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Used 2011 Chevrolet Equinox Consumer Reviews

3.2 out of 5 stars
193 reviews

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1 out of 5 stars

Do yourself a favor and RUN away from this car!

Amy, 09/16/2015
2011 Chevrolet Equinox LT1 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Purchased the car used, a little over 100K miles on the car when we purchased. A few hours after we left the dealership, the car began idling rough when stopped, hesitated when you try to accelerate, and an engine light came on (P0420). The car began rough idling anytime it wasn't in motion > 10mph. The engine shakes very hard. The car continues to run 3-6 seconds after you remove the key. When you accelerate from a stop or when coasting the car jerks forward like you stomped on the gas pedal. Sometimes when you try to accelerate the car just kinda sits there for a few seconds before it decides to move. It sounds like a big diesel truck when you crank the car - so embarrassing. These issues continued to happen the entire time we were taking it to the dealership, and still happen today. The car also only get about 22 mpg highway / city combined. We took the car back to the dealership not even a week after purchasing - they replaced spark plugs and sent us on our way. The engine light returned again (P0420 and P0303). Took the car back and the dealership replaced the 3rd coil pack. Engine light returned again - dealership said it was some kind of seal and it was "fixed". Engine light returned again - dealership "couldn't duplicate" the issue and insinuated that it was fine. Kept insisting that the car does not have any issues when they have it and they have tried sitting, slow driving, etc. I recorded the issues on my cell phone and text them to the dealership. Suddenly their story changed to "clearly there is something wrong with the car and we need to get it fixed asap." No kidding... We opened a case with GM customer care (don't even waste your time there). GM told us to take it to a certified dealership and have diagnostics run ($100). They told us if it was a manufacturer defect they would cover the cost of repairs and reimburse the $100 diagnostic fee. It turned out to be a known issue - also a manufacturer defect but suddenly GM decided they couldn't cover the cost of repair because the car had over 100K miles. They knew this BEFORE asking us to take it to the dealership to begin with. They told us the fix was to have the catalytic converter and O2 sensor replaced ($1500). We took the car back to the dealership we purchased it from, and they sent it to another repair shop because they couldn't fix the issues themselves. Not even a week after the catalytic converter and O2 sensor were replaced the issues returned. I've given up hope and I've had it with this car. We tried to trade it in, but nobody will give us anywhere near what we paid for it because it runs like crap and sounds awful. Just praying the car doesn't die before we can pay down the balance enough to be able to trade the car without losing thousands on it. Seriously, do yourself a favor and stay away from GM cars. Worst car buying experience ever. My 13 year old Honda with almost 200K miles ran better than this 4 year old car. Seriously regret spending money on this POS.

Safety
2 out of 5 stars
Technology
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
1 out of 5 stars
Value
1 out of 5 stars
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1 out of 5 stars

Worse car ever

Rob, 02/06/2018
2011 Chevrolet Equinox LS 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful

It's all about problems on this car. I bought brand new and so far i had 6 major fixes. The last one out of my pocket: 1) oil leak at 7K miles 2) freon leak at 10K miles 3) oil deep stick dry every 2K miles when it had 30K miles. GM would consider that normal 4) burning oil continued at 50K miles and GM issued a recall. They replaced the timming belt, and leaky fuel pump. 5) burning oil continued so they replaced cylinders, rings and spark plugs. 6) at 70K miles car shut with engine loss power alarm and engine alarm. I had to pay 930 dollars to replace throttle box and 2 cam solenoids. I called GM and they will not issue additional warranties. What is next???????? THis is a car that will break and have to trash under my budget. Please DONT BUY GM. They are a piece of garbage. I was reading everyone that has this problem on chevy equinox. How is it possible that GM is allowed to sell this car? Does it meet the EPA standards????? I doubht it...

Safety
1 out of 5 stars
Technology
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
3 out of 5 stars
Reliability
1 out of 5 stars
Value
1 out of 5 stars
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3.5 out of 5 stars

BAD BAD Choice in a vehicle..

redding63, 12/31/2013
2011 Chevrolet Equinox LT1 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Where do I start... first of all I owned the vehicle for 5 days to have it taken in to the dealership for costly repairs! Yes my warranty covered it but still, I had to have the water pump,fuel pump and timing chain all replaced! Then a month later the check engine light comes on so I called On Star to have them diagnose the issue,come to find out its misfiring.AND we smell gas in the oil AND our remote start wont work because of the check engine light that's on.The dealership has us waiting a week to bring it in. Not only is that bad business ,but to find out they may or may not give us a rental car to drive. Do I feel safe in this vehicle? NO absolutely NOT!

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3.63 out of 5 stars

Why Chevy Still Doesn't Get It

dhoff457, 11/16/2011
2011 Chevrolet Equinox LT1 4dr SUV AWD (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
17 of 20 people found this review helpful

We bought a 2011 Equinox and loved it - until yesterday. Five months old and the car simply died - while driving on the highway at 60 mph. Not what you'd expect from a new car - stuff happens but what happened next clarifies why with all the gains they've made, Chevy has a LONG way to go when it comes to understanding and serving their customer. When we the car died, we were able to pull over and call OnStar. They remotely diagnosed the issue (power train and transmission problems). But at this point they told us we needed to call ahead to the dealer to let them know we were getting towed there and they would not forward their diagnosis info to the dealer ("they'll run their own").

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2.5 out of 5 stars

Where do I go from here?

meshellyvette, 09/30/2013
2011 Chevrolet Equinox LT1 4dr SUV (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
13 of 15 people found this review helpful

I am reading the many reviews about the 2011 Chevy Equinox and surprised on how many people are experiencing what I am. I do not feel safe in this vehicle and cannot get the problems fixed. I have brought it in four times for the same problems and each time the story is the same-they can't replicate the problems. It idles rough, runs rough has poor acceleration and hiccups when driving. The gas mileage is not good and every time I go to get the oil changed it is on the low side. I haven't experienced an actual full-on stalling but it sure feels like it is going to and some people have experienced that. I have felt nervous pulling out into traffic as of late worried it will stall. I am stuck

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