Chevy Equinox opinions

[KMPrenger]

My parents have a basically loaded 2014 LTZ model. Its nice! Rides great and has plenty of room!

I think the look of the dash is getting a bit long in the tooth for my tastes, but its still nice enough. I'm sure the 2017 model will fix all that. I just hope it isn't that much smaller, since it will be smaller.

[ZED SLED]

OP, you will be happy with the V6. I had a 2011 2.4L AWD LT. Never had any trouble but it was a dog. While it was awesome in the snow and ice rolling on Blizzaks, it couldn't get out of it's own way. If I was rolling, say through a yield sign, and punched it, it would drool for about a second or 2 until the trans realized it needed to be in a lower gear. My 25 mile round trip commute to work only netted about 20 mph and it never got better than 25 on a trip. Maybe something was wrong with it. Anyway, traded for a '15 V6 AWD Terrain and am much happier.

[GMTool]

Originally Posted by ZED SLED

OP, you will be happy with the V6. I had a 2011 2.4L AWD LT. Never had any trouble but it was a dog. While it was awesome in the snow and ice rolling on Blizzaks, it couldn't get out of it's own way. If I was rolling, say through a yield sign, and punched it, it would drool for about a second or 2 until the trans realized it needed to be in a lower gear. My 25 mile round trip commute to work only netted about 20 mph and it never got better than 25 on a trip. Maybe something was wrong with it. Anyway, traded for a '15 V6 AWD Terrain and am much happier.

Says a lot, that you traded up to a 15. Makes me feel good that people are happy with the vehicle. Some like you just needed more power. I can understand that. I am real happy with it, 2016 LT Patriot Blue, V6 AWD. My wife is a happy camper, this is considered her car. Took these pics just before we drove it home.

[KMK454]

Originally Posted by VTSummit

Actually- some issues are getting common as they get some miles on them. Oil consumption is getting more common, requiring new pistons to resolve. There's a 'special coverage' which lets dealers cover the repair as warranty up to 25K miles after expiration of the power train warranty. Balance shaft noise and timing tensioners are also an issue and have a special coverage on them as well.
I've seen bad cats on a few, but only on ones that were not maintained well.

My 2011 2.4 I4 LS (only option was bluetooth audio) has just under 60k miles and had the following issues:

1. Camshaft solenoid failed - engine would shut off while driving. Was easy warranty fix, but a disconcerting problem to have... definitely doesn't build confidence in the vehicle when it shuts off at 45 MPH.

2. Throttle body failed - Happened out of the 3/36k warranty and not covered under powertrain 5/100k. Several hundred to fix. This was a known issue on a batch of Bosch throttle bodies.

3. Bad catalytic converter - Happened recently, but the emissions warranty covered it. Not sure how you are defining poor maintenance, but I do not believe mine falls into that category. Frequent fluid changes and not abused; it's driven lightly. The only really rough thing it undergoes is many of its trips are short in duration, so perhaps that shortened the converter's lifespan.

It's been a solid car, especially considering the price point. My only real complaints are:

1. Gas mileage is not as advertised. If you keep up with normal traffic flow, those EPA numbers are overly optimistic.

2. The cabin could be quieter; road and tire noise gets through too easily.

3. The paint quality is poor, with the paint on the front end being quite thin.

4. Good cargo area, but not as good as you'd think given the size of the vehicle. The rear bay is somewhat pinched by what is probably the rear strut towers and their plastic covers. Also, the rear seat does not fold completely flat.

5. There is some general cheapness that is starting to shine through as the years and miles grow, despite maintenance (plastic wear and appearance, some parts need retightening, etc.).

We are happy with the car and hope to get several more years out of it, but would not buy one again. This is mainly because we're on the verge of needing more space, the platform is old relative to what else is available on the market, and while ours is holding up well, it is not doing so in a manner we feel is comparable to the effort invested in maintaining it.

[GrandAmGT]

Originally Posted by VTSummit

Actually- some issues are getting common as they get some miles on them. Oil consumption is getting more common, requiring new pistons to resolve. There's a 'special coverage' which lets dealers cover the repair as warranty up to 25K miles after expiration of the power train warranty. Balance shaft noise and timing tensioners are also an issue and have a special coverage on them as well.
I've seen bad cats on a few, but only on ones that were not maintained well.

Yikes, that's horrible. Has GM corrected this in the new engines they build? They use this I4 in a lot of other vehicles true?

[Camaro_Corvette]

Originally Posted by VTSummit

Actually- some issues are getting common as they get some miles on them. Oil consumption is getting more common, requiring new pistons to resolve. There's a 'special coverage' which lets dealers cover the repair as warranty up to 25K miles after expiration of the power train warranty. Balance shaft noise and timing tensioners are also an issue and have a special coverage on them as well.
I've seen bad cats on a few, but only on ones that were not maintained well.

Was happy with the car until I changed the oil as of late. I only got about 2-2.5 quarts out of it. It holds 5. That's f#$(ing bullshit to say the least...

Went from happy to pissed in about 20 minutes...

[KMK454]

Originally Posted by Camaro_Corvette

Was happy with the car until I changed the oil as of late. I only got about 2-2.5 quarts out of it. It holds 5. That's f#$(ing bullshit to say the least...

Went from happy to pissed in about 20 minutes...

The Equinox isn't a bad vehicle, but it's reinforced my theory that if one is not buying a...

1. Body-on-frame full size truck or
2. Corvette or
3. Camaro or
4. V8 one-off such as the SS, G8 GXP, GTO, 2nd Gen CTS-V

...then GM's offering will not be as good as the competitors'.

When the Equinox is due for replacing, there will be far more cross-shopping with non-GM offerings than there was when we bought it.

[BriteCrawler]

Originally Posted by Camaro_Corvette

Was happy with the car until I changed the oil as of late. I only got about 2-2.5 quarts out of it. It holds 5. That's f#$(ing bullshit to say the least...

Went from happy to pissed in about 20 minutes...

Oil consumption. Get it fixed. Free.

[HeavyIOM]

We really liked our for the most part. We got the fwd 4cyl and that was a big mistake. The 4cylender hardly makes enough power to get it self moving.