12th May 2005, 22:52

Three years ago I bought a 2002 Chevy S10 brand new off the lot. Was pretty happy with my purchase until about 5000 miles. First, the radio went on the fritz which GM fixed sue to warranty. Second, the truck started running funny. I took it in and the dealership claimed bad gas and it would be a 350 dollar injection cleaning. Third, my starter went at 31000 miles, 41000 miles, and 60000 miles. Fourth, my headliner, hinge bushings, weather striping, exhaust and thermostat went. Fifth, the ball joints went at 65000 miles. And most recently my transmission is blown at 81000 miles. I always drove Chevy and proud of it, but after purchasing a brand new truck and having this many problems you won't even riding shotgun in one. In conclusion, My fiance has a 1989 Toyota 4x4 pickup with 320000 miles on it and it needed new tires and a thermostat in the last 200000 miles.

18th Nov 2006, 14:17

I recently purchased a 1998 Chevy s10 ZR2 and am very disappointed in it. One month after the purchase, the transfer case seized resulting in a 2200 dollar replacement, a bolt in the steering assembly was almost seared off, but was caught and fixed in the replacement of my transfer case. The AC control no longer works, of course the fender paint and weather striping is gone, and just recently my CAT has been giving me some funny noises. At just over 80,000 miles it acts like its at a million miles. However, I really like the power, the handling, and the aggressive look.

But, I would sell in it a heartbeat if the right offer were to come along...

27th Nov 2006, 00:57

I got a 2000 Chevy ZR2 with 90K about 6 months ago. I have to say I'm very pleased with it so far. I have put about 10K on it now. I haven't had to do any repairs and it has plenty of power. It has the most power for its vehicle class. The off-road ability is great also. I plan to do a few more modifications to improve the power and looks. I hope there are other out there like me!

27th Jan 2007, 20:48

I bought a 98 ZR2 in Sept 06 and love it. It has 130000 miles and gets 19 mpg on the highway. Had a tranny problem, but with the mileage it was understandable. The seat levers were broken when I bought it, but a visit to ebay cured that little problem. I guess I'm in the minority, but I love my truck. Great looks and performance.

12th Feb 2008, 23:51

My husband and I own an 02 ZR2 also and have had the same prob. with our truck. We too used to be huge Chevy fans, but the purchase of this truck has changed our outlook on Chevy. We bought our truck used with about 50,000 miles on it in the beginning of 04, and also had to replace the upper and lower ball joints, idler arm, stearing arm and pittman arm. Our heater/air switches also started sucking vacuum and would not change between settings correctly. We too had this issue repaired 5 times. Just as the remainder of the warranty ran out on the switch, it failed again. The dealer also told us that it was sucking transmission fluid into the lines, which we found funny because it is an electric transmission, not vac. lines. As far as the replacement of the front end parts, they also would not cover this. We done the work our self's (thank god for my husband having been mechanically inclined) and when we took in in for alignment, the company also suggested new tires, because the ones that were on it (exactly like factory) were too much for the front end. After getting new tires, we have not had much trouble with the front end. As far as gas mileage, we thought that it would be similar to the s-10, boy were we mistaken. It is terrible. We get 16mpg's also and that is awful. We now have a new noise... sounds like water in the dash. No leaks in the floorboard, not using antifreeze, and no water "appearing" anywhere. Who knows, I think it is time to sell it to some sucker that thinks he is getting an awesome Chevy product. Just my 2 cents!

11th Apr 2008, 11:50

I've had my 2002 S10 ZR2 for about 4 years now and am beginning to question my purchase just now.

There seems to be a problem with the seal/weatherstripping around the top of the windshield, where I have water leaking/dripping down inside the cab onto the dashboard... not every time it rains/snows, but more often than not. I thought replacing the windshield (and thus, getting a touch-up on that seal) would help the problem, but 2 windshield replacements haven't fixed it yet.

The handle for the "3rd door" has snapped off in my hand twice now, and I haven't bothered to fix it a 3rd time.

I've gone through 2 (yes, TWO) fuel pumps in the last year which is expensive every time, in my opinion.

As others have commented as well, my upper and lower ball joints are shot (and thus I chew through tires seemingly constantly), and I suspect once I can afford to get that work done that they'll find other related problems mid-way through the job.

I've got a set of three annoying rattles that have started in the last year, one from the driver's side "3rd door" pop-open window area, one from the driver's side seat belt connection, and the last somewhere behind the dash.

Last oil change I was told the intake manifold is leaking as well.

The first 3 years I had the truck I was pretty happy, love the look of the unit and the ability to get in and out of my hunting spots and questionable boat accesses year round... but in the last year, this truck's getting expensive and less and less impressive. Just my experience and opinion though.

5th Aug 2008, 17:57

I stumbled upon this page lookin' for tires. I read a bunch of comments and can't let everyone bash my truck. I bought my S-10 brand new with 12 miles on it in 2003. I love my truck!!! I've had no major problems with her. It has 60,000 miles I have replaced 1 lower-ball joint, front left. The 3rd door latch I replaced twice... ($45 bucks and 10 minutes each time)...why make a plastic release leaver?!?!?!?! Cold weather and plastic DON'T GET ALONG!!! I use my truck as a work truck; I'm a carpenter and painter.

28th Oct 2008, 22:23

I own a 2003 Chevy S-10 ZR2 which I bought used in 2004. In the past five years I have put nearly 100,000 miles on her. Gas mileage is not the greatest, and my seat lever broke the other day. But other than those two small problems she has been running like the day I bought her. Just keep it regularly maintained and the truck stays together great. I am hoping that we see another 100,000.