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2017 Chevrolet Equinox

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 2017 Chevrolet Equinox do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 382.5.

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When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

94 reports with mileage · 178 unknown

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Engine. Review the 178 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 32 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Fuel/propulsion System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

18 crash reports4 fire reports7 injury reports

What owners actually said

272 reports
90,261 miles · Feb 7, 2022
Engine

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact was stranded in the cold for approximately four hours. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle was not covered under warranty or TSB: PIP5093C.…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the oil warning light illuminated. The contact was stranded in the cold for approximately four hours. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer. The contact stated that the vehicle was not covered under warranty or TSB: PIP5093C. The vehicle was diagnosed and the contact was informed that the rear main seal needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the warranty program should be extended. The manufacturer was contacted but, no further assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 90,261. Driving on the expressway at 65mph alarm went off so the consumer got off the expressway and stopped the car. Dead in the water.

NHTSA ODI #11450781

Mileage unknown · Feb 1, 2022
Power Train

This is a well known issue with the Equinox. The rear main seal goes and oil pours out the vehicle causing other issues to the engine, like the intake manifold. My rear exhaust manifold was cracked and now codes are coming up for timing chain. The dealer wanted over $2600 to repair since my warranty was expired. Haven’t had the …

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This is a well known issue with the Equinox. The rear main seal goes and oil pours out the vehicle causing other issues to the engine, like the intake manifold. My rear exhaust manifold was cracked and now codes are coming up for timing chain. The dealer wanted over $2600 to repair since my warranty was expired. Haven’t had the car 3 yrs and I personally only put under 50 K miles on the vehicle. Still owe $12000 for a junk SUV. The recall only covers 2010-2014 models yet GM is putting the same engine in newer models. This should be recalled due to all the complaints. My mechanic sees this all the time with the Equinox. I found a mechanic to repair for $1560+ but did not include timing chain. Still have check engine light on.

NHTSA ODI #11449828

Mileage unknown · Jan 28, 2022
Power Train

It seems to be a known problem with the pvc valve getting moisture in it, freezes, and then blowing the main seal. I found lots of records online of other victims. It caused loss of vehicle power and dumped oil on the road. Chevy refuses to cover it with a recall and I'm stuck with a $2500 repair on a vehicle with less than …

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It seems to be a known problem with the pvc valve getting moisture in it, freezes, and then blowing the main seal. I found lots of records online of other victims. It caused loss of vehicle power and dumped oil on the road. Chevy refuses to cover it with a recall and I'm stuck with a $2500 repair on a vehicle with less than 100k miles. I have it at a shop now. I have talked to a dealership and Chevrolet customer service and they say they know it's a problem but there's no recall on it.

NHTSA ODI #11449328

Mileage unknown · Jan 24, 2022
Engine

Excessive oil consumption. My car started burning oil even though I get frequent oil changes and now my engine is blown.

NHTSA ODI #11448575

Mileage unknown · Jan 23, 2022
Power Train

The vehicle shutters when shifting up and hard shifts down in lower power bands.

NHTSA ODI #11448533

Mileage unknown · Jan 22, 2022
EngineFuel/propulsion System

Yesterday, my son noticed that his 2017 Chevy Equinox LX four-cylinder was not accelerating as much. He purchased this vehicle only one year ago. It is a five-year-old vehicle with not many miles on it. The oil was just changed in November 2021. He only drives 8 miles to and from work. While stopped at a light or stop sign yeste…

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Yesterday, my son noticed that his 2017 Chevy Equinox LX four-cylinder was not accelerating as much. He purchased this vehicle only one year ago. It is a five-year-old vehicle with not many miles on it. The oil was just changed in November 2021. He only drives 8 miles to and from work. While stopped at a light or stop sign yesterday, my son's SUV would "putt-putt" or shut off completely. There was a strong smell of oil coming from the air vents and filling the SUV. When my son pulled over to park, he decided to check it out. From underneath the vehicle, where the transmission is located, there was a huge puddle of oil on the ground. A leak between the oil pan and transmission was discovered when my son took his car to his mechanic. It shouldn't be like this. I checked if there were any recalls. For 2017, I did not find any under the VIN number, however, there were quite a few complaints from customers about the same issue. Is there anything my son should do? He needs the car for work.

