How many miles can a Chevy Equinox last? When you’re in the market for a new or second-hand Equinox, that’s a very reasonable question. After all, you’re probably looking to get the most bang for your buck. In this blog, we’ll look at this question in great detail but first, let’s start with a quick answer:

On average, a Chevy Equinox lasts between 200.000 – 220.000 miles. An Equinox needs to go to the garage for unscheduled repairs about 0.31 times per year, with an 18% chance of severe problems. Furthermore, Chevy Equinox owners spend an average of $537 per year on repair costs.

Having said that, we’re certainly not done. Below, we’ll explain in more detail how many miles a Chevy Equinox can last. After that, we’ll also show you how much an Equinox costs annually and which production years are the most and least expensive. Furthermore, we also discuss the common problems that the car can have. Read on!

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How Many Miles Can A Chevy Equinox Last?

To answer this question of how many miles a Chevy Equinox can last, we went through the database of Autotrader.com. Here, we gathered mileage data for all Chevy Equinox currently for sale in the United States. This gave us a sample size of 40.552 Equinox.

After this, we divided the available models for sale into groups based on the miles they’d driven. From here, we can see that the total percentage of Chevy Equinoxes above the 150,000 miles mark is 3.21%.

Now apparently, this might appear to be a not-so-promising number. However, it’s on par with what we expect from an affordable SUV. Furthermore, we need to consider that this means there are currently 1.301 units for sale that have a mileage higher than 150.000. This does indicate the Equinox is capable of reaching higher mileage.

Amount Of Miles	Percentage Of Cars
Cars With 150.000+	3.21%
Cars With 100.000 – 149.000	10.68%
Cars With 45.000 – 99.999	28.88%
Cars With 0 – 44.999	57.23%

However, we have to clarify these numbers some more. As you can see in the table above, a large percentage of the cars for sale haven’t yet reached the higher mileage range. This is because many of them are relatively new and haven’t had time to drive the required miles.

All we can conclude now is that it seems the Equinox is capable of reaching higher mileage when given the time. However, we have to do more research to better understand the Equinox’s capabilities.

Also read: Types Of Gas A Chevy Equinox Uses (All Generations)

How Reliable Is A Chevy Equinox Compared To Its Competitors?

Another critical question to answer is how Chevy Equinox performs compared to its competitors in the market. Of course, this is a reasonable question to ask, given that you would surely want your car to be the best in performance and reliability compared to your car’s rivals.

In the table below, we have the statistics which compare the mileage potential of the Chevy Equinox and its competitors. It’s important to understand that, for all these other models, we’ve performed the same research and have written separate articles about them. For this reason, we’re confident in our findings.

Model	Sample Size	Expected Mileage	Highest Mileage
Chevrolet Equinox	25.264	210.000	250.000
Honda CRV	23.092	250.000	320.000
Mazda CX-5	9.844	250.000	190.000
Ford Escape	23.430	240.000	280.000
Toyota RAV-4	19.342	240.000	290.000
Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross	426	200.000	150.000
Volkswagen Tiguan	6.613	175.000	200.000

What we see here is quite interesting. First of all, we can conclude that the expected mileage of the Equinox isn’t great compared to its competitors. There are other models on the market that hit higher mileage more consistently. Especially the Ford Escape and the RAV-4 seem to have an extra two to three years compared to the Equinox.

Furthermore, there’s one other thing we want to emphasize about the numbers in the table. This is that the expected mileage numbers of the Mazda CX-5 and Eclipse Cross are based on separate research we did for these models, in which we established their expected mileage on the brands’ reliability and the number of problems the cars are currently having.

How Reliable Is A Chevy Equinox Compared To Other Chevys?

After discussing Chevy Equinox’s performance in terms of reliability when compared to its competitors, it is also necessary to look up its reliability when compared to other Chevy models, as this will give a clearer understanding of the car’s potential and also give us an insight into the quality standards of Chevy.

Compared to other cars within the brand, the Equinox turns out to be an okay vehicle in terms of reliability; many other Chevy models are doing much better than Chevy Equinox. This is surprising given that the Equinox is an SUV that, in most situations, outcompetes sedans.

However, in the case of Chevy, the Equinox is beaten by the Impala and the Malibu; both are sedans. Furthermore, the Equinox is beaten by the Traverse, Tahoe, and Suburban, all SUVs. All we can say about this is that this strengthens our findings thus far; the Equinox does reasonably but isn’t performing phenomenally.

