1998 Chevrolet Blazer

ISSUES ONE WOULD NOT EXPECT FROM A 20K PLUS VEHICLE INCLUDING WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADE FAILURE TODAY ("NEAR MISS" ACCIDENT FROM HEAVY RAIN AND TRAFFIC), SMOKE EMITTING FROM STEERING COLUMN, CONTINUOUS INTERMITTENT REPETITIVE SOUNDS EMITTING FROM TURN SIGNAL CONTROLLER(S). SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS HAVE ALL PREVIOUSLY BEEN DESCRIBED IN GREAT DETAIL BY OTHER OWNERS AS: AN INSTRUMENT CLUSTER ISSUE, WIPER CONTROL BOARD, VARIOUS CONNECTORS AND OR HARNESS, MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH, SMOKE CONCERNS ETC. LISTED FROM COMPLAINTS FROM ODI CASE NUMBERS: 743685, 10014026, 10023129, 10030946, 10036610, 10045357, 10060630, 10066061, 10086138, 10086896, 10098912, 10103977, 10112458, 10137415, 549079, 847885, 866953, 874993. *JB

SUSPENSION - RIDES ROUGH: REPLACED SHOCKS ELECTRICAL - INTERIOR/EXTERIOR PROBLEMS WITH THE HORN, HEADLIGHTS, DIRECTIONAL, WINDSHIELD WIPERS, AND CAUTION LIGHTS. REPLACED: ELECTRICAL UNIT INSIDE STEERING COLUMN AND OXGEN SENSOR. STEERING - REPLACED: WHEELS, TIRES, ROTORS, BALL JOINTS, AND SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO BALANCE TIRES AND FRONT END ALIGNMENTS WITH NO REAL DIFFERENCE. IDLES - ROUGH. *JB

DT: 1998 CHEVROLET BLAZER. THE CONSUMER STATED ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND IT WAS DESTROYED. THERE HAS BEEN NO INVESTIGATION TO SEE WHERE THE FIRE STARTED. THE CONSUMER STATE FIRE STARTED IN THE ELECTRICAL BOX BECAUSE THAT WAS WHERE IT GOT THE HOTTEST. THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING THE SAME PRIOR TO THIS OCCURRENCE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS CALLED AND A REPORT WAS TAKEN. THE CONSUMER DID NOT HAVE THE NUMBER. CHEVROLET HAS BEEN CONTACTED, BUT THEY WERE NOT GOING TO HELP THE CONSUMER.*AK

BLINKER NOISE PERSISTS EVEN WHEN BLINKERS ARE TURNED OFF. SOUND DISAPEARS AFTER ENGAGING BRAKE PEDAL THEN PERSISTS WHEN BREAK PEDAL IS RELEASED. IN A HEAVY RAIN STORM, HAD TO USE WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND AFTER A FEW MINUTES OF USE WHITE SMOKE CAME FROM THE STEERING COLUMN. TALKED TO A GM MECHANIC WHO TOLD ME THAT THIS PROBLEM COULD CAUSE MY AIRBAG TO DEPLOY - A REAL LIABILITY. CALLED GM TO EXPLAIN THE PROBLEM & POSSIBLE LIABILITY OF AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT (CASE #1-333564043) & WAS TOLD THAT BECAUSE OF THE BLAZER BEING A 1998 THERE MAY BE NONTHING THEY CAN DO. THE SAME MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH WAS MADE IN MEXICO FOR 1998-2001 MODELS AND IF IT DISFUNCTIONS CAN CAUSE BREAK LIGHTS NOT TO WORK AS WELL AS MAJOR ELECTRICAL ISSUES LIKE AIRBAG DEPLOYMENT OR FIRE - WOULDN'T THIS BE A RECALL FOR ALL MODELS THAT HAVE THE PART?

I HAVE OWNED MY '98 BLAZER FOR ABOUT A YEAR, AND IT WAS AND STILL IS A VERY WELL MAINTAINED VEHICLE, BUT THE TURN SIGNAL IS CLICKING AND MAKING ME CRAZY! I ALSO HAVE THE WINDSHIELD WIPER MALFUNCTION, THEY WON'T STOP SOMETIMES. ARE THE MANUFACTURERS GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THIS? I HAVE THE COMPLAINT HISTORY ON THESE TRUCKS AND I THINK IT IS A RATHER LARGE PROBLEM!

MY WIFE AND I HAVE HAD TO MAKE MAJOR REPAIRS TO OUR 1998 BLAZER. WE HAD TO REPLACE THE WATER PUMP ($294.55) IN OCTOBER 2002. THEN, THE TRANSMISSION STARTED SLIPPING AND GOT WORSE. WE TOOK IT TO AAMCO, WHERE WE WERE INFORMED THAT IT HAD TO BE REBUILT. THIS WAS IN JULY OF 2002. THE TOTAL COST WAS ($2077.37). I INQUIRED THAT SAME MONTH AT CHEVROLET ABOUT RECALLS, AND THEY SAID THAT THERE WERE NONE. SINCE THEN, WE HAVE HAD NUMEROUS MINOR PROBLEMS WITH THE LAME SUV, INCLUDING BROKEN RECLINER HANDLES, STEERING THAT PULLS AND GRINDS, AND A MALFUNCTIONING ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (CLICKING SOUNDS FROM UNDER THE GLOVE BOX, THREE BATTERIES REPLACED). I SAW A REPORT LAST WEEK ABOUT THE USE OF DEXCOOL AND ITS POSSIBLE LINK TO PROBLEMS IN GM VEHICLES. ARE THERE ANY REMEDIES AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME? *AK