← New search

2017 Chevrolet Equinox

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Chevrolet Equinox do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 382.5.

About this comparison →

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

94 reports with mileage · 178 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 178 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports4 fire reports7 injury reports

What owners actually said

272 reports
Mileage unknown · Apr 15, 2025
Power Train

Bearing on front intermediate shaft broken or missing.

NHTSA ODI #11654841

Mileage unknown · Mar 24, 2025
Engine

Driving to work, my car decided to die upon stopping at a stop light. I managed to get it to start again and coast to work, but upon reaching the parking lot, it died yet again. I allowed it to stay parked while at work, when leaving it seemed normal, mind you it hasn't made any noises. I went to leave; it died yet again at the …

Read full complaint

Driving to work, my car decided to die upon stopping at a stop light. I managed to get it to start again and coast to work, but upon reaching the parking lot, it died yet again. I allowed it to stay parked while at work, when leaving it seemed normal, mind you it hasn't made any noises. I went to leave; it died yet again at the stop sign. I just put a brand-new battery in it, so I knew that wasn't the issue. I took it maybe 200 feet down the road and it died again. This time, I noticed a bunch of oil on the ground. Since this traumatic event, I took it to my local dealership to have it diagnosed. They found that the timing chain and guide broke, and this pressure caused the seals to also blow. I spent $3,600 to fix those in hopes this would bring my car back to normal use. Unfortunately, there was more damage than expected and the bearings at the bottom of the engine went out, which the mechanic then explained to me would cause them to replace the pistons and other parts and it would be more feasible to get a new engine. They said this was due to the engine overconsuming oil and causing the oil levels to be much lower than they needed to be even with normal maintenance and tops offs in between routine oil changes. This could have caused an accident as when the vehicle would die, I had no time to get to a safe spot on the road. This did not cause any warning lights, notices, messages or signs that something was wrong. I have reached out to the dealership and GM for further assistance to look into this matter as the ECOtec engines have been known for this same issue in the 2013-2016 models but have refused to speak further about the 2017 to current models. GM customer service informed me that due to the engine stating it had too low oil, they were refusing to assist me in anyway.

NHTSA ODI #11650128

Mileage unknown · Mar 7, 2025
Engine

EGR valve froze cause the rear main seal to blow, has timing chain fixes. Now having more issues again.

NHTSA ODI #11647083

Mileage unknown · Mar 6, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

After very cold winter weather, car started to smell. PCV valve blew and car was seizing causing it to blow out the rear systems. It had spilled oil onto the garage floor and had a bad emissions smell. Dealership said they added 3 quarts of Oil and that within 30 minutes two quarts leaked out. No warning lights on dashboard, no …

Read full complaint

After very cold winter weather, car started to smell. PCV valve blew and car was seizing causing it to blow out the rear systems. It had spilled oil onto the garage floor and had a bad emissions smell. Dealership said they added 3 quarts of Oil and that within 30 minutes two quarts leaked out. No warning lights on dashboard, no affected cautions through the equinox app (which still shows that I have 80% of my oil still remaining). While driving the car started making a ticking sound during acceleration and a bad smell. I am now left with a $3700 bill. Numerous others have detailed exact experiences with their equinox after the last February, cold spell in Chicagoland. I was very fearful driving the car and my safety was compromised. The car was shaking, and the smell was pungent Right now my car is at the dealership so I do not have the invoice

NHTSA ODI #11646867

150,000 miles · Mar 6, 2025
Power Train

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that upon arriving to the destination, the contact became aware that there was an excessive amount of engine oil pooling underneath the engine compartment of the vehicle, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The…

Read full complaint

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that upon arriving to the destination, the contact became aware that there was an excessive amount of engine oil pooling underneath the engine compartment of the vehicle, prompting the contact to discontinue driving the vehicle. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the rear main seal. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150,000.

NHTSA ODI #11646854

Mileage unknown · Mar 2, 2025
Engine

When my car failed while driving to work, I had it towed to a repair facility. The technician reported that the rear main was leaking and the motor had no oil in it. I have always had the oil changed every 2000 miles. There was also engine metal in the oil filter. It was deemed that the motor was ruined. I was told by the techni…

Read full complaint

When my car failed while driving to work, I had it towed to a repair facility. The technician reported that the rear main was leaking and the motor had no oil in it. I have always had the oil changed every 2000 miles. There was also engine metal in the oil filter. It was deemed that the motor was ruined. I was told by the technician that this was a common problem for this make/model of car. I researched and there are many of the same complaints. This does pose safety concerns and I wish for this to be addressed/recalled.

