2011 Chevrolet Equinox
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Engine is the leading concern among 782 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 2nd highest complaint count among 21 Equinox model years with reports.
Of the 2011 reports, 30 involved a crash and 3 involved a fire. 41 people were injured and 2 people died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Electrical system, ignitionJul 5, 2016
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Buick Verano and 2016 Chevrolet Malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in PARK. Also, certain 2013 Buick Encore, 2011 Buick Regal, 2013-2014 Buick Verano, 2011-2016 Chevrolet Cruze, 2010-2013 Chevrolet Equinox 2013-2015 Chevrolet Malibu, and 2011-2013 GMC Terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.
Campaign 16V502000 on NHTSA.gov
Seats, front assembly, power adjustJul 23, 2014
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Chevrolet Camaro, as well as certain 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles, equipped with power height adjustable driver and passenger seats. In the affected vehicles, the bolt that secures the driver's and passenger's power front seat height adjuster may fall out causing the seat to drop suddenly to the lowest vertical position.
If the driver's seat unexpectedly drops, the distraction and altered seat position may affect the drivers' control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the height adjuster shoulder bolts, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed interim letters to owners on September 11, 2014. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14271.
Campaign 14V447000 on NHTSA.gov
Seat belts, front, buckle assemblyDec 15, 2010
GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011 CADILLAC SRX, CHEVROLET EQUINOX AND GMC TERRAIN VEHICLES. THE DRIVER AND /OR FRONT PASSENGER SAFETY BELT BUCKLE ANCHOR MAY FRACTURE AND SEPARATE NEAR THE SEAT ATTACHMENT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
THE SAFETY BELT SYSTEM MAY NOT RESTRAIN THE OCCUPANT(S) AS DESIGNED AND COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF INJURY.
DEALERS WILL MODIFY THE PASSENGER AND/OR THE DRIVER SAFETY BELT BUCKLES AS NECESSARY. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JANUARY 18, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
Campaign 10V623000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: other or unspecified
57 reports, newest first. Show all
Air bags, Structure, Other or unspecified, May 15, 2026, crash
I was in a rear end collision on May 14th 2026 the impact of the speed totaled my car in my airbags did not deploy and from my understanding where the sensors are on my vehicle they should have I ended up getting a concussion and soft tissue damage because my head hit the steering wheel my seat belt did not lock either.
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Jun 19, 2025
I BOUGHT THIS OFF OF A PRIVATE PERSON ,SHORTLY AFTER IT STARTED NOT TAKEN ITS GAS AND DYING OUT ON THE HIGHWAY OR SHORT ERRANDS ,I STARTED PUTTING A BUNCH OF MONEY IN IT IVE REPLACED ALL I KNOW TO DO AND IT STILL WONT TAKES ITS GAS ,I HAVE BEEN STALLED IN AN INTERSECTION BEFORE BECAUSE I HAD NO PEDAL IF YOU TURN IT OFF IT STARTS BUT JUST WONT TAKE THE GAS ,I HEARD THIS VEHICAL WAS RECALLED AND I DONT KNOW IF ITS NEVER BEEN FIXED OR WHATS GOING ON WITH IT ,IVE HAD IT TO MANY MECHANICS AND NO ONE CAN FIX IT ,CAN YOU TELL ME IF ANY OF THIS IS ON THE RECALL LIST AND IF ITS BEEN TAKEN CARE OF IT ? I CANT DRIVE IT LIKE THIS ITS TOO DANGEROUS . I BOUGHT THE CAR IN 24 , AND ITS NEVER RAN SINCE WITH OUT ISSUES THAT NO ONE CAN FIND THE PROBLEM OF FIX IT THE RIGHT WAY ,THANK YOU
Vehicle speed control, Other or unspecified, May 23, 2025
three times now my gas pedal has stuck down to the floor and had unsafe speeds reaching 95mph this is unsafe for us and others on the road wrote GM several times now with no help from them this needs to be checked out for everyone out there how many wrecks and rear end collision happened because of this acceleration issue mine seem to happen when you take it off cruise control and then accelerate the gas pedal but he dealerships can't find an answer I am asking for your help before someone get killed because no one wants to take action
Other or unspecified, Jan 28, 2025
catalytic converter, exhuast manifold, and whole exhaust system need to be replaced
Other or unspecified, Engine, Feb 8, 2024
I had just bought this car from a friend of mine and the first couple days it was fine then I was on the interstate and it started making this loud sound and stop going in the middle of the interstate and I was stuck on the interstate with my child and couldn’t get the dam thing to go anywhere I called someone to come help me they looked at it and said it was the engine or the time and chain I’m not really sure of what the problem is but it scared me so back I couldn’t get over to the shoulder to save my life I was stuck
Steering, Other or unspecified, Fuel/propulsion system, Nov 9, 2022
purchased the car from some that passed away and did not get these items fixed before I got it. coverter/ lossing/using oil, and electric power steering system problem
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Sep 3, 2022
I purchased a 2011 Chevy Equinox LT from a used car dealer in April 2022 with 153,000 miles on it. The second day I had it the brake caliper completely fell off of my front passenger tire causing my wheels to lock. Couple days later I noticed that after an extended time of driving anything more than 10-15 minutes it. The RPMs would fluctuate sometimes dropping down to zero and the vehicle stalls. The excessive amount of oil used in this vehicle is ridiculous I literally got an oil change and a week later it said I was low but my oil notification on my Dash messages said oil life remaining 95% check engine light comes on and it's the p0042 for catalyst system not at threshold. This literally should be a class action lawsuit because this is ridiculous
Other or unspecified, Mar 2, 2022
i was pulling out of a business in my town and the vehicle shut off several feet onto highway us 41 with traffic comeing both way towards me and i was stopped crossways and coasted into a vacant lot .i kept pushing the accelerator and it stated back up and stopped again ,then suddenly started and i made it home!i had it checked at my home by a licened mechanicand all codes read everything was w.orking as it should,no default error, i could have easily ben killed when it stopped,now what should i do?
