CSR

Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

189

Complaints

7

Crashes

3

Fires

5

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer have filed 189 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2020 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 39 of them (21%). The typical failure was reported at 20,000 miles, the median across the 32 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (4)

EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT:STAND

21V440000 · June 10, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Buick Encore GX and 2021-2022 Chevrolet Trailblazer vehicles. The emergency jack, if not positioned as directed in the vehicle owner's manual, can fracture while in use.
The risk
A fractured jack can cause the vehicle to collapse, increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the jack, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owner of the safety risk are expected to be mailed July 26, 2021. A second notice will be mailed once remedy parts become available. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is A212335470.

General Motors, LLC · up to 135,400 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES

20V588000 · September 24, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac CT4, CT5 and XT4, 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020-2021 Buick Encore GX vehicles. Sensor connection contamination in the electronic brake boost system may cause an interruption of communication between the sensor and the brake boost system.
The risk
If communication with the sensor is interrupted, the electronic brake boost assist could be lost. Extra pedal force will be required to slow and stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electronic brake boost module, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is A202307260.

General Motors LLC · up to 3,677 vehicles across all model years covered

SEATS:CRITICAL FASTENERS

20V537000 · September 3, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Buick Encore GX and 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer vehicles. The rear attachment bolts of one or both front seats may not have been installed.
The risk
If an occupied front seat is missing the rear attachment bolts, it may move during a crash, increasing risk of injury to the occupant.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect seat attachments for both front seats and install attachment bolts as needed, free of charge. The recall began October 1, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438 or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is A202304380.

General Motors LLC · up to 105 vehicles across all model years covered

TIRES

20V295000 · May 21, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer vehicles factory-equipped with optional 17-inch sport terrain tires. The certification label on these vehicles does not provide the tire size and cold tire pressure information for front and rear tires, as required. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard Number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
The risk
If drivers are uninformed and overinflate or underinflate their tires, this may increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and will mail corrected labels for customers to apply, free of charge. The recall began July 1, 2020. Owners may call Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is A202304070.

General Motors LLC · up to 20 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 189.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 53 28%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 39 21%
POWER TRAIN 38 20%
ENGINE 36 19%
SERVICE BRAKES 29 15%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 16 8%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 10 5%
STRUCTURE 8 4%
STEERING 6 3%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 3%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 4 2%
AIR BAGS 3 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 48.

2020 2025 2026
2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SERVICE BRAKES

2 injured · crash

A loud popping noise heard through the radio when light pressure applied to brakes. Noise loud enough to scare the hell out of all the occupants in the car. Brakes squeaked when car was in reverse. Tried to slow down on wet pavement. Car started to veer to the right. Forward collision warning nor automatic emergency braking worked. Pushed brake all the way to the floor and the car did not slow. Rear ended another car. No airbags deployed. My passenger was okay. I got diagnosed with a concussion. Do not know if the occupants in the other car were injured.

NHTSA complaint 11643617. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

1 injured · crash · towed · 6,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2021 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT UPON ATTEMPTING TO PARK HER VEHICLE AT 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE INDEPENDENTLY ACCELERATED FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING, JUMPED THE PARKING MEDIAN AND CRASHED INTO A BUILDING. THE AIR BAGS DID DEPLOY UPON IMPACT. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR BRUISING FROM HER LAP BELT BUT DID NOT NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION. THE AUTHORITIES ARRIVED AT THE SCENE AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. DUE TO THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO SID DILLON CHEVROLET - FREMONT(2500 E 23RD ST, FREMONT, NE 68025) WHERE IT HAD REMAINED IN THEIR POSSESSION TO DETERMINE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER HAD YET TO BE NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE HAD YET TO BE

NHTSA complaint 11375970, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

1 injured · crash · towed

Brakes failed and myself and others were in harms way. To my knowledge the car was totaled as the air bags did deploy.

NHTSA complaint 11527819. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY:HATCHBACK/LIFTGATE

1 injured · 5 miles

The contact owns a 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that while outside the vehicle, the power liftgate opened and closed independently. The liftgate struck the driver on the head. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 5. The contact stated that this issue happens a lot and at any time.

NHTSA complaint 11463175. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
My timing belt snapped prematurely, causing a total loss of engine power while driving on the highway, which is a severe safety hazard

NHTSA complaint 11754543. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I am submitting this report regarding my 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer because it has been experiencing the "Shift to Park" issue described in the GM bulletin 19-NA-206. Even when the vehicle is shifted into Park, it intermittently displays a "Shift to Park" message and does not recognize that the transmission is in Park. This issue has been ongoing and has not resolved despite normal use of the vehicle. It is frustrating to deal with on a regular basis, and it appears to be the same condition addressed by GM in Technical Service Bulletin 19-NA-206 that is available to view on the NHTSA website. I believe the NHTSA should push General Motors to issue a recall for this problem rather than

NHTSA complaint 11754013, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
"shift to park" issue on a 21 traiblazer causing your car to not being able to shutdown entirely meanwhile the shift is perfectly on Park.

NHTSA complaint 11753767. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle displays Shift to Park when vehicle is in park & you push the ignition button & audible chime occurs. Apparently this is a known issue for Chevrolet Trailblazers & Buick Encore GX vehicles model year 2021 & newer. You have to either wiggle the gear shifter several times & depress/wiggle the shift lever button in order to turn off the vehicle. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes to get it to work.

NHTSA complaint 11752759. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
My trailblazer will not shift properly into drive from park or reverse. GM calls this a "loss of forward motion" or "delayed forward engagement" in their service bulletin TSB-24-NA-009. It is a safety issue because you never know when or how long the vehicle will take to engage and allow forward movement. This causes issues when leaving a parking spot or a driveway, especially on busy roads. If the car will not move forward, my family is stuck in the road until it finally engages into gear and allows forward movement. When this occurs, the vehicle engine will shutter and not allow any forward movement. I usually have to move the drive selector back to park and back to drive again. This

NHTSA complaint 11752367, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Reduced engine powers caused by turbo charger underboost, at 91200 miles.

NHTSA complaint 11751316. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Trailblazer

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2024 32 0
2023 62 0
2022 107 1

Other 2021 Chevrolet models

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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