We bought the car used as a Certified Used car with 15,00 miles on it from Harper Chevrolet in Belle Vernon PA. Since I live within 1 mile of Rohrich Chevrolet in Pittsburgh I had them do any service needed while under warranty instead of driving 20 miles to Harper Chevrolet. We had trouble with the radio and the outside air temperature sensor and they were replaced under warranty without any problems.

I drove the car to Corvettes at Carlisle in July of 2015 after changing the oil and checking everything for the trip. I noticed a strange noise in the engine after returning from the trip and it sounded like valve clatter. I checked the oil level and found it to be low. I added a quart of oil and started to keep a close watch of the oil level. I am retired and we have four cars that we use so none get a lot of mileage put on them.

I received a notice from Chevrolet that they were having problems with the 2.4L engines using oil so I made an appointment with Rohrich Chevrolet to have our car checked for oil consumption. They told me that the car was leaking oil and that was where the oil was going. I explained that the car was parked in the same place for3 years and there was no oil stain on my garage floor. They gave me a bill for an oil change and said that they would be happy to find the leak at my expense. I told them they would not be servicing my car again and that I had brought the car in for an oil consumption verification and not for an oil change and that if they were not checking the oil consumption they should not have changed the oil! I insisted that I should not have to pay for the oil change and after some persistence, they agreed to cover the oil change.

I drove the car home and put it up on my lift and there was not an oil leak to be found. There was a stain back below the converter but it was not wet or excessive and probably from the seal of the converter.I have added oil three times since that oil change and get aggravated each time. I have decided that I will simply keep adding oil until I get rid of the car. This is a shame because we really like the Equinox and we were going to buy another one when we were ready for a new car, but after thinking about it, I decided that we will never buy another Chevrolet. We probably will look at the Honda CR-V or a Hyundai Santa Fe.

I happen to be a retired mechanic that worked in the Conrail Truck shop where I maintained the fleet of vehicles owned by the railroad. I went to Harrisburg Area Community College for various GM Certification classes taught by GM Technicians for three years. This training was paid for by GM since Conrail bought their vehicles from GM and we were certified to do warranty repairs by GM. If this is how Chevrolet weasels out of their responsibilities I do not want to have anything to do with them. Conrad

Ok, so I bought my 2011 Chevy Equinox with 68,000 miles on it in November 2015. Great SUV. I got the regular oil changes, everything was great.... until it wasn't.

April 2016 I notice my engine sounds loud/rough. Almost like a chain clanking around or something loose under the hood. I took it to a mechanic (NOT a GM certified) and he listened to the sound, albeit at the time of him listening it was a softer sound. He said the sound was normal, it was the regular piston noise. Nothing to be concerned about. I've driven plenty of vehicles and none sounded the way that did. Whatever. I went on my way, irritated. May 2016, the sound came back again, way more consistent. I took it back to the same mechanic (again, not GM certified, I learn my lesson just hang in there). This time, I'm furious, I KNOW that sound is not normal and nobody is convincing me it is. They hear it and agree, it's not normal. They check the oil level (I just had my oil changed recently, it wasn't to the date or the miles for a new change yet) 2 1/2 QUARTS LOW!!!!

They put oil in it, charge me for every drop. Tell me to keep an eye on it, come back and have it checked every 1,000 miles. Ok. So I do that. From May-September 2016, I go in every thousand miles. It's always 1-2 quarts low. No lights EVER came on the dash warning me of the low oil or anything. Then I discover, GM has issued a bulletin for my exact SUV, with my exact problem. BUT since the mechanic is not GM certified, I then had to start the oil consumption test process ALL OVER AGAIN at Chevy. Irritating to say the least.

September 2016 They (Chevy dealership service dept) reset the ECM (which the old mechanic didn't do). And started the oil consumption test. So every one thousand miles, I was gracing their service department with my presence, but at least they had free cookies in the waiting area. It was low, every time. 1/2 a quart. 3 quarters of a quart. A quart. I think after they reset the ECM, it consumed a tad bit less, but still consumed excessively. Every time they topped off here though, the oil was of no charge. Oil changes, I still had to pay for though.

