Used 2005 Chevrolet Equinox Consumer Reviews
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Nothing but strange problems
Jc, 04/01/2016
2005 Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD 4dr SUV (3.4L 6cyl 5A)
25 of 30 people found this review helpful
Where do I even begin....lol! I bought this car from my grandpa in 2014 with 64k miles on it. He bought it new and took great care of it. When I got it, I was warned about an odd "starting issue" that seldomly happened at the time. I was assured that he would pay to fix it if it started happening more or quit starting since he wasn't able to figure it out before it became my vehicle. It happens all the time now but won't completely break down so we can get to the bottom of it and acts shy and won't experience the problem when I take it to the shop to diagnose. I think the car is seriously possessed by an evil entity lol. Since it only acts up when I'm in an inconvenient setting like a dark parking lot or trying to get to work, I recorded it with my phone while it was acting up so I could show it to my Chevy mechanic. I've attempted to have this diagnosed several times and was told it might be electrical since we've tried everything else like putting in a new starter etc.... fuel pump is fine, so it's not that either. It's gotten worse... Sounds like the car is trying to start when I turn my key but just can't quite turn the engine over. It never happens when my car has been sitting all night, it only happens after I've driven already that day. Also, the headlights are garbage and changing them is a real biotch and expensive too bc of the labor involved; the whole front part needs to come off bc both headlight casings are connected internally and can't be individually removed. After a while, the plastic casings look extremely yellow and dingy.... Foggy looking. The seals on them wear away as well and water got inside my casings and blew out my bulbs. Since I can't drive at night with no headlights, I had to pay $120 for the mechanic to remove the front of the car so he could get in there to replace the bulbs. I couldn't afford new casings, which were quoted at $300 a piece, so I just had the water dried out so my bulbs wouldn't blow....Well at least until the water seeps in again. They can't be resealed, they have to be replaced. Luckily I live in California and it doesn't rain a lot! Oh... The cheap plastic bumpers... How they hurt my eyes from the ugly gray color being so hideously weather warped. They dent super easily as well. Someone hit it a little bit on the back right corner while in a grocery store parking lot and it got severely crunched in. Of course, they cant be pushed back out and reshaped (that would be too easy) so the whole freaking bumper needs replacing if you want that dent to go away. And wouldn't ya know it, they don't make the bumpers anymore nor do after market ones fit properly without looking ghetto so have fun scouting junk yards for one that still looks decent. It's really weird that the window controls are in the center where the shifter is instead of on each door.... I hate that and so does every passenger that enters my car. As the driver, I should have main window controls for each door window and lock option that passengers can't reach for. I hate when I'm cold and my passenger rolls their window down bc I can't lock all the windows from my door. Annoying blind spots on this car... Took some getting used to. Super thin door pockets, can barely fit a little stack of napkins in there. Don't ever buy stock version of this car, the cloth seats feel hard and uncomfortable and the lever underneath is sooooooo annoying.... I miss power seats!!! On the same note regarding this vehicle being cheaply&ridiculously made, the interior ends up looking like a rolling hooptie as it begins falling apart after normal usage. I never force or abuse my vehicle so it's definitely not a case of this being my own fault bc I don't take care of it (as some other people's comments on this page seem to suggest); my sunvisor's lid that covers the little vanity mirror randomly fell off one day. How about that! Lol! A few months ago, my car started making an electric gurgling sound that graduated into a loud flapping or metal clanking sound that pep boys said sounded serious but internal in the engine so they couldn't help. It was embrassing driving down the street bc it was so loud and obnoxious. By the time my Chevy appointment came around to diagnose and fix it, the sound had stopped and hasn't been back since. I need this car to go away :( I've honestly had more issues with this car since March 2014 then I ever had with my 2001 Ford F-150 that I had for 7 years.... And my ford had 200k miles on it!!! Bye Felicia!
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Love this cqr!
Jme, 06/25/2017
2005 Chevrolet Equinox LS Fwd 4dr SUV (3.4L 6cyl 5A)
16 of 19 people found this review helpful
After reading all the poor reviews for this vehicle and then owning it.... I don't have any of the fuel transmission or head gasket problems other people claim. I've had this car for 6 months and put 4000 miles on it. Check engine light comes on with incorrect gas cap twist... however turned itself off now. I have no other complaithisthus far and I just love this car!
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2005 Chevrolet Equinox for sale near you
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- LT 4dr SUVMSRP: $5,495180 mi away
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Chevy kids...not even once!
