NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
55 reportsClear category filter112,000 miles · Aug 16, 2013
Engine
MY CHEVY HAS A BLOWN HEAD GASKET AFTER ONLY 112K. FROM WHAT CHEVY MECHANICS HAVE TOLD ME IT'S BECAUSE OF THE FAULTY EGR VALVE ON THE VEHICLES BECAUSE GM FAILED TO NOTIFY THE OWNERS OF SAID VEHICLES TO HAVE THEM REPLACED. I'VE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR FROM THE START. WINDOW MOTORS HAVE GONE BAD AFTER ONLY 45K MILES,…
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MY CHEVY HAS A BLOWN HEAD GASKET AFTER ONLY 112K. FROM WHAT CHEVY MECHANICS HAVE TOLD ME IT'S BECAUSE OF THE FAULTY EGR VALVE ON THE VEHICLES BECAUSE GM FAILED TO NOTIFY THE OWNERS OF SAID VEHICLES TO HAVE THEM REPLACED. I'VE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH THIS CAR FROM THE START. WINDOW MOTORS HAVE GONE BAD AFTER ONLY 45K MILES, BLOWN GASKET, THE NON STARTING, NO AC UNLESS I'M TRAVELING DOWN THE HIGHWAY, HAVING TO PULLOVER AND STOP TURN CAR OFF AND THEN BACK ON TO GET THE HEAT TO KICK ON IN THE WINTER. I'VE CONTACTED GM BECAUSE OF THE MILEAGE THEY REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT IT. THE CHEAPEST I COULD FIND FOR MY CAR WAS 3000 TO REPLACE THE GASKETS. I MIGHT AS WELL DROP A NEW ENGINE IN THE CAR FOR THAT BUT WHY PAY THE 3000 TO REPLACE ENGINE FOR IT TO CRAP OUT ONCE AGAIN! WANDER IF I COULD PUT AN 08 ENGINE IN IT?? NEVER WILL I BUY AN EQUINOX AGAIN NOT IN A MILLION YEARS. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10535812
115,000 miles · Aug 8, 2013
EngineVisibility
BOUGHT A NEW 2005. 2 MONTHS AFTER WARRANTY WENT OUT THE IGNITION MESSED. HAVE TO WIGGLE THE KEY TO GET IT TO TURN. TWO MONTHS LATER THE HEAT/AC BLOWER CONTROL SWITCH WENT OUT. AT 120,000 MILES LEAKING LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET, FIXED THAT. 3 MONTHS LATER BLOWN HEAD GASKET, FOUND BAD FUEL INJECTOR WHILE FIXING THAT. 6 DAYS …
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
NHTSA ODI #10534242
117,000 miles · Aug 7, 2013
Engine
CAR STARTED OVERHEATING AND WAS DIAGNOSED AS A BAD HEAD GASKET AND REPAIRED. AFTER THE HEAD GASKET WAS REPAIRED THE EQUINOX STARTED OVERHEATING AGAIN AND THIS TIME IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS A CRACKED CYLINDER HEAD. THE MOTOR WAS REPLACED. THE REPLACEMENT MOTOR LASTED 3 WEEKS BEFORE IT FAILED AS WELL WITH THE SAME DIAGNOSIS AS BEFORE, …
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CAR STARTED OVERHEATING AND WAS DIAGNOSED AS A BAD HEAD GASKET AND REPAIRED. AFTER THE HEAD GASKET WAS REPAIRED THE EQUINOX STARTED OVERHEATING AGAIN AND THIS TIME IT WAS DIAGNOSED AS A CRACKED CYLINDER HEAD. THE MOTOR WAS REPLACED. THE REPLACEMENT MOTOR LASTED 3 WEEKS BEFORE IT FAILED AS WELL WITH THE SAME DIAGNOSIS AS BEFORE, A BAD HEAD GASKET. I CONTACTED GM. THEY OFFERED NO SOLUTIONS, OFFERED NO HELP IN REPAIRING OR REPLACING THE ENGINE. THE CAR IS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE AND THEY KNOW THE ENGINES IN THE 2005 AND 2006 (VIN F) ARE BAD ENGINES SUFFERING FROM A POOR DESIGN. THEY DIDN'T MAKE THE ENGINES ONLY FOR 2 YEARS BECAUSE THEY WORKED SO WELL. NUMEROUS REPORTS ABOUT THE BAD ENGINES WITH GM'S RESPONSE SIMPLY TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON A CAR THAT WON'T LAST PAST 100K MILES. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10533995
161,000 miles · Jun 8, 2013
Engine
THIS VEHICLE TAKE 4QT OF OIL ,BUT THE BOOK SAID 4.5 QT THAT WILL OVER FILL DIP STICK SHOW OVER A QT FULL CHECK WITH PART DEPT AT CHEVROLET AND WAS TOLD THAT IT ONLY TAKE 4QT WITH FILTER INCLUDED OTHER SERVICE MANUAL ALSO SAY 4QT WITH FILTER 'BECAUSE OF THIS DIFFERENT IN MANUAL CAPACITY THIS HAS CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE OVER THE YEA…
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THIS VEHICLE TAKE 4QT OF OIL ,BUT THE BOOK SAID 4.5 QT THAT WILL OVER FILL DIP STICK SHOW OVER A QT FULL CHECK WITH PART DEPT AT CHEVROLET AND WAS TOLD THAT IT ONLY TAKE 4QT WITH FILTER INCLUDED OTHER SERVICE MANUAL ALSO SAY 4QT WITH FILTER 'BECAUSE OF THIS DIFFERENT IN MANUAL CAPACITY THIS HAS CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE OVER THE YEARS. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10515807
