Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government
holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 68 safety complaints
about the 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer with the US government. Of those, 4 describe a crash, 2 mention a fire, 4 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is the engine,
named in 16 complaints, 24% of the total.
The typical failure was reported at 42,481 miles,
the median across the 14
complaints that gave
an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files
· Covers February 2023 to September 2026 · How this is counted
What is on file
68 complaints on file
68
Complaints
4
Describe a crash
2
Mention fire
4
People injured
0
Deaths
A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a
finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts
them.
No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not
the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production
ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.
Which system owners named
Complaints naming each system
ENGINE 16 · 24%
16 24%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 22%
15 22%
SERVICE BRAKES 14 · 21%
14 21%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12 · 18%
12 18%
POWER TRAIN 10 · 15%
10 15%
AIR BAGS 4 · 6%
4 6%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 4 · 6%
4 6%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 3 · 4%
3 4%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 3 · 4%
3 4%
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2 · 3%
2 3%
LANE DEPARTURE 2 · 3%
2 3%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 2 · 3%
2 3%
0815
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 68.
When the complaints arrived
By the year NHTSA received them
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures
happened. They peaked in 2025 at 22.
24 18 12 6
232023242024252025262026
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure
happened. The range runs from 2023 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program
NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what
happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2023 Chevrolet TRAILBLAZER, and it is a separate
question from what owners report going wrong later.
Test
SUV AWD
SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover
17.9%
18.5%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard
A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed.
A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.
In owners’ own words
Quoted from the complaint file
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the
people who filed them, not findings of fault.
I was in a collision. Traveling a four lane highway during daylight ours with no in-climate weather. The car in front of a line of approximately 4 cars missed their exit and slammed on his breaks to make a right turn from the driving lane. The line of cars in front of me stopped and/or left the roadway to avoid a collision. I was unable to stop in time and had nowhere to go and I rear-ended the car in front of me, which was fully stopped in the lane. According to my dash camera my speed on Impact was approximately 45 mph. No front end collision warning alarms went off. No automatic breaking occurred. No airbag deployed. None of the vehicle safety and anti collision measures performed as I …
NHTSA complaint 11699637, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
1 injured · crash · towed
My vehicle was struck on the left front drivers side while traveling 55 mph. My car flipped multiple times, but when it came to a rest on the drivers side, my head was trapped between the driver's window and the side curtain airbag. I couldn't move the airbag, so I had to move my seat back and bend my neck/head back and down out to get free. My face/head/neck/upper shoulder suffered bruising on the RIGHT SIDE of my body from impact of the airbag. This shouldn't have been the case - the deployment should have impacted the left side of my face. I am in belief that the deployment of this side curtain airbag was late in protecting me in this collision.
NHTSA complaint 11527374. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
AIR BAGS
1 injured · crash · towed
-The airbag(s) did not deploy. (**Attached police report says it did, but I have pictures showing it didn't, and they are currently in process of correcting the report) I have to pay to get the police report, so since I just obtained it on 3/13, I will wait a few days to get the corrected copy, to ensure it's complete. -The vehicle is either at the towing company or at the insurance company being inspected, but I'm sure it can be available. -I was in a traffic accident with injuries where if the airbags had deployed the injuries could have been prevented. -Unknown if it has been reproduced or confirmed, but I would guess no. -Insurance company was going to pick the vehicle up from the …
NHTSA complaint 11577334, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
fire
The vehicle lit on fire under the hood while driving. It is only 6 months old and has just 5300 miles on it. No service had been needed nor done on the vehicle yet nor did any of the diagnostic gauges or software alert me to any issues before it happened
NHTSA complaint 11552894. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
fire
This incident is in regards to a fire that occurred in the engine bay area, post having turbo replacement and spark plug replacement done by a local dealership where this car was purchased new. Car had roughly approximately 60,000 miles and had a check engine light and engine reduce power notification on dash. Was taken to the aforementioned dealership for general scope of work while in the possession and actively being test driven for the repair the vehicle was driven 5 miles and the driver was flagged down by motorists for smoke. The incident was recorded by Riverside Police Department and Riverside fire department. The origin and caused are still undetermined at this time. Some …
NHTSA complaint 11766531, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Shift to Park error message when car is already in park and then difficulty getting car to turn off. This is an ongoing issue. I have seen online this is a common problem. This is a safety issue because if the car doesn't turn off the battery will go dead leaving a driver stranded. This issue began soon after the car was out of warranty.
NHTSA complaint 11764771. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
ENGINE
While driving to work last Thursday morning suddenly my 2023 Trailblazer let out a sorta growl and then a dragging noise thankfully I was able to get over and stop on the shoulder only to discover that my tail pipe was dragging from just after the catalytic converter as the bolts apparently sheared off leaving only the head of the bolts intact. Lucky for me I there wasn’t major damage. I did however have to get my vehicle towed and have the bolt heads cut off in order to have the exhaust fixed
NHTSA complaint 11760189. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
40,000 miles
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal felt extremely firm and was difficult to depress. The contact stated that his wife needed to anticipate the stopping distance to apply enough force to the brake pedal while stopping the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions, but the technicians continuously stated that there was no failure with the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed with an inoperable brake master cylinder. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken back to the …
NHTSA complaint 11759244, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Exhaust system Yes Bolts that hold it on , rusted off Could have fallen off while I was driving. Luckily I managed to get to work before it fell off. Yes Inspected by repair shop No warning
NHTSA complaint 11759247. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
POWER TRAIN
The shift assembly is going bad and causing a Shift to Park error that GM is aware of. They have issued a Technical Service Bulletin about this exact part. The error code will cause the battery to run down leaving me stranded. The dealer has inspected the vehichle and ordered the necessary part to replace it. The vehicle has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others but is available to have an inspection done. There were no warning lamps for this other than the Shift to Park error showing on the display when the car has been turned off. These error messages started happening around August 1, 2026.
NHTSA complaint 11757922. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
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. How
many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by
the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.
Complaints: NHTSA's ODI
complaint file, published October 2, 2026. One
complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.
Recalls: NHTSA's recall
campaign API, no campaign on file for this vehicle.
Investigations: NHTSA's ODI
investigation file, published October 2, 2026.
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.
G
Compiled and maintained by guarledes Independent developer and analyst