2011 Chevrolet EQUINOX - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

The 2011 Chevrolet Equinox SUV FWD has an overall safety rating of 4 out of 5, indicating above-average safety features. It received high ratings in various crash scenarios, including front and side crashes. Additionally, the Equinox is equipped with standard electronic stability control, which enhances vehicle stability and helps prevent skidding or loss of control on slippery roads.

However, this model does not come with forward collision warning or lane departure warning systems, which could provide additional safety benefits by alerting the driver to potential hazards.

In terms of complaints and recalls, the Equinox has a relatively high number of complaints, with 752 reported, as well as 3 recalls. While the safety ratings are favorable, potential buyers should consider the higher complaint count and recalls when making their decision.

auto generated summary, may be inaccurate.

Top stats at a glance

Complaint Count

752

Recall Count

3

Investigation Count

3

Safety Rating

4/5

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Safety Features

2011 Chevrolet Equinox SUV FWD Safety Features

Here are the safety features that come as standard on the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox SUV FWD

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

ESC is an advanced safety feature in vehicles designed to help drivers maintain control during challenging driving conditions. By continuously monitoring various factors such as steering angle, vehicle speed, and individual wheel speeds, ESC can detect and reduce the risk of skidding or loss of control. It achieves this by automatically applying brakes to specific wheels to stabilize the vehicle.

Standard
Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW) is a safety feature in vehicles that helps prevent frontal collisions by alerting the driver of an imminent collision with a vehicle or obstacle ahead. Using sensors such as radar or cameras, FCW monitors the distance and speed of vehicles in front, and if it detects a potential collision, it provides visual and/or auditory warnings to prompt the driver to take evasive action.

No
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW) is a safety feature in vehicles that alerts drivers when their vehicle unintentionally drifts out of its lane without signaling. Utilizing cameras or sensors to monitor lane markings on the road, LDW detects when the vehicle crosses these lines and triggers visual, auditory, or haptic alerts to notify the driver of potential lane departure.

No

2011 Chevrolet Equinox SUV FWD Safety Ratings

Here we have the crash and rollover ratings for the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox SUV FWD Where possible we've included the ratings for the oldest and latest models of this car so you can compare how the safety ratings have changed over time.

Frontal Crash Ratings

Combines Driver and Passenger star ratings into a single frontal rating. The frontal barrier test simulates a head-on collision between two similar vehicles, each moving at 35 mph.

Test 2005 Score 2011 Score 2024 Score
Overall Front Crash Rating Not Rated 4 5
Front Crash Driver Side Rating 5 5 5
Front Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 4 5

Side Crash Ratings

Combines Side Barrier and Side Pole Star Ratings into a single side rating.

Test 2005 Score 2011 Score 2024 Score
Overall Side Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5
Side Crash Drivers Side Rating 5 4 5
Side Crash Passenger Side Rating 5 5 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Front Not Rated 4 5
Combined Side Barrier Pole Rating - Rear Not Rated 5 5
Overall Side Barrier Rating Not Rated 5 5

Rollover Ratings

The Rollover Resistance test measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.

Test 2005 Score 2011 Score 2024 Score
Rollover Rating 4 4 4
Rollover Possibility % 0% 0% 0%
Dynamic Tip Result Tip No Tip No Tip
Side Pole Crash Rating Not Rated 5 5

Complaints for the 2011 Chevrolet EQUINOX

This chart show the number of complaints for each car component. A Higher number of complaints could indicate that this car might have a common fault. Something to look out for when purchasing one.

Component Complaints

Choose a component to see what complaints people have made about them.

Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet equinox. the contact stated while driving 70 mph, the vehicle stalled. the vehicle remained on the side of the roadway. additionally, the contact observed condensation under the engine compartment. the vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear main seal and the timing chain needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. the failure mileage was 118,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-04-01
Complaint:
"the oil has had to be changed every month. the oil just disappears. i have to check and fill it weekly. i was told it a manufacturing problem. now i’m on the side of the road, i heard a loud bang and it started smoking and oil is all over the ground. i’m waiting on roadside assistance."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-04-01
Complaint:
"i purchased the 2011 chevrolet equinox 5 months ago from a dealership name the automaxx group in morrisville, pa. two weeks after, the check engine light came on, i took it back to the dealership and it was in the shop for 3 days or more. i got it back and every week it was back in the shop for the last four months. i was very hesitant about driving it, but i need to get to my doctor appointments and then i park it. i had to constantly put oil in it and not knowing why or where the oil is going. it started smoking black thick smoke under the hood and cut off, then cut back on and i took it to the shop near my home, and let the mechanic diagnose the problem and he said the vehicle is not safe to drive at all, it's engine failure due to excessive oil consumption and that the vehicle could possibly catch on fire and that it's a defect with the engine from general motors. i just would like to recoup the money back that i paid for the vehicle. i was totally unaware of the harm that i was in with this vehicle. i am not sure if the dealership was aware of the faulty engine or the dangerous vehicle that they sold, but thank god i wasn't hurt and that i don't have to inhale the smoke from that vehicle. the check engine light has been on for awhile and i was told that they weren't sure why it would not go off, that was a red flag for me. it has not been inspected by the manufacturer, police or insurance company."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2025-05-11
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet equinox. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal knocking sound with the check engine warning light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed with excessive oil consumption. the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. the contact stated that the vehicle was consuming engine oil excessively fast. the contact stated several quarts of oil were kept in the vehicle to avoid the oil becoming extremely low. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and diagnosed with excessive oil consumption and the engine needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was filed. the failure mileage was approximately 110,000."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2021-03-11
Complaint:
"engine locked up no oil, six months after oil change with low travel miles. car sits most of the time. no warning indicators, service not due."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-11-11
Complaint:
"excessive oil consumption."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-05-05
Complaint:
"the vehicle started rocking during regular errands but displayed no error codes. turned it off and left for a few minutes, when returned it would not start just the engine spinning. had it towed to a local mechanic chain where they said it was likely a major issue and that there was no compression. they wouldn't be able to fix it so towed it to a dealer. once the dealer had a look they determined the piston ring was blown/etc and the equinox would need a whole new engine to get working again. the dealer also stated there was little to no oil in the system, and no light or warning of any sign had alerted. the vehicle had under 3000mi since the last oil change and only 69000mi in total use. apparently there is tsb/warranty and major known issue in regards to oil consumption but not that i was made aware of before looking into since this issue. i have also been told that there are no active recalls on my vehicle and the vin says everything that needed to be addressed has been."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2023-03-06
Complaint:
"the contact owns a 2011 chevrolet equinox. the contact stated that the vehicle failed to provide notification whenever the oil level was low. the vehicle was hesitating and shuddering before accelerating. there were no warning lights illuminated. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the vehicle was experiencing an abnormal oil consumption, causing engine failure. the contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. the vehicle had not been repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 143,822."
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-02-11
Complaint:
"excessive oil usage"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2024-01-02
Complaint:
"excessive oil consumption"
Components Involved: ENGINE
Date of incident: 2022-03-01

Recalls for the 2011 Chevrolet EQUINOX

Component Recalls

Choose a component to see what recalls people have made about them.

Recall:
"general motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 buick verano and 2016 chevrolet malibu as the electronic park lock lever may allow the ignition key to be removed without the transmission being in park. also, certain 2013 buick encore, 2011 buick regal, 2013-2014 buick verano, 2011-2016 chevrolet cruze, 2010-2013 chevrolet equinox 2013-2015 chevrolet malibu, and 2011-2013 gmc terrain vehicles may have been serviced with similar defective replacement electronic park lock levers. as such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard (fmvss) number 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention.""
Consequence:
If the key is removed without the transmission in PARK, the vehicle may rollaway as occupants are exiting, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy:

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and if necessary replace the key cylinder lock housing, free of charge. The recall began on October 14, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Buick 1-800-521-7300, and GMC 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 50490 and 50491.

Component(s) Involved: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM > IGNITION
Date of incident: 2016-07-05

CHEVROLET Overall Complaint Ranking

This table shows the ranking of car manufacturers when it comes to most complaints and recalls. The manufacturer with the most complaints is at the top. However this doesn't necassarily mean they should be avoided. Some manufacturers might just have more popular or affordable cars which a lot of people have bought. Which means there's more scope for a complaint to be made. Use the ranking table below as a part your wider research into buying a car.

CHEVROLET ranks 2 out of 44 in the complaints ranking table.

Manufacturer Complaint Count Recall Count Ranking
FORD 208,358 3,259 1
CHEVROLET 111,306 2,082 2
TOYOTA 81,019 1,852 3
HONDA 61,937 1,268 4
NISSAN 56,226 930 5
DODGE 45,756 827 6
HYUNDAI 44,150 649 7
GMC 34,441 1,410 8
KIA 29,832 501 9
CHRYSLER 27,698 254 10
TESLA 26,230 730 11
BMW 24,890 1,877 12
VOLKSWAGEN 23,125 829 13
MERCEDES-BENZ 19,066 2,925 14
SUBARU 18,513 703 15
MAZDA 10,599 364 16
PONTIAC 10,430 138 17
CADILLAC 9,434 444 18
AUDI 7,865 1,093 19
BUICK 7,851 279 20
SATURN 7,672 84 21
MERCURY 7,374 135 22
LEXUS 6,373 408 23
LINCOLN 5,897 423 24
ACURA 5,722 382 25
MINI 5,585 366 26
INFINITI 4,000 187 27
MITSUBISHI 3,912 397 28
VOLVO 3,875 727 29
PORSCHE 2,646 1,231 30
SUZUKI 2,272 123 31
FIAT 2,205 80 32
SAAB 1,536 76 33
JAGUAR 1,195 198 34
SMART 528 17 35
GENESIS 436 42 36
ISUZU 249 37 37
ALFA ROMEO 161 37 38
MASERATI 76 46 39
BENTLEY 46 159 40
POLESTAR 42 2 41
LUCID 14 6 42
CODA 4 2 43
MAYBACH 0 0 44

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