Fast forward to March 2017, FINALLY AFTER ALMOST A YEAR, my SUV is in the shop getting new piston rings. COST IS COVERED BY GM. It's a lengthy job (12 hours in labor alone) so patience is required.

FINGERS CROSSED THIS SOLVES THE PROBLEM.

The Chevy dealership service department has been fantastic, by the way.

MORAL OF THE STORY: If you think it's happening to your 2011 Equinox: TAKE IT TO A GM CERTIFIED MECHANIC, there is a bulletin issued by GM. This will save you time and money in the long run, I promise.

While waiting at a red light, my engine turned off. I was able to start it again easily and it drove fine. My check engine light did go on, but then turned off the following morning. Took it to the mechanic that morning anyway, and they said I had no oil. My mileage was at 41,000 and I wasn't due for another change until 44,000. My mechanic said there is a known issue with some GM vehicles burning through oil very quickly, however there is not an official recall. I called the dealership, they said if it burns through a quart of oil in less than 2000 miles, then they will replace some parts including the piston rings, I believe. It will be covered under warranty.

Back in August of 2015 I received a notice from the dealer regarding my 2011 Equinox and issues with excessive oil consumption. The next month I went in for my routine oil change (every 5,000 miles) and mentioned the notice to the service person and asked what the oil level was. My car was completely out of oil! This was really strange b/c my engine never made that tell-tale "ticking" noise nor did any dashboard lights ever come on to alert me to a problem.

In December (2015) I took it to my dealer to get this problem checked out. They told me that oil consumption tests would have to be run on my car and I would have to bring it back every thousand miles. So I drove it for a 1000 miles (it took a while as I drive less than 500 miles a month) when I took it back it I was told the level was fine. I brought up the visit to Jiffy Lube and their discovery of my car not having any oil in it and was told that I could keep bringing it back every 1000 miles to be checked for peace of mind. Being a very busy person-especially on Saturdays and not having my dealer conveniently located, I just thought I would monitor it by checking in with Jiffy Lube and continue being vigilant with the oil changes. No further problems until this past December (2016) and my car started stalling randomly while I was driving it. I had this issue before back when I bought it new from the dealer and it was under recall to have the camshaft solenoid valves replaced-which they did and stalling ceased. Thinking this was possibly the problem again I took it to the dealer (Feb 4) and guess what-they discovered my car was completely out of oil! (with 2,000 miles to go till the next oil change) Additionally the engine had incurred some damage as a result -$500- and they want me to bring it back in 1000 miles for another oil consumption test!! It seems pretty obvious to me that my car consuming oil to the point of it running out TWICE in a little over a one year period would be proof enough but no there's more hoops to jump through! Why can't they just make the repairs? I am very suspicious of these test results. Oh, and they did have to replace the camshaft valves once again - no more stalling! Now if I could just get this oil consumption issue resolved....

I have had more problems with my 2011 Chevy Equinox, uses about a Qt of oil every 500-800 miles, went through the Chevy dealer oil consumption test which took months, and they told me it was within normal limits? REALLY are you kidding me? I have never had a car use as much oil as this one does, and its under a 100,000 miles with regular services etc. They are crazy, and just do not want to fix a known problem. I have always been a chevy guy, but not any more! I did some research and the Equinox has to be one of the worst vehicles ever, and has to be close to the Vega. I also see the throttle body issue is not just with the equinox, it appears that 100,000's of vehicles from the Chevy line up are having the same issue but no recalls! Wow, all we want as consumers is a good running vehicle that does not need major repairs, and most manufacture provide just that for at least a 100,000 miles, but when you start having major issues early on, most just after the warranty runs out. Not Happy at all!

