NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
Engine complaints
178 reportsClear category filterMileage unknown · Feb 2, 2023
EngineUnknown Or Other
I own a 2017 Chevy Equinox. My husband and I are the only owners of it. It has just over 100,000 miles. Yesterday, February 1, 2023, I started my vehicle 15 minutes before I packed my 1 year old and 3 year old into the vehicle so I could take them to daycare and I could go to work. We drove down US HWY 8 (55 mph speed limit),…
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I own a 2017 Chevy Equinox. My husband and I are the only owners of it. It has just over 100,000 miles. Yesterday, February 1, 2023, I started my vehicle 15 minutes before I packed my 1 year old and 3 year old into the vehicle so I could take them to daycare and I could go to work. We drove down US HWY 8 (55 mph speed limit), onto County Road S to the kids' daycare. When I pulled into the parking stall, I smelled an oder of what I thought was gas. Looked at my gages and nothing was "wrong" - jumped out, & inspected around under the gas tank to see if it was leaking. It wasn't, so I thought maybe I drove over someone else's leak that I couldn't see. I took my kids out, brought them into daycare and left my vehicle running. When I came out, the smell was even stronger. I started to back up and noticed what looked like an oil pile. I then questioned if it was there prior and I didn't notice. I pulled over in the parking lot and saw it was leaking under the front end. I then parked it and shut the vehicle off. It was -15 out that morning. Not a single light came on my vehicle indicating that something was wrong. I checked my oil to see how much I had lost and it wasn't even registering on the dipstick. Empty. My husband towed it later that evening. Rear main seal blowout from frozen PVC. This is very concerning to me as it must have started to leak when I was driving and there was never a low oil indicator, overheating, engine light no oil was in my yard or driveway. And there wasn't enough oil in the daycare parking lot to have it be empty. This vehicle could has easily caused an accident to myself, my 1 year old and my 3 year old if it would have stalled going down the highway. It could have also caused an accident to another vehicle. I'm very lucky to have noticed where I did, but something should really be addressed with this. Not to mention we could have easily have been stranded out of town in extreme temperatures - especially for children.
NHTSA ODI #11505102
Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2023
Engine
I had noticing a faint smell of diesel type chemical gas off/on at times when driving the prior week but thought it was other cars as it was noticed when stopped. Few days ago had saw a very small drip in the driveway. Could not see anything specifically and looked more like gas color. Had just had oil changed the month before a…
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I had noticing a faint smell of diesel type chemical gas off/on at times when driving the prior week but thought it was other cars as it was noticed when stopped. Few days ago had saw a very small drip in the driveway. Could not see anything specifically and looked more like gas color. Had just had oil changed the month before at the Chevy dealership and everything looked good. Drove to work and noticed a very hot smell once parked. Smelled like chemicals and something burning. Could see something dripping but not excessive. Was able to make it home. No lights showing issues or overheating. Immediately saw large amounts of oil leaking from the car and very hot smell. Checked and little to no oil in the car. Immediately went to dealership and the knew what was wrong without even seeing it. PVC system frozen causing excessive crankcase pressure and failure of rear seal. 70,760 miles. They said they have seen numerous cases of this and GM knows it’s a problem. Gm refused to cover any of the cost. Had to pay $2,656 to have this fixed. Rear seal replaced along with cleaning intake ports, needed to replace cooling system thermostat also. Dealership even feels that this should be a recall and to hold onto any paperwork in hopes that this company will realize this is a big issue in cold weather. Dealership said by the time I had smelled anything the damage was already going on. Hopefully no other issues with the engine. Still smelling chemicals/hot but they said it the extra oil that was spilled out still burning off and should improve in a few days. They said it should be ok now but to let them know right away if anything is off.