94,052 miles · Jun 3, 2013
Engine
SEEMS TO BE THE SAME PROBLEMS A LOT OF EQUINOX OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING. BLOWN HEADGASKET W/ A PRICE TAG OF 1800.00 TO FIX. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10514862
101,261 miles · May 24, 2013
Engine
BLOWN HEAD GASKET AT 101,000 MILES. I NOTICED THAT COOLANT WAS DISAPPEARING AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. I MENTIONED THIS TO THE TECHNICIAN WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE. THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE COOLANT WAS MIXING WITH THE OIL AND I SHOULD HAVE IT CHECKED OUT BY A MECHANIC IMMEDIATELY.…
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BLOWN HEAD GASKET AT 101,000 MILES. I NOTICED THAT COOLANT WAS DISAPPEARING AND TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL. I MENTIONED THIS TO THE TECHNICIAN WHEN I TOOK THE CAR IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE. THE TECHNICIAN INDICATED THAT THE COOLANT WAS MIXING WITH THE OIL AND I SHOULD HAVE IT CHECKED OUT BY A MECHANIC IMMEDIATELY. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO MY MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED IT AS BLOWN HEAD GASKET. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10513366
110,000 miles · Feb 12, 2013
Engine
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. THE CONTACT HAD TO CONTINUOUSLY DEPRESS THE ACCELERATED PEDAL TO START THE VEHICLE, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO FLOOD. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING HOWEVER, THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUE.…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START. THE CONTACT HAD TO CONTINUOUSLY DEPRESS THE ACCELERATED PEDAL TO START THE VEHICLE, CAUSING THE ENGINE TO FLOOD. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING HOWEVER, THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT DID NOT CALL THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.
NHTSA ODI #10497943
92,000 miles · Jan 2, 2013
Engine
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEAD GASKETS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALER STATED THAT ANTI-FREEZE LEAKED INTO THE MOTOR AND CAUSED THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 92,000. UPDATED 02/20/13*LJ UPDATED 02/21/2013 *JS
NHTSA ODI #10490778
36,212 miles · Nov 17, 2012
Engine
WITH ONLY 36,212 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE, THERE IS NOW A REAR HEAD GASKET LEAKING. NOW, AS A SENIOR CITIZEN WITH A FIXED INCOME, I NEED TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR. IT SEEMS TO ME WITH THIS LOW MILEAGE AN ENGINE SHOULD LAST LONGER!! POOR WORKMANSHIP!!!! I SINCERELY HOPE THIS INFORMATION IS SHARED WITH THE MANUFACTURER. *…
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WITH ONLY 36,212 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE, THERE IS NOW A REAR HEAD GASKET LEAKING. NOW, AS A SENIOR CITIZEN WITH A FIXED INCOME, I NEED TO PAY FOR THIS REPAIR. IT SEEMS TO ME WITH THIS LOW MILEAGE AN ENGINE SHOULD LAST LONGER!! POOR WORKMANSHIP!!!! I SINCERELY HOPE THIS INFORMATION IS SHARED WITH THE MANUFACTURER. *TR
NHTSA ODI #10484991
100,000 miles · Oct 22, 2012
Engine
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EGR VALVE THAT WAS OFFERED BY THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT FIT SECURELY ON THE VEHICLE. AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WAS CONTACTED IN REGARD TO THE ISSUE AND THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED TO PURCHASE THE PART ELSEWHERE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO CONTACTED WHO ADVISED THA…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE EGR VALVE THAT WAS OFFERED BY THE MANUFACTURER WOULD NOT FIT SECURELY ON THE VEHICLE. AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WAS CONTACTED IN REGARD TO THE ISSUE AND THE CONTACT WAS ADVISED TO PURCHASE THE PART ELSEWHERE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO CONTACTED WHO ADVISED THAT THE PART WAS PREVIOUSLY RECALLED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 100,000.
NHTSA ODI #10481468