NHTSA ODI #11448455

Mileage unknown · Jan 16, 2022
Engine

Regular oil changes. Most recent was 67 days prior to my 63500 mile engine being ruined due to No Oil. Was driving on the highway, first time the vehicle made any noise, within 2 miles car was completely done. Had it towed and mechanic said there was no sign of a hole, there was just no oil! He said it is a known problem with GM…

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Regular oil changes. Most recent was 67 days prior to my 63500 mile engine being ruined due to No Oil. Was driving on the highway, first time the vehicle made any noise, within 2 miles car was completely done. Had it towed and mechanic said there was no sign of a hole, there was just no oil! He said it is a known problem with GM and that there are no motors available because everyone is having to replace! No diagnostic saying oil % was low or at 0%! New engine quote was $9000, would take at least a month to get and will have the same issue most likely.

NHTSA ODI #11447701

Mileage unknown · Jan 16, 2022
Engine

My 2017 Chevy Equinox’s engine got ruined because of no oil. It’s impossible for no oil because I took it to the dealership for an oil change two months ago (November 12, 2021). It had 42,922 miles. On January 10th, with approximated 43,500 miles driven, my car started to shake on red lights or when on idle so the next day I…

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My 2017 Chevy Equinox’s engine got ruined because of no oil. It’s impossible for no oil because I took it to the dealership for an oil change two months ago (November 12, 2021). It had 42,922 miles. On January 10th, with approximated 43,500 miles driven, my car started to shake on red lights or when on idle so the next day I took it to the dealership to figure out the problem with my car. They told me that I was driving with no oil. Which caused the engine to fail and has to be replaced, however I never got the low oil light. Warnings did apear on the dashboard, Low Oil Pressure, check engine light, and engine power reduce and service StabiliTrak but once I arrived to the dealership which was already too late by then. I was never informed by the oil consumption even by the dealership mechanics. Which I always took it there. Since it was my first car and being the newest car model at the time I always wanted to be well taken care of. And it’s impossible that the oil would be completely gone within two months and 590 miles driven. As of now, my car is currently being work on by a different auto shop. I’m going to pay up to $8,000 to get my engine replace. I’m in need in getting it repaired as fast as possible due to needing it to drive between jobs and picking up my siblings from work/school. Apparently I’m not the only person that has had this exact problem with their Chevy Equinox. Thankfully I experienced the problems when I was closed to the dealership and had no one with me. I read other people’s experience that they had a full car packed with family members or having the car staled in the middle of the street. This problem is a high risk to everyone on the road.

NHTSA ODI #11447691

Mileage unknown · Jan 16, 2022
Engine

My 2017 equinox started sounding and running rough. It lost power and engine lights came on. Car died. Tried to drive it to dealership to get looked at and it continued to lose power and ended up having to tow it to dealership. They finally found the problem and said the timing belt stretched, causing all 16 valves to hit the pi…

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My 2017 equinox started sounding and running rough. It lost power and engine lights came on. Car died. Tried to drive it to dealership to get looked at and it continued to lose power and ended up having to tow it to dealership. They finally found the problem and said the timing belt stretched, causing all 16 valves to hit the pistons, bending all 16 valves. Only 73,000 miles on vehicle. Power train warranty expired at 60,000 miles (naturally) and will cost us $5500 to have fixed. My husband and i have had Chevrolet all our lives and never am issue like this. I feel this is a safety issue because this could have left me stranded on the side of the road in bitter cold weather. I feel it is a manufacturing defect that caused the issue and it should be covered by a power train warranty lasting longer than 60,000 miles!

NHTSA ODI #11447680

58,000 miles · Jan 14, 2022
Engine

The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil as oil was found on the garage floor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the diagnosis was that the PCV valve was frozen however, the repairs were unknown to the contact as the mechanic stated that the issue was res…

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The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was leaking oil as oil was found on the garage floor. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the diagnosis was that the PCV valve was frozen however, the repairs were unknown to the contact as the mechanic stated that the issue was resolved. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving the oil warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed back to the independent mechanic. The independent mechanic started the vehicle and noticed oil was leaking from the rear main seal. The engine and transmission needed to be removed to replace the rear main seal. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact stated that the mechanic informed him that there was a recall for the failure. The contact stated that he called the dealer and manufacture and it was confirmed that the VIN was not included in a recall. The contact was referring the failure to an unknown manufacturer recall. The approximate failure mileage was 58,000.

NHTSA ODI #11447470

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Chevrolet Equinox problems