NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
What owners actually said
272 reportsMileage unknown · Feb 3, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion System
I get my oil changed every 2-3 months. This morning it decided to jolt and all the lights flicker while my daughter was getting out of the car. She had one foot out. I had it towed and was told it is a blown rear main seal and they are unsure of the extent of the damage at the auto shop I took it too, and was told it might have …
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I get my oil changed every 2-3 months. This morning it decided to jolt and all the lights flicker while my daughter was getting out of the car. She had one foot out. I had it towed and was told it is a blown rear main seal and they are unsure of the extent of the damage at the auto shop I took it too, and was told it might have affected my engine. That I had to have it towed to a Chevy dealership for further evaluation and it was to extensive for them to do where I had it towed. I was told it was the 3rd car this morning that they received with this issue. All Equinox's. I was never given any notification on my dashboard that this there was an issue, till it was happening. I DO NOT have any leaks where I park my car on a daily basis. The extent of damage so far is at least $2500. I am out of pocket just for towing $260. If it is an engine problem, I will be out up to $8000. I still owe on this car thanks to inflation. Thankfully no one was parked in front of my car today or a kid walking in front of it.
NHTSA ODI #11505392
Mileage unknown · Feb 2, 2023
EngineUnknown Or Other
I own a 2017 Chevy Equinox. My husband and I are the only owners of it. It has just over 100,000 miles. Yesterday, February 1, 2023, I started my vehicle 15 minutes before I packed my 1 year old and 3 year old into the vehicle so I could take them to daycare and I could go to work. We drove down US HWY 8 (55 mph speed limit),…
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I own a 2017 Chevy Equinox. My husband and I are the only owners of it. It has just over 100,000 miles. Yesterday, February 1, 2023, I started my vehicle 15 minutes before I packed my 1 year old and 3 year old into the vehicle so I could take them to daycare and I could go to work. We drove down US HWY 8 (55 mph speed limit), onto County Road S to the kids' daycare. When I pulled into the parking stall, I smelled an oder of what I thought was gas. Looked at my gages and nothing was "wrong" - jumped out, & inspected around under the gas tank to see if it was leaking. It wasn't, so I thought maybe I drove over someone else's leak that I couldn't see. I took my kids out, brought them into daycare and left my vehicle running. When I came out, the smell was even stronger. I started to back up and noticed what looked like an oil pile. I then questioned if it was there prior and I didn't notice. I pulled over in the parking lot and saw it was leaking under the front end. I then parked it and shut the vehicle off. It was -15 out that morning. Not a single light came on my vehicle indicating that something was wrong. I checked my oil to see how much I had lost and it wasn't even registering on the dipstick. Empty. My husband towed it later that evening. Rear main seal blowout from frozen PVC. This is very concerning to me as it must have started to leak when I was driving and there was never a low oil indicator, overheating, engine light no oil was in my yard or driveway. And there wasn't enough oil in the daycare parking lot to have it be empty. This vehicle could has easily caused an accident to myself, my 1 year old and my 3 year old if it would have stalled going down the highway. It could have also caused an accident to another vehicle. I'm very lucky to have noticed where I did, but something should really be addressed with this. Not to mention we could have easily have been stranded out of town in extreme temperatures - especially for children.
