- Chevrolet has stopped sales of its new Blazer EV due to numerous software problems.
- On several vehicles in customer and media hands, the infotainment screen crashed and numerous fault codes made charging the vehicle, apparently, impossible.
- Chevrolet has stated it will address the problems, saying, “Customer satisfaction is our priority.”
The few hours we got to drive a couple of the new Chevrolet Blazer EVs, they worked just fine, with surprisingly responsive steering, lively acceleration and plenty of elbow room. We especially liked the integration of the charging station map to the NAV system. But apparently not everyone had that same experience. After at least two well-publicized media drive disasters, General Motors has halted all sales of its once-promising Blazer EV.
The problems with the mid-sized electric sport utility vehicle are not safety-related, according to GM, and only affect what GM is calling “a limited number” of the electro-haulers. There’s no word exactly how many Blazers constitute “a limited number,” could be anywhere from two to all of them sold, since the CUV has only been available since August. GM lists Blazer EV sales quarterly, so the most recent sales figure is just 19 as of October 3. Actual sales numbers to date, incorporating the last quarter of 2023, will surely be higher than that but we don’t know by how much.
Chevrolet has said that engineers are working on a fix for what it has termed “software issues.”
“We’re aware that a limited number of customers have experienced software-related quality issues with their Blazer EV,” Scott Bell, vice president of global Chevrolet, said in a statement. “Customer satisfaction is our priority and as such, we will take a brief pause on new deliveries.”
Further, GM has said that the problems “are not related to Ultium or Google Built-In.” The stop sale is temporary “until we can issue a software update to remedy these concerns.”
At least two media outlets have had big problems with their Blazer EVs. Edmunds actually purchased one of the utes and has had nothing but trouble with it.
“It’s always frustrating to see a warning light on your car’s dashboard,” Edmunds said in a post Dec. 20. “So imagine how we felt when we got eight different warning messages from our long-term 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV over the course of one day. Now consider that our Blazer EV, which we bought less than two months ago, has fewer than 2,000 miles on its odometer. In just one trip from Los Angeles to San Diego and back, our Blazer EV went from perfectly fine to totally on the fritz. And that’s only the beginning.”
Further problems occurred on a trip to the Blazer EV media launch program, ironically. The Blazer’s window switches stopped working, then the infotainment screen stopped working, then warning lights of several different descriptions came on about the charging system. In all, 23 fault-code problems came up and the vehicle has been at the dealer’s service center for two weeks and remained there as of Dec. 22.
Another media colleague, Kevin Williams of InsideEVs (who not only owns but actually races a Mitsubishi iMiEV), took a Blazer for a long drive only to have his car’s infotainment screen go blank, then for the car to say it was unable to charge. The vehicle having failed to proceed, Williams found an internal combustion-powered rental car and continued on his way.
As for non-media customer problems, Edmunds has two “Consumer Reviews” of the Blazer EV. One cited “many electronic issues including failure of the infotainment system which is where all programed functionality is accessed from.” That guy gave the Blazer EV one star. The other reviewer gave it four stars and said simply, “It drives good.” So customer satisfaction is, technically, 50/50.
Mark Vaughn grew up in a Ford family and spent many hours holding a trouble light over a straight-six miraculously fed by a single-barrel carburetor while his father cursed Ford, all its products and everyone who ever worked there. This was his introduction to objective automotive criticism. He started writing for City News Service in Los Angeles, then moved to Europe and became editor of a car magazine called, creatively, Auto. He decided Auto should cover Formula 1, sports prototypes and touring cars—no one stopped him! From there he interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show and has been with us ever since.