How Much Does Maintenance Cost Per Year?

Now that we have discussed how long a Chevy Equinox lasts, it is also essential to know the repair and maintenance costs that come with the Chevy. For this reason, we used Repairpal.com and Caredge.com and retrieved the statistics and data, which show the average costs per year categorized by the year it was manufactured.

Equinox’s average maintenance cost is $537, but as we will see in the table below, some years are better than the others when talking of how cost-effective they are.

We can see from the data that the 2010 model has the highest maintenance costs per year, which is $667. This is due to several problems with the engine and transmission of the car (more on the issues later). Other models have an average cost of $400-$600, typical for a compact SUV such as the Equinox.

Year of Manufacturing	Chevy Equinox Maintenance Cost
2022	$291
2021	$341
2020	$422
2019	$605
2018	$613
2017	$443
2016	$423
2015	$461
2014	$475
2013	$498
2012	$563
2011	$630
2010	$667
2009	$511
2008	$478
2007	$416

Owners’ Reviews Of The Equinox’s Reliability

Besides knowing all the data, it’s, of course, also essential to see how owners experience the Equinox. For this, we went to Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds, and Truecar.com. All three platforms have gathered hundreds of reviews from actual car owners. We summarized our findings in the image below.

The star ratings we’ve gathered above apply to the third generation of the Equinox (manufactured from 2018 onwards). We found that, in general, owners are satisfied with the car.

However, there are certainly some shortcomings. It became clear that most Equinox are reliable, but some units are problematic and that have several issues. Furthermore, owners think the car is decent for the money, but they consider it relatively cheaply built overall.

Things are slightly worse with the second generation (2010 – 2018) because this generation, overall, seemed to only get 3.5 out of 5 stars consistently. The review of this generation is well summarized by this 2015 model owner:

We leased a 2015 and at first we liked it. Then summer hit. The backseat has no AC of it’s own so those of us in the front seat were freezing trying to get AC to the poor, hot people in the back. We live in Florida so you need AC in the back of the vehicle.

The acceleration left me feeling, well, meh. Sometimes it hesitates. The backup camera has malfunctioned. The radio is ok but not that booming sound I love. Again, meh. It’s fairly comfortable but when our lease is up, we are taking it back and leaving.

Source

Chevy Equinox Common Problems

In this subheading, we’ve gathered the most frequently complained about problems that affect the reliability of the Equinox. We found that the third generation of the Equinox does have some brake and transmission problems that you should be aware of. Furthermore, the second generation had several more significant issues, especially related to high oil consumption and leaks.

All in all, we conclude that the car performs decently, but it certainly isn’t perfect. Read the problems we mentioned below to clearly understand what you can expect from an Equinox.

NOTE: Before buying a used car, I always like to make sure the vehicle isn´t having any problems that you should be aware of. The easiest way to do this is by buying an OBD2 scanner. These scanners can easily be plugged into any car you’re interested in, and they’ll give you a rundown of potential problems.

Transmission problems

One of the most complained about problems of the 2018 – 2020 Equinox was that many of them had missing bolts on the start/stop accumulator endcap. Eventually, Chevy recalled practically all units in these model years under recall number 20V668000.

These missing bolts meant that transmission fluid could leak out of the system, causing a complete loss of drivetrain power. Furthermore, the leaking of transmission fluid could result in fire.

Failing Brakes Or Poor Brake Performance

2018 – 2020 models also had problems with poor brake performance. GM eventually issued one recall for this. The recall involved the 2018 – 2019 model years. The rear brake caliper pistons on these units may have had an insufficient coating, causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance (18V576000).

However, the 2018 – 2019 model years also had problems with a failing brake vacuum pump which meant the pedal became non-responsive. However, Chevy never issued a recall, and owners were left to fix this themselves.

Oil Leaks

The most highlighted problem in the 2013 – 2015 Equinox model was leaking oil from the cylinders into the combustion chamber, resulting in increased oil consumption and the burning smell of oil. Other models are equally susceptible, and it’s more prominent in the earlier models. Even if you change the rings and pistons, it won’t solve the issue much.

Rattling of Shocks When Riding Over Bumps

Rattling or scraping noises may occur from the front suspension control arm while riding over bumps or uneven roads and may cause a loss of control of the steering wheel and its alignment. This kind of problem prevails more in the 2013 – 2018 models of the Chevy and can be fixed by replacing worn-out shocks and suspension, costing $423-$467.

