheel in tight turns. We were also underwhelmed by what seemed to be a hastily designed third-row seat. Folding the seat down requires leapfrogging the cushion forward, then folding the seatback down, and finally unfolding a cover panel to bridge the lumpy gap to the folded middle-row seat. Call us spoiled by some one-button disappearing back seats, but this solution seems clunky.

And as if all that weren't enough, the EXT's exterior proportions are a bit ungainly, and its wet-cement-gray interior, composed of hard plastics and flat leather, was gloomily dour for a $38,720 truck. Still, roomy vehicles with trailer hitches rack up the miles in a big rush around here, and our new Chevy hit 4000 miles in its first month, drawing raves for its gentle highway ride and commodious cabin.

But midway through its second month, the electronic control module for the automatic four-wheel-drive system died quietly; our clue should have been the fact that the indicator lamps arrayed around the rotary 4WD selector switch stopped lighting up. As they are invisible when off, we didn't notice the problem. A couple months later while our Chevy was serving as the photo truck on an off-road comparo, we got good and stuck in wet mud and leaves-proof positive that we had full-time rear-wheel drive. After building a stick-and-twig two-track to take us out of the holler, we got the control module fixed under warranty.

Chevy's maintenance plan is peculiar. It recommends a tire rotation and a check of the axle fluid levels and constant-velocity-joint boots at 7500-mile intervals, with oil and filter changes not strictly dictated by the passage of miles but by an oil-life computer. We stretched the first two axle checks to fit the oil-change intervals, the first of which was called for around 10,000 miles and the second 8000 miles later. They cost $50 and $51, respectively.

With three staffers spending every precious free weekend in pursuit of club-racing glory, the TrailBlazer saw a lot of duty as a tow vehicle. Its long wheelbase pays off in straight-line stability, but the six-cylinder engine has to work incredibly hard as you approach the truck's gross combined weight limit of 10,500 pounds, which isn't hard to do. On some such missions, the fuel-economy average plunged to 10 mpg or worse.

At least two families took advantage of the mesmerizing effect of DVD movies on children and reported peaceful vacation trips of as long as 500 to 1000 miles in a day. Several drivers, however, reported back fatigue after long stints in the broad, flat saddle.

Then, as the TrailBlazer's first summer waned, complaints were registered in the logbook about a whining noise from the engine room. Sure enough, at 22,000 miles the power-steering pump abruptly retired, prompting our second unscheduled stop for a warranty-covered repair. Our third $50 pit stop occurred at 24,300 miles, and then just 5500 miles later reports started coming in of an alarming loss of power-steering assist at low engine speeds, so we pulled in for our 30,000-mile service stop before the oil-life monitor told us to. The axle checks, the tire rotation, and a new fuel filter cost $111, and the dealer gave our nearly new power-steering pump a vacuum bleed. We'd also complained of a spongy brake pedal, so the dealer charged us $53 to disassemble the brakes and tell us they were fine.

We boomeranged right back to the dealer just 41 miles later for our third unscheduled repair stop. The power steering was out again, and the brakes still felt unacceptably soft. This time we got another brand-new power-steering pump and had the brakes bled, all at no charge.

Considering that the same dealer performed every service and repair on this vehicle, it seems logical that someone might try to find a blockage in the steering rack, or a faulty mounting bracket, or some root cause to explain (and sate) our TrailBlazer's appetite for steering pumps, but no such problems were identified, and as we went to press at the end of the test, a couple months past our final scheduled pit stop ($48), this third pump was whining again. We could also hear some clunks from the front suspension and a few rattles in the cabin.

A lot of Chevy/GMC trucks have inspired respect, admiration, and even love (the Sierra C3, for example) during their stays with us. This one served as a comfortable road tripper, and with the V-8 and a less lemony power-steering system, it would make a decent tow vehicle. But as it is, we won't have difficulty parting with our EXT.