Other or unspecified, Feb 17, 2022
The back hatchback will not stay open and has caused some minor injuries on accessing objects in back of car..
Other or unspecified, Nov 13, 2021
Windshield wiper linkage motor/ transmission. Replaced once already. Stopped working again. Bushings are crap. Having to replace the whole thing for bad bushings.
Power train, Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Apr 22, 2021
CAR KEEPS DYING WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, STOP SIGNS, STOP LIGHTS ECT. IDLES VERY ROUGHY, AND IS VERY LOUD. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT IS ON.
Other or unspecified, Apr 7, 2021
TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT TOLD ME THE PROBLEM IS THE SPEED SENSOR. IT WAS REPAIRED FOR $463.91. I THEN TRAVELED 31/2 HOURS AWAY FOR A MONTH. THE NEXT DAY THE LIGHT AGAIN APPEARED BUT I WAS TRAVELING AND I CALLED TWICE TO THE DEALER SERVICE PERSON AND THERE WAS NO RETURN CALL..WHEN I RETURNED 4 WEEKS LATER I BROUGHT THE CAR IN THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TOLD FOR $585.00 I COULD HAVE THE LEFT REAR WHEEL REPAIRED.FRANKLY I FELT LIKE I WAS BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF, I'M 80 YEARS OLD. I REFUSED THEIR OFFER. IN THE PAST I RECEIVED NOTICES OF POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH THE EQUINOX BUT THE DEALER SERVICE PEOPLE DO NOT INFORM, MAYBE BECAUSE THEY ARE ON A COMMISSION PLUS SALARY INCOME.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Mar 14, 2021
I HAVE HAD CONSTANT HIGH OIL CONSUMPTION, HAVE HAD TO REPLACE VVT SOLENOIDS TWICE, TIMING AND BALANCE SHAFT CHAINS HAD TO BE REPLACED, ENGINE MISFIRING. CAN BARELY GO 2 MONTHS WITHOUT ANY ISSUES. ALWAYS SOMETHING WRONG. I'VE LOOKED THIS UP AND MANY PEOPLE HAVE HAD SIMILAR ISSUES WITH THIS ENGINE.
Other or unspecified, Oct 20, 2020
MY TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN REPLACED 3 DIFFERENT TIMES. HAVE HAD MY VIECHLE FOR ALMOST 2 YEARS AND MY TRANSMISSION IS MESSED UP AGAIN OIL IS BURNING AND THEY CAR SHOPS HAVE NO IDEA WHERE ITS GOING. JERKING CAR WHEN FOOT IS ON BREAK WHIRRING NOISE WHEN ACCELERATE OR TURNING
Other or unspecified, Visibility/wiper, May 8, 2020
WHILE DRIVING IN HEAVY RAIN ON A HIGHWAY MY FRONT WINDSHIELD WIPERS SIMPLY STOPPED FUNCTIONING IN THE UP POSITION CAUSING AN INABILITY TO SEE WHERE I WAS GOING. THEY DID NOT RESPOND TO REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO TRY TO TURN THEM BACK ON. THIS CREATED A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION WHERE I HAD TO DO MY BEST TO SAFELY PULL OFF TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY. MY HAZARD LIGHTS ALSO FAILED TO WORK MAKING THE SITUATION EVEN MORE DANGEROUS. BOTH WIPERS AND HAZARDS WHERE PREVIOUSLY WORKING. *TR
Other or unspecified, Engine, Mar 1, 2020
IT STARTED MAKING A LOUD NOISE LIKE A DIESEL ENGINE AND IT WILL JUST CUT OFF FOR NO REASON. I KEEP UP ALL MY MAINTENANCE IT HAS LOW MILEAGE. IT WAS IN MOTION WHEN IT CUT OFF AND I ALMOST HIT AN 18 WHEELER.
