I just purchased a 2005 TrailBlaszer LT with 130,000 miles on it. The body and interior are in good shape. There are some maintenance issues that need to be addressed, Transmission service, tune-up, brakes and tires in a few months.
The only mechanical issues I can tell are:
Fuel Sending unit
Possibly Idle Air Controller
Sway bar bushings.

What are some things I need to look out for on this SUV. it is going to be my daily driver so I need to make sure it is reliable.

 

Think you have a pretty good handle on it . Other weak areas are problem ignition switches and weak stepper motors in the guage cluster .

 

Thanks for the reply viper. I just did the stepper motors this morning.

 

If you don't know if the plugs have been done at that mileage you should do those too with AC/DELCO 41103 plugs only .

 

Gonna do those as soon as I get the $$. Had a bunch of home repairs I had to do which dipped into savings then this TB came along. I've been saving to replace my 98 explorer for a few months, but when it rains it pours.

I did the thermostat housing this past weekend and the stepper motors. Both were easy. It helps when you have the right tools.

Got the hi stoplight replaced today. Found one on ebay for 35 bucks.

Recharged the A/C it is now blowing ice cold. Started cleaning it but the weather has been crap.

 

So yesterday I set out to change the plugs, air filter and do an oil change. got the plugs changes then put the TB up on jack stands and started inspecting the front end. I found the upper control arm bushings not only bad but designated.

So I wound up doing upper control arm bushing and ball joints. The job wasn't as hard as others I have done, but a though occurred to me.

The TB only has 138000 mile on it. That seems like a like low mileage for a major repair like that.

Is this normal? I'm asking because I put 200,000 mile on my 98 Ford Explorer before I had to do repairs like that.

 

If you live in the rust belt its probably not that uncommon specially if it was owned by someone who never washed it or flushed out the undercarriage in the spring . I live in the rust belt and was under mine just the other day and was surprised how good it still looked, rear springs still nicely painted etc , no other major rust . A few of the cooler lines had some rust on them but at nine years I would xpect some.

 

Thankfully I don't live in the rust belt. I live in S.E. Georgia very close to Jacksonville Fl. All we get here is some light surface rust. It never snows so no corrosive salt used but we are far enough from the ocean that we don't have to deal with sea air.

I think I know why the right side was worse than the left. The right side was hit in the front quarter panel, It wasn't bad, no frame damage but the front bumper and right front quarter panel have been repainted.

 

I've owned chevy most of my life had 2 blazer 1999 4x4 ran great never had problem so I bought a trailblazer LT 4x4 2002 mint truck one problem seatbelt light on drivers side doesn't light up so I took into chevy paid them 200 bucks to tell me
it's the cluster panel well ok how much to fix that 700 with install well forget that so I search around found one that worked all lights installed it to find same problem appears that seat belt light drivers side doesn't light up well took seat apart see if anything wasn't plug in sure enough everything was ok still nothing I'm confused and about puzzled with it track all the wires running up the seat can't see anything cut or loose plz help as my suv sits in my driveway rusting away