[new2anox]

Hi Everyone!

I will be picking up a 2011 Equinox LS FWD either tomorrow or Friday. I had driven one as a work vehicle years ago and when my lease came up on my Pontiac G5 this month, we decided to make the move up to the Equinox. We live in Oshawa, excited to have a vehicle that was assembled/built (?) in the same spot.

We financed the vehicle, so 2011 fit the bill for us, however we did test drive a 2012 1LT as well and the screen was quite nice, but not $100/month more nice. We opted for the base model, but my love of heated seats attracted me to wanting to move up from the base, dealer is installing heated seats and remote start for me prior to pick up later this week, so a plus for me! Vehicle had to be sourced from another dealer across the city as ours only had one left Black, AWD. We wanted white or silver, and had them find that w/ FWD for us. It has the bluetooth added, as well as the leather wrapped steering wheel/audio controls on it as well. Still simple, but nice added features that suit us just fine!

I do have a question -I know the other/higher models have the roof rails -is this something we can add down the road when we need additional storage? Right now it's just myself, hubbie and golden retriever.....hopefully children in the future.

I am car clueless, so keep it simple (if possible, appreciated in advance!), I am here to learn and welcome any "need to know" tips! I have done a bit of reading on here so far and learned lots (especially the fuel economy thread) and hope to learn a little more along the way.

 

[Mochaman]

Yes you can add roof rails but it is pricey from the dealer. Better to buy them from a junk yard and let the dealer install them. :thumb:

 

[RIT333]

Welcome aboard !

Did you get a 4 or 6 cyl ?

Rit

 

[new2anox]

Ok about the rails -good to know, and great idea, thank-you!

4 cyl, nothing exciting

 

[wrusprod]

Hopefully it wont get exciting!.. ;D


welcome to the forum!

 

[SNO]

Welcome and congratulations!

 

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Congratulations on your purchase! You can also check out GM Accessories Zone for more information at http://www.gmaccessorieszone.com/Chevrolet/en-US/Equinox/2011. If you have further questions please feel free to contact me directly. Thank you.

Tricia, GM Customer Service.

 

[new2anox]

Thanks everyone!

4pm today I will be over to the dealership to pick it up! Appt first thing tomorrow for it to have window's tinted, then will eventually look to do the roof rails as well. Is there a Canadian accesories site at all (or am I best to go through dealership?), or anything else I may want (I am thinking more weatherproof floor mat's?) as I am in a barn 4 days a week and you can imagine the mess that comes with me at times!

 

[RIT333]

I would suggest that before you purchase the vehicle, you ask the dealer to show you the repair record for all of the service that has been done on the vehicle. Not to get you scared, but many of the 2011 4 cyl. engines have experienced an occasional start-up noise/rattle that is accompanied by poor gas mileage and other issues. There is a multi-page thread thatr discusses this issue and even pins it down to build-dates for the effected vehicles. I would suggest that you do a "little" reading of this thread and make sure that your vehicle is not in that category. Again, not to get you worried, but many people have been attempting to lemon-lawing there vehicles because GM does not seem to have come up with a proven fix for this problem.

However, on the other side of the coin, of those that have not experienced this problem (myself included) most, probably 95% of the people, love there vehicles.

Again - do some research BEFORE signing the papers - even it it requires stalling the decision for a day !

Good luck !

Rit

 

[new2anox]

It has like 11km on it (brand new?) so I am hoping there isn't an extensive (any!) repair record as of yet?

What should I be asking? Build date? What should I be looking/listening for? I have read a little so far actually, but don't really know what I could ask or do at this point? (Thank-you for bringing it up)

 

[RIT333]

Sorry, I don't know the actual range of bad build dates, but if it were me, I would NOT purchase a 4 cyl. that was made during that time period UNTIL GM has figured out the exact repair.

I think that the Service Mgr should be able to pull up the repair record on "your" vehicle. If it is outside the range, and has a clean repair record, then it "should" be safe to buy. As far as what to listen to - I think you can find sound clips both on this Forum and on YouTube. Although, the sound does not happen all of the time - so if it sounds OK, it doesn't mean you are out of the woods. I guess the Build Date is the key. Do a search on Build Date in this forum.

Good luck, and let us know the outcome.

 

[Mochaman]

IIRC the dates in question ar 2/11-7/11 the exact days of the months I do not know.

 

[new2anox]

I've picked it up, I am very impressed so far. RIT333, I did see your post before pickup, but to be honest it really stressed me out -while I appreciate your concern at that time I was like.....I can't go to these people and be all stressed about something I don't know about that someone on the internet is telling me (sorry, not meaning to be totally belittling, I just couldn't handle that stress). Where do I find the build date?

