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Used 2012 Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A) Consumer Reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
30 reviews

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1 out of 5 stars

Never again!

Gman, Burlington, KY, 02/19/2018
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
30 of 30 people found this review helpful

Purchased my 2012 Equinox brand new and it now has 140,000 miles. It has had numerous issues throughout the 5+ years I have owned it. A number of those were covered under warranty but thousands of dollars worth of repairs were not. From day 1, my Equinox never came close to the gas mileage they claimed. I tested under multiple conditions and always averaged 25 mpg on the highway versus their false claim of 32 mpg. At about 80k miles it started burning excessive amounts of oil and now burns about 1 quart per 1000 miles. After 100k miles the Chevy Equinox begins self-destructing. In addition to the above issues mentioned (and also unmentioned), after 100k miles I have had to pay for replacement of the timing chain, rear main seal of engine (major repair requiring removal of the transmission), cracked exhaust manifold, oxygen sensors causing vehicle to stall at any given stop light, etc..., just to name the items that come to mind. Bye, bye, Chevy.....Never Again!

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

Been great so far

Chuck Hoover, Sanford, FL, 10/31/2015
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
76 of 79 people found this review helpful

Bought my 2012 new, it now has 42000 miles on it. It has NEVER been in the shop for anything except oil changes and tire rotation.I have a 4 cyl.FWD will get 33 mpg on highway going 65..about 28 going 78. about 20 in stop and go city driving. It does make a jumpy transmission shift if you hit the gas while it is downshifting on occation not always. Has not been great in snow but didnt have the right tires on it. Just now put better tires for snow on it last week.I drive to Florida 2 times a year from Pa. it is very comfortable.Change oil every 5000 miles.After reading about the poor oil consumption I will start watching it now. Havent had any oil problems yet.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
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2012 Chevrolet Equinox for sale near you
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2 out of 5 stars

PROBLEMS PROBLEMS & MORE PROBLEMS

Anonymous, Grinnell, IA, 10/17/2018
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
28 of 29 people found this review helpful

Worst car ever. Timing chain problems. The terrain is also very similar as it has the same motor. Timing chain in terrain is warranties up to 120k miles so why wouldn't the equinox have the same warranty if it's the exact same motor?? That's stupid. The timing chain will literally ruin the motor. I am currently in the process of spending thousands of dollars trying to get this fixed and mine is a 2012. My aunt bought brand new and same exact thing happened to her. I am a single mom and bought my car less than 100k miles and its failing. Transmission problems, timing chain is bad and now I get to see if I need to replace the motor. This is the second car I've bought from GM and I will never buy again. Most of their cars are built with unreliable motors. They are so focused on making it look pretty and techy that they forget reliability is of most importance.

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

ECO Mode is a bit squirrelly

pawcoboss, Wilmington, DE, 08/22/2011
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
37 of 40 people found this review helpful

Just bought a 4 cylinder Equinox. Have less than 500 miles on it. Good looks, great value, very comfortable, not going to win any races. Mileage claims I knew going in were significantly overstated but that's O.K. 30 years ago I bought a 1981 Cadillac Eldorado with the V-8-6-4 engine. State of the art technology @ the time. The only trouble was that the car seemed to be driving you rather than you driving it since it would decide when to run on 8 or 6 or 4 cylinders. A real technical flop for GM as it was discontinued after one year. Driving the new Equinox in the ECO mode reminded me of this- shifting into 5th or 6th gear and slow to respond on the downshift. I've since turned it off.

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4 out of 5 stars

Relatively Happy

Zachary A. Horn, Santa Monica, CA, 03/24/2015
updated 03/27/2017
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
22 of 24 people found this review helpful

This car was great for the first few years I owned it. I bought this car new with 15 miles on it in early 2012. I drive about 30,000 miles a year between work and personal use, and performed all recommended maintenance. Around 50k or 60k miles the car started running rough in between oil changes. When I started checking the oil levels more frequently I noticed it was using 2-3 quarts of oil in between oil changes (performed every 5,000-7,000 miles even though the owner's manual recommends 15,000). At 80k the timing belt broke. At 85k it used 3 quarts 1,500 miles after an oil change. It is currently at the dealership having the engine rebuilt. Fortunately I have 15k of warranty left. Update 03/24/217: I'm currently at $138k miles and haven't had any further problems with the engine or reliability. I just paid the car off, and hope to go a few years without a payment.

