2025 Chevy Trailblazer Gets E85-Compatible Engine
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The refreshed 2024 Chevy Trailblazer was unveiled in February of 2023, debuting new styling, an overhauled interior, and more standard features. The subsequent 2025 Chevy Trailblazer brings a few updates as well, including a new E85-compatible engine to the lineup. The flex-fuel engine will also be equipped by the 2025 Chevy Trax and 2025 Buick Encore GX, as GM Authority covered previously.
According to GM Authority sources, the 2025 Chevy Trailblazer will offer the new turbocharged 1.2L I3 LBP engine as a replacement for the turbocharged 1.2L I3 LIH gasoline engine offered previously. Although the rest of the powertrain components are unchanged, the turbocharged 1.2L I3 LBP engine will be compatible with E85 fuel, making the 2025 Chevy Trailblazer a flex fuel vehicle. Output from the LBP engine will be identical to that of the LIH engine at 137 horsepower and 162 pound-feet of torque. The 2025 Chevy Trailblazer will continue to offer the turbocharged 1.3L I3 L3T gasoline engine as optional. However, the turbocharged 1.3L I3 L3T gasoline engine is not compatible with E85 fuel.
The turbocharged 1.2L I3 LBP engine will be offered as standard equipment for 2025 Chevy Trailblazer LS FWD and LT FWD models, while the turbocharged 1.3L I3 L3T gasoline engine will be offered as standard on LS AWD, LT AWD, RS, and Activ trims. The E85-compatible 1.2L I3 LBP engine will be available in the U.S. and in Canada, unlike the 2025 Buick Encore GX and 2025 Chevy Trax, both of which will only offer the LBP in the U.S.
E85 is known as a high-ethanol-content fuel, with the percentage of gasoline to ethanol varying between 51 and 83 percent ethanol, depending on the time of year and location. Meanwhile, “regular” gasoline contains roughly 10 percent ethanol.
Vehicles capable of running E85 are known as flex fuel vehicles, and are becoming more common throughout the U.S., in particular in regions where local corn crops provide the source of ethanol for fuel production. The advantages of E85 include a higher resistance to engine knock and a reduced dependence on foreign oil, while the drawbacks include decreased fuel economy and potential issues in colder climates. E85 fuel is not recommended for vehicles that do not have flex fuel capabilities.
As a reminder, the Chevy Trailblazer rides on the GM VSS-F platform, while production takes place at the GM Bupyeong plant in South Korea.
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Does anyone use E85? I never see it around her, it’s all reg, mid, premium, and diesel. Not all stations sell premium.
I use E85 in my Yukon. Gas mileage goes down a fair amount but it’s under half the cost of regular so still worth it.
I used E85 in my WK2 (Grand Cherokee) for a few months (to let the computer retune itself). Once I had done the math over those few months, E85 turned out to be more expensive overall than regular gasoline. Not by much, but still more expensive and more of a hassle to find. This might not be the case for you, depending on your state and the price of E85 (as well as taxes), but if you haven’t actually sat down and done the math on what it’s costing you per mile, it’s worth doing. The performance also suffered a fair bit even after the computer retuned.
Yup, there’s no free lunches.
Unless you live in a state with really good tax incentives on E85, it’s not really worth it. Performance suffers, and often it’s actually more expensive to run E85 overall when you take into account the reduction in fuel economy. I ran it for a few months, let my engine retune, and still by the end of it E85 was costing me around $0.05 more per mile. Doesn’t seem like a lot, but at 10k miles a year that’s $500 extra for a car that preforms worse. This won’t be the case for everyone, but it’s the case for everyone I know who has ever run E85.
I use it for towing heavy trailers as my truck gets a throttle boost. Price is about the same when considering the drop in mileage. Also, I run every 4-5th tank on E15, just to clean out the system
Interesting. It absolutely wrecked the performance on my Jeep. Your truck might be more optimized for it. If it works for you, it works for you. I’m assuming you’ve done the math on it.
