I had a complete transmission failure on my 2011 Equinox 2.4 LT with 69,671 miles. Chevy dealership quoted me $4,500 to replace and no warranty coverage (5 years/100,000 miles whichever came first). I had the car towed to local transmission shop and had it completely rebuilt for $2683.79 with a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty. Thanks a lot Chevy. I'm done with you for any future purchases.
First of all I babied the hell out of Equinox and kept uneccesary miles off. Mine is a 2011 LE Equinox. In 2016, I was driving a country road and all of a sudden it shut off on me....the dashboard lights were blinking prior and the check engine light came on. After about 15 min I was able to restart it in an attempt to get as close as possible. Several times it shut off and finally that was it. The car required a new transmission. Even at purchase occasionally I felt a slight miss or jerk (looking back after the repair).
At 50000 my car at times would stall on me particularly when I came to a stop and finally on my way to work and as I was inserting my parking garage pass it died for good. $5700 later and after 2 months of a wait a new engine was placed. This car is a nightmare---2 weeks ago my thermostat went on me. I am to the point that I don not take my car past a 15 mile radius because I fear breaking down,
Anyone else have transmission issues with this car????
Update from Sep 28, 2019: Just reading other complaints re: Equinox---my wipers also do not work; my ac is dead.
So disappointed. Got ripped off on my Saturn VUE which had only done 67932 miles but was on its third transmission. Took it to Chevy who refused to make the repair but offered $5000 against a new car. Took an Equinox LS. Only did 1084 miles and engine light came on. Garage said it was nothing. 1347 miles later, timing actuator to be renewed under warranty. At 40548 transmission failed. Renewed by garage under warranty. Now at 60872 and timing actuators had to be renewed again. Not under warranty so cost was $320. Would I recommend a Chevy Equinox. Probably not. Think Ill go for Japanese or Korean next time.
I own several Chevy vehicles and have more more miles that I have not had any transmission issue this has fewer miles and has completely went out when see all the complaints and was also told by mechanic that he fixes transmissions for this vehicle at least once a week I contact Chevrolet and was basically told sorry and we can help you find a mechanic very disappointing
- cm7783,
Columbia, US
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
At only 59,120 miles my 2011 Chevy Equinox's transmission failed. Non-repairable. Over $4000 for rebuilt at dealership. Chose transmission shop and paid $2481.38 for new w/warranty.
This car was purchased as my "retirement" car in December 2011. In 2015 engine light went on and I took car to dealership for transmission oil. I was told it was too "early" for transmission service (low mileage) but I insisted so that engine light would turn off; and it did. But then noticed issue returned: pronounced engine down surge every time I accelerated. Returned car to dealership and had mechanic drive with me until he noticed issue with transmission. When car ready I picked it up. That same night problem returned but this time it locked up on me and would not start. I was stranded in middle of intersection. Car was towed to dealership and after a few days was ready. It has tended to shift hard at times when engaging reverse. No major issues until January 13, 2019 (engine light on) and the warranty had since expired but the mileage is low (59,120).
This car was chosen by my parent's trustee because they trusted GM. Before they passed they had this car presented to me. I had trust in Honda's since I owned/drove a 1969 Honda Accord EX for over 250,000 miles! I accepted the new Chevy Equinox in December 2011 with gratitude and came to love the chassis. The gas mileage has always been poor at 19 mpg. I service it regularly for oil. Use Chevron regular gas.
If I have to replace this car I'm not certain I'd choose a GM product again, unfortunately.
It was in the shop that weekend for fluid change on the transfer case, they didn't even check the oil and 2 days later the tranny blew up. When I bought the vehicle April 2017 I asked for the tranny service to be done, they told me no. You have to wait for the mileage to be 100,000 before you do the tranny service, well at 98,000 the miles the tranny went. Even with the warranty I paid over $300.00
Purchased my vehicle in March of 2018. I've made 4 payments on it so far. Was driving to work and my tranny went. It now has cost me $4800 for a new tranny with the labor. This vehicle has been a complete nightmare.
I bought my 2011 Equinox used with approximately 70,000 miles on it. After having the engine rebuilt, interior door rust removed, and converter replaced under recall (due to oil consumption), my transmission failed yesterday. Now in addition to the repair, estimated as high as $3,800 in my area, I get to pay for a rental car for a week or two while it's in the transmission shop. Not happy. I think I'll go back to buying Mazda vehicles again. Too bad they don't make a true SUV anymore.
