2016 CHEVROLET EQUINOX Power Train Problems

26 complaints about Power Train

26
Complaints
1
Crashes
1
Fires
0
Deaths

High Severity Issue

This component has been associated with crashes, fires, or deaths.

This Problem Across All Years

All Power Train Complaints (26)

Jul 12, 2025 Fire

Coming home from a trip without any warning our 2016 equinox scared me when it made a terrible sound lost power and stopped working. We’re 100’s miles away from home on the side of a road in the dark. We called for towing to a dealer payed for a hotel waited till the next day for it to be looked at. Told the engine was blown that the timing belt and everything in there was bent and in pieces 10,000-12,000 dollars to replace. Mind you this car is a ltz and very well talking care of. Without fixing it it’s worth 1000.00. Shame on gmc we should have been notified about issues. This happens at 80,000miles No warranty. I actually thought it caught on fire. Gm step up and take care of your life long customer that have owned Chevy always.

Jan 27, 2025

no lights came on my car just became sluggish and I continued to drive up the road trying to get to safe spot to stop and it completely shut off on me I had to push out of road thankfully no one was behind me. I had towed to mechanic and he said my timing belt skipped and it had no oil has bent valves and piston damage and that I need a new engine

Jan 26, 2025

Driving vehicle on two days 1/21-1/22/25 both days had a high of zero degrees, vehicle say for 4 hours at work outside and then was driven the 1 mile home. As pulling down my street car started running rough. Pulled into my garage looked and there was a oil steak up my driveway . My wife called me and when I got home I looked under car and looked like several quarts of oil on floor under car. She said no warning lights came on. I had it towed the next day to a local garage. He inspected the vehicle and said rear seal was blown and that there is knock in engine , so basically shot. We bought the car new in 2016 and it has less the. 90k miles. I contacted Chevy and they said nothing is out about that year. I contacted local Chevy dealer and was told this is a known pvc freeze issue with equinoxes and this engine but it has not been recalled. There is a Chevy bulliten about this issue that is the same engine but the bulliten covers 2010-1014. This is the same exact issue in the same exact engine. On my hat service bulliten they have increased the warranty to 10year 100k and are covering the repairs. But they will do nothing and ignore the issue on every other vehicle with this engine and this flaw. Lucky my wife made it home safe I am having the car towed to a Chevy dealership and am prepared to leave it there and demand it gets fixed.

Jan 21, 2025

What started as my car guzzling just a little too much oil too quickly, turned into my engine sitting at 1200RPM while parked, and then yesterday all the oil had leaked out, oil pressure was very low and the car wouldn’t run, and I’m being told by my mechanic that I need a whole new engine.

Jun 3, 2024

Severe oil consumption which could lead to damage to engine and vehicle failure when driving, which could cause an accident or worse. The dealer stated that the rear main seal could blow out and cause the vehicle failure. Defective parts that GM is aware of, but not addressing to the owners. There is a service bulletin (14882) that dealers are aware of concerning this issue, for an extended warranty of 120,000 or 10 years, no charge to customers to repair. Part#12591866.crankshaft real oil seal. The dealer refuses to honor it.

Feb 26, 2024

My equinox has only 70,000 miles and they found ground bearings in the transfer case and it cost me $2000 to fix they said this was an unusual repair to report it

Jan 24, 2024

My car blew out the rear main oil seal due to a faulty pcv valve that froze over in zero degree weather. The car lost all of its engine oil. There were no engine warning lights on before or after this happened. It has been diagnosed at the used dealer ship I got the vehicle from. It's currently at the shop but can be inspected if need be. My personal safety was at risk because it happened on the way to work and could have left me stranded. I also have had to rent a car for the last few weeks due to this issue. The car showed no warning signs of having prior issues of any sort before this happened.

