10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
1 / 0
Average Mileage:
72,652 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #29

Feb 242018

Equinox

  • miles
I put in a new Cadillac converter and every time I turn around I have to change the O2 sensors bank1 02 sensor keeps giving me P034 & P054 in a permanent P0420 it gets very expensive changing the same repairs over and over again. This happen when I'm in motion, the engine light comes on all the time.

- Pike Road, AL, USA

problem #28

Dec 312019

Equinox 6-cyl

  • miles
No defrost/heat. All electronics turn off it does not matter highway/city. When traction control engages dash will cut off and I have to restart. I have had my car just lose power for no reason highway or city. This thing is not safe! I know the date states 12/31/2019. However I have dealing with this since I got this thing.

- Rose City, MI, USA

problem #27

Feb 242020

Equinox

  • miles
The vehicle would not go into gear, then it would go into forward and not reverse took it to Chevy and was told we need a new transmission

- Fort Myers, FL, USA

problem #26

Feb 092020

Equinox

  • 109,000 miles
While driving vehicle doors are locking and unlocking themselves, radio and heat turns off and on, blinkers not working, headlights flash on and off by themselves, airbag, stability control and ABS flash on and off on dash. RPM and speedometer are at zero while driving and accelerating, gas hand shows on low fuel when there's gas on the car. Took to have vehicle scanned and alternator is reading at too high voltage and revived 15 error codes all relating to speed sensor, engine and transmission control model malfunction, power train control module and camshaft position circuit errors etc.

- Grand Blanc, MI, USA

problem #25

Jan 152020

Equinox

  • 98,546 miles
Vehicle was in motion approximately 45 mph when check engine light came on, message then appeared that engine power is reduced and speed immediately dropped to around 15 mph and then to a rough idle at approx 5-10mph. Was almost rear ended by vehicle traveling behind me. I was able to limp remaining 2 miles home and contacted dealer. Appointment was made and dealer reported code P2135 and replaced throttle body..dealer said throttle didn't know up from down. Dealer stated this is a common problem with the Equinox. I have read many complaints online about this same issue with other owners reporting being put in a dangerous position with the sudden drop in speed like we were. I contacted Chevy GM and they said there were no recalls. If rapid acceleration has been treated by other companies as recall worthy, I dont understand why Chevy does not consider this recall worthy. I have attached the repair report with this complaint.

- Macomb, IL, USA

problem #24

Sep 012017

Equinox

  • 15 miles
I bought the car 2 years ago, in which the vehicle had/has nonconformed issues since the immediately after the sale of purchase. The car has been in the shop (and is currently there) for 2 years. I have been paying for my own transportation(lyft, car rentals, etc) in addition to my car payments for over a year.

- Kapolei, HI, USA

problem #23

Dec 112019

Equinox

  • 109,894 miles
In motion vehicle would not get out of second gear forward and reverse, technician states wave plate broken this was replaced under warrant in 2014

- Lincoln, RI, USA

problem #22

Aug 152019

Equinox

  • 154,000 miles
My car just suddenly lost speed, wouldn't shift and was stuck at a stop, was told the transmission would need replacing because the solenoids were stuck. He also said this usually happens in most GM engines.

- Clintonville, WI, USA

problem #21

Jun 032019

Equinox

  • 140,000 miles
While driving, vehicle failed to accelerate and would not shift into next gear, then seemed to jump into higher gear. This caused me to almost be hit by motor vehicle behind me. Second time, I was turning into busy intersection and car completely stalled, turned off key and restarted car and it would not drive over 20 miles an hour so pulled into parking lot and wheel was very hard to control. Car would not go into reverse. Was left stranded on side of road and had vehicle towed to Chevy. Has oil consumption issues but recently purchased car and passed date for recalls and warranty repair. GM needs to offer all previous expired to people such as myself who purchase used vehicles that were never corrected during recall times.also my VIN was not listed in recall but has the exact issues. This was confirmed by GM.

- Theodore, AL, USA

problem #20

May 112019

Equinox

  • 184,000 miles
Transmission is bad. When I try to accelerate it doesn't go anywhere and its skipping gears and bucking prior to it finally no longer driveable

- Somersworth, NH, USA

problem #19

Nov 072018

Equinox

  • 168,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle jerked violently while driving and the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who diagnosed that the throttle body injector needed to be installed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 168,000.

