16th Feb 2009, 18:37
We have a 2005 Equinox, 43k when purchased. We now have a 2005 Equinox with 80k!
Loved this vehicle until 2-14-09. Started overheating on way to sectional swim meet approx 1.5 hours from home. Put water in system, drove almost home, started overheating again! Finally got home, checked engine and voila - blown head gasket, took motor apart and sent heads to machine shop, and...? You guessed it, both heads are cracked!!!
Next step is I'm replacing the engine and selling this vehicle. I guess we are luckier than most. God bless.
18th Mar 2009, 07:36
I bought my 2005 Chevy Equinox in 2006. Since then have had to do only normal maintenance, i.e. brakes and tires. Over the last year I've been having problems with the ignition (key not turning), silver paint is coming off on the inside, and the seats are terrible to clean (easily stained even from water).
I now have 65,000 miles on it and just recently the car over heated and come to find out it has a blown head gasket and estimated repairs are $850, and if the head is cracked, another $400. The T/C light is coming on, and we have no clue on what that could be.
We're thinking about trading it in, especially after reading about all of the problems with this vehicle. I don't want to start dumping high dollars into a vehicle that's going to continue to have problems. I'm a Chevy fan, but having second thoughts now.
24th Mar 2009, 11:08
My 2005 Equinox had brake problems.
First brake job, I need new rotors and it fixed the problem!
The clunking noises are the result of bad sway bars. Had one replaced a few months ago, and just recently had the other front sway bar replaced, and the noise went away!
Piece of junk! Only good thing about it is that it rides real nice on the highway!
21st Apr 2009, 01:03
We have a 2005 Chevy Equinox that we purchased new. We were pretty happy with it up until about 37,000 miles, which would be 1000 miles after the warranty expired. Since then:
- It blew a head gasket at 37000 miles, when we took it to the dealership they mentioned that this had been a common problem with the 2005 models. We asked why it hadn't been recalled and they stated that most of the ones they had seen were still under warranty. We just got "lucky" I guess that ours went longer, and GM refused to extend the warranty for an issue that should have been a recall.
- The radio that they replaced twice under warranty for the paint on the buttons wearing off. Has again worn off and is no longer under warranty.
- It starts on the first try only when it feels like it, otherwise takes 3 or 4 times.
- There is some glitch in the electrical or something, so when you put the car in park the shift indicator light flashes continually between park and reverse, which wouldn't be that big a deal except for that is what is connected to the automatic locks, so the car will just continually lock and unlock over and over again until you take the keys out.
- When you brake at higher speeds, it feels like the car might fall apart.
- The brakes squeak horribly, yet at my last oil change I had them check the brake pads and was told they were fine.
- On top of all of this, my check engine light came on a couple of days ago, and I have tried all of the fixes they list in the manual so it's back to the dealership, I can only pray it's not going to cost us as much as the head gasket did.
I would love to get rid of the piece of junk, but I'm pretty sure we couldn't sell it if we practically gave it away, so we can't afford to replace it right now.
Because of all of the issues, coupled with being ignored by GM when we tried to get them to recognize that a head gasket isn't an issue you should have at 37000 miles, I will not only never ever buy another GM car again, but I have already told and will continue to tell our horrible experience to anyone who is looking for a vehicle, or asks how we like our Equinox.
19th Jun 2009, 17:28
I just purchased a used Chevy Equinox LT, with 62K miles on it. It looks nice on the outside and was clean on the inside, the 'pleather' seats were taken care of. But I've had the car one week and so far these are my problems...
* A/C didn't work and I had to take it to the dealer, and was told they had to order a compressor for it.
* Something is wrong with the electrical wiring because I can lock the doors, but they will not unlock in the passenger doors. Part comes in today or Monday.
* The brakes squeak like crazy! I hate it. I was told the brakes are fine, that ALL equinox and trailblazers to this.
* The dome light came on while I was driving in the freeway in the dark by itself.
* I've already had problems starting the ignition.
TOO MANY PROBLEMS... and I haven't even had it for a week! Thinking of trading it in already!
2nd Jul 2009, 14:44
I have a 2005 Chevy Equinox LT with 56,000 miles on it. I originally bought it with 33,345 miles on it.
New brake (2) pads, 5 serpentine belts, new pulleys tensioners, pulleys, the works. Had an extended warranty, which cost me for the 3 years, in and out of shops almost $3000 plus $1700 in warranty work.
Has a overheating problem. I immediately shut the vehicle down and waited for a appointment. When I took it in, it needs rotors, so another brake job. I also have to do a thermostat, the works again, which cost me $847.00.
It has been back 3 times to same dealer with the air bubbles in coolant lines, as the dealer is unable to burp out the coolant lines.
Today I dropped this vehicle, now I am told it has a head gasket problem; approx cost to fix $1700.
I had brought these problems to the CAC 1-800-222-1020 attention at Chevy many times before and they gave me the runaround. Please save yourself some money, buy foreign. The Chevy Equinox is a piece of junk and should not be on the road. Buy foreign!!! Forget American cw.clebo1@netzero.com
13th Feb 2009, 19:53
I purchased my 2005 Equinox LS AWD in August, 2004. Within in the first few months, all the hoses were replaced due to a problem with the cooling system. Shortly after, the heater core blew. That repair took over a week. Under warranty.
Almost 2 years to the date, the heater core blew again. Another week in the shop. Under warranty.
I had every silver painted interior part replaced due to the paint coming off or scratched. Under warranty.
Since my extended warranty was going to end within a few months, I made numerous phone calls to GM Customer Care to start a complaint case in an effort to have my warranty extended due to the all the problems. The only thing they offered was one year of oil changes. Since I've been a very loyal GM customer for many years, I felt this was an insult.
And today, my vehicle is back in the dealer for a blown head gasket. And my vehicle has only 30,000 miles and has been only serviced by a GM dealer. Before this repair can be started, a GM Service Adjuster must approve this repair even though it is still under my extended warranty. So I sit here without a vehicle and don't know if this work will be covered.
There is one thing that is for certain. I will definitely not own this vehicle after my extended warranty has expired. And I will not purchase another GM vehicle as a result of how GM has treated me. My dealer has been great to work with. It's unfortunate that they will lose a customer.