Apr 20, 2023

the PCV is popping out which is causing all the oil to drain out and causing expensive repairs and leaving the car dead on the road ther needs to be a recall on this

Mar 6, 2023

My 2016 Chevy Equinox started running rough and when the codes were run it came back with P0335, P0016 and P0017. We then replaced both the camshaft, crankshaft and vvt solenoids. The codes were then cleared, and no further issues or engine lights were on. Then I brought the car home the weather was extremely cold, and the vehicle would not start. Tried to jump the vehicle would not start. Towed the vehicle to the shop, where it was determined that the PVC was frozen which caused all the oil to drain from the engine, the timing belt seized up and caused total engine failure. The mechanic has stated that it needs a whole new engine as all the oil had drained from the vehicle and cause damage that cannot be repaired. These vehicles have faulty piston rings in them and also it is common for the vehicles to be useless and have to have a total engine replacement. The cost for the engine replacement and vehicle repair is 9000 to 11000 dollars. Chevy intentionally has been mass producing vehicles that can and will kill someone. This is a known issue that they need to make right for all the owners of these vehicles. Please do a full investigation as to why these vehicles are still on the road and Chevy has not been made to recall and fix these vehicles correctly.

Jan 15, 2023

Engine lost power while exiting highway. Engine noise and loss of oil and oil pressure. Glided car into repair shop off the highway exit. Repair facility was aware of the GM 2.4 liter frozen PCV valve issue. Car was taken to a Chevrolet dealership where a fix with no guarantee that the engine was good was over $3000.00 to repair. Suggested new engine at approx. $9000.00 was quoted. This is a safety issue as the problem occurs in very cold weather and when the engine stops, it can very well leave the occupants stranded in freezing weather.

Dec 29, 2022

This is my second submission hoping someone contacts me [XXX] Thanks INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Dec 24, 2022

My car has had multiple safety issues but the latest one is my car shut off while driving! I was able to start it again and get to a dealer when they said that there was no oil. I get my oil changed every 3,000 miles and the dealer said there is a known oil consumption issue with my car. It gave me no warning of low oil or anything. The dealer said I probably would have known it consumes alarming amounts of oil if I had followed the 5k miles suggested. They said I need to do a oil consumption test well before I even got to 3200 miles on the last oil change there is now oil on the floor of my garage.. this is a death trap and it’s known. I have never had a vehicle only last 6 years.. please help! When my car stopped while driving there was a near miss of getting slammed from behind from another vehicle behind me.

Jul 27, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while the vehicle gear was in park; he switched from the driver's seat to the passenger seat with his wife. His wife was taking over to become the driver. While attempting to change drivers, the vehicle inadvertently reversed. The wife was trying to stop the vehicle while being partially in and partially out of the vehicle. The vehicle dragged the wife into an area of bushes. The contact stated while the passenger door was still open, when it accidentally hit him and knocked him over. There were no warning lights illuminated. The air bags did not deploy. The police and medical team arrived on the scene. The contact believed a police report was filed. There was no medical treatment on the scene. The contact stated the wife was bruised from the waist to both feet. The contact believed he cracked his rib. The wife will be examined by a urologist and nephrologist. The right front passenger door and entire rear bumper were damaged. The vehicle was strapped together, and the contact drove it home. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to transmission issues. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 48,000.

Mileage: 48,000

Jan 28, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving 45 MPH, the vehicle started making abnormal sounds and then stalled. The warning message “Low Engine Pressure” was displayed. The contact’s daughter was able to veer to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to the contact’s residence. The contact’s husband, a Ford mechanic diagnosed that the PCM valve had frozen, built-up pressure in the engine, and blew out the pressure which ruptured the rear main seal. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact’s husband that it was a known failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 116,000.

Mileage: 116,000

Jun 21, 2021

While on the freeway, I was caught in “stop-and-go” traffic. I had previously (about 2 days) noticed that there was a very minuscule delay in between the time from when I pressed on the accelerator to when the car would speed up, but was less than 1 second, so didn’t think it was a big deal. During the traffic incident, all of the sudden, when I pressed on the accelerator to go from a mostly stopped position to advance forward, my Equinox completely stalled. It was like someone turned the car off, but still had the lights and stereo on. I had to put my car in park, turn the car totally off, and restart it, and place it into drive, in order for it to advance forward. The next time I had to slow down for traffic, I slowed almost to a stop, put my foot on the accelerator, and the car stalled again. Keep in mind, my car wasn’t completely stopped at any of these times, so the cars behind me were caught off guard when I had to suddenly stop, put my car in park, turn it off, and then back on again, in order to move forward. This is dangerous during rush hour, on the most congested freeway in my state (which is where I live and was located). I was almost rear-ended multiple times. This occurred around 20 times before I could pull to the side. I called Chevrolet and they directed me the nearest dealership. The problem was continuous until I arrived. The issue was: Intake Camshaft Solenoid Control Circuit - Solenoid Internal Failure and they replaced Variable Valve Timing (VVT) Solenoid (part #12679099). My car had 46,661 miles, and under warranty, but it appears to be a common problem. There were ZERO warning/dash lights that warned me that something was wrong, and when the car died, I only knew because I would push the accelerator and it wouldn’t move. The dealership confirmed the issue, and I have the receipt from the replacement (covered under warranty), as well as a video of it occurring. There are MANY forums that discuss this issue with 2016 Equinox models.