This 4 cylinder is a disaster. I took it to Carl Black Chevy while under warranty and they had me do a "Leak Down" test. It was initially using a quart of oil every 3-4 weeks. After the test, they handed me a GM service bulletin that stated it was "normal" for this motor to burn up to a quart of oil every 2000 miles, depending on driving conditions. That was about 3 years ago. Since then it's gotten worse and uses a quart of oil every week. It sounds like a diesel engine too. I am convinced that the oil consumption has caused excessive and premature wear on the internal parts. It's just over 150k miles not, so GM pushed their design flaw off on me with a TSB of "normal" oil consumption. I've owned over 50 cars in my life and never had a motor of any kind use oil like this 2.4. In addition it requires synthetic or semi synthetic oil which is expensive. I am burning about $5/week just in oil.

Car started stalling all of sudden one day and check engine light came on. Had the car checked out and code referred to a solenoid. Since the solenoid runs on oil pressure, my mechanic checked the oil and found it was extremely low and had to add 3 quarts of oil. Hasn't stalled since but it's only been about 600 miles. Will check it again soon.

Just called Chevy and was told my power train warranty expires in a week and in order to diagnose the problem they would have to do 3 oil consumption tests, 1 every 1000 miles. By that time my warranty would have expired.

This is extremely disappointing!

I bought my 2011 Chevy Equinox on March 22nd. On Thursday July 7th I was leaving the grocery store and the car stalled and died while in reverse. I had to put it in park, shut it off and re start the car. I didn't think much of it until it happened 3 more times within the hour. I drove it straight to the dealership (who thought I was a little crazy and over exaggerating). I was called to pick it back up on Friday July 8th. They told me I had run out all of the oil and was way over due for an oil change. They are doing an oil consumption test and I was told to bring it back in after 1000 miles. I drove the car for the first time today, Sunday July 9th and it died 3 times before I could even get it to reverse out of my parking spot. I plan on taking it back in when they open Monday but I was searching online and saw I am not the only one with this problem! Hoping it gets fixed and isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg! I haven't even made my 3rd car payment yet!!!!!!!!

2011 CHEVY Equinox had an engine knocking at about 78000 miles. I took the car to the dealership where I was advised that the solenoids, actuator and timing chain were bad and needed to be replaced. GM split the $2000 bill with me after I raised the issue on the GM website. After the car was "fixed", I checked the oil several times and saw that it continuously depleting. I finally had to add oil and am taking the car back to the dealership. This seems to be a know issue with the 2011 Equinox with the 2.5L engine but GM is trying to hedge their costs.

SO SICK OF CHEVROLET. No wait, GM PERIOD !! How is it that I try to get a nice car from GM & they keep screwing me?!???!! If anyone else has had problems with excessive oil consumption & you are over 120k, LET YOUR EQUINOX GO !!!!

I never knew this problem existed and when I tried to have Chevrolet fix it, they refused because I am over 120k on my 2011 Equinox. The issue is that the engine is cheap s***. One of the timing chains in the engine isn't working all that great, so the second one is doing all the work to substitute while pulling this car & it's passengers. I was told it would cost almost $4k to fix it since I was over the 120k mi. warranty, so the whole top half of my engine, plus the chains would have to be replaced.

I refuse to spend that much, so I contacted Chevy customer service & they came back to me & told me the dealer said no to my request to fix it because it is over warranty, but how was I supposed to know these problems existed & I'd only had the car for 3 months at the time!!! Chevy did give me a $2k voucher for a brand new Chevy vehicle, but I love my Equinox. This is not fair to myself or the consumers we keep spending all this money to get spit on by the auto companies.

I refuse to let anyone ride in my car because if anything should happen, I don't want anyone to get hurt. Why GM, why do you treat us so bad??!!!!? This is the 5th GM car that has screwed me over!! I'm done!!

My 2011 Chevrolet Equinox 2.4L Used 4 qts of oil in less than 5,000 miles.

