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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
3 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,182 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2012 Chevrolet Equinox engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Comments (Page 6 of 18)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #242

Jul 012019

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Excessive oil consumption while I am driving

- Canfield, OH, USA

problem #241

Apr 092020

Equinox

  • 98 miles
While driving my car stopped in the middle of the the intersection I turned car off and back on. Made it home and check engine light comes on. Since I bought my car my car rattles and more so when in reverse

- La Mesa, CA, USA

problem #240

Jun 062019

Equinox

  • 125,000 miles
When driving down the road, the dashboard lights go off, the radio goes off and reads 'lost communication with telematics control module'. during this time, the car is still running in motion, the dashboard lights come back on, but the gauges are at 0. the radio turns off completely, the heating/air shuts off, the signal lights don't work, and my headlights start to flicker going on and off. This is very dangerous when driving at night. After minutes, everything comes back on, but likely goes out again. I've started to experience this in every trip to and from. Also, I recently had an oil change and they found metal shavings in the oil. This could eventually clog my motor if not handled properly, and first have to find out what metal pieces are rubbing. Last but not least, my tire pressure monitoring system does not properly read the actual tire pressure. I just don't know where to start.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

problem #239

Mar 052020

Equinox

  • 17,600 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Windshield wipers stopped working in the middle of a heavy downpour and the car is using a lot of oil

- Crestview, FL, USA

problem #238

Mar 132020

Equinox

  • 99,000 miles
Having to add oil between oil changes, check engine light came on and had it checked. Per code low oil and can only be reset after an oil change. Brought it to the dealer and got the oil changed and a few days later the dealer called stating I need to get new piston rings because of a recall on the vehicle or I will lose oil. The dealer stated the GM will go 50/50 with me on the fix since the recall expired. I did not get a recall notice or have the 50% of the cost to fix the vehicle, I am the 2nd owner.

- Mcdonald, PA, USA

problem #237

Jan 172020

Equinox

  • miles
Received a settlement paper for excessive oil usage. A reimbursement claim was made to people who had this repair made to car. We couldn't afford to pay up front first. Spoke to settlement administrator and he said GM should do a recall.

- Wellsboro, PA, USA

problem #236

Feb 012015

Equinox

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Consumming engine oil cunsums oil while being driven on a daily basis oil is not leaking out the bottom but oil is found around the throtel body

- Arvin, CA, USA

problem #235

Jan 012016

Equinox

  • miles
My car in consuming oil it's been consuming oil for a while car consumes oil when being driven on a daily basis

- Arvin, CA, USA

problem #234

Feb 292020

Equinox

  • miles
Burning oil fast. Just changed oil and have driven it less than 3,000 miles and is a quart low. Not the first time it's done this. Checked oil Saturday went out of town about 3 hours one way got back home and the oil was a quart low. No oil spots beneath the car noticed at this time.

- Summersville, MO, USA

problem #233

Feb 202020

Equinox

  • 90,000 miles
Recall needs to be initiated as per Chevy special coverage bulletin 14882 in which the crankshaft rear oil seal and PCV manifold and associated parts are faulty rendering the vehicle to stall, leak excessive oil and dangerous to operate

- Shamong, NJ, USA

problem #232

Feb 272020

Equinox

  • 104,629 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have been having an issue with fumes coming into the cab of my vehicle through the front vents when set to defroster or circulating air from outside to inside through the vents. The fumes smell of gas or exhaust and are very noticeable when sitting still while engine is running. This is noticeable mainly when sitting still in vehicle with engine running. The smell is overwhelming. I have developed breathing problems since purchasing my vehicle. I have been newly diagnosed with asthma and am having to take breathing treatments. I had the first asthma attack in December 2019. I am also having problem with airbag light staying on. Wheel information is also incorrect. Information system may indicate the front passenger wheel pressure is low, when in fact the rear passenger tire pressure is low.

- Collierville, TN, USA

problem #231

Jan 262019

Equinox

  • 62,361 miles
In January of 2019, my wife was driving our 2012 Chevy Equinox. She told me that she was stopped at a light when the engine suddenly started running rough and died. She was able to restart it but it continued running rough so she pulled into a near by parking lot. The car stalled again but she was not able to restart it. She called me and we had the vehicle towed to our usual mechanic. He checked out the vehicle and determined that the rear seal had failed and the engine lost a large amount of oil. He advised that there was a problem that GM was aware of and that we should take to vehicle to a Chevy dealer to see if they will cover the repair. We ultimately paid $2022 for the repair because we were told it was out of warranty.