Jun 7, 2020

I PURCHASED A PRE CERTIFIED VEHICLE ON 3/22/19 AND STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS 12 DAYS FROM PURCHASE DATE. THE PROBLEMS THAT HAVE OCCURRED ARE: LOUD CRANK LIKE NOISE COMING FROM RIGHT FRONT PASSENGER SIDE, VIBRATION AT HIGH SPEEDS AND VEHICLE PULLS TO THE LEFT DURING ACCELERATION AND BRAKING. CHEVY HAS REPLACED THE RIGHT FRONT CALIPER TWICE, SAID MY TIRES WERE DEFECTED SO I PURCHASED 4 BRAND NEW ONES, PERFORMED 3 ROAD FORCE BALANCES AND 2 ALIGNMENTS ON NEW TIRES, REPLACED PROPELLER SHAFT AND REPLACED HIGH PRESSURE POWER STEERING HOSE. MY VEHICLE IS STILL NOT FIXED AFTER ALL THE REPAIRS.

Mileage: 29,000

Feb 24, 2020

WHILE DRIVING, AT 55MPH MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON WITHOUT WARNING AND THE DASH SHOWED "SERVICE STABILITRAK" AND THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY REDUCED SPEED TO AROUND 30MPH BEFORE I COULD APPLY THE GAS. I IMMEDIATELY TOO THE VEHICLE TO MONRO MUFFLER AND BRAKE FOR SERVICE. WHEN I ARRIVED, I WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD NO OIL. I PERFORMED REGULAR OIL CHANGES ON THIS VEHICLE. THERE WAS NO INDICATION ABOUT LOW OIL PRESSURE, THE VEHICLE DID NOT OVERHEAT. THE ENGINE NOW NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.

Mileage: 115,000

Jan 30, 2020

INITIALLY THE REAR MAIN SEAL WAS LEAKING OR BROKEN; ALL THE OIL DRAINED FROM THE VEHICLE. AFTER SPENDING $992.60 I WAS ADVISED THAT THE TIMING CHANGE AND GUIDES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I'VE HAD THE VVT CELANIDE REPLACED AS WELL AS THE CRANK AND CAM SHAFT SENSORS; THE VVT GEARS AND AN OIL PUMP REBUILD...$2017.60 LATER, MY TRUCK DROVE FOR APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES WHERE IT DIED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I HAVE NOT DRIVEN MY CAR (ASIDE FROM THE 3 MILES) IN NEARLY 2 MONTHS. NOW I'M BEING TOLD THEY THINK IT MAY BE ELECTRICAL. MY TRUCK HAS LESS THAN 100,000 MILES ON IT. I'VE HEARD FROM NUMEROUS GOGGLE SEARCHES THAT GM IS AWARE OF THE ISSUES WITH THIS MOTOR/VEHICLE AND HAS DONE NOTHING TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER OF 4; I BOUGHT THIS TRUCK BRAND NEW TO SAFELY TRANSPORT MY CHILDREN HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE. THIS CAR JUST CUT OFF IN THE DEAD OF WINTER COMING OFF THE HIGHWAY...IT LITERALLY STOPPED IN MID ACCELERATION. HOW LONG BEFORE SOME ONE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED?

Mileage: 89,000

Jan 21, 2020

PCV VALVE FROZE CAUSING REAR MAIN SEAL LEAK. CAR BEGAN TO LEAK EXCESSIVE OIL.

