This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
I purchased the car in April of 2012 and started experiencing issues with the vehicle within the first 10,000 miles. The car would stall and shut off while in motion either after a short idle while at a stop sign or red light, or even while parking both in drive and reverse. The car will shake aggressively while in motion and lurch forward both while stationary and in motion. The tire pressure could never stay balanced and would constantly inform me of leaking even after replacing the tire multiple times. The windshield wipers randomly shut off while in motion during storms leaving me completely blind. The dealer informed me that there was a recall for the 2013 Equinox windshield wipers but would not extend the recall to my 2012 Equinox with the same issue. The car consumes oil at a faster than normal rate and has required frequent oil changes and filter and has never displayed an engine or oil light to inform me of the issues. The car shuts off while in motion and stationary quite frequently. The car struggled to start one day and after my third attempt finally turned over but only at half power and while attempting to drive back home, the engine collapsed and quit on me. I had the car towed and upon inspection by a Chevrolet dealer and was informed that the engine had completely failed and there was metal pieces in the oil. The car is not working currently as it hasn't been for most of it's life as I continue to make payments on an overpriced piece of metal that can't safely Transport my family.
My Chevrolet dealer would not honor tsb 14882 and diagnose and repair my vehicle free of charge. The reason given is that the tsb is VIN specific and my car does not have the exact engine designated in the tsb. However, it is a Chevrolet inline 4 cylinder engine that exhibits the identical symptoms as in the tsb. This tsb should be extended to cover all Chevrolet 4 cylinder engines in the designated model years.
Vehicle was being driven on the tollway on a snowy evening with the temperature around 5 degrees. Suddenly the vehicle started losing power and shaking and stalled in a lane of traffic and was unable to be restarted. This was a very unsafe situation as the visibility was poor due to the heavy snow and our vehicle was disabled and blocking a traffic lane. We had the vehicle towed to a repair shop which was able to get it started again but quickly turned it off as the engine sounded terrible. They checked the oil level to find no oil on the dipstick so they added oil and checked the level again and found metal shavings in the oil. The vehicle was restarted and sounded terrible and they found oil quickly leaking from the rear of the engine. Upon further inspection they found the rear main seal had failed causing all the oil to leak out from the engine. I now had a vehicle with 84,000 miles on it that needed a new engine. Upon researching this problem I quickly discovered this is a known issue with this engine that occurs in cold weather. The oil consumption issues as well as a PCV valve issue which clogs and caused the pressure to build up resulting in blowing out the rear main seal and is covered under tsb #14882 are known issues which lead to the failure of my engine. I was told by my local dealer that my VIN # did not qualify for the tsb #14882 and repairs would not be covered as my warranty had expired 9 months ago. The shop was able to locate a used engine with 25,000 miles on it and used that to replace my faulty engine. In total I spent $3,470 for the engine replacement and towing charges.
Check engine light goes off and on. Vehicle often stalls upon stopping and at times has an extremely hard decel, which continues after the key is taken out of the ignition. Vehicle idles hard. Upon parking, vehicle has suddenly reported reduced engine power" and " check stabili trak" not allowing the vehicle to go over 40 mph.
I purchased a 2012 GM Equinox on Sept. 6, 2017 Sept 9 my check engine light came on and vehicle was low on oil ' we added oil Sept 13 I had a tire claim due to tires being 'dry rotted' per dealership. Oct 19 car started driving funny, stalling ' stopped in middle of road with my 18 month old son and my 8 year old disabled daughter. Had to call someone to come. When checked vehicle had almost no oil in it again. Oct 29 ' bringing disabled daughter to school when car stalled in middle of road. Checked and there was almost no oil in it. We have had to add oil to vehicle at least once a week since just to make sure I didn't break down taking my daughter to school. We did this every Monday just as preventative maintenance because obviously there was a problem with the motor. Feb 6 ' even after keeping oil in vehicle weekly my car wouldn't start this morning. Checked oil etc. It finally started up later that day and I went to get my step daughters. When we got ready to leave and tried to crank car it made a loud whiny kind of sound and it smelled like wires or something burning. Steering locked up and it wouldn't turn over again and I couldn't remove key from ignition. The vehicle wouldn't crank back. Called someone to come. They checked battery, fuses, etc. I ended up having to leave my car where it was overnight believing it was an ignition problem. Feb 7 ' mechanic was called to check car. Rear main sealed was busted, timing chain had broken and severely damaged entire motor. Entire engine was completely shot and had numerous broken pieces! I was told there was no warranty on this and dealership couldn't do anything about it. I decided to do some research. There are literally hundreds of complaints with details very similar to my own and end results the same as my own.
