2012 Chevrolet Equinox: misfire or rough idle

Filed Nov 18, 2021 · Engine · MA

Car stalled on highway after picking up my children from school. Purchased this car in March 2021 from a used dealership. After the stalling incident, the car started back up. Since that incident the car has been having a rough Idle and stalls when parked, stopped at a light, stopped at a stop sign and also stalls while letting pedestrians cross the street. I have also been having trouble with oil consumption. I have receipts, and I am getting oil changes every 2-3 months with synthetic oil. Oil needs to be changed way before mileage and also before date due for a change. Synthetic oil is supposed to last up to 6,000 miles or every 6 months. I only use my car for travels to work, bringing children to and from school, and travels for necessity purposes only. All my travels are within 5 miles of my home. The car seems to be burning oil very quickly. I have also noticed that the car gets worse while idling every time I need an oil change. It will run fine for a short while then the rough idle starts up again. I have read many complaints in regards to the same vehicle with the same issues. I have spoken with local mechanics and auto shops and have also heard many people having the same troubles with the same vehicle. I am a single parent of 3 children and I feel very unsafe driving my vehicle. My children do need to get to school and I do need to get to work. I feel that this should be considered as a recall on this vehicle. There are hundreds of reviews and comments of other people with the same issues I am having. This is very unsafe especially to stall out anywhere. Best regards -Natasha

Filed Sep 10, 2021 · Engine · TX

Engine makes rough idle noise when stopped or going slow. Took in for an oil change(I assumed it was way over due) I was then told, I still had over 3k miles to go. When they checked my fluid they found it was 3.5 liters short. It’s consuming too much oil in a short amount of time.

Filed Apr 5, 2021 · Engine · AK

My car randomly shuts off. It stutters, stalls, jerks, then dies. No check engine light comes on. We have replaced the o2 sensors 3 times, mass air flow sensor, exhaust manifold, intake and exhaust valves twice, alternator, battery twice, spark plug packs twice, throttle body, and catalytic convertor. My car still stutters, stalls, rough idles, jumps while stopped at red lights, and randomly shuts off with no warning. Recently it has been slow to accellerate as well. I was unaware of the oil consumption issue until this weekend. My car says it is 40% oil, it is not due for another oil change for another 1000 miles. After learning about the oil consumption issue I checked the oil, via the dipstick, and my car was bone dry! I never received a low oil warning. I am assuming this is why my car has begun acting crazy in the last year. Unfortunately the chevy dealership never informed me of any oil issues so I have had to contact gm directly, because now my car is at 126,000 miles!!!

Filed Dec 29, 2018 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · TX

Briefly, for the last month and a half I have experienced rough idle on start and rough idle & stall with the car losing power and going dead at red lights and in traffic while in drive. I took the car to the auto mechanic and stored codes suggested replacing o2 sensors, the catalytic converter and a tune-up would resolve the issue; I replaced all of the above to the tune of 1400.00; the issue of rough idling, stall & losing power, going dead at the light/ sitting in traffic has not resolved. The 2012 equinox is not safe to drive; it just keeps stalling and going dead/losing power while in drive. I have spent almost 1400.00 trying to diagnose and fix this issue since december 1. My car does not have the cel but still idles roughly, stalls and loses power/stops randomly at red lights and in traffic. I have been unable to safely use the 2012 equinox for approximately three out of the four weeks of december. Out of frustration I googled my experiences with the car and discovered that this apparently is a common issue that was found in the 2011 model (see the federal safety agency id# 10430919; 10437891; 10499684 & 10413320. Recall#11195 & 12312. Bulletin #pi0562, pi0202a, pip4716 & pi0469). Apparently this issue was not fixed or addressed in subsequent models as I have been unable to locate a service bulletin or recall although my car a 2012 chevrolet equinox is having the same issue. The consumer should not have to pay 1,000's of dollars diagnosing and fixing known manufacture defects. Subsequent vehicles made after the issue was found in th 2011 should have been fixed or should be covered under service bulletins & recalls especially since the car idles rough when starting, loses power and cuts off while in drive with your foot on the brake in stop & go highway traffic or at street red lights- this is very unsafe and can result in an unnecessary accident or even god forbid a fatality.

