10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 2
Average Mileage:
80,720 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 2011 Chevrolet Equinox:

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

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #203

Sep 262018

Equinox

  • 120,000 miles
I was driving my 2011 Chevy Equinox I just purchased Aug 5,2018 while driving the engine light came on I went to turn in the parking lot at the vehicle just completely shut down I had try coasting into a space. Vehicle was towed to a service center only to learn this is a known issue with G mm C/Chevrolet. Unfortunately GMC is turning a deaf ear to this very dangerous situation. I had just gotten off a major interstate I could have been killed and gma is clearly aware of this problem and refusing to do a recall I'm praying noone gets killed before their hand is forced to make their product safe for the consumer.

- Garner, NC, USA

problem #202

May 092017

Equinox

  • 63,253 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact could not start the vehicle and the engine indicator was illuminated. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle felt as if it were reversing when the vehicle was engaged in drive. The vehicle was taken to jim browne Chevrolet tampa bay (11300 N Florida ave, tampa, fl 33612, (888) 366-5458) where the contact was informed that the fuel was burnt out and the circuit needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 63,253.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #201

Sep 042018

Equinox

  • 115,000 miles
While driving car trembled a little a minute or so before it seemingly lost power, no accelerstion, steering wheel locked. Lights remained on dash but no power. No warning lights. Nothing. Thankfully was able to safely stop near side of the road and turned thebkey and car started like nothing happened. Thankful I was exiting a parking lot, and wasnt on the highway like I was just a few hours prior. I couldve been killed

- Trumbull, CT, USA

problem #200

Aug 102018

Equinox

  • 117,000 miles
I was traveling on the service road when my car suddenly stalled without notice. I was almost hit by vehicles traveling behind me. The car started up right away and I was able to park safely. The check engine light is now on and it shows a code for a bad solenoid. This is a prominent problem with this car, I have seen numerous people complain on various websites about this issue. I just want to know why this car is still out on the road. It is unsafe. It will kill someone eventually. I am now scared to drive this vehicle and will trade this vehicle in.

- Bourbon, MO, USA

problem #199

Aug 062018

Equinox

  • 110,000 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the vehicle stalled. No warning indicators illuminated and a strong odor of fuel was present inside the cabin. The contact started the vehicle normally after approximately 2 minutes. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where a failure could not determined. The vehicle was then taken to the dealer ferman Chevrolet 'tampa (9751 E. adamo drive, tampa, fl 33619) where the failure was diagnosed as a fractured timing chain and the engine had to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and case number: 8-4527816728 was opened. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 110,000.

- 33572ollo Beach, FL, USA

problem #198

Jul 072018

Equinox

  • 124,000 miles
Going down the road the ac started blowing hot air so we have no air in this SUV not fair and it started to jerk like it was losing power scary

- Waco, TX, USA

problem #197

Jul 052018

Equinox

  • 83,655 miles
Vehicle has been meticulously maintained. Engine started to stall while driving, then would not start. Warning lights did not appear until after the vehicle would not start. Said engine underpowered. Had it towed to mechanic, who found there was no oil in the engine, even though no lights came on and we checked the oil 3 days earlier. Had the car towed to the dealer. The dealer said the engine needed to be replaced, but repairs should be covered under a special coverage warranty issued by GM. GM denied coverage with no explanation sent to me. I called customer service to file an appeal, and was given a file number and told someone would contact me within 2 business days. Despite almost daily follow up calls by me for a month no one has called me back. Each time I am told it the case is being handled by a senior advisor and that the operator was not able to contact them and they would call me back. I asked for the case to be escalated to a supervisor, and after 4 times was told it had been, but when I called back to see why no one had called me back was told that the senior advisor was still assigned to the case. This is a very serious safety issue, with the engine stalling while still in motion, with no warning, and is caused by a known manufacturer's defect and should be part of a recall, not "special coverage".

- South Weymouth, MA, USA

problem #196

Jul 302018

Equinox

  • 60,000 miles
While driving and I come to a stop, , the engine will turn off by itself and I am not able to accelerate. I have to turn turn off the car and restart it in order for it to run again. There was no warning that the car had turned off. I had this problem about 7 months ago, and brought it to the dealership service center. They replaced both intake and exhaust cam solenoid and also the excess oil consumption recall on the car. The car was running fine until now, started to have the same issue again.

- Parker, TX, USA

problem #195

Jul 232018

Equinox

  • 113,000 miles
My timing chain was making noise. Since other models of the Equinox have a bulletin that covers that repair I drove it into the dealership. On the way there my engine exploded while driving up a hill at 40mph, cracking the engine block and exhaust manifold. Engine needs replacement. GM will not cover the repair. Issue was reported to GM. It is at the dealership for repair, working off an estimate. I will add the final invoice later.

- Franktown, CO, USA

problem #194

Jul 032018

Equinox

  • miles
The automatic transmission went out at less than 100000 miles

- Dearborn, MI, USA

problem #193

Jun 262018

Equinox

  • 88,000 miles
Excessive oil consumption... vehicle has 88,000 miles on it. Local dealership and GMC won't fix. They say bulletin for repairs is expired. We did not receive notice GMC would repair and we've had vehicle in for oil changes three times in the last twelve months.