Mileage: 86,000

Dec 11, 2019

THE TRANSFER CASE FAILED WHILE THE SUV WAS IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET WITHIN A WEEK AFTER AN OIL CHANGE / TRANSMISSION FLUID FLUSH & FILL SERVICE AT THE DEALERSHIP. I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP TO ASK ABOUT THE PART AND IT IS ON BACK ORDER SO, THIS SEEMS TO BE A COMMON ISSUE WITH THIS VEHICLE.

Mileage: 61,000

Oct 1, 2019

WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE, IT WILL RANDOMLY TURN OFF. I WILL THEN HAVE TO PLACE THE VEHICLE IN PARK, TURN OFF THE VEHICLE, AND RESTART IT IN ORDER TO BEGIN DRIVING AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED WHILE TURNING.

Jan 30, 2019

I WAS DRIVING DOWN A HIGHWAY AT 65 MILES PER HOUR MY ENGINE STARTED TO FLUTTER WHEN NOTICING THAT I PULLED OVER RIGHT AWAY AND MY ENGINE SHUT OFF. I HAD TO HAVE MY VEHICLE TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AFTER THE DEALERSHIP TOOK A LOOK AT IT THEY REALIZED IT WAS A PCV CLOG FROM CONDENSATION GETTING IN TO THE PCV VALVE. I HAVE 72000 MILES ON MY VEHICLE SO THERE IS NO MORE DRIVE TRAIN WARRANTY I BOUGHT THE EXTENDED WARRANTY HOWEVER THEY WILL NOT COVER IT BECAUSE THEY DO NOT COVER CLOGS. UPON RESEARCHING THIS I FOUND OUT THAT CHEVY HAD A LOT OF THESE AND ACTUALLY EXTENDED WARRANTIES ON VEHICLES FROM 2010 TO 2014 FOR THE SAME ISSUE. THEY HAVE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FIXING THE ISSUE IN THE ARTICLES I HAVE READ. UPON HEARING THIS INFORMATION FROM THE DEALERSHIP I CONTACTED ANOTHER DEALERSHIP WHICH THAT THEY HAD 6 VEHICLES IN THEIR FOR THIS SAME EXACT THING THEY TOLD ME THAT IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE ESPECIALLY WHEN IT GETS COLD. CHEVROLET WILL NOT COVER THIS KNOWING IT IS A PROBLEM. ATTACHED IS THE SERVICE BULLETIN WHERE IT LIST THE MODELS AND WHERE CHEVY HAD EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR THOSE MAKE AND MODELS.

Mileage: 72,000

Apr 13, 2017

I PARKED THE CAR ON MY DRIVE WAY I DID NOT TURN IT OFF I RETURN TO THE CAR TO TURN IT OFF IT ROLL BACK I HAD THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR OPEN IT NOCKED ME DOWN AND THE ROLLED OVER MY RIGHT KNEE IT WAS IS IN PARK IT AND MY IT SELF WENT IN TO NEUTRAL THE DRIVES SIDE TIRE WAS ON MY RIGHT KNEE

Nov 3, 2016

AFTER A MONTH OF OWNERSHIP AND ABOUT 900 MILES MY NEW EQUINOX WITH V6 AND AWD DEVELOPED A HOWLING NOISE WHEN DRIVING ON RURAL ROADS AT ABOUT 30-40 MPH THE HOWLING STAYS WITH THE CAR AND CAN BE HEARD ON HIGHWAYS AT 60 MPH. THE CAR HAS ALSO DEVELOPED A WHINING NOISE BOTH OF WHICH GENERAL MOTORS CLAIM ARE NORMAL NOISES FOR THIS VEHICLE. GM CALLS THIS CONDITION "DRIVELINE ECHO". TO MY KNOWLEDGE THE GMC TERRAIN AN IDENTICAL VEHICLE DOES NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM. I PERSONALLY HAD A 2013 WITH NO PROBLEMS AND A FRIEND HAD A 2014 WITH NO PROBLEMS. IT APPEARS THE PROBLEM HAS STARTED WITH THE 2015 MODEL YEAR. GM ACKNOWLEDGES THE PROBLEM WHY CAN'T THEY BE MADE TO REPAIR IT? *TR