Compressor Issues

Equinox models from the pre-2013 years have issues with the compressor failing or faulty, resulting in the A/C system not working and blowing out warm air instead of cold. Such a problem is known to be fixed by replacing the compressor system with a new one which costs around $642-$669.

Transmission and Gear Slippage

Some of the 2008 – 2009 models have been known to develop transmission and gear assembly problems. With a 6-speed auto transmission of the Chevy’s, it’s likely that this might happen due to a faulty or damaged 35R wave plate, crucial for the smooth and easy gear transitions. Chevy did issue a technical service bulletin for this.

Symptoms include the “check engine light” displayed on the dash and gears slipping, including the reverse gear not engaging. The problem can be fixed by replacing the 35R wave plate. The diagnosis is going to cost around $88-$111.

Also read: What Is The Oil Type, Capacity, And Weight Of A Chevy Equinox?

Is a Chevy Equinox A Smart Buy?

Now it is essential to know whether the Chevy Equinox is a smart buy. Keeping all the factors of reliability ratings, comparisons with other cars, Chevy’s itself, and their ownership and yearly maintenance costs in mind, we can conclude that the Equinox is a fairly reliable vehicle.

When we look at its potential mileage, we see that it’s beaten by other vehicles within its category. However, it does seem to consistently reach more than 200,000 miles, proving the car isn’t unreliable. As with most Chevy vehicles, you should expect inexpensive upkeep as well.

Furthermore, when we look at its problems, we find that Equinox does not have many significant issues and problems. Still, some models, such as the 2013 – 2015 and 2018 – 2020 models, have problems we would rather avoid.

From all of the data we gathered, we have to conclude that the 2017 model year of the Equinox is by far the best model. The 2017 Equinox doesn’t have any engine or transmission issues, and it also had zero recalls and very few complaints on the website of the NHTSA.

Furthermore, we found that the Chevy Equinox has a depreciation value of 57% after six years, according to Caredge.com. This is higher than usual, 43%-53%, assuming an average of 12,000 miles per year.

So, they don’t hold their value well; in other words, you can find them cheap in the used market. This is especially great for used car buyers who want a 2017 model because this is the same model year that has depreciated significantly but still has a lot of miles left.

Are you in the market for this Chevy? Don’t forget to check out our extensive list of the largest Chevy dealers per state!

Chevy Equinox Maintenance Schedule

For the Equinox to reach a higher mileage and perform to its best capabilities, you’ll need to maintain it. If it is cared for and maintained wisely by keeping everything in check, it will go a long way before it goes to heaven. Below is the Chevy Equinox maintenance schedule that describes what should be done and at what mileage.

Before/On Every 5,000 Miles

Check the oil levels at every 5k interval to ensure it doesn’t go down too much; refill to the required level. These are known to drink a lot of oil, so you would have to keep on adding. On a side note, spending $2000 on new rings and pistons wouldn’t solve this issue. Some mechanics still advised it, but no one seemed to have their problems fixed by this advice.

Before/On Every 10,000 Miles

• Change engine oil
• Replace the oil filter.

But it’s better to change these before/on 7500 miles for best performance and long-lasting protection.

Before/On Every 20,000 Miles

• Replace the passenger compartment air filter
• Inspect the tires
• See if there’s any prevailing rust
• Check for any fluid leaks
• Tire replacement

Before/On Every 40,000 Miles

• Replace the air intake filter
• Replace the transfer case fluid
• Inspect the evaporative control system
• Change the automatic transmission fluid

Before/On Every 60,000 Miles

• Inspect the spark plugs
• Inspect the ignition coils
• Have an engine diagnosis with a scanner tool and see for any abnormal reading.
• Inspect the electronics system
• Inspect the brake pads and rotors
• Drive belt replacement
• The manufacturers recommend changing the first coolant at 60k miles and the later ones after every 30k miles. It depends on different factors; you should check the color of the coolant to tell which one it is. If it’s the silicated one, you would have to change it after every 30k miles, and if it’s the extended drain coolant, you can change it after 100k miles.

Before/On Every 100,000 Miles

• This is where the suspension components start to wear, and you might have to replace the worn-out ones.
• Inspect the transmission fluid and replace it if necessary.