1997 Chevrolet Blazer problems & reliability
768 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1997 Chevrolet Blazer, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
45 complaints report injuries (66 injured, 4 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1997 Chevrolet Blazer vehicles were involved in 34 fatal crashes with 29 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 144 | 19% |
| Visibility | 129 | 17% |
| Power Train | 110 | 14% |
| Suspension | 105 | 14% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 93 | 12% |
| Electrical System | 89 | 12% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 56 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 47 | 6% |
| Air Bags | 38 | 5% |
| Fuel System, Other | 32 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 87,948 miles (middle 50% between 69,570 and 104,500 miles), based on 167 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Throttle stuck brakes could not stop vehicle. Lost control and rolled. Lucky I was on my property and not a public road. No report. Can be inspected. Available anytime. This is not the only year of this model I have had this problem I have had two 2002 that have had same problem.”
Vehicle Speed Control · filed Jan 14, 2023
“Tl* the contact owns a 1997 chevrolet blazer equipped with capitol precision trac ii tires, size: 235/75r15. The contact stated that the tires experienced issues with balancing. The contact was made aware of nhtsa campaign number: 14t013000 (tires); however, he was unable to get the recall repair completed due to lack…”
Tires · filed Mar 20, 2018
“While driving at night the high beams go out and the interior light will not turn off when the doors are closed or the switch turned off.”
Service Brakes · filed Oct 25, 2017
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- SEAT BELT WEBBING SEPARATION
Engineering Analysis EA97004 · opened Feb 28, 1997 · closed Aug 5, 1997 · led to recall 97V096002
- ABS BRAKING SYSTEM
Engineering Analysis EA94038 · opened Oct 31, 1994 · closed Feb 28, 2000 · led to recall 99V193000
Technical service bulletins
59 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1997 Chevrolet Blazer. The 10 most recent:
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 21, 2023
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco Theft Lock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2017
This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information with the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 15, 2017
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1997 Chevrolet Blazer has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1997 Chevrolet Blazer?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 87,948 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.