The short list
Where the money goes wrong — and where it doesn’t.
✕ Years to avoid
The oil-drinking 2.4L. 391 complaints. The 2.4L Ecotec burns oil with no warning light, starving a timing chain that mechanics replace around 100k. No GM oil-consumption coverage reaches this year.
Cleanest recall page, same engine. 270 complaints and zero recalls — but the purest 2.4L oil-consumption year in our data. The empty recall list is not a reliability endorsement.
Hard brake pedal peaks. 289 complaints led by the brake vacuum pump failing and the pedal going rock-hard — an owner-pays fix with a bulletin but no recall. Plus the 1.5T reduced-power condition.
The last loud turbo year. 291 complaints, still led by the vacuum-pump brake failure, with turbo-durability and rare engine-fire reports underneath. Complaints fall off a cliff after this.
✓ Years to hunt for
The numbers collapse. 86 complaints — under a third of 2020's — with no dominant mechanical cluster. Confirm the 23V013 fuel-pump-stall recall and it's one of the best years to buy.
The settled final gas year. 84 complaints, the lowest in our data, before the 2024 redesign. Three recalls, all free fixes. Verify them and it's a straightforward used SUV.
Same year. Different engine.
One badge, several engines — the year’s verdict assumes the riskiest one. Yours might be the calm one.
Which engine is in the one you found?
Where the years split by engine — the 2018 line divides two different EquinoxesThe oil-drinker. The second-gen engine (2016–2017). Excessive oil consumption with no warning light, which starves the timing chain and cam phasers — a job mechanics say to plan for around 100,000 miles. No GM oil-consumption coverage reaches these years.
The turbo car's workhorse — and its problem child. The dominant third-gen engine (2018–2023). Early years bring the 'engine power reduced' charge-air-cooler disconnect (2019 emission recall N192271200 + program N192266090), the hard-brake-pedal vacuum-pump failure (2018–2020), and cooling-system wear. Much calmer from 2021 on.
The uprated turbo, 2018–2019 only. Optional above the 1.5T. Mechanics flag direct-injection intake carbon build-up, possible piston cracking under hard use, and high-pressure fuel-pump wear. Uncommon, but price the maintenance in.
The rare diesel, 2018–2019. Excellent economy, but modern-diesel headaches: EGR and diesel-particulate-filter clogging and pricey emissions repairs, worst on short city trips. Rare enough that a specialist inspection is worth it.
Partial split: the 3.6L V6 on higher second-gen trims has no engine-specific failure pattern in our sources, so it gets no row. The VIN encodes which engine you're looking at — paste it and we'll tell you which row applies, plus its open recalls.
Decode my VIN — freeEvery year, rated
Each verdict links to the full report: known issues with real repair costs, open recalls, and the print-and-go inspection checklist.
A second-generation 2.4L that quietly drinks oil — buyable only with the timing-chain and oil history in hand.
391 complaints · 1 recalls
Full report →The last second-gen year — cleanest recall record, but the same 2.4L oil habit runs underneath.
270 complaints · 0 recalls
Full report →First year of the downsized third generation — the 1.5T's reduced-power and cooling gremlins arrive here.
388 complaints · 5 recalls
Full report →The year the hard-brake-pedal and reduced-power stories both peak — buy one with the charge-air-cooler fix done.
289 complaints · 4 recalls
Full report →The brake-vacuum-pump cluster carries into 2020 — the last of the loud third-gen years.
291 complaints · 4 recalls
Full report →The complaint numbers finally collapse — the settled third-gen year to actually hunt for.
86 complaints · 4 recalls
Full report →Reads noisier than it is — most of the extra file is chip-shortage feature glitches, not broken engines.
152 complaints · 5 recalls
Full report →The quietest year of the run — the settled final year of the gas Equinox before the redesign.
84 complaints · 3 recalls
Full report →Two badges, two completely different cars. The 2.4L drinks oil; the turbo drops power. Know which one you're standing in front of.
Shopping Equinox years? We’ll watch them for you.
New recalls, federal investigations, and quiet warranty-extension programs land months after you buy. Tell the canary which years you’re considering — it sings when something changes.
Watch my years — free