NHTSA ODI #11505041
Mileage unknown · Jan 25, 2023
Engine
on december 23 2022 i was driving home, there was a loud sound coming from engine, causing an engine oil leak, vehicle was towed to local dealer, diagnost PCV valve was frozen and clogged, causing pressure inside engine, i was informed that the engine was destroyed, and needed to be replaced, there was no warning light before th…
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on december 23 2022 i was driving home, there was a loud sound coming from engine, causing an engine oil leak, vehicle was towed to local dealer, diagnost PCV valve was frozen and clogged, causing pressure inside engine, i was informed that the engine was destroyed, and needed to be replaced, there was no warning light before this happen, temperature in chicagoland was 30 below zero, i had to wait 2 hours for tow truck, i have an extended warranty and they dont want to cover for this repair, dealer shop is asking $7500 dollars for new engine, is not fair i only had this vehicle for 5 months,
NHTSA ODI #11503726
Mileage unknown · Jan 24, 2023
Engine
My PVC pipe in my engine unbeknownst to be me froze which caused pressure build up in the my crank case, which caused my real seal to blow and completely drain all my oil from my engine and seized my engine while I was driving at 70mph. This is a known issue with these vehicles as I have come across 3 other people who have had t…
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My PVC pipe in my engine unbeknownst to be me froze which caused pressure build up in the my crank case, which caused my real seal to blow and completely drain all my oil from my engine and seized my engine while I was driving at 70mph. This is a known issue with these vehicles as I have come across 3 other people who have had this issue. GM would not do anything for me and would not look further into the issue for me.
NHTSA ODI #11503490
76,000 miles · Jan 13, 2023
Engine
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 20 MPH, there was a loud booming sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure, the power steering and power brakes became inoperable. T…
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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving approximately 20 MPH, there was a loud booming sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact stated that the vehicle lost motive power and stalled. During the failure, the power steering and power brakes became inoperable. The vehicle was later towed to the local dealer who diagnosed that the PCV valve was frozen and clogged, causing pressure inside engine crankcase. Due to the failure, the rear main seal became deformed, causing an engine oil leak. The contact was informed that the engine was destroyed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 76,000.
NHTSA ODI #11501599
Mileage unknown · Jan 8, 2023
EngineFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or OtherInjury
The exhaust is coming into the cab. Was told that Chevy is allowed to kill people slowly with carbon dioxide poisoning. Also was told NHTSA is paid by Chevy to keep the information of the exhaust issue under wrapps. I understand killing babies is no crime in the liberal world but I am not an ugly liberal.
NHTSA ODI #11500693
Mileage unknown · Jan 6, 2023
Engine
The engine failed while I was on the road traveling with my children. The vehicle is currently at the dealership and it has been confirmed with an engine compression test that all 4 cylinders are failing. I did not receive any warning lights and had the vehicle tested.
NHTSA ODI #11500434
Mileage unknown · Jan 1, 2023
EnginePower Train
The rear main seal on the vehicle broke and dumped oil onto the road. The vehicle instantly stopped being able to accelerate, but no engine lights came on. My safety was put at risk as I was on a main county road in heavy traffic. Luckily, I was able to pull into a parking lot, but had it happened five minutes later, I would hav…
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The rear main seal on the vehicle broke and dumped oil onto the road. The vehicle instantly stopped being able to accelerate, but no engine lights came on. My safety was put at risk as I was on a main county road in heavy traffic. Luckily, I was able to pull into a parking lot, but had it happened five minutes later, I would have been stranded on the side of the interstate. Prior to this incident, my vehicle has been in near mint condition and has regularly been serviced for upkeep. At the time of the repair, there were other cars of the same model with this issue in the repair shop. It left me without a vehicle for five days, and cost just south of $1,300. For a vehicle of this age, milage, and condition to have this kind of mechanical error is not acceptable, especially knowing it is a common issue with this model. General Motors should issue a recall on this as it has the potential to leave someone in a very dangerous situation.
NHTSA ODI #11499710
103,000 miles · Dec 29, 2022
Engine
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power four times within 15 miles. The vehicle failed to restart after the fourth time and was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that the timing chain and camshaft were faulty, and th…
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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power four times within 15 miles. The vehicle failed to restart after the fourth time and was towed to an independent mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed that the timing chain and camshaft were faulty, and there was no oil in the engine. The mechanic informed the contact that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.
NHTSA ODI #11499361
Mileage unknown · Dec 28, 2022
Engine
Loss of engine oil due to Frozen PCV when driven in subzero blowing out rear main seal this is a common problem and design defect known by GM can cause complete engine failure and safety related issues. I have yet to have this repaired but I assume the price will be substantial
NHTSA ODI #11499293