10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 5 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 24,221 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
I arrived at my workplace. Was there for about an hour, I then went outside to grab something from my vehicle and noticed that I was leaking oil. After further inspection, I realized that I no longer had oil in my vehicle. I had it towed to my service station. After looking at it they called me and said that the PCV had gotten clogged with ice, therefore causing pressure buildup and blowing out the rear main seal. There were no warning lights whatsoever of this problem. I am just happy that I wasn't on the highway or long drive, because this would have left me stranded or worse causing an accident. From doing research online, this seems to be an issue that GM is aware of and refuses to make right. They had a recall for this exact issue for model years 2010-2014 but now are refusing to issue one for later years, even though the same engine style and PCV placement are the same. Not telling their customers about this potential serious issue is almost criminal and then not standing behind their product with either a recall or reimbursement of cost of repairing is ridiculous.
- Bethlehem, PA, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that his wife informed him that she noticed an abnormal oil odor inside the vehicle. Additionally, the contact noticed a puddle of oil in the driveway and there was no oil on the dipstick upon inspection. The contact stated that upon inspecting the vehicle he determined that the Positive Crankcase Valve (PCV) had frozen, and the engine rear main seal was busted. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in any recall. The manufacturer referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 97,400.
- Cave City, AR, USA
When driving I heard a loud pop noise and the vehicle loss power. When looking at vehcile customer noticed oil leaking. Customer then looked at dip stick and there was no oil in vehicle. Customer got an oil change at jiffy lube 0N 11/8/2022.
- Germantown, MD, USA
Rear main engine seal failed which was confirmed by the Chevy dealer. Vehicle had leaked massive amount of oil in driveway which was only noticed after wife drove car to work. Next day, vehicle needed 4 1/2 quarts of oil to register on dipstick and oil visibly dripping from engine approx. 2 drops per second. Red oil pressure light never cam on. Engine light was on for 1 week prior with error codes P0013 and P0014. Vehicle has 79k miles, no towing, and was 6 weeks out of 6 year warranty. The oil leak failure could have easily caused engine damage and left my wife broken down on the freeway. Dealer originally quoted $2600 for both repairs and dropped their quote to $2000. I believe the seal failure to be either design and/or manufacturing defect. I am greatly disappointed in GM for lack of quality control and not standing behind their products.
- Novi, MI, USA
I was driving when the engine started to slow and eventually stopped running. The check engine light was on for approximately 2 days prior to incident. The vehicle was brought to auto shop where they determined there was an oil consumption issue with the vehicle, and ultimately the engine would need to be replaced. The safety of myself and my 3 children, infant and two toddlers were put at risk. Having been stranded needing to wait for a ride to bring us home.
- Saint Michael, MN, USA
Main rear seal blew and upon towing to Dealer they said they had 3 other equinox vehicles there all done around 130000 miles and all the same year - low oil light never appeared - Car just stopped during winter season and I am 72 years and in the country, with no heat waiting for AAA - Problem of not getting oil light low was never explained but rear main seal was fixed - Upon completing repairs a check engine light remains -Car drove fine after the fix and continues to drive fine but check engine light remains
- Newark, NY, USA
Per Mechanic my engine is burning through oil. When I went in for an oil change I was told I only had 1 quart left. I was informed this was a common issue with these engines at this time.
- Ankeny, IA, USA
We are experiencing excessive oil consumption problems with our 2017 Chevy Equinox that has a 2.4-liter Ecotec engine. We believe that the Engine replacements may be covered by a settlement so long as they can be traced directly to excessive oil consumption caused by defective piston rings. Can you please provide information as to where to go to pursue our reimbursement? The engine knocked due to there being low oil and not realizing the defect in the engine. There were no warning lights or an indication that there was a problem until the engine made noise. The issue started in May of 2022 and we did a repair on it that cost $2468, however, that repair did not fix the problem and now it is going to a dealership for another repair for the same issue.
- Bay City, MI, USA
Driving my 2017 equinox and the engine started making noise, we checked the oil and it was good. The car has 113,000 miles on it, and the oil life has 34% left. The next day I get in it to drive away after being at the hospital and a warning comes on "Engine Power is Reduced" the car is sputtering and shuts off. The car had to be towed and they tell me my engine is with out oil and now the engine has to be replaced. NO warning, NO lights, and NO leaks. Now what Chevy?