Started oil consumption test at Chevrolet dealer after an oil change. I'm not sure of the exact procedure and documentation that is necessary. Service writer told me to have oil level checked at GM dealer at "500 - 600 miles." I'll be calling Chevrolet customer service to get their exact procedure parameters for this test. I've never had a car use this much oil. I have had the oil changed at the dealer exactly as recommended. Obviously, I'm not happy with this. I'm going on a drive trip in excess of 1000 miles soon. The service writer told me to "stop at any GM dealer" to have level checked. This is extremely inconvenient to have to find a dealer while on the road. The unknowns of travel are already stressful enough.

I've owned Ford products for most of my 50 years of car ownership and I was satisfied with their cars. When I saw the Chevy Equinox I decided to buy it without enough research. I was lulled into believing that the US car makers had learned their lesson, when the Japanese car makers almost put them out of business in the 1980's, with higher quality long lasting cars. It looks like I was wrong.

I can only hope that this problem is fairly rectified so that my faith in GM will be improved.

Bought 2011 Equinox as brand new from GM dealership. After 40,000 km when I was doing my regular oil change at Mr. Lube found oil is very low not even registered on dip stick level. I got this issue again twice, so I took my car to GM dealership and as usual first they didn't accept any oil consumption problem in the engine. They said that is normal for an engine burns 1 litre oil for every 3000 km.

(I have to make a note here that all the provincial and federal governments take initiatives to save the air with less pollution. But our brand new high tech engines burnt gas and oil together and send it through the tail pipe.)

Finally after so many arguments and facts they agreed for oil consumption test. I did that test from 91,000km till now 122000km. Found that this engine consume/burnt more oil than what is recommended on their own book. Mean time I burnt lots of oil and gas and also my check engine light comes ON.

Now they decided to change my engine piston rings and gaskets.They said it will solve this issue. This problem can be solved by change the engine in full. NOT by changing any oil rings or gaskets. After all this I called GM customer service explained my situation and concerns.

But GM customer service open my case file but they are not ready to agree to my concerns. I was told that they can only repair that problem and can't give anything in writing. My concern is even if they repair my engine, after 150,000km (GM warranty). For a brand new engine oil burnt at 40,000km You can expect the same issue even earlier than what it was for an old engine and it might going to cost me 3,000 dollars for engine repairs.

This problem starts since 40000 km as an average income person I am frustrated as still paying for this vehicle. As this comes under warranty GM is trying to paint the problem not really ready to fix the problem

we purchased the vehicle new in june of 2011. november of that year, we were preparing for a Christmas trip. i check the oil life and it said we had like 60% life left after going 5,000 miles. while i know synthetic can go further than fossil oil, i felt it was necessary to change it then. i did just that. as it turned out, i think 2012 gm sent out a recall to reprogram the ecm to tone down the mileage intervals. i change the oil religiously after 5-6k miles having 15-25% life left. now having 67k miles, we go thru 2 additional quarts between changes (always mobil 1 synthetic). this is totally unacceptable! currently, we are participating in the "oil consumption test". if this were not so serious, this would be comical. we began the "test" by adding 2 quarts! mind you, i changed the oil 2k miles ago so it was already low. now they added 2 quarts. where is the baseline?! this is nothing more than a smoke-screen to say the least. in talking to the "service adviser", he tells me if something is wrong, they will reprogram the ecm. i asked him what does that have to do with oil consumption. no answer. bottom line i suspect, they will reprogram it for 3k mile oil changes. this will not fix the piston ring issues! i then asked him what all this oil is doing to the cat, o2 sensors, egr and plugs. he said this will not create problems. bottom line, if they were interested in doing the test correctly, they would do a complete oil and filter change. however, this would add more costs. do you see where this is going? they have predetermined they will not fix the issue.

my garage is full of chevys. in fact i have a '96 s-10, v-6 with nearly 225k miles and burns ZERO oil. mentioned that to him and he said you cannot compare the old technology with the new. i then asked why did gm design an engine that consumes oil. no response.give me the OLD technology!!!!

gm may be in the process of losing a life-long gm supporter as well as my immediate and extended families and friends should they not do the right thing.

have a good day..

