Faults:

I bought this vehicle on July 22nd 2010. At 5 years old, it had 52,000 miles on it.

I noticed the driver's side whistle. Driving it, I have the sensation that the door isn't closed. All the paint was rubbed off the stereo knobs, and the stereo will shut off by itself. Sometimes the radio "seek" button works, sometimes it doesn't. I jokingly told my husband the car was "haunted." Still, I drove it every day, it seemed okay the first month.

One month and five days after buying it, I was turning the corner to go to work. I had been stopped at a red light, and when I pressed the gas and turned the corner, the engine died midturn. Both engine lights came on, and the gas pedal felt like it wouldn't depress. I crawled into the parking lot, and coasted into a parking space. I worked my eight hour shift, and then had it towed to a friend's house so he could take a look at it; he's a bit of a mechanic. He said it was probably something simple like a battery or alternator issue. Turns out, not quite.

My friend drove it for several hours straight with no engine light or issues, not a glitch. I called the dealer anyway, and brought it out to have it looked at, this was about three or four days later, and I drove it during that time, no major problems. But occasionally, I would go after stopping for a stoplight, schoolbus, etc., and it would not respond. I would take my foot off the gas, put it back on, and the car would go like nothing ever happened. When the dealer looked at it, they told me diagnostics showed it was error message #107 - throttle position sensor. They said they cleaned and lubed it, and it was all fixed. I drove it about three days, and then it died at the exact same corner it died at the first time. I called the dealer, and drove it back out there later that day. It died twice on the way. Stressful, but I foolishly thought "At least now the mechanics will see what is happening because the engine lights will be on when I get there!" As I was turning into the dealership, both engine lights shut off and it pepped into life. Haunted.

This time they told me it was the sensor itself. They kept the vehicle until the throttle position sensor came in, replaced it, and three days later said I was good to go. I drove it three times, and the engine once again died after I stopped for a schoolbus 100 yards from my house. Same routine, gas pedal wouldn't depress, both engine lights came on, I hit the flashers. I pulled over to the side of the road, waited 10 minutes, and then it started like nothing ever happened and I drove home. I drove it to the dealers the next day, and it died once again taking a turn at an intersection, with traffic whizzing by me as I tried to coast to the side of the road without getting hit.

It has been 2 months now, since I have owned this vehicle. Over $12,000.00 to drive a car for one month. I would say the engine failing at least once during a twenty minute drive is a major problem, it was happening to me daily. Though I knew the vehicle was not new, it was new to me, and I only got one worry free month out of it for $12,000. My husband and I agree - no more used vehicles! They very well are someone else's headache. My car has been sent over to a Chevy dealer to try to find the problem, but I am 100% convinced this vehicle is beyond repair. Really, how can I ever believe this vehicle will make even a five minute trip without dying on me? I get anxiety attacks when I have to stop for any reason while I am driving it.

The sad thing - other than the paint rubbing off the stereo knobs, it is so clean and shiny you would swear it was brand new. Under the hood is absolutely pristine, zero engine crud, like it just came off the assembly line. So sad, what a disappointment to get a lemon. If I had known it was a first model year, I would have kept walking, that's for sure. I do not want this vehicle back, ever. If they tell me it's fixed and they are so sure the found and fixed the problem, I'm telling them "Good, I want to trade it in. It's not the car for me."

General Comments:

Visually attractive, reasonably comfortable, all looks no performance.

Zero for performance - no, wait - a 1 because it has started every time I turned the key in the ignition.

Reliable, only in that you can rely on the engine dying at least once during every driving experience.

Haunted, because the problems only happen when you are not at the dealership.

Faults:

I have owned a 2005 Equinox for 6 years now, and haven't had as many issues as others.

I have experienced the sticking ignition (a few times).

Thumping noise (occasionally in the winter) in the rear when it's cold out; prematurely worn brakes & rotors. Nothing to lose sleep over. I took the car to the dealership for the rotors, and they repaired that problem with no hassle, because it was still under warranty.

I am now experiencing a new problem. There is a terrible grinding noise that seems to be on the driver's side when making a right turn or pressing on the brakes. I recently had new brakes installed, which is when the noise began, so I thought the brakes were not installed properly. I had my car checked out at a repair shop, and the mechanic said that he could not find any problem, and couldn't figure out why this was happening. Has anyone experienced this problem and repaired it? I'm trying to avoid dealing with the dealership.