Exterior lighting: brake lights
Free remedy
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, VIBRATION AND HEAT MAY CAUSE THE TAIL LAMP/STOP LAMP BULB TO LOOSEN IN ITS SOCKET. IF THIS OCCURS, THE BULB MAY FLICKER AND EVENTUALLY BECOME INOPERATIVE.
115 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer Ext cite exterior lighting, 8% of all 1,357 complaints for this model year. NHTSA also lists 1 recall on this component.
“The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the headlights became inoperable. After a while, the headlights became operational. There were no warning lights illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 189,000.”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS WENT OUT WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THEY REPLACED THE FRONT PANEL SWITCH AND CONNECTOR. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 146,577.”
“BRAKE LIGHTS FLICKER OFF AND ON. WHEN THE VEHICLE IS IN MOTION AND BRAKES ARE PRESSED, THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT LIGHT UP. THIS CONTINUES TO HAPPEN WITH A NEW LIGHT BULB PLACED IN.”
“ALL LIGHTS STOPPED WORKING, EXCEPT WHEN SWITCHING TO HIGH BEAMS. FRONT LIGHTS AND BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT WORK. WHEN USING THE HIGH BEAMS, THE FRONT LIGHTS OPERATE ON HIGH ONLY. THE CAR CANNOT BE SAFELY DRIVEN AT NIGHT.”
“DRIVING CONDITIONS DARK, 11PM, UNLIT, STARS VISIBLE PAVED COUNTRY ROAD WITH HILLS, CURVES AND 2-5 FOOT DITCHES. WEATHER WET BUT DRYING. VISIBILITY GOOD. VEHICLE IN MOTION NEAR LEGAL SPEED LIMIT 80 KM/HR. OCCASIONAL ONCOMING TRAFFIC, SO OCCASIONALLY SWITCHING BETWEEN LOW AND HIGH BEAMS. NOTICED LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FLICKERED OCCASIONALLY. EFFECT WAS ONLY VISIBLE AFTER ONCOMING TRAFFIC HAD PASSED, BEFORE SWITCHING BACK TO HIGH BEAM HEADLIGHTS. I HAD ATTRIBUTED THE EFFECT TO MY EYES ADJUSTING AFTER THE ONCOMING HEADLIGHTS. ON ONE OCCASION, AFTER THE ONCOMING VEHICLE HAD PASSED, I SWITCHED BACK TO LOW BEAM SETTING, BUT THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS WERE NOT ILLUMINATING THE ROAD AT ALL. ALL I COULD SEE WAS A SMALL AMOUNT OF YELLOWISH LIGHT OFF TO THE SIDES OF THE VEHICLE FROM THE OTHER RUNNING LIGHTS, INCLUDING YELLOW LIGHTS ON THE SIDE-VIEW MIRRORS. THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT LIGHT TO SEE ANY DISTANCE DOWN THE ROAD, SO I CEASED TO DEPRESS THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, AND COVERED THE BRAKE APPLYING GENTLE BRAKING. I STILL HAD MY FINGERS ON THE LEVER AND WAS ABLE TO SWITCH BACK TO HIGH BEAMS AFTER SEVERAL SECONDS. FORTUNATELY THE HIGH BEAMS STILL WORKED. I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO A…”
“TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER. WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS AND THE BRAKE LIGHTS RANDOMLY STOPPED ILLUMINATING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO REPLACED THE LIGHT BULBS, CIRCUIT BOARDS, AND FUSES; HOWEVER, THE FAILURES CONTINUED. WHEN REPLACING THE BRAKE LIGHTS, THE BULBS MELTED INTO THE CIRCUIT BOARD. THE LOCAL DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS OFFERED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 160,000.”
Showing 6 of 115 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
ON CERTAIN SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, VIBRATION AND HEAT MAY CAUSE THE TAIL LAMP/STOP LAMP BULB TO LOOSEN IN ITS SOCKET. IF THIS OCCURS, THE BULB MAY FLICKER AND EVENTUALLY BECOME INOPERATIVE.
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.