Mochaman, thank-you for those dates. When I figure out the build date I will report back!

There are lots of stupid things I shouldn't be highlighting that I already love....the cup holders in the middle are cool, guess I am used to simple one hole one size! Heated seats are hot! I didn't want to get out of mine. Personalized plates look great on it....I am glad I put them back on. We already really love it and are proud to own it -I hope the vehicle doesn't have the above mentioned potential problems as I really just want to love and be proud of this Equinox as silly as that sounds!

Also, I need to buy floor mats with the LS? Best to get from where? Dealer? Online (Canadian), Canadian Tire?

 

[RIT333]

I did think for a long time before bringing up the issues, but decided that I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. Sorry for the extra stress that I knew I would cause, but felt it was the right thing to do.

I believe the build date is on the driver's door. Again, a search on this forum will tell you for sure.

BTW - how do you have heated seats on an LS - pretty cool - or pretty hot !

Good luck, and ENJOY the ride. When everything is working correct, they are a fantastic vehicle - in all aspects.

Keep feeding us data as you get more.

Rit

 

[wrusprod]

IIRC the dates in question ar 2/11-7/11 the exact days of the months I do not know.

Thats the date range from the recall...but not everyone with issues is in that build range..

my build date is 10/10!

If you have any 2011 I-4 engine...you might have the issue occur....JMO

 

[new2anox]

I did think for a long time before bringing up the issues, but decided that I couldn't live with myself if I didn't. Sorry for the extra stress that I knew I would cause, but felt it was the right thing to do.

I believe the build date is on the driver's door. Again, a search on this forum will tell you for sure.

BTW - how do you have heated seats on an LS - pretty cool - or pretty hot !

Good luck, and ENJOY the ride. When everything is working correct, they are a fantastic vehicle - in all aspects.

Keep feeding us data as you get more.

Rit

Thank-you! I understand that the stress of having something go wrong with the vehicle could be even more stress than your comment, I do appreciate it.

I had the dealer install remote start and heated seats! It is aftermarket, but under their warranty, which is nice! Has the leather wrapped steering wheel w/audio stuff and the bluetooth set up, so it definitely has any extra we might need. When I pick it up at lunch from window tinting I will check the door, thank-you.

 

[new2anox]

Ok, so it says 05/2011 as a build date so I am right in the middle of it. Argh...am I a sucker? lol. No start up noises at all so far and even when remote starting I try to listen if I can and sounds totally normal. Is this something that could change with time?

We took it on a mini-road trip (2 hours away) for the night over the weekend and it was awesome. Hubby, the dog and I had all the space we needed, everyone was comfortable, I did throw it on cruise control at 105km/hr to see how we did. By the time we got home I was 2/3 through the tank, with some city driving inbetween and back and forth to a few hockey rinks (Hubby was scouting). I offered him to take a drive, but with his crazy weekly commute he happily sat in the passenger seat. I picked up some mats at Canadian Tire Friday night, a full width one for the back and then two that fit well up front. My step-father owns a rubber manu company and made some 1/4 inch mats that are now custom in the rear which is is fantastic for the dog. I am going to better track my fuel next fill up, I have only put $24 in gas in it so far as it came full and the $24 topped it up before hitting the road for this trip, the remainder will get me through this week and then I will see how we do in terms of fuel economy.

I took a pic of it yesterday after pulling up beside another Nox.....nothing special about it compared to what can be done, but here she be! (on the right)

 

[RIT333]

Most '11s that have the engine noise also experience crappy MPG. So, that may be the best way to tell. I am not sure if all of the ones in that build period are defective - Sumr can probably comment on that. Also, the noise do not mean that you are damaging the engine - it is more of an annoyance and embarrassing point. Also, can you check the service record - maybe it has already been fixed ?

Either way - enjoy the ride ! It is a - fun-tastic car !

Rit

 

[new2anox]

Hubby got pulled over for speeding in it this morning, so much for getting good mileage driving more reasonably, what a goof. He took it to work with him for the first time. No insurance slip as it hasn't arrived yet, cop ticketed for that. Bill of Sale with proof of insurance was in there, but cop gave him 10 days to prove insurance via slip and would waive that ticket. Got the speeding ticket knocked down to the lowest it can go and no demerit points....that was an expensive run for coffee.

I totally have a one-up on him for a little while anyways!

 

[RIT333]

Hubby got pulled over for speeding in it this morning,

He needs me to fight his battles - "...but officer, this vehicle is so quiet, and rides so nice, that I had no idea how fast I was driving..."

LOL