- Wann, OK, USA

problem #192

May 252018

Equinox

  • 93,675 miles
Today I added my name to the class action lawsuit, case no. 3:17-cv-5337 that was filed on 9/14/17 in the northern district of California against GM regarding my 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. If you're affected, add your name as well as file a complaint with the federal trade commission. Feb2017, I purchased said auto with 69,684 miles in good condition. On my way to work while at a red light the SUV shut off without warning. Being unable to restart the SUV, it was towed on May 25, 2018 to my mechanic (cb island, 589 union ave, westbury, NY) to find that there were damaged valves, a broken timing chain, and a blown engine at 93,675 miles. This mileage is well under GM's special coverage adjustment mileage of 120K. The cause of the damage to the motor was lack of oil in the engine. Being diligent in getting oil changes, there was no indication that the oil was low in the car. GM refused to honor the warranty though they knew of the defect on these engines. There are many almost identical mechanical issues over multiple years for the Chevy Equinox. This is not just a few of us that have experienced this engine failure, but enough to have a class action initiated. Having a $16K loan remaining, I have no other choice but to repair the engine. The government (which was assisted GM out of bankruptcy) needs to hold GM accountable by forcing them to take action by recalling all affected models, and to reimburse those who have already made the repairs in addition to having GM inspect the repaired engines to ensure no future problems to pre-empt the fatalities that will eventually begin to add up.

- Uniondale, NY, USA

problem #191

Jan 012018

Equinox

  • miles
Rattles when starting the vehicle. Smells of gasoline from vehicle when running. This began in December 2017 and continues to this day

- Watertown, NY, USA

problem #190

Mar 052018

Equinox

  • 120,000 miles
Excessive oil consumption- my 2011 Equinox has excessive oil consumption (and it looks like majority of them do!) Chevy issued a statement about this but it is no longer fixable and, unfortunately, these vehicles are still on the road. I bought one that is now dead because of this issue. It started to shake as I got to a stop sign and when I went to the shop, the same day, it was completely out of oil. I keep regular oil changes on my vehicle and my dad owns a body shop so it was well taken care of. There was no reason for the oil to be gone except for a flaw in the vehicle. I'm extremely upset that this wasn't a full recall from Chevy, that was the right thing to do. Instead I'm out a vehicle because I can no longer submit paperwork to get the fix reimbursed and the dealership would need to rebuild or replace the entire motor to get it working again.

- Shelbyville, MI, USA

problem #189

Nov 212017

Equinox 4-cyl

  • 119,818 miles
The vehicle was parked and I went to start it and it wouldn't start, so I got it towed to the garage. They found a lot of noise coming from the engine so they checked the compression and found 0 psi on all cylinders. They found the valves bent and top of pistons smashed. Excessive engine oil consumption due to piston ring wear caused the engine to fail. The consumer stated the manufacturer would not provide a reimbursement for the vehicle's repair costs.

- Beaver Falls, PA, USA

problem #188

May 212018

Equinox

  • 94,722 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. While idling at a stop, the vehicle stalled and the check engine warning indicator illuminated. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of oil. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and it was diagnosed that the camshaft sensor needed to be replaced. The contact purchased and replaced the part. The local dealer was not contacted for diagnostic testing or repairs. The manufacturer was notified and provided service request number: 8-4214923931. The manufacturer referred the contact to the local dealer. The failure mileage was 94,722. The VIN was not available.

- Corpus Christi, TX, USA

problem #187

May 112018

Equinox

  • 73,000 miles
Car stalled out while stopped at a stop light. Was able to restart and drive home. Was scheduled for an oil change the next day, went to drive the car and made it three houses down before it stalled out while driving. Engine light came on and would not start back up. Had it towed to a repair shop and they said it jumped time, and the timing chain broke and made a mess of the engine. Engine needs to be replaced. Failed at 73K miles. Bought the car certified used at 36K two years ago and have had it serviced regularly. Don't have money for repairs and Chevy dealer won't fix....

- Greenwood, DE, USA

problem #186

May 072018

Equinox

  • 129,000 miles
The cam shaft position sensor is defective.the vehicle shuts down when idle is low.

- Mcrae-Helena, GA, USA

problem #185

Feb 012018

Equinox

  • 114,744 miles
I called in this complaint. Received a number odi11090436. On 2/01/2018 after dark I was on a 4-lane going 60-65 mph., my car's acceleration suddenly went down and the engine started chugging. I braked, drove to the side of the road and parked. No chugging while in park. Had to be towed to a Chevy dealership in cedar falls, ia. They had to replace the throttle body assembly. When asked how often this particular shop sees this specific break-down, the service manager said a couple times a month. It seems to me that if they are seeing this many, that other dealerships would be seeing this pattern repeated as well. My question is why hasn't this issue been flagged to General Motors? I was lucky that there was no one close behind me on the highway. It was a sudden event, the check engine light and a couple of other lights came on, it startled me and it took a second or two to begin braking. This was a costly fix and not one I would expect to have to repair with 114,744 miles on the vehicle.

- Waukon, IA, USA

problem #184

Feb 012018

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 114,744 miles
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. While driving 65 mph, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. In addition, the check engine indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to community Chevrolet Buick (4521 university ave, cedar falls, ia 50613, (319) 277-5010) where it was diagnosed that the engine control module failed and the throttle body assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified and opened case number: 84120242638. The contact was referred to NHTSA. The failure mileage was 114,744.

- Waukon, IA, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »