10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 4
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 0
Average Mileage:
79,047 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #135

Jan 252019

Equinox

  • 155,500 miles
Driving down interstate 55, noticed oil on back window thought it was frost. Arrived at destination and saw smoke coming from hood, looked underneath vehicle and noticed oil pouring out the underneath. No oil light or engine light ever came on even though I lost over 3 quarts of oil. Had towed to dealership and they told me the pvc froze up and caused the rear main to blow out. Cost me $2400, had15500 miles and followed all GM maintenance schedule.

- Festus, MO, USA

problem #134

Jan 312019

Equinox

  • 77,000 miles
On January 31 my Equinox experienced a frozen PCV system, a known issue in 2010-2014 Equinox vehicles. The engine developed an oil leak and excessive crankcase pressure which blew the rear main seal rendering my vehicle inoperable. I was on my way home from work, an approximate 10 mile drive, comprised of a short drive on a freeway and the majority of the trip on city streets. The problem started after I exited the freeway. I accelerated from a stop at a traffic signal and I noticed that my car sounded louder than usual. At just a few miles from my home trouble lights (traction control and engine) illuminated on my dash along with the "engine power is reduced" message. Thinking I had a traction control issue I continued to drive to my home, a mere 2 city blocks. At that time the oil pressure message appeared on the screen. I was in my driveway and oil dropped where I stopped. I had my car towed to my mechanic and he informed me of this issue and what happened to my car.

- South Euclid, OH, USA

problem #133

Feb 092019

Equinox

  • 69,065 miles
Yet another person with the 2013 Chevy Equinox 2.4L engine with the excessive oil consumption issue. My wife (who drives this vehicle) called me in tears today, stating that the Equinox started making all kinds of noise, and driving horribly, so she went to a nearby garage, and they discovered that the vehicle had almost no oil - and that this was the 2nd or 3rd Equinox that they had seen in the last 2-3 weeks that came in with almost no oil. This vehicle has 69,075 miles on it, and we are the original owners. All service (other than today's) have been handled at the dealership that we purchased the vehicle from. Very disappointed in GM, after researching this issue, and finding that so many others were having this exact same issue. GM needs to step up and fix this!!

- Johnstown, NY, USA

problem #132

Feb 032019

Equinox

  • 70,000 miles
Driving when the check engine light came on. Took to the mechanic had no engine oil. Not due for oil change either. O2 upstream replaced and pistons filled of carbon. Mechanic advise to get rid of car B/C bad oil consumption, will crack engine eventually. Car only has 70,000 miles

- Brooklyn, NY, USA

problem #131

Jan 302019

Equinox

  • miles
The pvc valve and oil system has a bad design. When driving in cold weather the valve blows and oil completely empties. The vehicle was in motion on both street and highway. My vehicle only had 69,400 miles and is a 4 cylinder

- Bloomington, IN, USA

problem #130

Jan 312019

Equinox

  • 107,220 miles
My Equinox reduced engine power while driving. Prior to this there were no warning lights of any kind. I was told it was down 3 quarts of oil and that there was a leak from rear seal. My mechanic advised towing to the dealership as there are known problems of this in the Equinox's as well as a "14882 special coverage adjustment" offered by General Motors. This special adjustment are for those Equinox's that experience high oil consumption and may experience a frozen or plugged positive crankcase ventilation system. This causes increase crankcase pressure leading to a rear crankshaft seal oil leak. If the oil leak is not noticed and condition is not corrected, continued driving can cause damage to the engine. GM stated on my receipt the cause of my problem was, "moisture froze in the PCV system causing the crankcase to overpressurize". however, my VIN number was not included in this special coverage adjustment even though I was within the mileage and year. This is a major safety issue as I did not receive any warning lights of being low in oil and no engine pressure warning lights. There have been no recalls related to these issues.

- Brunswick, OH, USA

problem #129

Jan 222019

Equinox

  • 95,069 miles
January 22nd 2019 my way to work at the last traffic light the car lurched forward with my foot on the brake I pulled in work and parked I left at 5:30 P.M remote started I was walking to my car it was loud I got in warning message to turn car off that the oil pressure was too low. Called aaa waited three hours in the cold with bronchitis and asthma called my mechanic I was having the car towed to his garage. January 25 mechanic said he thinks due to a frozen PCV valve there was pressure build up car spit the oil out he put oil in my car let it warm up he thought I should still have the dealer look at it. I drove the car not far to the dealer ganley rep came to waiting area told me the PCV valve froze and the high pressure blew my rear crankshaft seal the oil spilled out my battery was shot repair just under $ $2000 he said this fault did damage to my timing chain no guarantee how long the timing chain would hold recommended replacing $ $1500 I said do the seal and battery. I went home did google search Equinox 2013 PCV sp. Cov. Bulletin 14882 popped up it covered equinoxes between 2010-2014 not my VIN. Rep called said GM is willing to help me with the timing chain authorized it for $500. I told him what that bulletin said is exactly what happened with my car. Picked up my car Monday 02/04/19 and paid $ $2606.76. On 02/06/19 I called Chevy spoke to rep duke who gave me a reference number # 9-5037906721 told me a higher-level rep from Chevy would call me. On 02/07/19 adam called and said the phone call was being recorded. He said in a nice way that Chevy had already helped with $ $1000 towards the timing chain and I should be grateful for that because they were not going to help anymore. I told him this shouldn't have happened. Is this verbatim for the call no but then again, I wasn't working off a script or recording the phone call like Chevy is.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

