Used 2012 Chevrolet Equinox Consumer Reviews
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The beauty and the beast
Owned a 2012 Chevy equinox LTZ for about 5 years. Brought it from a dealership with 37,000 miles. Problems started with camshaft sensors and solenoid at 47,000. Repairs after repairs. Then came the stalling and engine cutting outs. More repairs. The vehicle have so many tow truck rides. Then came a timing chain issue. Beautiful car and when it ran, it ran beautifully. Even though, I stay on time for the maintenance. I can see why the 2012 was named one of the equinox worst years. Still owned money on the car, but had to trade it in on a tow truck.lol. The car only had 85,000 the day I traded in. Note the anyone buying an equinox: If the vehicle is a 2011,2012,2013 or 2014 with low miles DONT BUY IT. Believe it has low miles because it’s probably spend most of its time broken.
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stay away
I picked up the 2012 Equinox in Oct of 2011, it was a down grade from the Toyota Tundra for me. This car I got for the fuel economy, well I do get better gas millage then with the Tundra and I thought was lets buy American. Well that was a huge mistake. Sense I got this car 3 months ago Ive been in the shop 6 times and they still cant figure out what is going on with it. Each time Ive taken it in, Ive been there for 6-8 hours each time. Some engineer for Chevy decided to not include brackets or mounts for future add ons. So now that I want to add factory fog lights on my 1LT I cant. Thanks Chevy. I first got the 4 cylinder which had no pick up on inclines at all, plus just to get me into a car, they wanted to do an aftermarket sunroof. I brought that on back and they put me in the 6 cylinder, that one has no pick up either, but now Im stuck. The engine is so computerized now there is no way to do anything on the car yourself. Bottom line I Hate This Car!!!!!!!!!
- LT 4dr SUV w/2LTMSRP: $6,995100 mi away
- LT 4dr SUV w/1LTMSRP: $4,897176 mi away
- LT 4dr SUV w/2LTMSRP: $2,995100 mi away
Looks good, but think before buying
So I recently bought a 2012 equinox 2LT, pretty much fully loaded. One thing I did not realize was how low a profile to the ground that the model has. There is a rubber apron under the front bumper that drops the profile of the car to close to the ground--I'm wary of driving it in the new England winter weather, afraid I'll bottom out on ice and snow. I've easily scraped it on sidewalks or pulling up to a curb in a parking lot. Another issue is tough rear visibility. The rear window is quite small and it is difficult to see driving in reverse. As much as I like my first new car purchase, part of me is regretting not noticing these details before I signed.
Refined, roomy, and an excellent winter vehicle
I have now owned two Chevrolet Equinox’s. For some reason there is no selection for my trim level. I have a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox LT 3.0 L V6! My previous equinox was a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox LS. I really liked my first vehicle it was everything you needed no fancy features or anything. I had the 2.4 L I4 in that vehicle and I noticed it did use a lot of oil and I had to get multiple oil changes. Unfortunately I wrote that vehicle off from a winter accident. I now have a 2012 Chevrolet Equinox and I absolutely love it! The back up camera and heated seats are nice additions in the winter. I have really enjoyed the V6 so far. It gets up to highway speeds very fast and passing is a breeze in this vehicle. I have never experienced any mechanical issues with the vehicle. The engine has great acceleration and the transmission shifts like butter! The interior is very roomy and have been happy with both equinox’s overall. The only problem I have had twice now is some kind of electrical issue with the centre screen. It will freeze up and it disables hands free calling, the volume or station won’t be able to change, and the back up camera won’t come on when I shift into reverse. How I have solved the problem is I shut the car off leave it alone for 10-15 minutes and it usually fixes by itself! Overall though, these are solid built vehicles and would recommend them to anyone! 2010-2017 are the most reliable model years! *Update* 12/09/2021 I am so disappointed. A year into ownership and I am having issues. Took it into the shop and my fuel system was clogged up so my poor engine was misfiring. Got it back today and it seems to be driving fine but all I can say is December has been an expensive month… my reliability score has gone down because I do not feel as confident in my Equinox. I am so unimpressed.
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Good every day vehicle.
Externally the 2012 Equinox looks alot beefier than the old model with it's muscular looking exterior, internally the first thing that grabbed me was the large touchscreen radio, sitting down in the chair I discovered how comfortable it is, one of the most comfortable seats in any vehicle I have owned so far. The 4 Cylinder engine chugs along nicely sipping gas relatively conservatively (no 32 MPG Highway, more like 25-30) It's got plenty of space for passengers, the near is a bit disapointing if you plan to carry a bunch of luggage but still enough. It does seem to take corners a tad wide and it's something to get used to especially when parking.
Equinox
I had the V6 and not the 4 cyl but it was not an option. I loved this car, but selling it after 116,000 miles.