My vehicle is flexfuel so it is designed to run on it. I wouldn’t be using e85 in a vehicle not designed for it.
It’s to bad they didn’t research more alternative fuel options there was bio diesel that’s all but gone now unless your vehicle can run on it. I remember those adds ” my car runs on water yours can to”…it seems to be all gone now for EV tech…it’s a shame.
In Indiana I drive by a fair few bio diesel plants. I see a lot of B20’s on pumps as well. The new thing is “renewable” diesel. It’s just synthetic diesel like what South Africa is doing with coal, but it’s using corn stalks and has significantly less sulfure. It’s catching on very slowly.
Hi I own a 2023 Trailblazer so just want to know why these fabulous looking cars don’t have door seals we pay alit for these vehicles it gets very cold driving in winter
E85? OMG! Boy, GM is really on the cutting edge! Haha. Bye bye Barra!
Certain countries use E85 more then the US besides why not have a car that can use both anyway…let me guess GM should be making hybrids…you know I am done with this website all you people do is complain and cry like toddlers…it’s like the retirement home on here .I come on here to see what GM is doing and to read the news that I don’t watch on TV…if you hate GM so much go buy a ford or better a Toyota. See y’all in am done don’t bother commenting back I won’t answer.
In addition to driving strictly GM cars since the early 70’s, my last five were New GMC Yukon Denalis. The last one had the notorious lifter / oil pressure issue and with only 67k miles but over the warranty in time, GM wouldn’t help me out. Customer service said it was up to the dealer to decide if they would do anything. The dealer quoted me: “ …could cost around $9300 – you’ll have to let us tear it down completely & MAYBE GM will pay HALF the cost of ONE LIFTER.” At today’s prices just those last five Denalis I bought would cost over a half million dollars. I got it out the dealer shop (where I bought it) & took it to an independent shop & they did the job for $2800. After all the new cars we faithfully bought from GM for a half a century, GM won’t get a dime of my (or any of my family members’) money ever again. Yeah, I want a HYBRID I can tow my boat with – looks like maybe a Toyota Grand Highlander Max or Lexus or Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe or? But NOT GM!
e85 + hybrid motor with a small battery pack. Now you are on to something.
You where out of warranty over the mileage what did you expect a handout..you should have done what I did I got the bumper to bumper extended warranty it’s covered until 128,000 miles if anything happens it’s fixed. But your right you spent a lot of money over the years but stealerships don’t care about you or anyone dealerships should be done away with my cars never go to the dealership unless something major goes wrong my locaal mechanic does everything else.
My vehicles were always (and only) serviced and maintained at GM dealerships according to schedule. The oil pressures / lifter issue is a well known factory defect. If I hadn’t maintained it or if it was “normal wear and tear,“ I’d have a different attitude but this is a well known and documented design flaw and GM should have committed to do something for me I wasn’t looking for a no-charge “handout’ as you put it. Back in the 80’s GM replaced my cam & lifters (Chevy 305 V-8) no charge as they did for thousands of others b/c of a factory defect / design flaw. GM did paintwork out of warranty in the 90’s for me and thousands of others because of de-lamination defects. GM took care of me and thousands of others when their overhead cam Grand Ams had multiple engine factory defects / design flaws, etc. Factory defective manufacturing and engineering blunders are not the customers’ fault and manufactures should stand behind their products. Back then, GM took care of me and I, in turn, took care of them by being a loyal customer buying and servicing my vehicles using only their factory-trained technicians and genuine GM parts. But that was “the old days’ when GM had more sense and a better sense of customer appreciation. :You-know-what” rolls downhill and that always starts at the top. Bye, bye Barra!
Unfortunately I agree GM could have fixed it but then the world was a different place in the 80s and 90s people and actually gave a damn about the customer now your just another number out of 100,000 people buying a car. It’s all about profits these days believe me I work for a UPS and the worst thing that ever happened to UPS was when the share holders took over they no longer care about the workers or how much work you do your just a money making robot not a human. Car companies are the same way it’s all about profits and greed…and that’s all car companies both American and foreign.