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

Nothing but issues

Katie, Topeka, KS, 02/16/2019
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Bought our 2012 Chevy equinox new and planned to drive it until it dies. Well, not even 100,000 miles on it and it’s dead in the driveway right now. Almost all highway miles and all maintenance done as recommended. Starting at 30,000 miles I raised a concern about how the brakes sound to the dealership. I was told “brakes make noise. It’s normal. It’s the #1 search on google.” Would not even ride with me to see what I meant. Something is rubbing when braking at slow speeds and something clunks loudly when braking in a turn. Then we notice that the engine is loud. Ended up having the timing chain replaced. Now it idles very hard and sputters. The muffler needs to be replaced, even though it’s been parked inside most of the time. Check engine light comes on and stays on even after the dealership “fixes” it. We are getting an emissions code, which is lovely since we have to pass an echeck to renew our registration where we live. Now it’s sitting in the driveway and won’t start, even though we just got home from driving it about an hour ago. All of this makes me so angry because I love driving this car. The exterior is exactly what we need, the body is nice looking, steering is sharp. It’s fun to drive. Everything else is just dying a slow death. I’m ready to trade it in for something more reliable.

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

Great car until 70,000 miles! Then a total lemon

Family driver, Lafayette, IN, 08/01/2019
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful

This was a great car for our family for 6 years, then it started to burn oil and have a ton of engine/transmission issues. The car would stall during acceleration (extremely dangerous) and has some other design flaws in the engine that lead to expensive repairs. To top it off Chevy won’t admit that the 2.4 engine is prone to these issues.

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

11,000 and going strong

chickn, Rocky Mount, NC, 09/12/2012
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
9 of 10 people found this review helpful

I have 11,000 miles on the car and it is going strong. It is a 4 banger. I pull a 12 ft utility trailer with a Gravley z155 mower on the trailer with no problem. The car shifts fine, especially if I hold a steady foot on the gas. I get 26+- mpg around town and 26.5 to 30 +- highway, with just myself and my lady in the car. She said it shifted a lot going oover the mountains this summer going to Detroit from NC. She had 2 teen gals and their gear with them. I would say the shifting would be normal for that. The only issue I have with the car is the A/C dash vents.the one on the dash, right of the steering wheel tends to blow either on my face or chest. Can't turn it enough to the right.

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4.5 out of 5 stars

Great vehicle so far

mcclane, Oshkosh, WI, 10/25/2012
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
5 of 5 people found this review helpful

We bought our equinox new 4000 miles ago and it has been all we hoped it would be. I read a lot of good reviews on it so we decided to take the plunge and buy one. We wanted a bigger vehicle without giving up a lot of mpg. We have the 4 cylinder LT model and average over 29 mpg. The majority of our miles have been highway but on the highway we get between 30 and 31 mpg. I'm 6'2" and it's comfortable to take on longer trips. The moving backseat is also fantastic. We have it up the majority of the time to add to the storage and all the way back when we have friends in the back. They have more then enough room (as did I when I tried it out in the back once). Overall, very happy.

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5 out of 5 stars

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

rumblev, Huntsville, AL, 11/03/2011
Chevrolet Equinox LT 4dr SUV w/1LT (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
7 of 8 people found this review helpful

I was dying for an Equinox and nearly bought a 2010 and boy I am glad I didn't! There is a huge comfort difference! I was worried about backseat space for my 9 and 5 year old but there is more room than I imagined and the trunk space is more than I need as well. The driver and passenger is beyond comfortable and I love the touchscreen radio and the controls on the wheel. My husband couldn't understand why I wanted one but now he loves it too! Gas for me so far was what I did in a 2005 toyota corolla ce. To me its a great vehicle inside and out! I don't think I have ever ridden in a more comfy vehicle. I will try to post when I have put more miles on it (so far 400)

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