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.
2/4/19 bulletin issued for PCV valve defect [XXX] bought car from dealer, was told nothing wrong with car [XXX] sold me a extended warranty to assure me the car would be protected [XXX] car wouldn-??t start in driveway had it towed to Tarr Chevrolet. [XXX] warranty refused to fix car, seems they excluded the PCV valve from warranty. The PCV valve blew the rear seal, part of the power train which I have a lifetime warranty on. But since the PCV valve caused it, they didn-??t cover that either. This repair cost me $2800. Living on social security that-??s a lot of money. I have called Chevy, the dealer and the warranty co to no avail, I have read about all the class action suits. This is a very serious problem. The bulletin states below 0 temperatures can cause this, we live in Tennessee, we don-??t have that kind of weather. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 71 MPH, the engine lost power with the check engine and stability-track warning lights illuminated. The vehicle entered LIMP Mode. The contact was able to coast the vehicle to a local gas station. The contact approached the gas station, and the vehicle shut off. Due to the failure, the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where a diagnostic test was performed; however, the mechanic could not determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was informed that the PCV valve had frozen due to the cold weather. The contact was informed that the failure then pressurized the crankcase valve and blew the engine oil seal. The contact was also informed that the timing chain had failed and caused the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 68,000.
Two massive oil leaks experienced while driving during cold weather months. One two years ago (Feb 2023) and the other January 2025. Both instance caused by Rear Main Seal and led to mass oil loss while operating and vehicle almost shutting down on roadway. There appears to have been bulletins sent to dealers from GM on the matter but no indication to customers of the potential dangers.
When very cold in January 2025 in Evansville in area. our Equinox was being driven 1 hour and no lights on dashboard turned on and then all of a sudden at a stoplight the Equinox stalled and wouldn't go. The mechanic at a chevy dealership said pvc froze and engine wasn't getting oil.
- Jasper, IN, USA
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My 2017 Chevy Equinox, equipped with the 2.4L Ecotec engine, experienced a catastrophic failure due to a faulty PCV system. In cold weather, condensation caused the PCV valve to malfunction, leading to excessive pressure and ultimately blowing out the rear main seal. This issue has been well-documented in the 2010-?"2013 models, which were covered under a class-action lawsuit, but the same defect persists in later models, including mine, which are not covered. This design flaw creates a significant safety and financial burden for owners and needs further investigation. My car shut off several times while driving in heavy traffic. I was in the car with my 6 year old child taking him to school on a busy street. This could have been catastrophic. In addition, I was informed my engine is burning oil excessively which is also a known issue. The safety risk posed by the defect, readily know by service techs, is substantial, the lawsuits claim, given that an engine operating without sufficient oil could wear down and fail prematurely, even during the course of normal operation, due to friction. According to the lawsuits, General Motors, for its part, actively concealed from consumers that its Equinox and Terrain vehicles suffered from an oil consumption defect. Worse, the suits say, GM allegedly failed to offer vehicle owners and lessees any help by way of repairs or recalls. Oil leak caused by insufficient ventilation and excessive oil burning caused rear main seal and timing chain belts to fail. My oil warning systems never detected the low oil. Research has shown that this has been a known Chevy problem since 2017, with a recall being issued earlier on but no known recall now. Dealer has confirmed issues and also that the engine design is flawed and leads to oil burning excessively
My 2017 Chevy Equinox, equipped with the 2.4L Ecotec engine, experienced a catastrophic failure due to a faulty PCV system. In cold weather, condensation caused the PCV valve to malfunction, leading to excessive pressure and ultimately blowing out the rear main seal. This issue has been well-documented in the 2010-?"2013 models, which were covered under a class-action lawsuit, but the same defect persists in later models, including mine, which are not covered. This design flaw creates a significant safety and financial burden for owners and needs further investigation.
On 1/5/25, the rear main seal ruptured due to a known issue in the vehicle's PVC system, causing severe oil loss, potential catastrophic damage to the engine, loss of power, possible accident and/or injury. The problem was confirmed by a local Chevrolet dealer, with an estimated repair cost of $4000. The failure occurred without any vehicle warning lights activating.
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle suddenly went into LIMP Mode. The traction control, the stability-track warning lights, and several other unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The contact stated that upon restarting the vehicle, the low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to The Race Car Factory, where it was diagnosed that the engine's rear main seal was blown. The mechanic determined that the rear main seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer provided no further assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 147,000. The VIN was not available.