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Mostly good
The Pros - Good ride, Comfortable, Nice design, roomy interior, Far stronger that other vehicles in his class, Very comfortable highway ride. The Cons - Lousy millage, in the city I'm lucky when I get 16 mpg, I just took my first road trip, I have 5900 miles in my Equinox, (I have owned it for 14 months, mostly city driving), after an average of 54.8 mph I got an average of 23.6 mpg. Very disappointing.
I tried to give them a chance
I Purchased my 2012 Chevy equinox in the fall of 2014, used with around 20,000 miles on it. We now have about 95,000 on it. Back in late December 2018, the engine began to act up, at around 85,000 miles. We went back-and-forth with the dealership and basically rebuilt the engine and they gave me a partial discount down to $2000 It is eight months later and the engine is chewing up a tremendous amount of oil and they now tell me I need a complete new engine. I left purchasing American made cars back in the late 80s and thought I would give Chevrolet a chance as this car had good reviews when I purchased it. Neither myself or wife or son or daughter will ever look at another American made car for the forseeable future
Cmon Chevy get it right!!
Purchased the 2012 Equinox LT 3 months ago and am 100% dissatisfied with the performance. You should NOT feel the car downshift everytime you hit 30-34mph. The car jerks you forward during the downshift!! This doesnt happen to the 6cyl and wish i had known that before dropping $23k on a new car. I have contacted my dealer and they feel it to and drove another new one that did the same. Said they have had numerous complaints about this. I spoke with the Disctrict MGR for Chevy and he said its the way its made and cant help me!! Chevy even has the "guranteed customer satisfaction promotion" going on and I didnt buy it during the promotion so they cant help. Ill be trading for a CRV this wknd!!
Should have bought a G class!
Rent one B4 you by one! Poor fit/finish of interior dash and front door panels. Primer showing thru paint. 6 cyl with 6 speedTrans upshifts/downshifts at an annoying rate! Tradn' for a Benz!
Bad gas Mileage-Transmission Jumps!
I am leasing this vehichle and it states gas mileage that isn't correct for all states. Apparently in an E-85 gas the fuel ecomonmy is terrible so thinking It was a smart buy because my car was only getting 16mpg ...Now this only gets about 17mpg combined city and highway not even close to 26 combined. On top of that something is going on with it, it jumps into gear sometimes and when using cruise it's not a smooth transition when using the button to accel
Bad milage
I just purchased this car 2 weeks ago. I purchased it because i believed the gas was great. Well, it's not! i am only getting about 16 or 17 mpg and the tank is not a 18.8 gal. I filled it up and it was only 14.8 gal, which means that the tank size is probably only about 15 or 16. What a hugh lie. I am so upset right now. This was one of my hugh reasons for purchasing it. Please Chevy stop with the lies. It's not a good look. I should have purchased the Crv or sorento. I will be traveling next week and the bill is going to kill me. What a mess of lies.
The Great Car in this price
I love this car, the best car in this price. It's very comfortable, has a good handling, you can trust him on the way with a lot of meanders
A Practical Car
Although this is a "small" SUV, it has large capacity for passengers and cargo. Even the back seats are comfortable. All this comes with surprisingly high MPG.
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Four wheel tow
Bought to tow behind our motorhome. Was used, but with only 19k miles in 6 years. Came all set up, so we bought it and headed out. Not a speed demon in economy mode, due to tranny shift changes. Best to leave in standard mode. The trailing arms started squeaking at slow speeds...$700 at dealer. Overpriced IMO. 4/23 update. Since moving to southern Idaho our driving has been reduced to about 500 miles per month. No recent issues, using 85 gas w/o issues.
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Best Car I've ever had.
Handles very good and really comfortable
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Very accommodating
We bought a used 2012 equinox, as is no warranty, two weeks after we bought it there was a problem with getting any speed, a sensor was replaced by the dealer, at no cost. So far so good, no problems!
Comfortable ride
I've only had this car less then a week, so far I have no complaints or dislikes. For me it's a comfortable ride. Drives smooth.
Sport runner
I love my Equinox. Plenty of room it is a smoothe ride and it is perfect for transporting my grandkids to their games.
First time SUV
Research this type vehicle, test drive it, look for dealer certified deal, enjoy the ride!!
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Great everyday car
Car has good looks, plenty of room both front and back, very low cost to operate and is very dependable. What more could one want. Car has 37500 miles now and I only had to replace the battery and get oil changes as recommended. I did replace my cabin air filter recently. Car now has 43389 miles on it. I just replaced the tires and battery. No major problems.
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Excellent Value
I loved my Equinox LTZ so much, after I leased it for 3 years, I bought it. It's been reliable, great to drive, no problems mechnically and very functional plus very beautiful design. Mine is white and even though it is 4 cyl, it has great exceleration.
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Spacious luxury
More spacious than newer SUV's but handles well and has decent gas mileage.
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