- St Francisville, LA, USA
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My vehicle was burning excessive amounts of oil. I took it in because it was running poorly, they discovered it was 3 quarts low on oil, and then had me track my oil consumption (by checking the oil once a week for 2,000 miles). Chevrolet had a recall for this issue (only if your car was experiencing this) and luckily it was covered to be fixed. However, because of the excessive oil consumption, I have had other issues and problems with my car. All during the same time period, my manifold cracked and I need a new catalytic converter. I definitely think (and the service advisor agreed) that the reason that my emissions system is running inefficiently, is because my engine was burning so much oil. All of the oil soot and fumes run through the engine and emission system, therefore clogging up my catalytic converter. Seems to me, that the catalytic converter should be covered under the oil consumption recall. I can understand if it were on a case to case basis (just like the oil consumption recall is), but it should be replaced if your car is experiencing those issues. All stemming back to the oil consumption.
I was driving with my wife and dog in the car late at night in cold iciey conditions in Wyoming. Car began to lose power dramatically, steering was tight, lights dimmed, also engine stalled after a bit a of a slide and safely pulling over. We could have wrecked in the middle of nowhere in the icey cold temperatures. Engine light was one. Traction control light was on. Dash reads 'service stabilitrak' and 'engine power reduced !'. I could not get the car to quit stalling. I wasn't safely able to drive it. So I then did a ECU reset. (disconnect ECU and battery). Sat for 20 minutes. Restarted and still same problem after it idled rough for 5 minutes roughly. So next I disconnected the ECU fuse number 42 in the engine fuse box. I then turned key in first position and had same readings. Next I reset the code with my obd scan tool. Repeated the fuse method again... still same reading but without starting the motor once during this.... my guess is the ECU is volitil to this vehicle motor class. Service bulletin states it needs a reflash. Updates for engine oil consumption as well. Very interesting as we consume too much oil. I believe all motor issues in our vehicle we have now (worn piston rings etc) are due to a faulty ECU. The fact that the warning shows when reset and not connected because the fuse is removed proves to me the ECU is having software issue in rendering proper diagnostics as well as safe engine performance. This incident took place in August of 2017. Problem still persists in dry climates where we live in Texas. Same issues. Same symptoms. New sensors, battery, spark plugs and oil change regularly. This vehicle is unsafe and will take lives if not recalled. Imagine driving on ice with your kids inside and then your steering goes out and the engine loses power and brakes.... is that what it will take?
While driving on interstate on 2/1/18 my oil light came on so I pulled over as quick as I could and shut off the car. I live in nd and it was below zero and it has been extremely cold. Not sure what happened or why there was a pile of oil under my car I got it towed to the shop to find out my rear main seal blew out. The technician told me that there were ice crystals around the main seal and there was nothing that could have prevented it from happening. I paid $1,700 to get it fixed and the shop said that the engine was still good. Well I picked it up from the shop and drove home (I live 40 miles out of town) and it seemed fine. Unfortunately when I was driving to work the next day, mind you it was still well below zero degrees outside, the engine started knocking and I shut of the car as fast as I could; I got stranded along the interstate again but this time with my 6 month old son' sitting in the freezing cold waiting for a ride' I am still furious!! I got the Equinox towed to the shop again to find out that my engine is now wrecked. There is only 84,000 miles on the vehicle and it needs a new engine. This is ridiculous; hopefully Chevrolet will keep me as a customer and pay for the engine that got wrecked because of their faulty rear main seal that can't perform in cold weather.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle experienced a rapid oil consumption failure. Also, the engine shook and vibrated while idling. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (medbev Chevrolet, 11001 w. I-70 frontage road N, wheat ridge, co) where it was diagnosed that the timing belt had stretched and needed to be replaced. While repairing the timing belt, the mechanic determined that the engine was also damaged and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 70,000.
