[Lil Abner]

As for the Start/Stop function, I installed this accessory on my 2018 Equinox Premier 2.0L which eliminates that function, it has been installed for a year with no problems. All option still work with no glitches, incl.cruise. Best accessory I have added, would recommend.

 

[repairman54]

We discussed this with the F-150 owners in a forum like this and came to the same conclusion after Ford also implemented Start-Stop. Vehicles over there can have close to 200,000 miles with the original starter. We concluded that the starters for start-stop vehicles were probably beefed up. Now that my battery is 3 years old in my F-150, I noticed the Start-Stop very seldom engages anymore. The BCM monitors the battery life in a Ford and will not implement Start-Stop if battery measures a threshold value. Maybe GM programmed their systems the same?

My first auto start vehicle was a '15 Malibu. In some GM vehicles start stop will disable after the hood has been opened for a few starts afterwards. Since I bought it used I was under the hood a lot looking for possible issues, changing headlights, etc. and it threw me off as why the A/S wasn't working correctly. Maybe Fords are the same way.
I tuned the A/S out with a Trifecta tune in that car.

 

[Lee F]

We bought a 2018 Premier AWD with the 2.0 September 2017.
45,000 miles on it now and have not had any problems.
I have not seen any rumors about the next generation having the detuned 2.0 that uses regular gas.

 

[wproct]

I don't mean to be a kill joy here, but if I owned a 2016 Equinox with a V6 engine in nice condition and not real high mileage, I would be keeping it and enjoying it. One of the best Equinox's you will ever have.

 

[chevy05]

I love the 3.6 except for the gas mileage and the fact that it has full time AWD. It is out of warranty and I have been adding coolant to the reservoir this past year. Have not seen any signs of leaks and have not noticed anything when I change the oil. I have also noticed the power steering whining more and getting sluggish at times. There is a bulletin for that but it is not covered by GM. We are planning on a vacation trip into the Rockies in July and will be traveling across the plains in probably temps nearing a 100 like we did six years ago. Would like a vehicle that gets better mileage and do not have to worry about the gearbox exploding as we have seen a few cases on here. The Equinox only has about 45,000 miles so it should still have a good trade value yet. I'll add a hitch to it for a rear carrier that I used on my 2016. Need a hitch also for my bike carrier. Appears to be a lot harder to add a hitch to current generation compared to the old one. Have to drop the exhaust and ream out some access holes according to Etrailer.

I don't mean to be a kill joy here, but if I owned a 2016 Equinox with a V6 engine in nice condition and not real high mileage, I would be keeping it and enjoying it. One of the best Equinox's you will ever have.

Decided against the Blazer. Too bulky with a lot of wasted sheet metal. Would barely fit into my single car garage when I measured mirror to mirror. The LT does not have passenger powered adjustable seats for the other half. Neither does my 2016 Equinox, but my F-150 XLT has it. Once you have it, can't go without. So the search is on for a Blue Glow or Sterling Grey AWD Premium with Confidence & Convenience Pkg# 2. Dealer did not have a Premier to test drive so have not tested the Perforated Leather Seats yet. I also want the 8" screen in lieu of the 7" screen. Dealer had the new Sterling Grey and it was a lighter medium grey that was not too bad. Would hide water spots better than the blue.

 

[JayTee2014]

Getting the itch to replace my 2016 3.6 Equinox as I have GM credit card points that are going to start disappearing shortly after accumulating for 7 years. I don't want a high priced Blazer and the Acadia SLE would be great if they offered it without 3rd row seating that I will never use in a million years. Been checking in here every week and have seen very little activity compared to 9 years ago when the 2.4 debacle led the way. I test drove a 2022 Equinox company car and I'm not sure about that 1.5. Except for the intake tube issue that seems to have been addressed, the 1.5 seems to be holding up. Leaning towards the Equinox with the good old 6 speed as seem that the 9 speed in the Terrain might not be a good match with the power bands from what I have been reading. I know of people with the 1.5 Escapes that experienced engine failures due to the coolant jacket design boo boo. I live with a lot of rolling hills and my 2014 Equinox with the 2.4 was always revving close to 5000 RPM's at 70 MPH on a few of the hills. The current Equinox is a few pounds lighter and has a turbo. Appreciate any input. I am leaning towards a LT or a Premier. Staying away from the RS with the 19" wheels as the ride will be harder with our rough roads.