NHTSA ODI #11505102
Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2023
Engine
I had noticing a faint smell of diesel type chemical gas off/on at times when driving the prior week but thought it was other cars as it was noticed when stopped. Few days ago had saw a very small drip in the driveway. Could not see anything specifically and looked more like gas color. Had just had oil changed the month before a…
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I had noticing a faint smell of diesel type chemical gas off/on at times when driving the prior week but thought it was other cars as it was noticed when stopped. Few days ago had saw a very small drip in the driveway. Could not see anything specifically and looked more like gas color. Had just had oil changed the month before at the Chevy dealership and everything looked good. Drove to work and noticed a very hot smell once parked. Smelled like chemicals and something burning. Could see something dripping but not excessive. Was able to make it home. No lights showing issues or overheating. Immediately saw large amounts of oil leaking from the car and very hot smell. Checked and little to no oil in the car. Immediately went to dealership and the knew what was wrong without even seeing it. PVC system frozen causing excessive crankcase pressure and failure of rear seal. 70,760 miles. They said they have seen numerous cases of this and GM knows it’s a problem. Gm refused to cover any of the cost. Had to pay $2,656 to have this fixed. Rear seal replaced along with cleaning intake ports, needed to replace cooling system thermostat also. Dealership even feels that this should be a recall and to hold onto any paperwork in hopes that this company will realize this is a big issue in cold weather. Dealership said by the time I had smelled anything the damage was already going on. Hopefully no other issues with the engine. Still smelling chemicals/hot but they said it the extra oil that was spilled out still burning off and should improve in a few days. They said it should be ok now but to let them know right away if anything is off.
NHTSA ODI #11505041
Mileage unknown · Jan 25, 2023
Engine
on december 23 2022 i was driving home, there was a loud sound coming from engine, causing an engine oil leak, vehicle was towed to local dealer, diagnost PCV valve was frozen and clogged, causing pressure inside engine, i was informed that the engine was destroyed, and needed to be replaced, there was no warning light before th…
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on december 23 2022 i was driving home, there was a loud sound coming from engine, causing an engine oil leak, vehicle was towed to local dealer, diagnost PCV valve was frozen and clogged, causing pressure inside engine, i was informed that the engine was destroyed, and needed to be replaced, there was no warning light before this happen, temperature in chicagoland was 30 below zero, i had to wait 2 hours for tow truck, i have an extended warranty and they dont want to cover for this repair, dealer shop is asking $7500 dollars for new engine, is not fair i only had this vehicle for 5 months,
NHTSA ODI #11503726
Mileage unknown · Jan 24, 2023
Engine
My PVC pipe in my engine unbeknownst to be me froze which caused pressure build up in the my crank case, which caused my real seal to blow and completely drain all my oil from my engine and seized my engine while I was driving at 70mph. This is a known issue with these vehicles as I have come across 3 other people who have had t…
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My PVC pipe in my engine unbeknownst to be me froze which caused pressure build up in the my crank case, which caused my real seal to blow and completely drain all my oil from my engine and seized my engine while I was driving at 70mph. This is a known issue with these vehicles as I have come across 3 other people who have had this issue. GM would not do anything for me and would not look further into the issue for me.
NHTSA ODI #11503490
102,000 miles · Jan 18, 2023
Engine And Engine Cooling
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. There was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle, and the rear crankshaft seal was leaking oil onto the ground. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The vehicle was t…
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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. There was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle, and the rear crankshaft seal was leaking oil onto the ground. The contact stated that the failure was a recurring failure. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a clogged PCV system causing the rear crankshaft seal to leak oil. The dealer determined that the crankcase seal needed to be replaced and the PCV orifice needed to be cleaned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to Technical Service Bulletin: 14882 (Plugged PCV Orifice in Intake Manifold) however, the vehicle was not covered by the TSB. The failure mileage was approximately 102,000.
NHTSA ODI #11502421
76,000 miles · Jan 13, 2023
Engine
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. T…
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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.
NHTSA ODI #11501599
Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or OtherInjury
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.
NHTSA ODI #11500693
Mileage unknown · Jan 6, 2023
Engine
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.
NHTSA ODI #11500434
Mileage unknown · Jan 3, 2023
Visibility/wiper
The windshield wipers have abruptly stopped working numerous times within the past two years. When met with little resistance, such as normal precipitation, the motor stops working. It is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of my children were at risk when this happened on the highway in the middle of a blizzard.…
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The windshield wipers have abruptly stopped working numerous times within the past two years. When met with little resistance, such as normal precipitation, the motor stops working. It is available for inspection. My safety and the safety of my children were at risk when this happened on the highway in the middle of a blizzard. This has also happened during heavy rain and I was forced to pull over until it was dry. While other years of the same make and model have been recalled the 2017 Equinox has not.
NHTSA ODI #11499930