Excessive oil consumption recall for new pistons and rings received one month after purchase. Day after picking up my vehicle, my check engine light turned on. Dealership told me that the camshaft intake solenoid was throwing a code and needed to be replaced but it had nothing to do with where they working, I paid out of pocket. Next day, check engine light came back on however, this time the traction control light came on as well and the engine power reduced warning came on the display screen and I couldn't drive over 20 mph the whole way home (twenty miles) with my two small children with me mind you. Replaced the camshaft intake solenoid only to not fix the issue so we also replaced the camshaft position sensor to find that didn't help at all. Ended up having to have my vehicle towed back to dealership (40 miles) as it was undriveable. Dealership said that the fuel rail pressure sensor needed to be replaced as the vehicle was dumping fuel into the cylinders. Had the dealership fix the issue and I paid them for parts and lanor, all while dealership denying fault. Picked it up after being "fixed", yet again, next day check engine light cones on again! dealership looked at again and told me that the camshaft exhaust solenoid, replaced that and my check engine light popped on again days later but my vehicle also stalled out on me while pulling out of a parking lot and again while stopped in the middle of a two lane highway with kids in the car. I then reached out to GM personally and they were extremely rude and denied fault. One month later, had to replace my exhaust manifold as it was cracked and releasing exhaust fumes into the cab with me and my children getting headaches while driving. Replaced upstream O2 sensor.. not even one week after this was fixed, Jan 2018 my check engine light is back on again with a P0420 code for the cat converter....
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. After filling the vehicle with fuel, the contact noticed that the PCV valve heater was burning oil. The failure occurred twice. During the third failure, the cover detached and blew out the main seal. There were no warning indicators illuminated prior to the failure. The contact had the vehicle towed to defouw Chevrolet (320 sagamore pkwy S, lafayette, in 47905, (765) 449-2800). The vehicle was not included in any recalls. The failure mileage was 81,000.
Equinox very suddenly started running roughly and making a "knocking" noise from the engine and acted as if engine wanted to stall while idling. Low engine oil light came on, we stopped for oil and added oil. Started Equinox up, low engine oil light was no longer on. Drove the Equinox for approximately ten (10) minutes when it made a horrendous shuddering noise, engine warning light came on stating "stop engine now". we pulled off to side of highway. End result: The engine was blown and needed to be replaced at cost of $8,000, five months after the 5 year warranty expired. Equinox only had 64,000 miles on it and oil had been changed regularly including in late August 2017. Subsequently came to learn that GM has many engine and engine oil related issues with equinoxes dating back to 2011 at least. Our Equinox had not been subject to any recalls.
On a cold sub 0 degree day 1/5/2018 I was traveling on the expressway and without warning the vihical a 2012 Equinox suddenly started smoking out the exhaust profusely. After a tow into the dealer it was found that the PCV valve stuck closed and built up pressure and blow out the rear main seal. A problem that GM has known about. ( service bulletin # 14882) this has cost me almost $3,100 and could have been prevented if when the dealership when they took the vehicle in on traedin they fixed the known problem before they put the vehicle out on the used car lot and selling it to a unsuspecting customer like me who had no knowledge of to even look for this information. I bought this vehicle with 11200 miles on it and the service bulletin covered it to 12000 thousand mile. In closing it was very scary not knowing if I was going to make it off the expressway in the middle of rush hour and very shameful of matthew hargreaves dealership for withholding this information at the time of sale. If they didn't know about the problem the should have as it is there brand and they are suppose to be honest right!!
12 Jan 18 I was driving my Equinox on the highway when the stability light, check engine light and a message "reduced power" came on. The next day I took it to the dealer and they said the rear main seal failed and damaged to the engine of a tune of $5500 to $6000 (new engine requires). He stated it was caused by the extreme cold weather we are having. I am calling GM tomorrow because a vehicle with 74500 miles should not have this issue.