We had the similar considerations back in 2019.
We opted for an Acadia even though we would rarely need or use the 3rd row seats.

We keep the the 3rd row folded down and enjoy the much larger cargo space then compared to Equinox or Terrain. The Acadia is our primary road trip vehicle.

I wanted to stay with the V6 engine and at the time, we were able to get a great discount at Laura GMC in Collinsville, Ill.
Deals may be coming up and some rebate cash too since we are approaching Auto Show time around the country. I've seem some modest $500 to $1000 rebates plus. . that and there may be GM Card private offers for "Bonus Cash" that would also make for a nice incentive.

 

[chevy05]

I looked at the Terrain and noticed that all of the GMC stickers has a $1500.00 3 year On-Star fee baked into the MSRP on each vehicle this year. I don't need OnStar. Especially $500/year. Another reason thinking about a 2023 in case GM does that all across the board. GM probably has something built into the Chevy pricing for OnStar but most likely not $1500.

 

[JayTee2014]

I looked at the Terrain and noticed that all of the GMC stickers has a $1500.00 3 year On-Star fee baked into the MSRP on each vehicle this year. I don't need OnStar. Especially $500/year. Another reason thinking about a 2023 in case GM does that all across the board. GM probably has something built into the Chevy pricing for OnStar but most likely not $1500.

I noticed some GM vehicles allow you to opt out of the $1,500 OnStar . .. . but only on order out.
I have heard that some say the dealer can delete the $1,500 from the invoice if purchasing a new vehicle on a dealer lot . . . and some say no.
I suppose it may be up to the dealer.

 

[ricklack]

The dealer told me these starters went through severe testing in the order of a million starts on multiple units before they deployed the technology. I'm sure they wouldn't be making up stories just to appease me

 

[Brennb]

I live in a small town in Michigan, that has only 2 stoplights. 1 only works during school hours, otherwise, blinks. Most of the towns around me are the same. Our biggest concern are stop signs. Every corner has a fricken stop sign. Our 18 equinox doesn't have a shutoff button, so I used the (low + button). I was just wearing something else out, so I got one of the eliminators like a poster above. It works. No unintended consiquences. Auto/Start Stop, is just a nuisance to me.

 

[jimtech]

The dealer told me these starters went through severe testing in the order of a million starts on multiple units before they deployed the technology. I'm sure they wouldn't be making up stories just to appease me

While I was never a fan of auto stop/start, I don't ever recall seeing a post here reporting a starter failure on the '18 to current models with this "feature". A few posters here have reported having 100K+, and one with nearly 200K on the clock already.

Early battery failures however, appear to be quite common. My 2018, a daily driver (built in November 2017, now @45K mi.) still has it's original battery, now in the middle of it's 5th upper-midwest winter. Perhaps it's my muscle memory of shifting to "L9" on most trips that has helped keep the battery going strong up to this point. Of course, now that I've said that...

As for a general report regarding reliability, thus far, I've had no service related issues whatsoever. The only thing that's been replaced are the tires.

- Jim

 

[Colt Hero]

While I was never a fan of auto stop/start, I don't ever recall seeing a post here reporting a starter failure on the '18 to current models with this "feature". A few posters here have reported having 100K+, and one with nearly 200K on the clock already.

A 2018 with 100k+ miles probably isn't activating START/STOP very often.

I think every time you stop the Engine like that ... you're just opening the door to a possible NO-START condition ... and probably at the worst possible time.

 

[repairman54]

I would think urban driving takes the most toll on batteries. Repeated starts with minimal charging time in-between starts.
I read somewhere that it takes at least 15 minutes of run time for the alternator to put back into the battery what one start takes out. Add in heat, lights and a/c power drain into the equation also.
One of the reasons they put a big AGM battery in.

 

[Rockalyte]

I would go onto cargurus website and look for a 2020 premiere, awd, 2.0L (best engine option ever), and 19 inch rims aren't that bad. I have an 18 with all those options and the performance difference between the 2.0 and 1.5 is night and day. The only downside is having to use premium gas but i'm cool with it.