Filed Nov 14, 2018 · Transmission · 116,000 miles · NC

Intake camshaft actuator solenoid valve. I had the oil consumption services completed last october 2017 and this year in october 2018 I had to have the camshaft actuator solenoid valve replaced to which everyone I know with an equinox that is older than 2016 is having to have this part replaced on their vehicle. I feel that with such a drastic amount of vehicles having this fixed if it wasnt apart of the oil consumption parts to have replaced it should have been because it really appears to be a largely replaced item costing people over $200 to have fixed. This part causes your vehicle when at lower speeds to stall out over and over until it just wont go. It started with a rough idle. Then when accelerating at low speeds the vehicle would stall out. Finally it would stall while I was driving at low speeds.

Filed Nov 1, 2017 · Engine · 167,900 miles · KY

We received a "satisfaction" letter regarding the oil consumption and stability light on this vehicle. The engine burns oil constantly and the 2d cylinder misfires due to this. The car has gone into "limp" mode several times and when it does it idles extremely high and we have to take the water out of the reservoir and change the spark plug in order for the car to "reset". This is not a "satisfaction" issue; it's a safety issue and when I addressed this with chevy I was told because my car has over 150k on it that it does not qualify for the fix or reimbursement. If this was truly a satisfaction issue I would agree, however a car that routinely goes into "limp" mode, idles extremely rough and burns over a quart of oil every week qualifies as a safety issue to me. This past weekend I had my daughter and granddaughter in my car about 1 hour from the house when it happened again. If took almost 2 hours to get home and when my husband looked at the car he's not sure his "standard" fix will work this time and we're now faced with an unexpected purchase of either a new car or being required to spend several thousands of dollars for a new engine. This goes beyond any satisfaction issue that I'm aware of and having to drive less than 40 miles an hour to get home in bad weather with my daughter and granddaughter, who is 18 months old is safety, not satisfaction. I do have the letters from chevy and my response if you are interested in reviewing. Thank you

Filed Feb 17, 2017 · Transmission · 116,000 miles · WI

Bought the vehicle at 40k miles in 2013. Since owning it occasionally had a rough idle when inclined on the off-ramp of a highway. It was a cross between and slight shutter and a jerk forward like the hill assist feature didn't want to hold true. As the vehicle got closer to 100k miles the idle was becoming more pronounced and started sputtering in drive-thrus and stop signs until one day it shut off. Check engine light came on and the vehicle had issues backing up without shutting off. Took into a mechanic the next day and they claimed it was very low on oil (even though I was still in my window) and some sensors needed to be replaced which were very expensive. Vehicle was ok for a few weeks and now it is starting the same activity again. Until I can take it again to get checked out I have to shift into neutral while at stop signs and off-ramps.

Filed Feb 16, 2016 · Engine · 121,000 miles · KY

July 10, 2015: I took my 2012 chevy equinox lt (2.4 l 4 cyl) to a chevy dealership in ky. The vehicle was at 100,505 miles and I wanted it checked before driving on vacation due to the high mileage, a rough idle and because it had recently shut off while backing out of a parking lot. A gm goodwrench multi-point vehicle inspection was performed. I was told the car showed no sign of any issues but I would need to purchase new tires before winter. By dec 2015 the rough idle had gotten much worse, the vehicle was loud (almost sounding like a diesel), would jerk and felt like it may shut off any time I had to stop or drive slower speeds. Additionally, the car would "slip" as it was shifting gears so I took it back to the dealership on dec 8, 2015. The car was at 115,720 miles. The transmission, #2 cylinder, spark plug and coil were replaced and a throttle body cleaning service was performed. Since then, the car has idled high revving to 4,000+RPM at times before it will shift into higher gears (particularly when driving 70+MPH on the interstate). Downshifting to lower gears doesn't always go smooth either. The rough idle has returned and progressively gotten worse. The car almost shut off while backing out of a parking lot on feb 13, 2016. Yesterday (feb 15, 2016), the car shut off while I was driving! There were no lights illuminated prior to it shutting off. I coasted to the side of the road, re-started the car and finished the final (~3) miles to work. I had the car towed from work back to the dealership. The dealership said there was no oil on the dipstick (the oil life sensor showed ~25% life left on oil) and I was told the car was 2 qts low on oil. The car remains at the dealership as of today, feb 16, 2016. There are a lot of similar complaints about this on www.arfc.org. This vehicle needs to be recalled before someone gets hurt or dies!