Mileage: 900

Oct 22, 2016 Crash

ON OCTOBER 1, MY MOTHER (PASSENGER) AND I WERE INVOLVED IN A ROLL BACK ACCIDENT AT MY APARTMENT COMPLEX. I PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK AND EXITED THE VEHICLE. I REMAINED OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE FOR 1-2 MINUTES. I RETURNED TO THE DRIVER'S SIDE, OPENED THE DOOR, AND PROCEEDED TO ENTER THE CABIN. UPON OPENING THE DRIVER'S DOOR, THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ROLL BACK, EVEN THOUGH THE CAR WAS IN PARK. I WAS CAUGHT BETWEEN THE VEHICLE DOOR, WITH HALF OF MY BODY/EXTREMITIES (THE RIGHT SIDE) IN THE CABIN, AND MY LEFT EXTREMITIES OUTSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. I WAS DRAGGED 10-15 FEET. MY MOTHER WAS IN THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT WITH HER WITH SAFETY BELT. THE VEHICLE HIT AN EMBANKMENT (WITH A 6-7 FOOT DROP) THAT LEADS TO A GAZEBO THAT COVERS OUR MAILING CENTER. THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE CRASHED INTO THE WOODEN FENCING AND THE ROOF AND COLUMNS OF THE GAZEBO. THE FRONT END WAS STUCK IN THE EMBANKMENT; THE REAR END CRASHED INTO THE ROOF, BUT WAS SUSPENDED ABOVE A 6-7 FOOT DROP. POLICE AND FIREMEN ASSESSED THE SITUATION, AND SUSPECTED THAT THE INCIDENT MAY HAVE HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF A MALFUNCTIONING TRANSMISSION AND/OR BREAK SYSTEM. NO FAULT WAS DETERMINED IN THE INCIDENT.

Mileage: 15,000

Jul 20, 2016

CAR STARTED SMELLING HORRIBLE ANYTIME IT WAS RUNNING, WOULD MAKE ME AND MY KIDS PHYSICALLY SICK BREATHING THE AIR COMING INSIDE THE VEHICLE.MY DAUGHTER HAD PNEUMONIA 4 MONTHS AGO, AND MY HUSBAND HAD A SEVERE CASE OF PNEUMONIA 2 WEEKS AGO. NOT TO MENTION ALL THE RESPIRATORY RELATED PROBLEMS IN THE LAST YEAR THE ENTIRE FAMILY HAS BEEN HAVING. CHEVY WOULD NOT LOOK AT MY CAR, I CALLED MULTIPLKE TIMES TELLING THEM MY CAR IS SO FOUL SMELLING I CANT DRIVE IT ANYMORE AND ITS NOT A DEAD ANMIAL BECAUSE WE SEARCHED EVERY COMPARTMENT THERE IS....AND THEY SAID ITS A DEAD MOUSE OR ANIMAL AND THAT WARRANTY DOESNT COVER THAT SO ITS NOT THERE PROBLEM..AFTER OVER A WEEK OF ME CALLING AND HAVING MY HUSBAND (A CERTIFIED MECHANIC) CALLING THEM NON STOP, THEY AGREED TO LOOK AT IT..ITS NOT AN ANIMAL IT IS JUST ALOT OF MOLD THAT IS GROWING ALL OVER THE CARS HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING CONDENSER SYSTEM! AND ALL THIS TIME ITS JUST BEEN FLOWING MOLD BACTERIA INTO MY VENTS! ITS SUMMER I USE A/C EVERYDAY IF I AM DRIVING.... WE'VE JUST BEEN BREATHING IT IN FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG...I BOUGHT THIS CAR 9 MONTHS AGO BRAND NEW AND NOW AFTER ONLY 16,000 MILES ITS A BREEDING GROUND FOR MOLD INSIDE MY HVAC UNIT? I WONT BE ABLE TO GET RID OF THAT SMELL, AND WHAT ABOUT MY SEATS OR CLOTHING OR DAMAGE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE FROM THIS MOLD AND BACTERIA? THEY SAID GM WILL GIVE ME A RENTAL FOR 5 DAYS.....BUT PARTS WILL TAKE UP TO 4 TO EVEN COME IN BEFORE THEY WILL EVEN START FIXING THE "ISSUE". MY DAUGHTER IS 2 YEARS OLD AND HAD PNEMONIA 2 TIMES ALREADY.

Mileage: 16,000