Update from Nov 16, 2015: took vehicle in after ~1,700 miles for an evaluation (level check of oil consumption) and before a 1,500 mile round-trip. tech discovered a loss of 1.6 quarts. told wife to tell tech i did not want to make a trip of this distance with a rebuilt motor. his response was he did not want us to drive that distance on the motor. long story short - ran beautifully with not one hiccup! in addition, improved mpg and hp. complete rebuild including pistons, piston rings, seals and timing chain. nice job hendricks chevy and gm! confidence is back. for those who e-mailed me, i would like to help you. please include e-mail or mobile number in response if i cannot figure how to contact you.

take care john

Update from Nov 19, 2015: apparently, there appears to be great interest in how to go about resolving this issue, below are the steps i took: 1) contact GM via chat - NOT phone. had a pleasant experience with a young lady named Michelle. here the documentations begin. i believe they contact your dealership of choice. ask her for the names of the service advisor manager(s). 2) schedule your appointment. they may or may not begin your oil consumption test. we began ours at this appointment. talk to the manager here too. 3) take vehicle in around 2,000 miles for oil and filter change. here they may request another 2,000 mile. it is all dependent on oil loss. (this is the time in which they discovered sever consumption on our vehicle). you may have to repeat the process up to 3x. since we were about to venture on a 1,500 mile round-trip, they did not want us to go on this motor in this condition. this is when we left the vehicle for the rebuild. for this, they gave us a loaner vehicle.

final note: while the shop manual does state 1 quart/2k miles is normal, let them know this is unacceptable and no motor is designed to burn oil (burning oil is a sign of a worn out motor). be persistent w/o a shadow of doubt! if they quote other makes are worse, tell them you don't care about those makes. you bought a GM because you had confidence in their motors and trannies.

i wish everyone well in their endeavor. GM knows they have a problem and should fix it.

I have a 2011 Equinox and in the same boat regarding the oil consumption. I am devastated and heartbroken! My oil consumption started at 46,000 miles, which I currently now have 50,000. Same scenario…dealership claiming “It is Normal to Burn this Much Oil” – one quart every 2,000 miles, per the TSB. Just read an article from Consumer Report – “Excessive oil consumption isn’t normal” in other makes, but Equinox was not on the list. Sad, you pay all this money for a vehicle and no backup from the manufacturer.

Any suggestions on what to do from here?

My 2011 Equinox burns about a quart of oil every 1500 miles. The car has 61000 miles and I've had this problem for a little over a year. Car runs great and no signs of leakage. I keep it in the garage and never found an oil spot underneath. In the winter, I warm the car up in the garage and noticed this winter, that there was black soot marks on the concrete floor under the tailpipe. It has to be burning it. My wife also warms her 2006 Explorer up in the garage and there are no soot marks on the floor under her tailpipe. I have to watch my levels like a hawk to prevent engine damage.

Very disappointed with this. We'll be shopping for a new car in the next couple of weeks, my wife really like the new GMC Acadias, but I think after this experience, I'll try to convince her the new Explorers are a better choice. I didn't want to post my VIN, because I was afraid GM might note the problem with my car. I'll just keep adding oil until I trade it in and stick it back on the dealer.

Update from Sep 20, 2018: CarComplaints.com emailed me a couple months after making this complaint about a technical service bulletin that was issued on the Equinox for excessive oil consumption. I took it to Chevy even though it was past the warranty.

They did an oil consumption test and it failed.

Chevy replaced all of the piston rings and the catalytic converter due to damage from burning too much oil.

Still get the rattling sound at startup for about 20 seconds.

First told dealer car was using oil in Feb at 2013. Kept telling Clements in Rochester MN, which is where we bought the car. They kept saying it was normal, so we quit taking it there. We have had timing change replaced. It is using a quart of oil every 450 miles. THIS IS NOT NORMAL. Clements has said it is out of warranty, so there is nothing they can do, even though we initially took it in at 66,000 miles for oil problem. Suggestion is rings and seals or a new engine. They did offer us an extra $1,000 if we wanted to trade it for a new GM product. Why would I want another one?