2016 Chevrolet Equinox problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine (148) · Visibility/Wiper (113) · Power Train (20)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Chevrolet Equinox model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
172 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Equipment:other:labels 2016-06-21 · campaign 16V449000 · 17 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles manufactured October 16, 2015. The certification labels may have incorrect tire/rim size and cold tire pressure information. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 110, "Tire Selection and Rims."
Risk: If the information on the certification labels is incorrect, the operator may install incorrectly sized tires or rims or may improperly inflate the tires, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the certification label, free of charge. The recall began on July 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1050, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 46600.
Service bulletins (1,245)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-05-19 · PIP6113 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this document provides the technician with a diagnostic tip if the vehicle stalls and set diagnostic trouble code p0191 and may also set p0172. the diagnostic tip has the technician inspect the high pressure fuel pump body markings to confirm it is an original manufacture part. if it is not an origi
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,245 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-10-17 · Seat Belts“the drivers' side front seatbelt will not retract back into the b pillar when taken off. it will get caught in the door when closing it and prevent the driver's door from closing. the transmission slips out of gear when decelerating and accelerating in traffic. this causes the transmission to slam back into gear.…”
2026-10-05 · Engine“i am filing this complaint regarding a safety-related engine problem with my 2016 chevrolet equinox. my vehicle is currently experiencing excessive crankcase pressure associated with the pcv system. the vehicle requires pcv service, and i have been advised that the excessive crankcase pressure has contributed to multiple engine oil leaks, including…”
2026-10-03 · Engine“timing chain guide broke and caused catastropic engine failure while driving 70 miles an hour on the highway causing steering, brakes etc to lock up putting me and my family at risk of accident and great bodily harm. vehicle is available for inspection. no prior knowledge of mechanic problems due to only having purchased the vehicle from mac's chev…”
2026-09-23 · Visibility/Wiper“wipers just stopped working on the highway in a very bad rain storm, when i was taking my daughter to school. we could not see and had to put our hazards on and somehow carefully pull off to the side of the road. we could have easily been rear ended or worse “killed”. there was no warning given. this was very scary for me and my child. why isn’t t…”
2026-08-22 · Engine“in february of 2025, while driving my 2016 chevy equinox home from work, i heard a loud pop and loss of engine power a block from home. the weather conditions at the time were below freezing and light snow. after getting my vehicle home, my neighbor, who works for gm looked under my equinox and discovered the rear main oil seal had blown and info…”
2026-08-21 · Visibility/Wiper“wipers stopped working while driving in the rain…”
2026-08-14 · Visibility/Wiper“wipers stopped working in the pouring down rain. couldn’t see anything …”
2026-07-14 · Unknown Or Other“: "i live in my car. the 2016 equinox 2.4l burned all its oil in 2 weeks with no leaks, failed to give a dashboard warning, and the engine is now knocking, threatening to leave me unsheltered." this ties my vehicle's specific failure to the federal database for future legal payouts.…”
2026-07-03 · Wheels“right front wheel assembly is bad.…”
2026-05-15 · Engine“i started up my car on a cold winter morning and i heard a loud popping noise. i backed up my car minutes later and discovered puddles of oil in front of me in my driveway. i asked my husband to come out and look. he got under the car and said my oil blew out of the rear seal. i was unable to drive my car as the seal was blown. after some investiga…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.