Numerous issues with engine since January 2017. Reported initial problem in January 2017. January 2017 had rear main oil seal go out. There is a service bulletin for this #14882. I had to pay 1500 to repair. Caused by excessive oil consumption but my vehicle is excluded from this service bulletin because of the VIN number. Same issue as other 2012 Chevy Equinox users. April 2017 - crankshaft seal goes out - leaking oil again - $2200 to repair. Told by lafontaine dealership in dexter, mi that it was unrelated to rear main oil seal going out. May 2017 - recieve service bulletin in mail #16118 for excessive oil consumption. Had just gotten oil changed with April 2017 repairs so held on to this just in case. August/Sep 2017 - at light in town car starts to stall out. Pull over immediately at the autozone and there is no oil. All gone. Take to dealership. Initiate excessive oil consumption test. First 1000 miles a little low, told to come back again in 1000 miles. I filed a complaint (2nd) with Chevy about this issue and request it be escalated to supervisor or another level. October 2017 - car fails excessive oil test (using too much oil!!) gets gaskets replaced. Band-aid fix. October/November - GM tells me they won't reimburse me for anything. Customer service was rude and wouldn't even escalate to the next supervisor. November 2017 - I contact vijay iyer who is in a leadership position for GM out of detroit global customer experience director searching for help from someone. He tries to help but forwards everything over to executive customer servie department. They are just as bad as the mid-level department. Refuse to reimburse. Complaints filed with NHTSA and ftc!! contact the ftc and file about this issue or it won't get looked at. Pleaseeeeee.
Recently my car caught on fire while my husband and I were driving. We own a 2012 Equinox 2.4L. We didn't know until now that this engine is known for having extreme issues with a PCV valve and because of this design flaw the valve gets clogged up. It makes your engine build up pressure and then a crankcase seal blows (in our case is was the rear). This is something known to GM. There is a service bulletin out for this but GM won't cover it. We meet all the qualifications and they still won't cover it. There are so many people out there all over the internet posting about the same problem and GM won't help them either.
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the check engine warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine seized. The vehicle was then towed to burke motor group (227 bayberry dr, cape may court house, NJ) where it was diagnosed that the engine assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 111,000.
I was on my lunch break at my work, parked in the parking lot with my vehicle on and running. All of a sudden, my vehicle shuts off and will not turn on. Come to find out it's something to do with my engine. The vehicle only has 105,654 miles on it and had oil. One problem we know so far is that this particular engine burned through oil like it was nothing. I haven't even owned the car for a year and this happened. I'm hoping that this isn't a wide spread issue.
Since I purchased the vehicle in September 2014 I have had three instances where the car has stalled while driving. Twice it was related to cam sensors and a check engine light came on. This most recent time on 1/5/2018 the car was idling funny and stalled out no lights on dash. I just got an oil change one week prior. As I was trying to make it to my mechanic I heard an awful noise from the engine I had never heard before. I just barely made it to the mechanic. It stalled at every red light on my way there....but when I got there and they hooked up the computer without a check engine light on a message popped up on the dash that said low oil pressure. I had only one quart of oil in there and like I said I just had the oil changed one week prior. In the past I had taken it to valvoline in between oil changes for top offs because that ticking/rattling sound when the oil is low was happening. They recently told me the Equinox is notorious for high oil consumption and owners are hoping for a recall. I have consistently looked for leaks because that seems to be my luck with cars. I never saw one until the other day and it appears to be a rear seal as it leaks almost at the rate of an oil change drain, but I won't actually know for sure until they take the engine apart. I am beyond frustrated because of course my warranty on the vehicle was up about 3500 miles ago and this is clearly a very expensive repair that isn't at the fault of the driver but rather the manufacturer. Additionally, I'm driving a newborn and two other children around in a car that will randomly stall or potentially combust due to engine failure as a result of lack of oil with no warning from the computer system in the vehicle. This has happened in the vehicle multiple times in 3 years roughly every 25-30K miles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Old Saybrook, CT, USA