2017 Chevrolet Equinox problems owners report most
2017 Chevrolet Equinox problems are documented in public: owners have filed 276 complaints with NHTSA, the earliest in 2017 and the most recent in 2026. Sorting those by the component the filer named puts the engine clearly first, at 180 of the 276 complaints, 65 per cent of everything filed.
A complaint is not a repair bill and not a defect finding. It is one owner telling the regulator something went wrong. What makes the count useful is the concentration: when one component takes 65 per cent of everything filed on a car, the pattern is doing more than chance.
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | 180 | 65% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 37 | 13% |
| POWER TRAIN | 32 | 12% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 21 | 8% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 19 | 7% |
| AIR BAGS | 19 | 7% |
Against the 2016 car, this model year has drawn 31 per cent fewer complaints (276 against 399). Both years are led by the engine, so this is a fault that carried over rather than one introduced with the 2017 car.
Of those complaints, 18 describe a crash and 4 describe a fire. Filers reported 16 injuries.
In owners own words
These are complaints filed about the engine, quoted as written. They are one persons account rather than a diagnosis, and they are here because a symptom described by a driver is easier to recognise than a component name.
My husband was driving our vehicle on his way to work on [XXX] very early in the morning. He was on the highway going 70 mph. While driving he noticed a tire pressure monitoring system warning come up. Shortly after the vehicle went into reduced power mode. He was able to exit the highway and get the vehicle stopped. Upon stopping the vehicle died. Upon getting out of the vehicle he noticed a large oil leak on the ground and coating the underside of the vehicle. Had this incident happened during a busier traffic hour the sudden drastic slow in speed could have resulted in an accident. There w
I own a 2017 Chevy Equinox. My husband and I are the only owners of it. It has just over 100,000 miles. Yesterday, February 1, 2023, I started my vehicle 15 minutes before I packed my 1 year old and 3 year old into the vehicle so I could take them to daycare and I could go to work. We drove down US HWY 8 (55 mph speed limit), onto County Road S to the kids' daycare. When I pulled into the parking stall, I smelled an oder of what I thought was gas. Looked at my gages and nothing was "wrong" - jumped out, & inspected around under the gas tank to see if it was leaking. It wasn't, so I thoug
So I was driving home from work which is a 28 minute drive, when I was almost 2 miles away from home the car started to make a funny noise and it started to smell like gas inside from the vents.When I turned off a major street the the car slowed completely down without any warning on the dashboard and luckily I was right in front of a autoshop so I hurried up and pulled in. As soon as I pulled in, the car started to get smoky in the inside so I hurry up and jump out wasn't sure if the car was going to start a fire. When I go inside the shop it was a lady with the same car as mine but just gold
2017 Chevrolet Equinox 80,000 miles always serviced, I have proof Purchased 10/26/2016 New 12/16/2022 I had the vehicle serviced @ Walser Polar Chevrolet White Bear Lake, MN just like I have since I purchased it new. Oil & Transmission fluid changed, new tires, wheel alignment, rear brake pads and rotors, $2,045.00. No mention of a class action lawsuit for Frozen PCV valve, causing the rear main seal to blowout. GM has known about this problem for years and has done nothing to rectify it. I brought my vehicle into Walser Polar Chevrolet for service as always trusting I would leave having
Every component, by complaint count
The full breakdown of what owners named when they filed. Components below the top ten are grouped out of this table.
| Component | Complaints | Share of all complaints |
|---|---|---|
| ENGINE | 180 | 65% |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 37 | 13% |
| POWER TRAIN | 32 | 12% |
| FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 21 | 8% |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 19 | 7% |
| AIR BAGS | 19 | 7% |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 16 | 6% |
| VISIBILITY/WIPER | 11 | 4% |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 9 | 3% |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 7 | 3% |
How other model years compare
The same nameplate across the years we hold. Complaint counts fall naturally for newer cars because fewer of them have been on the road for long, so read the column as a rough signal rather than a ranking. In this set the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox has drawn the most complaints and the 2021 Chevrolet Equinox the fewest.
What to check on the engine
Engine reports range from oil consumption between services to rough running, stalling and a loss of power under acceleration. Oil use is the one owners notice latest, because nothing warns you until the level is already low.
Buying a used 2017 Equinox
Ask for every service record and check the gap between oil changes against the level on the dipstick now. An engine using oil quietly is the most expensive fault on this list and the easiest one to miss on a test drive.
If you already own one
Start a log of oil level between services. A documented consumption rate is what turns a conversation with a dealer from an opinion into a claim, and some manufacturers have covered these repairs well past the warranty.
- Check the oil level and condition yourself before buying.
- Ask for service records covering every oil change.
- Record oil level between services to document consumption.
- Have a compression or leak down test done before a major repair.
Where the 2017 Chevrolet Equinox problem data comes from
Every figure on this page is counted from complaints and recalls published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, read November 1, 2026. Complaints are filed by owners and are not verified by the agency before publication. We count each complaint once per component it names, so a complaint naming two components appears in both rows.
- NHTSA recalls and complaintsRead November 1, 2026
- NHTSA record for the 2017 Chevrolet EquinoxRead November 1, 2026
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