Other or unspecified, Feb 29, 2020
THIS VEHICLE IS UNSAFE! I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD IN MY CITY AND IT CUT OFF SEVERAL TIMES WHEN I WAS SLOWING DOWN APPROACHING A STOP LIGHT CAUSING SOMEONE TO ALMOST HIT ME! I HAVE HAD SO MANY ISSUES SINCE I BOUGHT THIS CAR(WISH I NEVER WOULD HAVE) I HAD TO REPLACE MY TRANSMISSION AT 102,000 MILES, I HAVE TO PUT 2-3 QUARTS OF OIL IN MY CAR EVERY 2 WEEKS, AND NOW IT IS CUTTING OFF WHILE I AM DRIVING! THESE VEHICLES NEED TO BE RECALLED AND NEVER MADE AGAIN!!!
Electrical system, Other or unspecified, Engine, Dec 12, 2019
AT RED LIGHT,MY CAR CUT OUT. WOULDN'T TURN OVER. HAD IT TOWED AND MY MECHANIC SAID IT WAS TIMING CHAINS, WHICH AFFECTED ENGINE. CHECKED 8 OF 16 VALVES THAT WERE BENT, ALONG W/8 ROCKER ARMS CRACKED AND TORN OFF. $4000 TO FIX THIS ISSUE, MONEY I DO NOT HAVE. MECHANIC SAID GM KNOWS ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND REFUSES TO DO A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR TEN PLUS YEARS.
Other or unspecified, Oct 18, 2019
MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN IDLING ROUGH SINCE I PURCHASED MY VEHICLE ON 9/6/19. THE VEHICLE ALMOST FEELS AS IF I AM CONTINUALLY TAPPING MY BREAKS ALTHOUGH MY FOOT IS ON THE BREAK AND ON 10/12/19 MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TURNED ON SO I HAD THE CODES RAN AT AUTOZONE WHICH STATED TO REPLACE THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER. 2 DAYS PRIOR MY MOTHER WHO PURCHASED A 2013 EQUINOX HAD HER CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COME ON FOR THE SAME ISSUE AFTER JUST PURCHASING HER CAR 2 WEEKS AFTER ME.
Other or unspecified, Sep 24, 2019
TRIED TO BLUETOOTH MY MEDIA, AND THE MENU BUTTON WON'T WORK WITH THE AUX JACK OUT. JUST TRIED TO DO IT TODAY.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Aug 16, 2019
I BOUGHT A 2011 EQUINOX IN MAY A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER HAVING THE CAR I WAS HEARING CLICKING NOISES TOOK BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP THEY TOLD ME IT WAS JUST THE AIR CONDITION. A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER MY CAR STARTED TO ROCK BACK IN FOURTH WHEN AT A LIGHT AND SHUTTING OFF WHILE DRIVING. I TOOK IT AGAIN TO THE DEALERSHIP WHEN THEY TOLD ME IT WAS AN OIL CONSUMPTION ISSUE AND I NEEDED TO TAKE IT TO A CHEVY DEALERSHIP. I TOOK IT IN THEY SAID THAT I NEEDED A TIMING CHAIN FILED UNDER MU WARRANTY AND I PAID THE DEDUCTIBLE. I WAS THEN TOLD THAT IT WASN'T GOING TO FIX THE ISSUE STATING I NEEDED TO BRING IT BACK AFTER A 1000 MILES AND THAT GM WOULD HANDLE THE PROBLEM AT HAND. I THEN TOOK IT BACK AND BEHIND MY BACK THEY TRIED TO CALL MY WARRANTY COMPANY TO SEE IF THEY WOULD PAY. MY WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER THEIR PROBLEM. THEN WAS TOLD THAT THEY WOULD HANDLE EVERYTHING BUT I STILL WOULD HAVE TO PAY MONEY OUT OF POCKET. IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN 90 DAYS SINCE I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE.
Other or unspecified, Jun 7, 2019
AT ABOUT 88,000 MILES, WHILE STARTING FROM A STOP, AND ALSO WHILE CLIMBING A HILL, THE TRANSMISSION STARTED TO SLIP INTO A NEUTRAL POSITION INSTEAD OF A HIGHER OR LOWER GEAR. I HAD TO TAKE MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR AND LET IT IDLE DOWN BEFORE IT WOULD GO INTO A GEAR.02
Power train, Other or unspecified, Feb 26, 2019
I AM EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS AS THE ONES THAT ARE RECALLED FOR OIL ISSUES. HOWEVER MY VIN NUMBER WASN'T LISTED. MY PCV VALVE IS STUCK. POSSIBLE ISSUE WITH INSIDE THE INTAKE CRANK CASE AND WITH THAT I DON'T WANT A BLOW OUT. LOSING POWER AND USING A LOT OF OIL. I HAVE THE 2011 CHEVY EQUINOX LT PURCHASED LESS THAN 2 YEARS AGO.
Other or unspecified, Engine, Jan 26, 2019
MASSIVE OIL LEAK FROM ENGINE AND REAR MAIN SEAL BLEW OUT
Other or unspecified, Jan 26, 2019
REAR SEAL BLOW OUT DUE TO PVC BEING CLOGGED