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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
21,710 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

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.

2018 Chevrolet Equinox engine problems

engine problem

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2018 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Comments (Page 1 of 2)

problem #40

Sep 052023

Equinox

  • 182,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to remain running after being started. While depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle was slow to respond. The contact stated that his brother used an ODB scanner and retrieved DTC codes: P0017 (Crank shaft Phaser, Exhaust Camshaft, Valve Cover Gasket), P1556 (Variable-Solenoid), P0011 (Camshaft), PO0014 (Engine), and P2227 (Turbo Charger). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the failure was related to the timing chain, cam shaft, brake booster, and vacuum pump. The contact called the local dealer, who stated that there was no coverage for the repair under recall or warranty. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 182,000.

- Irving, TX, USA

problem #39

Jul 102023

Equinox

  • miles
Car stopped working at 72K miles. sputtered, stopped, cranked but no start. P0017 error - which has a TSB on it. Camshaft position error. Chevy knows about the issue but just hopes it happens outside of warranty, which is not acceptable. Vacuum pump also had catastrophic failure.

- Paola, KS, USA

problem #38

Jul 292023

Equinox

  • miles
The vacuum pump that controls the power brakes broke/went tight, causing the brake pedal to get extremely hard and almost caused us to crash on the interstate. It turns out that this vacuum pump is attached to the camshaft on the 2018 Equinox and it doesn't have a shear pin, so when it goes tight, it destroys the camshaft and timining chain as well. It will cost over $4k to repair. This is a huge safety concern, not to mention the unexcpected costs to the consumer. GM is well aware of this issue, and has issued recalls on the same vacuum pump on different models of Chevrolets/GMCs

- Brillion, WI, USA

problem #37

Mar 222023

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Service brake assist

- Jonesboro, AR, USA

problem #36

Dec 082022

Equinox

  • 99,400 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while at a stop light and releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle shutdown before the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact turned off the vehicle and the vehicle failed to restart. The electrical systems in the vehicle turned on and off and the doors were locking and unlocking independently. Additionally, the instrument cluster warning lights were turning on and off. The contact also stated that the parking brake and traction control functions were engaged. The contact released the brake pedal and the vehicle jolted and turned on and restarted. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred her to the NHTSA hotline, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 99,400.

- Fort Pierce, FL, USA

problem #35

Apr 182022

Equinox

  • miles
Has had 2 codes come up for bad fuel injectors maybe more before it hit 50,000 miles dealer can't recreate cases a bad miss fire really surprised it runs

- Georgetown, KY, USA

problem #34

May 292022

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When backing into my drive way moving the gear from d to r the car will jump. This has made it to where I fear to park where I have to reverse. As well as when I started driving down the road the auto stop start kicked on while doing 30 when the car powered back on in the busy intersection the car was clunking I pulled over asap and took a look under the car to make sure nothing was leaking when started back up it went away. It-€™s very unsafe to have a car that you can-€™t disable the auto stop feature from coming on as if the intersection was not a safe place for this to happen

- Seymour, TN, USA

problem #33

May 052021

Equinox

  • miles
When my cats gets turned on my radio doesn-€™t turn on so I have to reset it until it turns on meaning I have to press and hold for 20sec to get the volume knob lite but my radio doesn-€™t work and on top of it the auto stop is tripping when I do auto stop the car turns off and restarts on its own and shows light on dash saying traction control on or off and then it will say brake release and than brake check my steering wheel controls don-€™t work meaning my auto control isn-€™t working to set and one day out of nowhere it will all work like nothing happen radio will turn on but I can-€™t turn volume on or change station and it-€™s a frozen screen and sometimes it goes all blank black but I can hear music with no screen

- Hammond, IN, USA

problem #32

Apr 202022

Equinox

  • miles
The -€œCheck Engine-€ light is still on regardless of the maintenance done on the vehicle. The oil pump is possibly damaged after pieces from broken vacuum pump may have entered into engine.

- Upper Marlboro , MD, USA

problem #31

Apr 162022

Equinox

  • miles
The vacuum pump in my 2018 Chevrolet Equinox no longer works. I have a -€œhard brake-€ and when I attempt to stop At low speeds there is a grinding sound with my vehicle.

- Upper Marlboro , MD, USA

problem #30

Jan 022022

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Winter 2020/2021 I had to replace my exhaust manifold and now winter 2021/2022 I am having issues with my turbo/super charger but same code of P0299 for both incidents. Wondering what is going on with my vehicle. I bought it at 42,000 miles and now has 88,000 on

- Chisholm, MN, USA

problem #29

Aug 122020

Equinox

  • miles
engine problems

- West New York, NJ, USA

problem #28

Nov 182021

Equinox

  • miles
On approximately 11/18/21 3:30 pm I drove my car and the engine just died. Busy street. It took me 30 minutes to restart and pull safely into the first parking lot I could get to. every time I went to start vehicle it would take 3-4 minutes each time, I had to turn car completely to stop the car from trying to start. When it finally started it would only go 10 feet before the engine stopped running. I had to have my car towed to the dealership. On 12/8/21 the dealership called me and said the the pump which is inside the engine failed and that the engine would have to be replaced for $8,500 HELP!