- Aurora, IL, USA

problem #230

Feb 152020

Equinox

  • 79,000 miles
On Saturday February 15th 2020 I drove me and my family to columbus Ohio from canton. Once in columbus my car stalled at a red light. I tried several times to restart the vehicle before I was able to get off the road and into a parking lot. My car when it worked was making a metal grinding noise. Unable to drive it I had to have it towed back to a garage in canton. Where a mechanic said it was completely out of oil. I never have noticed leaking oil before. The mechanic told me that my model and year of car burn oil really fast. That's when I found out there is a class action lawsuit against GM for this issue. I contacted GM and they told me to go to the nearest dealership for service. I again stalled before parking my car in their lot. The service mechanics at the dealership mentioned my pistons and rings needed replaced and my timing chain was out of sync. They told me my car was unsafe to drive but that Chevy wants me to drive 1000 miles before GM can decide whether or not their high oil burn issue is what happened to my car. I have called GM multiple times voice my issue driving an unsafe car with my son who's one today in it. Why would GM insist I drive a car that their own dealership says is unsafe to drive? multiple people at spitzer in North canton have said it to me. Seems like something to investigate.

- Canton, OH, USA

problem #229

Jan 122020

Equinox

  • miles
The block PCV valve is leaking and has over powering bad fumes are coming inside of my car and smoke detection and oil spots in my garage.

- Duncan, SC, USA

problem #228

Feb 152020

Equinox

  • 79,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while stopped at a traffic light, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle stalled. The contact stated that there was no warning lights illuminated. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle however, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle was inoperable. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The contact was informed that the engine oil was low and needed to be topped off. The oil level was topped off however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was driven to spitzer Chevy North canton located at 7111 sunset strip ave nw, North canton, oh 44720 to be diagnosed. While attempting to park the vehicle, the vehicle was shifted into reverse and stalled without warning. The vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the piston rings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

- Canton, OH, USA

problem #227

Feb 142020

Equinox

  • 160,000 miles
Driving and lost all the oil out of the vehicle. Has a recall that doesnt include my VIN. This is an issue as there are thousands this is happening too. GM refuses to fix it. They are saying that the only reason it isnt covered is because it didnt come from the right plant.

- Brookville, IN, USA

problem #226

Jan 272020

Equinox

  • 70,800 miles
On the evening of Jan 27, 2020, we received a call from our son after the car broke down while he was driving, just about a mile from our house. He heard a pop and what sounded like the engine blew up. He immediately pulled over on the side of the road and turned off the car. After several minutes, he tried to turn it back on without success. The car was towed to elco Chevrolet ($120) the next morning. They called to let us know that a piston broke and went through the engine for a catastrophic event. The car would require a new engine with a estimated cost of $8,000. We were told that this had nothing to do with the previous 'fixes' and that the dealership nor GM would cover this. On July 25, 2018 we took the car to bommarito gmac (located in ellisville, mo). Bommarito told us that we should watch the oil and bring it back every 1,000 miles for an oil consumption check if it continued to burn oil quickly. We took the car back 3 times more before they agreed to change the pistons. Bommarito replaced the pistons at gms cost, on 10/28/18. The car had 58,017 miles at this time. We went back for 3 more oil changes in the next year. On Nov 29, 2019 we took the car back to Firestone because the engine light came on. They ran a diagnostic check and referred us to elco Chevrolet (located in ballwin, mo) to replace the catalytic converter. Elco changed the catalytic converter on 12/9/19 ($808.51 and 70,883 miles). We contacted 7 mechanics (3 of them are other Chevy/GM dealerships) in addition to the 2 Chevy/GM dealers that 'fixed' the pistons and the catalytic converter. We found out this was an ongoing issue with Equinox and that there was a class action lawsuit for this reason. All 7 said that the pistons and catalytic converter issues definitely had something to do with the engine blowing.

- Grover, MO, USA

problem #225

Feb 142020

Equinox

  • 166,000 miles
My vehicles check engine light came on then the stability light came on the vehicle sounded like it was choking. When we got it to the repair shop it stalled out and when the shop did shove investigation there was no oil in the vehicle. Although there was no warning about oil being low or lights on. As we were bringing vehicle to shop it smelled of burning. Vehicle started malfunctioning when stationary and became worse when in motion.

- Michigan City, IN, USA

problem #224

Feb 052020

Equinox

  • miles
Engine light came due to the oil consumption replace intake & exhaust camshaft actuator solenoid valves

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

problem #223

Apr 182018

Equinox

  • miles
Using oil. Not leaking from car. Continuously putting in oil every 500 miles

- Chatfield, MN, USA

Read the next 20 complaints »

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