I purchased the 2011 Equinox Aug 2015- haven't had it 2 yrs yet. Have had 4 recalls: seat bolt, catalytic converter, fuel pump, and engine rebuild. Had new a/c compressor. Eats oil. And now the transmission needs to be replaced. Mechanic says GM has me by the balls--and do they ever! the transmission is $2900. Good looking car but worst purchase ever. Posting this so you don't get star struck. FWD and the fuel economy is insignificant. Do your homework before you spend your hard earned money. Peace
This was used car purchase , while driving to pay for my tags I had a total transmission failure 10 days after the 5year warranty elapsed (the car was 21000 miles below the 100000 mile drive train guaranty ) My problem was resolved by the dealer at their cost after contacting cooperate .(see South Point Chevrolet Tulsa Ok.complaints)
This 2011 Chevy Equinox is the absolute worst car I've ever owned, it has had every recall issue. The engine at 110000 miles had to be rebuilt due to excessive oil consumption, now at 135000 miles the transmission went out, and no recall on this yet, so I'm spending $2800 for the repair. I as an individual perform on time maintenance on my cars, and yet, this Chevy has been crap! So don't even consider purchasing an Equinox.
After years of erratic shifting and the Chevy dealer telling me "it shifted normal when they drove it", the damn thing fell apart. This Equinox is a LEMON and a nightmare! On our way home one night it started slipping bad. It crawled the last 2-3 miles to our home. I had to take yet ANOTHER vacation day to have it towed to the garage. It was out of warranty at this point, so we had to pay for it. The estimate to rebuild was $2000, which I just didn't have, so I found a garage that installed a used transmission to get me back on the road for $1500. It is running again, but still has a tendency to rev up to 4500RPMs on acceleration -before the car actually starts to move. I suspect their electronic control systems have serious design flaws. We set out each day for school and work with much apprehension. Considering all the failures we've experiences with this GM junk my boss is tired of hearing about my car problems and says I need a new car. We expect it to leave us stranded in the middle of the road any day now.
There was a sudden increase in time for transmission to shift to next gear, no engine light. Seemed better once I turned off AC. Next thing I know I have little acceleration and a tractor trailer so close to my rear bumper that all I could see was the front grill in my tailgate window!!! (Still no lights on dash!) I was not in a position to pull over at that point. Plus I was 100 miles from home! Fortunately, it was 12:35 PM so it was light outside and places were open. Made it to a parking lot once tractor trailer followed me through the left turn we were making and then found I had no reverse. (thought I should back into parking space rather than pulling in since I was going to need a tow truck)
I am disappointed that this happened once I had the vehicle 5 years and 20 DAYS after “delivery"!!!
After my vehicle sat on a dealer's lot for a full week, I find out that there was another EQUINOX that the transmission tech had been working on that he just finished and it had been there for 3 weeks and another one (wasn’t told if it was also an Equinox) that had been there for 2 weeks! Doing research I find out that quite a few Equinox owners are having this same symptom with the transmission. I was told by that dealership that it started with the 35R wave plate and went from there.
Once I had my vehicle back, I went to local dealer and was told that they are seeing 2011 Equinox, Traverse and Malibu's with 35R Wave Plate issues. Was informed that at one point the plates weren't fired HOT enough do the metal crumbles and takes out the transmission...It's a $2 to $5 part!!! That dealership is supposedly now replacing the wave plates in those vehicles. WHERE'S the recall!!!
It's sad and disappointing that a company like GM realizes that there is a problem with this transmission and they are not willing to correct the problem at No Cost. Based on the little research that I have done, it is obvious to me that there is definitely an issue with this transmission that GM is well aware of! I'm hoping that a recall or bulletin will be issued soon to take care of the out of pocket costs. Good luck all of you equinox owners out there!
I have owned this car for almost 2 years. I bought it used with 25k miles on it. I drive between 25-30k miles a year for work. I find it disgusting that at 106,000 miles my transmission is gone! I find it sad that at 97k I had my engine almost completely rebuilt! I find it wrong that when your car dies so early in its driving life that if you don't have a warranty you don't get customer service until you make some serious complaints. This car has been a money pit from the moment I bought it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
I had a complete transmission failure on my 2011 Equinox 2.4 LT with 69,671 miles. Chevy dealership quoted me $4,500 to replace and no warranty coverage (5 years/100,000 miles whichever came first). I had the car towed to local transmission shop and had it completely rebuilt for $2683.79 with a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty. Thanks a lot Chevy. I'm done with you for any future purchases.
- Larry S., Arvada, US