2010 Chevrolet Equinox And GMC Terrain Likely To Need Engine Rebuild
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The 2010 model-year Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain with the 2.4L LEA four-cylinder engine are likely to need an engine rebuild at some point in their lifetime, according to a recent article published by Consumer Reports.
The Consumer Reports article used data from the publication’s Annual Autos Survey to determine which older used vehicles have the highest engine problem rates. The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain both wound up on the list, with CR readers reporting numerous problems with the 2.4L four-cylinder engine that serves as the base-level engine in the crossovers.
According to the report, the 2.4L-powered 2010 Equinox and Terrain typically experience engine trouble between 84,500 miles and 108,500 miles. Consumer Reports received an abundance of similar complaints with regard to the 2.4L engine found in these crossovers, almost all of which indicated the four-cylinder engine burns oil at an excessive rate, leading the engine oil to run low and eventually causing significant damage.
Many 2010 Equinox and Terrain owners say the engine repairs were covered under warranty, but used-car shoppers who may be looking at the vehicles now would likely no longer be covered by the powertrain warranty. Owners report the engine typically begins to burn oil before experiencing piston, piston ring or valve damage of some sort.
“Engine started using extreme amounts of oil, then lost a piece off one valve,” one Consumer Reports reader said in the survey. “A service bulletin indicated it needed a ring job in addition to the valve, so the entire engine was replaced instead.”
“Had to have all four pistons replaced, started going through oil excessively shortly after water pump and chain replaced,” said another owner.
Many owners have reported problems with the 2.4L engine found in the second-generation Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. Last year, GM reached a settlement with owners of the vehicles that claimed they had to pay out of pocket for engine repairs due to a design flaw related to faulty piston rings in the four-cylinder motor, which caused the engine to burn a quart of oil every 1,000 miles.
In addition, GM Authority readers have also expressed frustration over their experience with the 2.4L engines. One commenter said the engine in their daughter’s 2010 Equinox blew after “the rear main seal let go causing engine to overheat and throw a rod.” Other commenters said the engine in their vehicles seized completely due to the same oil consumption issue.
Consumer Reports suggests car shoppers who may be in the market for a vehicle like the 2010 Equinox instead look at offerings like the 2010 Honda CR-V or 2010 Toyota RAV4. The second-generation Equinox and Terrain are also available with 3.0L and 3.6L V6 engines for those shoppers who may still want the GM product, but don’t want to deal with the 2.4L engine’s gremlins.
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My 2011. Equinox drinks oil like crazy. It has 139000 on it. How do I find out if its covered too?
Call a local Chevy dealership. Tell them to check for a oil consumption recall on your car. They will need the last 8 of your vin number.
Also the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. By the time mine was 5 years old, surprise surprise, the engine was kaput!
I have a 2011 equinox, 4cyl. It burns through oil. I recieved a letter about the engine oil consumption, called a dealer and they told me I had to pay out of pocket for the test, and it took a while. Ive tried to research recalls, and found none for my car. Im frustrated because it seems this is a huge issue for many. And I am a single parent and cant afford to run out and trade in. I still owe on the car. And the tranny slips. It seems unfair. I do the oil changes and check it regular. How do I get it fixed?
No you do not have to pay for the test, just bring it in and they will check the level, or they will give you a log sheet to keep track of the oil level and miles. You are probably way over the mileage for the special coverage. Cars wear, and they break down. When you buy a used car, get it inspected and do more research, all of these issues have been known for a long time and publically available. I purchased an extended warranty and it paid for itself.
And here I was worried about buying a vehicle with an interested engine and transmission and wondering if I should have bought used. Good call on my part (so far) 2018 Equinox owner
Ray-Ray is dumb-dumb. you need to check oil at every fuel up like the manual says because it will cause damage. The OLM is not there to tell you your oil is low. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit said they did not check their oil because GM made the dipstick to difficult to find and they expect the car to tell them when they need to add oil.
Bought my daughter a 2012 Equinox in Nov ’19.. bad knocking occurred in Feb ’20.. took it to the shop. NO OIL. Gone! 500 miles driven!
Ffwd to after that oil change.. 485 miles later again- GONE!!
I call Chevy, where the less-than-excited agent told me, in a nutshell, that my vehicle had been part of an already-extended “warranty”, and that she ‘was sorry, but Chevy has done their part’.. No concern of safety. No real concern of customer satisfaction.
So now it’ll cost me $3000+ to “repair the rings”, or $6800+ for a totally new engine.
Thanks, Chevy.
Sorry, not buying it ran out of oil in one tank full. Only 500 miles in 3 months. Then let it run dry again, knowing it uses oil. I bought a 2012 in 2018, I did my home work and checked the special coverages and TSBs. If you did not know about the potential problem, that is on you. I bet you did not even get it inspected.
Everything listed above is fact. Whether you believe me or not, I don’t care. I know what happened. It was inspected. But keep being an arrogant know-it-all. I’m pretty sure anyone who reads your comments agrees with my assessment.
Reason it runs a little after u shut it off is because the timing chain has slack…replace the chain before it jumps time.
The run on is caused by fuel contamination of the oil by the high pressure fuel pump.
GM swindle their way out of everything. But sells bad cars and then walk away! I will tell everyone I know not to buy their cars!
Take a survey to see how bad and how many good ones then we’ll see what they can do.
The guy that keeps running his typing fingers about “doing your research” needs to chill. I bought a 2011 equinox and it’s garbage. I did my research and none of the major issues popped up AND I had it inspected before purchase. I will have to have an engine rebuild soon after putting close to $6,000 in it for other major and minor repairs after owning it a year. These cars are POS and GM should be responsible for fixing them no matter the age and mileage. I will be avoiding GM products from here on out.
Has anyone actually gotten anything from the lawsuit?? I turned in all the paperwork showing how much I paid to replace everything on the engine, timing belt, etc.. They denied my claim. I’m still waiting for a response.
I have a 2017 GMC Terrain with the 2.4L and 5 days ago my PCV valve froze and it blew the rear main seal which in turn blew the engine. I emailed the CEO at GM and got a response back a day later. The lady that contacted me was with the executive resolution team. Told her what happened and that the dealer said I needed an engine which was $7,200 and the dealer stated they called GM and said my portion was $3,600 since GM was splitting it with me. The lady Jacqueline I spoke with said she was going to call the engineering team and the district manager to see if there was anything else they could do. The next day which was today I got a call from the dealer stating that GM was covering the engine replacement and all I have to pay is $1,000. So needless to say I think they took great care of me for just sending an email.
Dude! Way to go. That almost never happens. Go buy a lottery tick – it’s your lucky day.
Does this oil consumption issue apply to a 2017 2.4 terrain? Is the pcv valve issue applicable as well?
I had the PCV valve freeze up on my 2017 Terrain and blew the rear main seal which in turn blew my engine up. GM replaced my engine and all I had to pay was $1k. Originally they quoted me $7,200. If you want the lady’s name I contacted just say so.
Thank you, I appreciate that, however I have not had an issue yet. From your experience however, it looks as if the issue still exists. How many miles did you have when this happened? I am at 41k.
68,000 miles.
How do I find out if my 2010 GMC TERRAIN is under warranty for the transmission and the engine.