- Charleston, WV, USA
Driving down the road I started experiencing very strange engine noises with no warning lights or other indications. When I arrived home I found that the dipstick showed no engine oil. Gauges showed no issue and engine oil life still showed well over 50% (I believe there were about 2600 miles since the oil change). I took it to the dealer and they indicated they could not find any source of oil leak, changed the oil and asked me to stop in at 1K miles to investigate. When we finally did have it checked the advised that pistons and rings needed to be replaced as well as timing components. Then I read online about significant oil consumption issues with this engine AND that there can be a sudden loss of oil causing the engine to seize up. This can cause the wheels to lock up and create a dangerous situation. The engine is now using about 2Qts per 1,000 miles but the gauges are still showing normal.
- Owosso, MI, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH the check engine and traction stability warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. The vehicle continued running but failed to exceed 15 MPH. The contact took back roads to her home and then later drove to a dealer where the vehicle was diagnosed and it was determined that the ECO switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact took the vehicle back to the same dealer two more times however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000.
- Minneapolis, MN, USA
Chevy is already well aware there is a prominent issue with timing chains on their equinox model and refuses to acknowledge or recall the issue. This is the second major repair I am needing to my vehicle in just barely over 1 year. Both the timing chain and the rear main seal need repairs in approx 1 years time. Again, these are known issues Chevy refuses to acknowledge that is costing many customers thousands of dollars.
- Merrill, WI, USA
Rear main seal blew out due to known (and recalled in previous years) fault with the PCV valve. The check engine light never came on and neither did the oil light when there was no oil left due to the seal blowing out. This incident caused damage to crucial engine parts including the transmission.
- Merrill, WI, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle started sputtering and then lost motive power and stalled. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact checked the oil and noticed that there was no oil in the engine. The oil indicator showed 46 percent oil life remaining. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who informed the contact that the rear main seal needed to be replaced. Additionally, there was condensation in the engine and main seal had popped out. The local dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified but no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 134,000. The VIN was not available.
- Woodridge, IL, USA
The contact-€™s daughter owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, his daughter noticed that oil was leaking underneath the vehicle. The contact stated that he checked the oil level of the vehicle and noticed that the vehicle was low on oil. The contact added 3 quarts of oil to the engine. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 50-55 MPH, the vehicle started making abnormal sounds. The contact-€™s daughter veered to the side of the road. The contact met his daughter and checked the oil level. The contact noticed that the oil level was 2 quarts low and topped off the oil; however, the failure reoccurred the following day and the vehicle was jerking. The warning message -€œReduced Power-€ was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the PCV valve had caused a rear main seal failure, which damaged the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and the contact inquired why his daughter-€™s vehicle was not included in GM Technical Service Bulletin No.: 14882 but the manufacturer referred the contact to NHTSA for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
- Clayton, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact was stranded in the cold for approximately four hours. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle was not covered under warranty or TSB: PIP5093C. The vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the rear main seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the warranty program should be extended. The manufacturer was contacted but, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 90,261. Driving on the expressway at 65mph alarm went off so the consumer got off the expressway and stopped the car. Dead in the water.
- Toledo, OH, USA
Excessive oil consumption. My car started burning oil even though I get frequent oil changes and now my engine is blown.
- Jacksonville, FL, USA
Yesterday, my son noticed that his 2017 Chevy Equinox LX four-cylinder was not accelerating as much. He purchased this vehicle only one year ago. It is a five-year-old vehicle with not many miles on it. The oil was just changed in November 2021. He only drives 8 miles to and from work. While stopped at a light or stop sign yesterday, my son's SUV would "putt-putt" or shut off completely. There was a strong smell of oil coming from the air vents and filling the SUV. When my son pulled over to park, he decided to check it out. From underneath the vehicle, where the transmission is located, there was a huge puddle of oil on the ground. A leak between the oil pan and transmission was discovered when my son took his car to his mechanic. It shouldn't be like this. I checked if there were any recalls. For 2017, I did not find any under the VIN number, however, there were quite a few complaints from customers about the same issue. Is there anything my son should do? He needs the car for work.
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
Regular oil changes. Most recent was 67 days prior to my 63500 mile engine being ruined due to No Oil. Was driving on the highway, first time the vehicle made any noise, within 2 miles car was completely done. Had it towed and mechanic said there was no sign of a hole, there was just no oil! He said it is a known problem with GM and that there are no motors available because everyone is having to replace! No diagnostic saying oil % was low or at 0%! New engine quote was $9000, would take at least a month to get and will have the same issue most likely.
- Slinger, WI, USA
- Pioneer, OH, USA