Top 5 Problems Chevy Equinox SUV Second Generation 2010-17

In this video, we're going to be going over some of the top problems and repairs on this second-generation Chevy Equinox. Now, there's nothing wrong with this car, every car has the problem, so we're just going to go over some of the top issues. So there's a couple of different options for engines in this vehicle. It either came with a 2.4L four-cylinder, which is what this one does, or you could get a 3.0 or 3.6L V6 engine. If you have the V6 engine, a lot of times they have timing chain issues. Now, we've talked about this before in the Cadillac CTS top five video. The reason why is because it's the exact same engine.

First, let's talk about how a timing chain works. So while the engine is running, the crankshaft is spinning and the pistons are going up and down. They're attached to the crankshaft. What you need to do, the reason we have timing chains is to synchronize the camshafts to spin in the same orientation as the crankshaft. The reason you need the camshafts to spin is so that it opens up and closes the valves. There's lobes on the camshafts, so that will be timed with the crankshaft. So when this is all synced up, if you think of these as clocks, and these are all lined up at 12:00, so a common problem with this system is these timing chains actually stretch. So you have this chain here, and now it's stretched out.

Now, that's going to change the time of the upper cam so the exhaust will now be pointing at 11:00, same with the intake because those chains are stretched and these chains stretch as well. When the timing chains stretch, these cams are not going to be in synchronization with the crank. So the computer is going to think something's wrong, and it's going to set a check engine light. So there's many different codes you could get. You could get an engine position performance code or a camshaft position performance code.

Anything related to that, it's a good idea to check the timing chains to make sure they're not worn or stretched. All right, look, this is not an easy thing to diagnose or repair. What you have to do is take the whole front of the engine apart, get to the timing chains themselves. If you can check the tensioners and the tensioners are pushed out a little bit, then your timing chains are definitely stretched. One way, an easy way to prevent this is changing your oil regularly and making sure your oil level is up to par with a good quality oil.

So that's one of the major repairs on the V6 engine. Now, let's talk about the four-cylinder engine. Oil consumption. Now, these engines like to burn a lot of oil. You want to check your oil regularly. GM states that if the engine burns less than one quart of oil within 2,000 miles, the engine meets the guidelines for oil consumption. You want to check your PCV system, make sure that's working properly. If you see a lot of oil through here, then that's not good. You probably need a new valve cover. In addition to the PCV system or the pistons, you could have other issues such as valve seals.

You also have oil leaks that are pretty common. The most common is the rear main seal. So if you see a lot of oil leaking in this area near the back of the oil pan where it meets the transmission, that is most likely the rear main seal. They have a lot of problems with those. GM actually has a TSP out for the oil consumption issues, and sometimes they actually have to replace the pistons. And when they do that, they're replacing the rings. What happens is the rings will get stuck in the pistons or they're just not sealing properly so oil will get by, and it'll burn, and that's where you're getting all your oil consumption.

That's a huge job. The engine head has to come off, and you have to pull the pistons out and replace them. Exhaust and intake variable valve solenoids. On the four-cylinder, they're located right here. More common on the four-cylinder than the six-cylinder, but those still have problems too. You may end up with an engine P0010 or P0011. And, also, sometimes this can actually make the vehicle stall if you have a problem with these. These are pretty easy to replace, just pull this cover off over here, and then just disconnect the connector right here, push down that tab, pull that off.

Now, this one will be the intake one. The other one will be the exhaust one. Now, these are not the same part number, so you can't switch them. You do have to buy this specific one. And you just want to clean out any debris. There is a 10 millimeter bolt that holds it down. Pull that bolt out, slide the old valve out, slide the new one in. You might want to lubricate it with a little bit of oil, and then plug it back in and you should be good to go. It is important to make sure your oil level is up to par. Low oil level can actually cause these valves to go bad, and also not changing your oil regularly can cause these to go bad.

Or we could end up with a code P2135, which is throttle body, or you could end up with a P2138, which is accelerator pedal position. Both of these codes are very similar. They're both correlation codes. There's two sensors in the throttle body that tell the computer where the throttle blade is, and then there's two sensors in the gas pedal. And, those tell the computer where the gas pedal is. Now, the reason they have two is so that if one of the sensors starts cutting out, that the throttle doesn't open wide up and then you don't end up having an accident.

That being said, you could end up with a check engine light or you could end up with a reduced power message, which the engine does not want to accelerate fast because it doesn't know exactly where it is. So, that would need to be addressed. You always want to check your connections and check your wires. You could have some mice chewing some of these wires under here or the terminals be spread a little bit, so you want to do that on both the throttle body and for the accelerator pedal. You may end up having an evap code. First thing you always want to do when you have an evap code to check your gas cap.

Just grab the gas cap, see if it's loose, make sure it clicks. Pull the gas cap off, check the seal. Seal looks good. If it feels funny, there's probably something wrong with it. It's probably got to be replaced. This one feels pretty loose, so this should be replaced at this time. As long as your gas cap checks out okay, check out the purge solenoid. It's located right here on the four-cylinder version. There's a two-wire connector, make sure that's connected and make sure the wires are good. You can always disconnect it, just take a look at the terminals, make sure they're not green or corroded. That looks good.

But these go bad, this is pretty common, but it's a pretty easy part to replace. This line right here goes back to the evap system near the gas tank, and it goes through the purge valve right here. And it gets its vacuum right here through the intake system. So there's some of the issues we've found with this vehicle. I'm sure we missed some. So if you have experience with this vehicle, leave us a comment below. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our channel, make sure you ring that bell and turn on all notifications so you don't miss any of our videos.