 

[Greenie]

Using premium gas in the 2.0 is not mandatory - according to my owner's manual. I've used regular occasionally and have never noticed any difference in operation.

 

[bignick2020]

The test mules for the next gen Equinox have been sporting dual exhaust, so some sort of updates are being made. Perhaps the return of the 2.0, or Heaven forbid the 1.3L 3cyl...

3-cylinder engines are for bikes, or something nearly as lightweight like a 1989 Geo Metro.

Thanks ricklack for the comparison between the RS and the 2013 with V6, along with the rest of you. Dealers are trying to sell me an RS and telling me the 19" does not ride that bad. I know a Ford F-150 with 18" wheels ride better than one with 20" wheels because of more rubber t absorb the bumps if the tires are not overinflated. Ricklack noticed that himself. Going to look at some vehicles this afternoon. One dealer tells me I should get a Blazer as it has better seats but the price jump is very significant and that is for a 2.0L and not the 3.6. Thanks to all the rest of you for adding information.

Generally speaking, rims of smaller diameter will ride better (more sidewall to cushion road impacts) but handle less sharply. No one is buying an Equinox for razor-sharp handling. Rubber is lighter than aluminum so smaller diameter wheels also give a slight bump in mileage.

I don't mean to be a kill joy here, but if I owned a 2016 Equinox with a V6 engine in nice condition and not real high mileage, I would be keeping it and enjoying it. One of the best Equinox's you will ever have.

Had a 2015 Impala LTZ with the 3.6L LFX V6 and it was bulletproof. I thrashed that thing but also put Mobil 1 in every 5000 miles regardless of the "oil life monitor' reading. Only had some emission equipment trouble (evap stuff and a cat) and replaced a battery in 5.5 years of service.

Traded the Impala in on a 2020 Equinox Premier 2.0T AWD (wife wanted a car that she could get in easier, the Equinox is the perfect "slide in" height, no crouching or climbing) that was flawless except for lack of armor plating. It got destroyed at about 18 months old by an errant VW driver rear-ending it. The replacement was a 2022 Premier 1.5T AWD which is still adequate power for her. No premium ga$ required and about 2 MPG more around town.

 

[repairman54]

3-cylinder engines are for bikes, or something nearly as lightweight like a 1989 Geo Metro.

Funny that you say that. I've got 2 Ski Doo's with 3 cylinder 1.2 motors and a Spyder with a 1.3 3 cylinder motor.
Smooth and powerful in them.

 

[chevy05]

Thanks for the advice guys. Dealer found a blue LT with 17" wheels and the Confidence & Convenience, Safety & Infotainment , and the Side Blind Zone packages that I wanted. Also coming with Floor Liner pkg. I always get Weathertech so I'll see what this comes with. I have some tricky on ramps to contend with so the blind zone will be helpful and I wanted the 8" instead of 7" screen. There will be a good 3.6 V6 showing up on the dealer's lot hopefully by the end of next week. Next project will be to install a hitch for cargo carrier and a bike rack. Seen instructions on e-trailer and will have to drop the exhaust a little in the rear. Not as easy to install a hitch compared to the previous generation. Anyone here have U-Haul install one? They only install 2" which is overkill but an adapter could be inserted. Priced them online and they were really cheap with both the hitch and installation.

 

[Greenie]

I had U-Haul mount one of their hitches to our beater - 2004 Grand Am. The price was good as was the 2" hitch. It was powder coated sufficiently to last despite the salt/magnesium road treatment. Extending cargo past the rear bumper puts a lot of stress on hitch components - things really get violently thrown about back there on rough roads.

 

[chevy05]

I had U-Haul mount one of their hitches to our beater - 2004 Grand Am. The price was good as was the 2" hitch. It was powder coated sufficiently to last despite the salt/magnesium road treatment. Extending cargo past the rear bumper puts a lot of stress on hitch components - things really get violently thrown about back there on rough roads.

I put the heavier items like suitcases and supplies in the vehicle and bulky/muddy items such as sleeping bags, hiking poles & boots, football, frisbee, wash tub, cleaning brushes, packages of bottled water, etc. out the back end to keep the tongue weight down. I use a Rubbermaid 48 Gallon Action Packer. This year it will be just the bottom unit.