NHTSA ODI #11645861

Mileage unknown · Mar 1, 2025
EnginePower Train

Oxygen sensor, catalytic system efficiency below threshold bank,o2 circuit low voltage,accelerator pedal position sensor 1-2 not plausible, invalid data received from engine control module, vvt timing solenoid, engine vvt timing solenoid, timing shaft bank 1, exhaust camshaft, intake performance camshaft up and down shift switch…

Read full complaint

Oxygen sensor, catalytic system efficiency below threshold bank,o2 circuit low voltage,accelerator pedal position sensor 1-2 not plausible, invalid data received from engine control module, vvt timing solenoid, engine vvt timing solenoid, timing shaft bank 1, exhaust camshaft, intake performance camshaft up and down shift switch circuit left front wheel sensor circuit I have had to replace all this on my vehicle nothing was covered under extended warranty I bought car from drive time wanted to return it when they wouldn’t replace when shield mad me look for estimate and then told me I drove over 400miles and would take it back Bridgecrest financed me and car been in and out of shop since I got it also had to replace some but my gas peddle I still owe on this vehicle they wanted 20k still owe like 14k higher robbery I have contacted BBB this is fraud if you ask me also had to replace fuelrail pressure sensors

NHTSA ODI #11645699

Mileage unknown · Feb 27, 2025
EngineUnknown Or Other

My vehicle had a pool of oil beneath it and a trail behind it due to a faulty PCV. I had it towed to the certified dealer and they told me it was a PCV valve issue, due to the cold temperatures, ice was able to accumulate and caused a pressure build up inside of the hose or something of the sort. With that being said, the pressu…

Read full complaint

My vehicle had a pool of oil beneath it and a trail behind it due to a faulty PCV. I had it towed to the certified dealer and they told me it was a PCV valve issue, due to the cold temperatures, ice was able to accumulate and caused a pressure build up inside of the hose or something of the sort. With that being said, the pressure caused the seal to pop off and allowed for the oil to leak out and get all over the engine/parts within the engine. The dealership let me know they were aware and had correspondence about this particular issue. There was no sound prior to the decline of my engine, no indicator on the dash, and this issue can happen so quickly that there's no time to respond or reverse damage that was made. My engine no longer works and was told I would need to purchase a new one, despite the fact this issue could happen again with a new engine regardless of routine upkeep. Dealership confirmed the engine was damaged, the oil was depleted, and the PCV was to blame. There were no warning signs, it happened quite quickly, and I fear that if this incident didn't happen at night, my vehicle would have slowed or completely stopped at a rate that would have prevented other drivers from steering clear of me and harming themselves or me. Thankfully it wasn't a busy night. I was going 80km/hr and my vehicle slowed to barely 30 km/hr without being able to accelerate. At home, the engine shut down, and again a pool of oil was found before being towed to the certified dealership I had my routine inspection done at a few months prior. Vehicle previously register in Texas, now resides in Canada where incident occurred.

NHTSA ODI #11645350

Mileage unknown · Feb 21, 2025
Engine

The Rear Main seal failed which ended up causing issues with the timing belt and required pistons to be replaced as well. The safety of the vehicle was at risk because it was spewing oil all over the place while I was driving which could cause the roads to be slick and cause others to crash. Let alone the oil spewing everyone co…

Read full complaint

The Rear Main seal failed which ended up causing issues with the timing belt and required pistons to be replaced as well. The safety of the vehicle was at risk because it was spewing oil all over the place while I was driving which could cause the roads to be slick and cause others to crash. Let alone the oil spewing everyone could cause further damage to my own vehicle. The dealer confirmed there is a bulletin for this exact issue and also advised me that in my small local area there was 6 others in the past 3 weeks who had the exact same issue. Several others I know who have this vehicle also had it happen to them within the past few years. There was 0 indication of anything that something was wrong until it just happened all of the sudden. It cost $6500 to fix and GMC will take 0 responsibility for their own willful misconduct.

NHTSA ODI #11644185

Mileage unknown · Feb 20, 2025
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemPower Train

PCV valve got clogged and failed, i have an extended warranty and the extended warranty EXCLUDES this from any repairs if this is involved. Caused my Rear Main Seal to break and leak oil. Not drivable currently. Quoted 3200 on a repair. Purchased the vehicle less than 12 months ago.

NHTSA ODI #11643969

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Chevrolet Equinox problems