problem #128

Dec 172018

Equinox

  • 63,570 miles
"takata recall" my 2013 is having problem with exhaust system from converter back which the smell is backing up into the inside cabin of vehicle. I have noticed that this must be a common problem on these vehicles (Equinox). I have relatives that are experiencing the same problem with their 2010''s. I noticed the problem because the vehicle started sounding loud when parked and when taking off no speed, compared to when I first purchased. I take very good care of my vehicle....regular oil changes and no major work needed done since my purchase.

- North Plainfield, NJ, USA

problem #127

Jan 312019

Equinox

  • 111,500 miles
Smelled burning oil in garage. Checked under vehicle and noticed large puddle of oil and underside of rear engine soaked with it. Towed to dealership of purchase. Was notified that it was PCV value having moisture/condensation in it and freezing. This occurrence put pressure on the engine and seals. The rear seal connecting to the transmission is what failed. It was a cold day. The car was in a parking lot until end of shift. My wife said it did not start as fast as it normally does. There was not shuttering of the engine, no loud clacking sound and not one light icon lit up. I noticed a trail of oil into the garage in our driveway but no trail in the street. I assume it had just occurred when she was arriving home. She was braking to turn into our driveway. Her route from work is primarily state roads with speeds of 35-55 mph and very often has deer crossing the roads as there are no road noise barriers or tall fencing. She arriving home at the normal time but I was able to pick up our sons. So she was able to just go home. The weather was cold (approx. 6-8 degrees). I have no reports, invoices or photos as the car is currently still in the shop since Friday February 1st. Today is Wednesday February 6th 2019. I have found a lot of information online regarding this issue, tsb #14882. Seems to be very common.

- Warren, OH, USA

problem #126

Feb 042019

Equinox

  • 70,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. While driving at unknown speeds, the contact noticed that the oil was low. Additional oil was added, and the check engine and oil indicators illuminated. The vehicle was taken to pinegar Chevrolet in republic (769 U S 60, republic, mo 65738, (417) 233-0206) where it was diagnosed that the main seal was blown and the pvc needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the repairs should be covered under tsb number: 14882. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that an adjuster would verify the diagnosis. The failure mileage was 70,000.

- Battle Field, MO, USA

problem #125

Jan 302019

Equinox

  • 67,477 miles
I do not know exactly when this happened indications by trials and spots of oil on the streets say that it happened after I returned home when I started to my next destination as described later. It was on city streets if this analysis is correct. I was likely going straight. This is a safety issue two reasons - the engine could lock up causing rapid deceleration and/or loss of control causing an accident - if I had been stranded at the temperatures of -4 to +9 degrees and wind chills -15 to -30 I would have been in danger. On Wednesday January 30, 2019 left for work. The temperature was -4. after a short distance I stopped at my third stop sign and the engine surged while idling, at the next stop all seemed fine and from there to wok all seemed fine. I left work and drove 2.8 miles and the engine surged briefly and died. I drove about 27 miles home, no apparent problems. I drove to another location just over one mile away. On my way back home, about mile from home the engine reduced power notification appeared as well as a message about the traction control. Just as I rounded the corner on which my house is the low oil pressure message came on. The rear main seal had blown out. This car has 67,477 miles. It was out of warranty 11/25/18. Two mechanics said it is common in several GM vehicles. One said he could not believe the number of calls he got about this issue, because of the bulletin he was sending people to the dealership for coverage under a special warranty, he could not believe it when I told him Chevy would not help me since my VIN was not included since it is the same vehicle, same engine as those in the bulletin 14882, document id 4098165. My dealer said that he argued with GM that these are the same cars and engines but they would give no assistance. He said it was a bad design and there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.

- Troy, IL, USA

problem #124

Feb 012019

Equinox

  • miles
I own a 2013 chev. Equinox that I purchased brand new. I used my local dealership for all my regular maintenance as recommended. Somewhere around 60,000 miles I mentioned to my service tech that my car was making a knocking and ticking noise and appeared to be low on oil. He conducted the reg. Oil change and said all looked good. My oil consumption continued to increase with no low oil indicator light ever coming on. I was having to add oil between reg. Oil changes with no help from the dealership. At just over 100,000 miles, I mentioned to my service tech again that it was becoming a hassle always having to but oil in my car between services. He said he could do a oil consumption test, but GM would not do anything because it was outside the warranty. I informed him that I had mentioned it to him on several occasions just to learn he never made a note on my records about it. He changed the oil and asked me to come back after so many miles. I went back as requested knowing it was low because of the ticking noise and he said it was within the normal oil consumption based on GM. He then asked me to come back again after so many miles which I did. I know it was low because I checked it myself before going by and it was only showing on the tip of the dip stick. Again he said the same thing about being within the normal consumption based on GM. He then added oil per my request. Still at no point did my oil light ever come on. After getting no where with the dealership, I decided to no long have my oil changed by them. But still having to but 2-3 qts of oil in between oil changes and even changing the oil more often. I recently took my car to another mechanic to see if there was any leaks and he said that my engine is known to burn high amounts of oil and there is nothing he can do to help and recommended filing a complaint with GM.