- Uniontown, OH, USA

problem #27

Jul 092021

Equinox 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
62 k Miles car completely shut down and power steering became useless making it extremely hard to even move out of traffic. There were no warning lights Car has always been fully serviced at dealership. Vac pump failed causing camshaft to break, bending pistons New engine required. Car at dealership going into 3 weeks now

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

problem #26

Jan 182021

Equinox

  • 41,000 miles
Check enginge light keeps coming on. Code says dealer specific, went to go to dealer, light went off. Two weeks later, light comes back on for a few days, goes back off. Had the diesel system cleaned by dealer, light still comes on and off. Car has 42K miles, expertly maintained. Dealer wants $135 to diagnose the problem that their own documents say there is no solution for. On star diagnoses found nothing wrong with the vehicle and didn't even show the 'check engine light' as being on. Similar reports from others online involving the 1.6L diesel. No performance issues with the light on, but Chevrolet should be able to fix the issue - even if the car is out of warranty. A two year old car shouldn't be having random check engine light issues.

- Mechanicsville, MD, USA

problem #25

Sep 162020

Equinox

  • 38,299 miles
The oil plug is weak and damaged

- Washington, DC, USA

problem #24

Sep 042020

Equinox

  • 64,000 miles
While driving on a county highway, the service brake assist light appeared. Upon braking, brakes were extremely hard (like pushing on a brick) to stop. After attempting to brake several times and finally getting stopped, I turned off the vehicle. Upon attempting to restart, car failed to start. Towed from holstein Iowa to milford, Iowa late on a Friday. Next morning, dealer in spirit lake Iowa was contacted. A 2nd tow to the dealer happened on Saturday. Dealer briefly looked at it and stated it was a camshaft actuator or sensor and they would get to it after the holiday weekend. The gave me a rental to get home (5 hrs South) however, I am still paying on a uhaul trailer rental as the rental van did not have towing capabilities. Tow 1 was $250 and tow 2 was $125. Rental is $50 per day. Parts/labor is expected to be a little over $2200 plus the van rental, plus the uhaul trailer extra days rental, plus the gas to go back and get the vehicle and bring it home with the uhaul trailer. Dealer was advised by me to look at the vacuum pump on tue a.M. tue P.M. dealer called back. Verified vacuum pump issue and stated it was defective and that it disintegrated. It was also sitting on the front dual overhead exhaust and that was attached to the camshaft exhaust. Both of those broke away as well. Need to replace those and the timing chain with an oil change to ensure no metal remains in the engine. GM/Chevy should be fixing this at no cost plus paying for the towing charges, extra rentals, and gas. Not having brakes is a major safety issue and putting my life, my family's life and the life of people on the road around us is not what I consider a good product. Photos from the dealer will be asked for, especially the vacuum pump. I will promptly forward bills as soon as they arrive.

- Manley, NE, USA

problem #23

Sep 022020

Equinox

  • 64,000 miles
10/2019 - while driving on highway, coming into a construction zone, I went to slow down. When I pushed my brakes to slow down, they were very hard and was unable to push them down. Ended up having to drive off the side of the road to avoid collision. Vaccum pump failed which caused a failure in my brake assist system. It was fixed under warranty. 9/2020 - driving on the highway and went to slow down when the same thing happened again and I was unable to slow down. Again had to drive off the side of the road to avoid collision. This time when the vacuum pump failed, it broke a gear causing metal pieces to be sucked in the engine and now my engine is needing replaced. This is a common problem with this car based on the research I have done but my VIN is not included in recall. I feel this is very dangerous to happen twice in less than a year while traveling high speeds and being unable to stop. I have 2 young children that I no longer feel safe putting in this vehicle

- Blanchard, OK, USA

problem #22

Aug 182020

Equinox

  • 65,000 miles
Driving down the road the car started to smoke under the hood area and all I could smell was burned plastic. Pulled over and got out. Not even a minute later the car burst into flames.

- St. Johnsbury, VT, USA

problem #21

Feb 122019

Equinox 4-cyl

  • 16,000 miles
When I need to accelerate to pass a vehicle or speed up from a off or on ramp, engine light, ABS light, check ESC light, all come on and cruise control is not able to be used. Engine has to be shut down. Transmission is slipping as well.

- Trufant, MI, USA

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