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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
22,372 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.

2017 Chevrolet Equinox engine problems

engine problem

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2017 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Comments (Page 4 of 6)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #54

Dec 262022

Equinox

  • 76,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 20 MPH, there was a loud booming sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure, the power steering and power brakes became inoperable. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the PCV valve was frozen and clogged, causing pressure inside engine crankcase. Due to the failure, the rear main seal became deformed, causing an engine oil leak. The contact was informed that the engine was destroyed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000.

- Warren, MI, USA

problem #53

Jan 082023

Equinox

  • miles
The exhaust is coming into the cab. Was told that Chevy is allowed to kill people slowly with carbon dioxide poisoning. Also was told NHTSA is paid by Chevy to keep the information of the exhaust issue under wrapps. I understand killing babies is no crime in the liberal world but I am not an ugly liberal.

- Conroe, TX, USA

problem #52

Dec 242022

Equinox

  • miles
The engine failed while I was on the road traveling with my children. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and it has been confirmed with an engine compression test that all 4 cylinders are failing. I did not receive any warning lights and had the vehicle tested.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #51

Dec 262022

Equinox

  • miles

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

The rear main seal on the vehicle broke and dumped oil onto the road. The vehicle instantly stopped being able to accelerate, but no engine lights came on. My safety was put at risk as I was on a main county road in heavy traffic. Luckily, I was able to pull into a parking lot, but had it happened five minutes later, I would have been stranded on the side of the interstate. Prior to this incident, my vehicle has been in near mint condition and has regularly been serviced for upkeep. At the time of the repair, there were other cars of the same model with this issue in the repair shop. It left me without a vehicle for five days, and cost just south of $1,300. For a vehicle of this age, milage, and condition to have this kind of mechanical error is not acceptable, especially knowing it is a common issue with this model. General Motors should issue a recall on this as it has the potential to leave someone in a very dangerous situation.

- Lansing, MI, USA

problem #50

Dec 242022

Equinox

  • 103,000 miles
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power four times within 15 miles. The vehicle failed to restart after the fourth time and was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that the timing chain and camshaft were faulty, and there was no oil in the engine. The mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.

- Delton, MI, USA

problem #49

Dec 282022

Equinox

  • miles
Loss of engine oil due to Frozen PCV when driven in subzero blowing out rear main seal this is a common problem and design defect known by GM can cause complete engine failure and safety related issues. I have yet to have this repaired but I assume the price will be substantial

- Pioneer, OH, USA

problem #48

Dec 242022

Equinox

  • miles

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

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

problem #47

Dec 192022

Equinox 4-cyl

  • 97,400 miles
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

problem #46

Dec 242022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #45

Dec 232022

Equinox 4-cyl

  • miles
I have approximately 79000 miles on my [XXX] 2017 Equinox 2.4 SUV. I have 2 complaints. One is the blower for the heater works intermittently. The dealer claims it was the cabin air filter but I am not sure. There are a lot of reports on the internet claiming a melted plug causes this problem. The second complaint is the dealer claims the vent pipe for the PCV valve has condensation that froze and if I don't pay $764 to have it cleaned out the rear main oil seal will blow out and I will loose all the engine oil. I have also seen many reports of this happening on the internet. Has anyone investigated this and what was the results of the investigation" Should a car be sold in the northern states that can have the rear seal blow out just because the temperature is below freezing" INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Columbus, OH, USA

problem #44

Nov 222022

Equinox

  • miles

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

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

problem #43

Nov 082022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #42

Oct 182022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #41

Sep 222022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #40

Oct 042022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #39

Sep 192022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #38

Jul 132022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #37

Sep 212021

Equinox

  • 51,000 miles
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

problem #36

May 182022

Equinox

  • miles
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

problem #35

Feb 182021

Equinox

  • miles
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

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