Sarah, 05/12/2019
2005 Chevrolet Equinox LT Fwd 4dr SUV (3.4L 6cyl 5A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
I made all of the bad mistakes of buying a SUV because the car I had been driving dropped a piston and the engine was destroyed. So with meager savings and the whopping $45 I was paid by the wrecker to tow my totaled car away for me I had to begin a desperate search for something with wheels that would be reliable to haul supplies and furniture. I hadn't been looking for anything before and I really didn't get to test drive that many small SUVs at all. I started looking for a small SUV because I couldn't fit 90% of what I needed into a car and figured I would purchase an Equinox and drive it forever. I was so wrong. Don't ever purchase the first year model of anything and wait until year three to see if the bugs are all ironed out. Had my father not purchased the extended warranty on it I would have been told to make payments on an SUV with a bad engine. The so-called "engineers" who designed this money pit on wheels had no idea what they were doing and the head gasket was defective. The engine was starting to overheat during a five minute drive to class so I pulled over and it took a full 20 minutes for it to cool off! I popped the hood and looked for any sure sign of an issue to see oil on the engine block! The dealership lied about the transmission and you have to put it on a lift, use three different sized sockets to pull an engine brace off just to get to the stupid flimsy plastic transmission dipstick! You also have to PULL the transmission in order to change the filter. Chevy is making their money pits impossible for DIYers to work on. The interior, even with weekly cleaning has not lasted. I've had issues where I found out that the wiring harness wasn't installed properly - where it was assembled in CANADA! That alone was over $2,435 in repairs to fix what I bought brand new and should have been set up right the first time due to rodent damage. The engine issue was a $100 deductible where the extended warranty rep called me to tell me to NOT pay a penny over $100 because the dealership was trying to rip me off. $3,500 + in ENGINE WORK! I've had issues with two out of the three trifecta red flags and quite frankly GM/Chevy will not be getting one more penny of mine. I'm currently looking for a FOREIGN SUV/small truck to drive now because the absurd cost in repairs and maintenance has turned me away from American made autos for good. I have spent far too much on an SUV that is now going to cost over $800 in work on brakes alone. If it's not one thing malfunctioning that has to be replaced it just keeps having parts that wear out and don't last at all. Don't get me started on all of the weekends where my father and I had to sweat and bleed in order to keep it road worthy. Acceleration is meager at best now even with diligent care on the V6. I haven't skimped on maintenance and since I require a reliable set of wheels to drive I'm gladly evaluating a used foreign vehicle because I'm not bailing out American automakers ever again. Since purchasing this SUV brand new I have grown disgusted with what passes for an SUV or any vehicle because I know I'm not getting my money's worth out of it. There's no excuse for such horrific design, poor materials use, incompetent manufacturing, dishonest dealerships, overpriced products, and absurd marketing lies. As long as automakers have been around you'd think they would have mastered a basic and long lasting set of wheels on anything but instead they just cut corners on quality and rip people off. I can't support American made because it's not made in America, is far too overpriced, isn't reliable, and I'm not a fan of companies run so poorly that they're bailed out against my will where I get robbed TWICE. If the company fails then it gets shut down period. You don't bail out incompetence but clear the way for an automaker that can actually build something that isn't designed to fail.
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need help, ac problems
cindysue2, 05/26/2014
2005 Chevrolet Equinox LT Fwd 4dr SUV (3.4L 6cyl 5A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful
The ac on my 2005 equinox not working right. You turn the ac on and it doesn't get cold. I had it checked and was told it needed a new ac compressor, so I had a new one put on. Still didn't fix it. We discovered the fans weren't turning on to push the cold air out. I bought a pressure switch, put that on, they come on now but still not pushing cold out. It's like they are not turning fast enough. No one knows what to do with it. I'm tired of spending money & it not getting fixed. Anyone have any ideas?
UPDATE On My Previous Post. MarThe_RN23 Now At 140K And Loving It!!!! Worth The Minor Issues If You Have Reasonable Mechanic Trust Worthy Mechanic!
marthe_rn23, 08/14/2014
2005 Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD 4dr SUV (3.4L 6cyl 5A)
15 of 18 people found this review helpful
Since My Last Post I Did Have The Entire Engine Rebuilt... Since The Rebuild I Have Put 40K On It In 1 Year, I So Have Grown To Love It, Drove It Cross Country Several Times And It Has Never Left Me Stranded, I Have Been Following The Maintenance Schedule 2The T, Transmission Flushes, Coolant Flushes, Simi Synthetic Oil Changes. Also A New Catalytic Converter, Rear Shocks, Front Brake Pads And Wheel Bearings, Air Filterx2, Cabin Air Filter, Driver Headlight, Passenger Head Light Wires Burned Out {Current}. A/C Condenser, Radio &Though It Seems Like Alot They Have Been Really Cheap Fix's, Since Its Paid For I Think Its Worth It! Also My Passenger Seat Doesn't Recline Any One Know What To Do?