114k miles and the PCV valve was collecting condensation which froze. This caused a build up of pressure and blew the rear main oil seal and timing chain. No warning, no dash lights, nothing. Oil life at 35% and over 1,000 miles before due for next oil change. Went from running fine to DEAD in less than 1/4 of a mile.
When I was exiting the expressway, my car suddenly stopped without any warning. I managed to restart it, but after driving just a few feet, it stalled again. I was able to restart it once more, but this time I could hear a knocking noise coming from the engine. I initially thought it couldn't need oil since I had an oil change just the previous week. I drove to a nearby gas station to check the oil level, and although the oil gauge indicated 91%, I found there was no oil in the engine. I added two quarts to get a few blocks to my destination. However, I soon noticed oil leaking out. I decided to have my car towed to a Chevy dealership, where I was informed that I had a blown rear main seal caused by a faulty PCV system. I was told that this situation was dangerous, especially since it occurred on the expressway. The repair cost over $3,000. I contacted GM to see if they could assist me with cost but was told only after I got the issue fixed they wouldsee what they could do. I've also noticed that many other 2017 Chevy Equinox owners have reported similar problems online. Could you please look into this?
I am having this same issue with my 2017 Equinox as stated in the below information. It currently only has 58390 miles. I have already paid over 700 to try and fix and now they are telling me it is going to be another $5040.I feel like this should be covered by the class action lawsuit. The lawsuits against General Motors allege that the 2.4-liter EcoTech engines found in model year 2010-2017 Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs burn excessive amounts of oil. The safety risk posed by the apparent defect is substantial, the lawsuits claim, given that an engine operating without sufficient oil could wear down and fail prematurely, even during the course of normal operation, due to friction. According to the lawsuits, General Motors, for its part, actively concealed from consumers that its Equinox and Terrain vehicles suffered from an oil consumption defect. Worse, the suits say, GM allegedly failed to offer vehicle owners and lessees any help by way of repairs or recalls.
Oil leak caused by insufficient ventilation and excessive oil burning caused rear main seal and timing chain belts to fail. Oil warning systems were too late in warning about problem until engine stalled out and all oil was consumed, causing engine failure. No low oil warnings came up until minutes after the initial engine shutdown. Research has shown that this has been a known chevy problem since 2017, with a recall being issued earlier on but no known recall now. Dealer has confirmed issues and also that the engine design is flawed and leads to oil burning excessively
The PCV Valve froze last week causing pressure to build up and blew the rear seal. All the oil leaked out and caused a grinding noise and the vehicle shutoff on its own. This I have seen is an ongoing problem with the Chevy Equinox. I was quoted $3800 from the dealer to repair.
Oil leak caused by insufficient ventilation and excessive oil burning caused rear main seal and timing chain belts to fail. Oil warning systems were too late in warning about problem until engine stalled out and all oil was consumed, causing engine failure. No low oil warnings came up until minutes after the initial engine shutdown. Research has shown that this has been a known chevy problem since 2017, with a recall being issued earlier on but no known recall now. Dealer has confirmed issues and also that the engine design is flawed and leads to oil burning excessively
Vehicle stalled when driven or stopped at traffic light. Abnormal noises coming from engine. When engine oil was checked, no visible oil was available in the dipstick. Inserted dipstick a couple of times to ensure correct measurement. Extremely low oil left in vehicle. Vehicle seems to be burning oil. Diagnostic trouble codes read by obd2 tool were: P0011, P0191, P228D, P0089 and P0014. When investigating online, this is a common problem with the vehicle's engine. This seems to be a design flaw being ignored by the oem.
Our 2017 Chevy Equinox, engine 2.4l, is using excessive oil. Doing research it sounds like this is a known well known problem. what is Chevrolet doing to fix this issue?
Had car over 5 years from 11/2019 to current and had no issues at all. No check engine lights, nothing, and kept up on all routine maintenance. Car started up just fine drove on interstate from about 10 miles came to my exit and vehicle turned off and tried to restart itself. Car never started again. After getting it towed home replaced the started and that wasn-??t the issue towed it again to Firestone they could tell me what the problem was because they don-??t do engine work. Finally took it to a Chevy dealership who stated the timing chain broke and we need a whole engine replacement for $9600. Now we are stuck without a vehicle because of know issues GM AND Chevy have been aware of.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Dandridge, TN, USA