Chevy Trailblazer dying on me?
2002 Chevy Trailblazer, almost 180k miles, the 8th character of my vin is S not sure what that means
Hey everybody! I’m a nearly 28 year old woman driving her dead dad’s car (for the past 6 years) and it’s been nice until recently. I get the oil changed fairly regularly, I drive careful, etc.
Some problems that have been happening with my car:
• vehicle sometimes rumbles when foot is on the brake
• steering wheel shakes/vibrates when I go 65MPH+
• weird burning smell sometime (smells like burnt hair kind of)
I’ve had all sorts of electrical weirdness with my car over the years too:
- back windshield wipers just go when they feel like it, had them removed then just unplugged the wiring lol so they aren’t functional anymore
- every once in a while all gauges will go to 0 and all warning lights will come on but if I smack the dashboard they all go back to normal…
- radio doesn’t work usually, sounds like speaker is blown so I never use it
- sometimes (only sometimes) if I lock it to go somewhere, I’ll come back and unlock it with my key and the alarm will go off until I start the car, it’s super embarrassing! lol and I never know when it’s going to decide to do it
HOWEVER I took it to a mechanic a couple weeks ago (June 11th) because my car rumbled a lot at a stoplight, then had trouble accelerating on the freeway, then my “service engine soon” light started blinking. They recommended a few different things.
All prices are approximate to what they said and I believe most include labor ($180/hr) plus and $80 diagnostic:
- Oil change ($60)
- Transmission fluid + filter ($300)
- New spark plugs ($435)
- New ignition coils ($925 to replace all six, $220 to replace one)
- Fan clutch ($900+) apparently they’re expensive
They said 4 and 5 weren’t really necessary right now but recommended with how old my car is.
I decided to just do 1-3 which ended up costing me almost $900 ($875)
A couple weeks later (June 24th) my cars check engine light is back on and my car is being weird again. I start my car to go to school yesterday and “check gauges” light on, oil pressure gauge at 0 when I started it while everything else is normal, trouble accelerating. Luckily I was like a 5 minute drive from the same mechanic so I took it there asap.
They tell me one of my engine coils went out and I could either replace one ($220) or replace all 6 ($925). I decide to replace the one for $220. I leave the mechanic thinking my car is going to be normal for a while now at least. I go to my boyfriend’s house down the road. Spend the night. Wake up and start my car this morning. My car works but I now cannot see my mileage or what gear I’m shifted into. Luckily I am pretty used to shifting and know what’s what but it still seems bad. I’ll attach a photo.
I’ve now spent over $1,000 on this car in just 2 weeks and it’s still being weird.
I don’t have a ton of money to spend on this car and if I’m gonna spend a bunch of money I might as well get a new used car? I’m so stressed and sad. This car was the one my dad surprised me with in the 3rd grade and when he died I got it because he always said he wanted me to have it in case I needed a place to sleep or just wanted to have something to drive. I don’t know if it’s worth it to keep it alive and running.
I also have to drive a distance in the next month and I’m stressed I won’t be able to go/make it there safely. Also it’s going to be very hot and I don’t want to be stuck on the side of the road by myself.
What else could be happening? What should I try to do? I have a stepdad that can help me with some of the easier things if possible but he’s no mechanic.