10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 3
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 95,207 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.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
Bought a new 2005. 2 months after warranty went out the ignition messed. Have to wiggle the key to get it to turn. Two months later the heat/ac blower control switch went out. At 120,000 miles leaking lower intake manifold gasket, fixed that. 3 months later blown head gasket, found bad fuel injector while fixing that. 6 days after all that was fixed the PCM/ECM went out, still at shop as I type. Wonder what is next. I have always owned GM products, but I believe this is my last one. I have been told by two mechanics that the bearing in motor will now go bad since water got in oil twice from leaking gaskets. 3 mechanics told me this motor is known for blown head gaskets and leaking lowing intake manifold gaskets. Online there is talk of a recall on the PCM/ECM but dealership says no recall.
- Paducah, KY, USA
Car started overheating and was diagnosed as a bad head gasket and repaired. After the head gasket was repaired the Equinox started overheating again and this time it was diagnosed as a cracked cylinder head. The motor was replaced. The replacement motor lasted 3 weeks before it failed as well with the same diagnosis as before, a bad head gasket. I contacted GM. They offered no solutions, offered no help in repairing or replacing the engine. The car is dangerous to drive and they know the engines in the 2005 and 2006 (VIN F) are bad engines suffering from a poor design. They didn't make the engines only for 2 years because they worked so well. Numerous reports about the bad engines with GM's response simply to spend more money on a car that won't last past 100K miles.
- Pulaski, PA, USA
This vehicle take 4qt of oil, but the book said 4.5 qt that will over fill dip stick show over a qt full check with part dept at Chevrolet and was told that it only take 4qt with filter included other service manual also say 4qt with filter 'because of this different in manual capacity this has cause engine damage over the years.
- Clayton, DE, USA
Seems to be the same problems a lot of Equinox owners are experiencing. Blown headgasket w/ a price tag of $1800 to fix.
- Minersville, PA, USA
Blown head gasket at 101,000 miles. I noticed that coolant was disappearing and temperature gauge was slightly above normal. I mentioned this to the technician when I took the car in for an oil change. The technician indicated that the coolant was mixing with the oil and I should have it checked out by a mechanic immediately. I brought the car to my mechanic who diagnosed it as blown head gasket.
- Chino Hills, CA, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. The contact had to continuously depress the accelerated pedal to start the vehicle, causing the engine to flood. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer for diagnostic testing however, the dealer was unable to identify the issue. The contact did not call the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 110,000.
- Somerset, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the head gaskets failed without warning. The dealer stated that anti-freeze leaked into the motor and caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 92,000. Updated 02/20/13 updated 02/21/2013
- Raytown, MO, USA
With only 36,212 miles on this vehicle, there is now a rear head gasket leaking. Now, as a senior citizen with a fixed income, I need to pay for this repair. It seems to me with this low mileage an engine should last longer!! poor workmanship!!!! I sincerely hope this information is shared with the manufacturer.
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the egr valve that was offered by the manufacturer would not fit securely on the vehicle. An authorized dealer was contacted in regard to the issue and the contact was advised to purchase the part elsewhere. The manufacturer was also contacted who advised that the part was previously recalled by the manufacturer. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 100,000.
- Kamiah , ID, USA
We purchased a 2005 Equinox a few months ago and have only put about 1600 miles on it. We have been having problems with the engine getting hot, and the coolant being a strange orange-brown color and disappearing from the overflow tank. Took it to a repair shop on Oct. 2, 2012 and found out it has a blown head gasket. Estimate for getting it fixed is a little over $1400, and more if the head is cracked. The repair shop informed us that this vehicle has a good engine and they are very surprised that it has a blown head gasket with only 85,700 miles. We're very disappointed seeing all the complaints of other owners having the same problem and that GM is not doing anything. We will be contacting them next, even though it won't matter.
- Covington, OH, USA
My Equinox has trouble starting and it will turn over until you give it some gas, I've been reading on consumer reports and this is a common occurrence with most Equinox's. I was at the grocery store the other day and heard the same problem with another that was parked some what close to mine as well.
- Jackson, MI, USA
While stopped in heavy traffic in a construction zone on I-80, car started to run very hot, fan kicked on and it finally cooled off. Upon arrival home, coolant was low, my husband refilled coolant. Called johnson motors and scheduled a check and oil change. Johnson motors service performed a compression check and informed my husband that engine was damaged and needed replaced for price of approximately $6,000 dollars (wow). Of note, in December 2010 header gaskets were replaced to a price of $1,200 dollars, I went on line to find multiple complaints from many Equinox owners concerning the same issues of header gaskets going bad and causing engine damage. This vehicle has been on a regularly scheduled maintenance care schedule with only GMC service technicians. I am shocked that with regular oil changes etc that this happened. This situation is dangerous and really needs a thorough investigation. Apparently the V6 engine used in the Equinox vehicles is a problem engine that GMC is well aware of, time for someone to make a change. Thank you.
- Reynoldsville, PA, USA
My car A/C blows hot air unless I am travelling long distances down the road, heat sometimes does not work in the winter and I have to pull off the road, turn the vehicle off and then back on to get heater to work. Also while cranking the car it doesn't want to turn over at times unless I stomp on the gas pedal. This happens around twice a week. Freon is ok in my car and nobody can find the problem for A/C or the reason it sometimes won't turn over without giving it gas first. Its highly unsafe to have an air temp door not work properly as it won't defrost during the winter and won't blow cold during the summer.
- Arlington, TX, USA
Driving down the highway at about 55-60mph when the car dies. Started running again a few seconds later but then died again. Pulled over could not get it started, but started to smell something burning. Popped the hood to find the main fuse box bellowing smoke, thankfully it was raining so I let the rain cool it down. I figured this was better than it eventually catching the entire vehicle on fire as my wife and 3 kids were in the car. After the smoke stopped, the car repeatedly tried to start itself without the key being present in the ignition. It eventually stopped doing this but the dash lights would randomly flicker in unison. All electrical components were still operational (radio, lights, signals, wipers, etc...) but again no key was present in the ignition.
- Council Bluffs, IA, USA
- Gastonia, NC, USA