2006 Chevrolet Equinox LT from North America - Comments

I bought my equinox just a little over a year ago from Today Chevrolet in Oxnard, Ca. 2 months after my purchase, one day my car just wouldn't move. I checked everything and started pushing the gas pedal completely flooring it, and it still wouldn't move. After getting it towed back to the dealer, the next day, I was so upset to find out that, there was a leak in the side panel of the driver's side door. When they removed the paneling, all the wiring was rusted and the whole computer in my car had to be replaced.

About 3 months ago, my brakes had to be replaced at only 20000 on my car.

And most recently, my car is being serviced because the heat went out. Apparently, the little door that holds heat in/out was broken and needed to be replaced. In order to do that, they had to take out the whole dashboard of my car!! I honestly don't know what to say anymore about my car, except that I wish I hadn't traded in my scion!!

Mad as Heck in Oxnard!!

It's an okay car I guess!! It fits my needs, but, is just becoming a hassle when it needs to be in the shop!

Typical story. My Scion had one minor problem in the time I owned it, other than the horrible radio which wasn't even a Toyota product.

You want quality, you buy Japanese made in Japan.

You want to support American mechanics, you buy American made anywhere.

I personally own an Equinox and have now for about 1 year. That totally bums me out to hear about your horrible experience. I think personally it was a lemon and should have looked into the lemon laws in your state. My Equinox, a 2006 LS AWD is wonderful. I only had to take it in to the dealership because the CD Player going on the fritz, but easily fixed. I've talked to several people with Equinoxs and they all seemingly love it. Sounds to me, as with every single car company in the world, you got a bad apple out of the whole bunch of good apples.

I have an 2006 and beat it,30,miles in 9 months I went 15,000 without an oil change. cd playing all the time, and it pulls my jetskis all over Miami, and the only complaint I have is that the interior stains easy.

Who would abuse a new vehicle by driving 15,000 miles without an oil change, and better yet brag about it. That's going to hurt! I'm reading these reviews trying to decide on buying an Equinox, and I'm hoping that the one I pick hasn't been abused like that!

I bought my brand new Equinox in the summer of '07. The car's body is pretty "fragile". I just found out the cloth material on both sides rear door panel are coming off/loose at both edges (these problems were fixed and covered by the warranty).

The black round insert (about 3" diameter "net" cover) on the right front in fog lite hole (on bumper) is cracked. After the dealership checked but couldn't find any scratches around the hole at all. Obviously the crack was not caused by hitting anything; it maybe caused by the hot engine or the fog lite. This is not a safe design and the warranty is NOT COVERED THIS PROBLEM.

"I went 15,000 without an oil change. cd playing all the time, and it pulls my jetskis all over Miami..."

Say hello to Crockett and Tubbs for me.

I have owned American cars all my life. I always buy new and keep them for 8-10 years. So far every car I have owned has taken less than $500 in replacement parts to keep it on the road for that period of time.

Typically I have 150-200k miles on my cars before I give them away, and they last for several years after that.

Last year I purchased a used Honda Accord and it is the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned. I can't drive it more than a week without something falling off in my hand or breaking. I am a 250 lb guy who likes to drive the car... not nurse it down the street. None of my 6 American cars (3 Dodges, 2 Chevys, and 1 Ford) ever left me on the side of the road. This Honda has done that 3 times in one year. What do you guys see in Japanese cars? Do you really drive them or leave them in the garage? I will never purchase Honda again!

BTW: I maintain 18 vehicles for $ on the side, and I have to say the average American car parts are much cheaper and easier to replace. I have not seen any better durability in the foreign cars. I do know I can get in my Honda, run it hard and have it broken in less than a week.

My Dodge Caravan took a lot of abuse from me. Pulling a camper that was +500 more than max load for 44K miles over 10 years and still has a tight transmission. My buddy's year old Honda Odd needed transmission work after pulling a U-haul less than 1000 miles (lucky for him it was under warranty).

This is one guy not fooled by the anti-American car media!

I bought a 2006 LT-AWD and regret doing this after the first couple of months.

It has now been in the shop about 20 times for many different reasons: needed new ignition, computer sensors, windows chatter when going down when wet; 10 times in alone for that problem, and they still can't fix it.

I had a musty smell in the vehicle; this was coming from the grommets in the back hatch around the seal; water was going through them down to the tire well and pooling, it was fixed with silicone but the smell is still there.

The car went completely dead one day while the wife was driving. She managed to get off to the side, and after a half hour it started again.

All sensors have been changed.

The wires in my drivers door for power windows and door lock were broke; blamed on the Canadian cold weather, ya right give me a break!

Watch those oil changes; the cap was put on but the stem which the cap is connected to was right out of the engine. Thank god I always double check their work.

My friend has a Torrent of the same year now with just over 100 000 km, and his head gasket is blown because of the antifreeze getting into the engine. Just checked mine, and mine is low; hope I won't have the same problem.

Going 15,000 miles without changing oil in a domestic generally won't do any damage. They don't use oil, so you don't have to worry about the oil being low. I never even check mine.

I've driven one of my Dodges 25,000 miles without changing the oil, and it never seemed any the worse for wear at 110,000 miles when it was sold still running perfectly and still not using a drop of oil.

As for GM, my current 8-year-old Pontiac still looks and runs as good as the day it was made. I never checked the brake pads, brake fluid, power steering fluid or radiator level until after 50,000 miles (and all were still great). I did finally replace the front brake pads at just over 70,000 miles, but the rear brakes are still the original. I DO change oil regularly in it, usually at 7,000 to 10,000 miles.

GM, Ford and Chrysler all build incredibly tough vehicles. The only car I ever had experience with using oil was a Honda.

I have a 2006 Equinox LT. It's ironic that I have experienced some of the same things as the various comments listed.

It also has a "clunk" sound in the rear end. It appears that this happens more often when it is cold or damp outside.

I too have had a terrible engine sound which also was the result of a bolt in the engine. I can't believe that someone else posted the same issue on their 2005 Equinox.

I too have had moisture issues causing the car to absolutely not move although the engine was running.

My check engine light comes on quite frequently. I am tired of taking it to the dealer who tells me that they can't find anything and just resets it and all I walk away with is a service charge.

I agree with an earlier comment as to the vehicle having all of the items I wanted in a car. Unfortunately, I am terribly dissatisfied with the fact that it had to be towed 3 times so far this year! It's reliability has me more than concerned!

"I am tired of taking it to the dealer who tells me that they can't find anything and just resets it and all I walk away with is a service charge."

So why do you keep taking it back? Go to a more reliable service center and get it fixed properly. Dealers are only good for warranty work. Once you are paying for the work you might was well move on to a better place.