2013 Chevy Equinox having issues?

Question

I’ve decided to come here as a last effort to figure out what’s going on with my car. About 2 months ago the check engine light came on & I ended up having the catalytic converter replaced & the oil changed at the same time. Two days after I picked it up from the garage it randomly started marking a noise then shut off, I restarted it after a minute & it started up and ran fine. It slowly started doing this more frequently so I took it back to the garage. It didn’t stall or anything with them, so they cleaned the throttle body, reset the computer & checked all the sensors, just guessing of what could be wrong. Picked it up & it ran fine for a few weeks then it started acting up again but even more frequently. Just recently it’s started randomly stopping for a few seconds whenever I’m driving down the road. I took it to a different garage the other day & they drove it many different times & it ran perfectly fine, no lights are on, they said they have no idea what could be wrong. I’ve tried the treatments that go in your gas tank, oil changes, no one seems to know what else I could do. I apologize for the essay, but I thank anyone in advance that had any idea of what could be going on. Thanks again 

Answer 1

yikes....Trade in the car immediately while it still works.  My brother and his wife had a 2013 or close, Equinox...one day it started doing this exact same thing.  They took it in to the dealership where they got it from and they said it had burned through all its oil and had completely destroyed the engine....But they had just gotten it a few months ago how did this happen..Well both Chevy and the Chevy Dealership knew about this fatal flaw of the Equinox and they still sold it without hesitation or warning of any kind.  They were screwed...they contacted chevy, no help they were furious at the dealership but legally had no course of action.....But they did get super lucky  They took it into another dealership and used to help trade it in for a subrau...miraculously the Equinox worked completely normal on that one day.  A few hours later afterwards they got a call from that subaru dealership saying the car was suddenly not working...that was a voicemail because they never picked up the phone...they knew better...he felt bad about it but had no choice because he was F''ed if he didnt...

Answer 2

Pop the hood.  It is your car so you are allowed to do that. Go in there where the motor is.  Now on the intake there may be 1 or 2 or 3  rubber vacuum lines that are about3/8 outside diameter thick and are usually black like licorice shoelaces.  Pull off the end connected to the engine.  Look at the end. it should be a perfect "O".   If it squeezes between your pointer finger and your thumb so it is tight like a virgin (guy or female you know) as it is a rubber hose so you should be able to pinch it completely closed and no cracks appear in the rubber hose end then the hose is good.

   If you can NOT CHANGE THE SHAPE OF THE "O" then the rubber has been cooked out from the hot engine.   Usually, what I do is take a sharp knife or nipper and chop off about an inch.    Try the squeeze thing again.  If NOW it squeezes then it is good.     NOW IT SHOULD BE TIGHTER SO YOU MAY HAVE TO SPIT A BIT OF SPIT ON IT FOR LUBRICATION BEFORE YOU  STICK IT OVER THE BRASS NIB IT WAS CONNECTED TO...SO IT SLIDES ON.  Spit is water and that evaporates when heated so it is gone.     YOU may have to reroute the rubber hose to be a more direct route to the connector to get it that far.   

You know when you need NEW hose and that is when it does not reach no how by any route.  Check each hose connected to the intake manifold.  The other end is fine.

I am guessing it is sucking AIR.  I can only be wrong.  Won't hurt a damn thing.



Yours is a minor essay.  But it told me all I needed to know.  Sometimes it has to be a story.  The solution may be just that simple that it is overlooked by many mechanics. No codes to read , no special gas treatment as gasoline is good right out of the pump.

The gas treatment you should try is GASLINE ANTIFREEZE.  Follow directions on the small bottle.  There may be water in your tank.  This will get out that blockage.(oil and water do not mix...gas is flammable oil.  1 bottle should do it.  It might work too. Does not hurt anything.



You know it is better to say enough than not enough "You shut the coolant off to which reactor?" Kind of matters dude. No, they are not air cooled...You can't start the emergency pump because you don't have the key?  So you left it? and went home?WTF? Nobody know where you been or what you didn't do.? You are Management material, yes you are.



NOT

Answer 3

Any time the Check Engine Light comes on, get the computer interrogated.  It's free at large auto parts stores.  You want the stored fault code(s), then you can do research.  If other people are interrogating your computer but not sharing the result, then you have nothing.



I'm not going to make any random guess.  



Intermittent problems are sometimes difficult to find. 



The starting point is to interrogate the computer asap when you see a CEL. 



-General automotive mechanic since 1972

Answer 4

A bad crankshaft sensor or wiring to the sensor can cause that. Do a search on youtube for intermittent stalling or rough running to find out id there are any common problems or wiring harness issues such as rub through points around the motor where the harness is mounted.

Answer 5

Sounds like a bad oil pump

Answer 6

You didn't list the Mileage and Mileage Matters. But this is obviously an ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. And worse still and Intermittent one. The Ignition Switch, Fuse Box and PCM and BCM are ALL suspects. And Grounds are also suspects. On a high mile vehicle the Ignition Switch would be top of the list since it's been rotated several thousand times and GM is famous for cheap switches. A WIGGLE TEST on Connectors would be in the Factory Troubleshooting Guide. The related Fuses would be next, I would check them with a test light and wiggle the if possible and pull them to look at the lines on the metal pins. If suspect I would break a fuse and clamp a small pair of vice grips and insert them into the slots in the fuse box. If any were loose, take a tiny screwdriver and bend the tabs inward to snug it up and recheck. I would then look up the GROUND SCHEMATIC and see if there are bad places for grounds. Like under a Battery Tray or low where water may splash on it or some place where oil might get on it. Corrosion is most common reason but oil will break a connection. Next I would want to access the Ignition Switch, BCM and PCM, whichever was easiest. I would then push and pull on the Power and Ground Wires that I knew from a Schematic that showed the Numbered Pins and Color Codes. On the Ignition Switch I would Backprobe the wires and wiggle the Key. I'm ASE A6 certified, but and Mechanic that says they do electrical troubleshooting should be able to find the lntermittent loose connection. As with any Troubleshooting you want to do the Easiest first and Most Likely next and so on. Look on the Web to see if there is a common place for bad wiring connections, that's what I do. Forums and Youtube have saved me a LOT of time. And that means saving the Customer Money.

Answer 7

Check trouble codes .  Sounds like a bad PCM (computer).  Check PCM ground connection first. 



You can start throwing parts.  Replace the PCM relay and PCM fuse.  Replace the cam and crank sensor.  Could also simply be a bad ignition switch.  It might also be time to trade it in.  Good luck.

Answer 8

It is hard to say since you didn't mention any fault codes.