- Summerville, SC, USA

problem #123

Jan 302019

Equinox

  • 105,000 miles
Pvc valve froze and real main seal blew. Causing the engine to empty the oil all over the parking. Bulletin 14882. It's a very known problem caused by poor GM engineering and I feel they're too embarrassed to cover all vehicles. They only cover 'certain' ones. Seems like most of us that experience this problem have to eat the cost and it has caused a huge strain on my family's daily commute routine and finances. Alicia S. boler davis Chevy's senior vp clearly isn't that sorry for our inconvenience as claimed in bulletin. Bulletin 14882 should cover all vehicles in the years listed not just random ones. My Equinox even lands in the warranty too of under 10year and 120,000miles. I know NHTSA is usually more concerned with vehicles failures while in motion as they can cause fatalities, but a lot of these seals go out during freezing weather from a blocked pvc. People could be left strands rs in below freezing conditions too long. Also oil lost all over the road can cause slick roads. Thank you NHTSA for a place to vent!

- Arpin, WI, USA

problem #122

Jan 252019

Equinox

  • 109,000 miles
Takata recall. While driving in cold weather on a highway, my car's check engine light came on. After getting off the freeway, it start to lurch when stopped at a light. A few moments later the oil light came on. I had to have the car towed and repair. The repair cost $1,800 for a blown oil seal. After research online I found that this is a common problem with this engine and pvc valve. Chevy service bulletin no. 14882 date March 2015.

- Euclid, OH, USA

problem #121

Dec 202018

Equinox

  • 90,000 miles
My 2013 Chevrolet Equinox with 90,000 miles which is a couple months out of powertrain warranty has been eating oil. I discovered this when I took my vehicle in after it began to shake violently. This should not have happened because I recently got an oil change. This place gave me an oil change and one month later my Equinox started shaking again and is out of oil. And like others the engine never turned on! I took it to the dealership and they tell me I need repairs costing $3500 to get new pistons/rings among other things. While there I talk to the lady next to me. She has the same vehicle same year and the same problem. I look at carcomplaints.com and they say the #1 problem with the model is this. The Chevrolet Equinox 2013 model year is rated the worst year for Equinox because of repair costs. The dealership solution: Bring the vehicle in every 1000 miles to get more oil. There should be a recall. Why has there not been one? the consumers should not have to fit the bill for $3400 for something the manufacturer is at fault for. I personally do not see how I can bring the vehicle in that often as I drive 60 miles a day to and from work. Any assistance I can get would be appreciated. I am still paying on this vehicle!

- Warren, MI, USA

problem #120

Jan 252019

Equinox

  • 62,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the engine power reduced warning indicator was flashing. Sid dillon Chevrolet fremont (2500 E 23rd St, fremont, ne 68025, (402) 512-1463) indicated that diagnostic testing was needed regarding the timing chain. The vehicle was at the dealer awaiting the contact's authorization to be repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000.

- Freemont, NE, USA

problem #119

Nov 142018

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
The contact owns a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was using an excessive amount of oil. The dipstick reading was at a low level and oil had to be added. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact scheduled a service appointment with robbins Chevrolet (18611 highway 59 N, humble, tx 77338, (281) 446-3021). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: 9-5020307544. The failure mileage was 61,000.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #118

Jan 252019

Equinox

  • 50,000 miles
PCV valve bulletin 14882. Car has been using excessive between oil changes. Since it had 50K miles. At the time the dealer said per Chevy.5 quarts is normal every 2500 miles. Recently the oil has become very dirty and im adding between 1 quart every 1000 miles. Took it to a mechanic said it appears to be related. Went to Chevy dealer and said this bulletin does not apply to my VIN. Its within the same years, same issue but Chevy will not cover it (spoke to Chevy directly).

- Watkins Glen, NY, USA

problem #117

Jan 082019

Equinox

  • 83,000 miles
This vehicle is burning oil excessively. For every 1000 miles its burning 2 qts. Of oil. General Motors is aware of this issue on other model years but for some reason wont acknowledge it on this one. This vehicle has the same issue as the others.

- Independence, KY, USA

problem #116

Jan 212019

Equinox

  • miles
Due to a frozen PCV system and the high pressure, my rear crankshaft seal started to leak oil. My car is inoperable at this time. My car is also eating away oil where I would have to get frequent oil changes.

- Plainfield, IL, USA

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