- Flint, MI, USA

problem #18

Nov 142018

Equinox

  • 100,000 miles
The contact owns a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. While driving 75 mph, the reduced engine power warning indicator illuminated and the vehicle independently decelerated to 15 mph. The contact stated that the failure was more prevalent during the colder months. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the throttle body needed to be cleaned. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

- Pleasant Valley, MO, USA

problem #17

Jun 022018

Equinox

  • miles
The vehicle is burning oil out before the given mileage causing the engine light to come on loud knocking in the engine smoke

- Canton, OH, USA

problem #16

Jan 012018

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 142,000 miles
The contact owned a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. While driving approximately 45 mph, one of the tires on the passenger side exploded and caused the driver's air bag to deploy without warning. There were no injuries from the deployment. The contact pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road. Suddenly, the vehicle accelerated and crashed into the guardrail. The contact suffered head injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The dealer (scoville-meno Chevrolet GMC, 8 S main St, bainbridge, NY 13733, (877) 274-2485) was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 142,000. Carfax not able to process VIN updated 9/26/18

- Walton, NY, USA

problem #15

Jul 162015

Equinox

  • 109,000 miles
Where to begin...in 2015 I purchased this 2010 Equinox from a Chevy dealer and 2 months later started experiencing problems w/ the stabilitrak. I have thousands of dollars paying for this to be fixed with no solutoins to this day!! it os now a daily occurrence and comes on multiple times while driving every time I am behind the wheel now. In addition, now the engine is completely shutting off while driving it and I must coast to the side if the road!!!! with the hundreds of thousands of complaints your company has received regarding this problem over the last few years, I am guessing your company is waiting for a life to be taken! I have had this happen to me multiple times on the highway passing a car or semi and it kicks in and I have to pray that as I slow down with no control I can make it to the right lane and then on to the shoulder with out getting hit or worse!!! there are even mornings where I go out to start my car and...either it doesn't start at all w/ no sound, it starts with the stabilitrak already on or it clicks on as soon as I put it in reverse. I am keeping all my receipts together and my family knows where they are in case anything should happen to me due to the lack of Chevrolet assistance for thousands of people dealing w/ the same issues!!!! yes I have a warranty but was told that is not covered and I have already had a new transmission put in, throttle body replaced, wires replaced, etc... and still no solution and this is not the first time I have filed a complaint here. I will never recommend a Chevy to anyone and will share my experience with as many people as possible!

- Fruitport, MI, USA

problem #14

Jan 162018

Equinox

  • 98,000 miles
Engine loses power abruptly, power train light and check engine light

- Ruby, SC, USA

problem #13

Jun 012017

Equinox

  • 85,000 miles
"takata recall" while driving and approaching a stop sign on a city street in town, the car started aggressively shaking and several lights turned on - service stabilitrack, engine power reduced mode and the check engine light- thankfully we were able to safely pull off the road as the car would not exceed 25mph. After the first time we took it in and they flushed the throttle body. Less than 2 moths later the exact same problem occurred while driving in town. Took it back in and they completely replaced the throttle body. Here we are a few months later and now the car will not even start with the same icons appearing on the dash! if this were to happen on the freeway at 65 mph and it kick me down to 25 mph that is a serious accident waiting to happen.

- Turlock, CA, USA

problem #12

Mar 312017

Equinox

  • 79,800 miles
While driving on city streets, my gas pedal became unresponsive. The car began to slow down. Unable to keep my speed, I was unable to make a stoplight and had to stop. While my foot was on the brakes, the RPM for my vehicle were steadily at 6-7000. As the light turned green, I put my foot on the gas pedal, received a jolt as if the car was accelerating, but was slowly making my way up to 20 mph. As the time took near 30 seconds to make the climb on a flat road to 20 mph, I decided for my safety to hit my emergency flashers. Around that time, the check engine light came on. I pulled to a side street and hit 'onstar'. they were able to give me two codes that appeared. P0776 and P0700. While talking to onstar, my car was in park and again the engine was pushing 7000 rpms. I was barely able to make it to my house as the car was barely able to maintain it's speed. The next morning I was curious if I was able get the car out of my driveway or if it could move in a forward motion. I was forced to push my car out of my driveway as I could not go in reverse at all and again I noticed that the car could barely move forward. After having my car returned from specialist in transmissions, they gave me pictures of what they found. Which I included five with the complaint. The issue after talking to the dealership is a very common problem and by reading those two codes were able to instruct me the parts that broke inside the transmission without opening it up or checking the transmission fluid.

- Fairfield, OH, USA

problem #11

Dec 252016

Equinox 4-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
2010 Chevrolet Equinox all of a sudden lost traction control and drop speed to 15 miles per hour. Error light came on stating "engine power reduction" and then "service ". along with these error messages the icon for engine and stabilitrak came on after car lost most of its pwlower and traction. It was a cold night christmas 2016 but not as cold as other cities as we live in phoenix, AZ. Thankfully I was in our neighborhood when my [xxx] daughter and I lost power instead of being on the freeway but this is a major safety issue with these cars. I've recently read many complaints from Equinox owners who've dealt with this same issue. The dealership said it was the throttle body and solenoid valves and charged me $850 for a repair that I truly feel needs to be under a recall given the safety issue of losing power and traction while driving without warning!!! parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Litchfield Park, AZ, USA

problem #10

Nov 152016

Equinox

  • 87,000 miles
Car completely lost power on the highway while engine running. Engine went to idle. Nearly hit by other cars traveling on the highway. Had the car towed to my local mechanic. Car was throwing code P2135 which is throttle position sensor. I did some research on this code and there is a Chevy bulletin regarding this exact code and the engine going to idle while driving. I'm surprised this is not a recall as this is very dangerous and appears to be a common issue.

- Ronkonkoma, NY, USA

Read the next 9 complaints »