What breaks most · 2005 to 2026 model years
Chevrolet Equinox problems by year
Owners have filed 9,086 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Chevrolet Equinox across model years 2005 to 2026. Three years stand out: 2010 for engine complaints, 2011 for engine complaints and 2013 for engine complaints. The quietest years are 2024, 2021 and 2009.
- Years to check closely: 2010, 2011, 2013
- Fewest complaints: 2024, 2021, 2009
- Complaints on file
- 90862005 to 2026, all trims
- Worst year
- 2010784 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 36193 fires · 335 injuries · 5 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 75kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 47Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 638 | 56 | 1 | Electrical system (159) | |
| 695 | 16 | 0 | Visibility (247) | |
| 685 | 11 | 4 | Fuel system (156) | |
| 370 | 9 | 0 | Air bags (110) | |
| 94 | 5 | 0 | Air bags (26) | |
| 784 | 15 | 3 | Engine (271) | |
| 782 | 30 | 3 | Engine (386) | |
| 683 | 16 | 3 | Engine (354) | |
| 750 | 20 | 2 | Engine (412) | |
| 546 | 23 | 1 | Engine (217) | |
| 679 | 24 | 2 | Wipers and visibility (250) | |
| 395 | 14 | 1 | Engine (201) | |
| 271 | 18 | 0 | Engine (178) | |
| 403 | 23 | 5 | Brakes (117) | |
| 300 | 22 | 4 | Engine (100) | |
| 303 | 20 | 4 | Brakes (96) | |
| 91 | 5 | 4 | Electrical system (17) | |
| 165 | 13 | 5 | Fuel system (71) | |
| 94 | 4 | 3 | Fuel system (43) | |
| 74 | 5 | 1 | Fuel system (22) | |
| 219 | 8 | 0 | Electrical system (75) | |
| 65 | 4 | 1 | Forward collision system (18) |
What fails on the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EngineEngine gaskets and seals | 35% |
271 | 3 | Shop engine parts for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 23% |
182 | 1 | Shop all powertrain and transmission parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Wipers and visibilityWiper motors and blades | 17% |
132 | 0 | Shop all wipers and visibility parts, not filtered to this vehicle |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 10% |
81 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox |
| Air bags | 7% |
57 | 9 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Unknown or other | 7% |
52 | 1 | — |
| Stability controlABS and wheel speed sensors | 6% |
49 | 0 | Shop stability control parts for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 6% |
44 | 2 | Shop steering parts for the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Vehicle looses power and can very easily cause a bad wreck I've replaced multiple thing and it still does it I'm not sure what it is possibly the timing or something to do with camshaft
-
Vehicle burns excessive oil. Have to put in a quart weekly. Check engine light comes on for camshaft sensor, they’ve already been replaced 3 times and the light won’t go off.
-
Excessive oil consumption i have the same 2.1 liter echo tech engine that was previously involved in the lawsuit against General Motors for the 2013 chevy equinox excessive oil consumption. My car has stalled, jerked and keeps me in the auto parts stores buying oil all the time even long before time to change the oil.
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Chevrolet Equinox years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2010, 2011, 2013 carry the most filings on the Chevrolet Equinox. The 2010 alone has 784 complaints, led by engine.
What is the most common Chevrolet Equinox problem?
On the 2010 model year, the most-reported component is engine with 271 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Chevrolet Equinox problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Chevrolet Equinox complaints that include mileage is about 75,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.