2011 Chevy Equinox

[Radman]

I am in the market for a family SUV with an entertainment system. I also perform almost ALL of my own maintenance. That being said I take ease of routine maintenance into purchasing the vehicle. First of all the Equinox with the Ecotec engine fully loaded $30K with the employee discount (most of my family work for GM). Styling, function, features were spot on!!
Negatively 1- cable oil dipstick is unusually difficult to put back in the hole & is guaranteed to fling oil on your hands & clothes. 2- No transmission dipstick. 3- cartridge oil filter instead of a spin on. taking an oil shower is not high on my list. 4- I always drain the dexcool when I buy new GM's and this one isn't easy to do. So I am now looking at maintence friendly Japanese SUV's.

 

[ls1mike]

Not sure why you have to drain the Dex cool in this engine.
I drained it in my Buick, but everything else I have it stayed.
The Dex Cool is fine in a 2011. A lot of cars now have the fully sealed transmission with no dip stick.

 

[NHHEMI]

Hmm, most of your family works for GM( why not support the company your family members work for )and you liked the new Equinox a LOT but because you don't like the oil dipstick and it is too hard to change out the coolant you will buy an import instead? Ok.

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Hmm, most of your family works for GM( why not support the company your family members work for )and you liked the new Equinox a LOT but because you don't like the oil dipstick and it is too hard to change out the coolant you will buy an import instead? Ok.

I'm confused too...........

 

[Errtt]

Changing the coolant is something not normally changed as often as an oil change. Since it is not that often, why not then have a service shop do it.

 

[SrDriver]

Changing anti-freeze in an Equinox is not an easy job because of problems getting the air out of the system unless you do it according to their directions. Even then it is not a walk in the park.

Many new vehicles now come with sealed transmissions and do not require fluid changes.

Take a look at the V-6 Huyndai Santa Fe made in West Point Georgia as an alternate vehicle.

Take both or any other vehicle for a test drive including some freeway driving before making up your mind.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Hmm, most of your family works for GM( why not support the company your family members work for )and you liked the new Equinox a LOT but because you don't like the oil dipstick and it is too hard to change out the coolant you will buy an import instead? Ok.

I'm confused too...........

I am just as confused.

 

[bmod305]

My family has two cars with Ecotec motors. The cable style dipstick doesn't fling any oil when you use it. The cartridge style filter also doesn't "shower you" with oil when you change it. It is done from above and you create no mess when changing it. The Ecotec motor is world class. When is the last time you needed to add tranny fluid to a moderen car? You can check it-it uses a plug like a diff.

I agree with the others. Your family works for GM and you live in Michigan; why not support them with a domestic vehicle purchase? The 2011 Equinox is a great vehicle.

Dave

 

[hounddog]

DEX Cool is a 5 year coolant is it not.It is in my Corvette.I use to be a import man.Not any more.My blood runs red,white and blue.I bet that Equinox is as capable or more so then any import its matched to.I know a few folks with Cobalts that have a 150k plus Atlanta commuter miles on nothing but factory maintance/olm and a battery,one door handle replacement,tires.

 

[JHZR2]

Having had an ecotec Saab since 2004, I've never once flung oil from the cable dipstick. It is far easier to put in and out than the cable in our vw.

Since 2002 I've had cars with cartridge filters, and have found them cleaner and easier to change than spun on filters. Is the equinox filter up top like on my Saab, BMW and MBs? If so, absolutely no reason to spill a drop of oil... So clean and easy.

 

[meep]

i really like cartridge filters. you can easily inspect them. if they're under the car they often have a separate drain to keep things clean.

M

 

[hardcore302]

I have the Saturn Vue, pretty mush the same car, with the 3.6. fast little bugger.

 

[Radman]

@SrDriver: Never thought about the Santa Fe. I will put this on my comparison and drive it this weekend. Thank you for the recommendation.

 

[Radman]

Thank you everyone!! This is the feedback that I was hoping for. I personaly think that the Ecotec's are the best engine GM has ever made. I am aware of these buggers hitting 350K miles using dino oil and budget filters. The Dexcool unless it is different now is corrosive and has eaten headgaskets routinely at 4 years and 60K miles of use. Those were my concerns and as far as buying American....there are Japanese cars & Korean cars made right here in the states. I buy whatever I want and even if I can get fleet prices from my employer or family prices from half of my family. This is an entire board of do it yourselfers just like me. If a Rep @ GM reads why I don't like something then he will be enlightened.

 

[pbm]

I had sworn off GM when they took the bailout (and screwed their stockholders).....but I am now flirting with buying a 2011 Equinox.
Why?
Because GM 'reloaded' my GM Card to $3K and will let me use it all if I buy before 1/31/11 AND they will give me an additional $1K for loyalty. $4K off the top is hard to resist (my hypocrisy
knows no bounds).

If I could find a brand new leftover Cobalt I'd probably go that route. Has anybody seen one at any dealership?

 

[Thermo1223]

I've always said it and still boggles my mind why others can't understand it.

Dexcool is not the problem, never was. Poorly designed cooling systems were, gaskets, and I'd bet poor quality putting it all together. People just like to blame it because they don't know any better.

Radman just seems like it he rather continue to spout half-truths rather than look into the matter. I'd mean why start a thread if all you are going to do is say "I want to buy an Equinox but it sucks in so many ways"...

Your concerns are unfounded and unintelligent.

 

[addyguy]

I'm sorry to be blunt, but the OP is an idiot.

You don't need to drain the coolant on a new vehicle.

If you're careful, cable dipsticks don't fling oil around anymore than other dipsticks.

The cartridge filter, on top of the engine, is one of the easier and cleanest filter systems to change - you lift the filter element out, w/o out any oil flowing out.

 

[exranger06]

You see a cartridge filter as a BAD thing?? I WISH my cars had one instead of a spin-on. They're right on top of the engine, don't spill a single drop of oil when removed, and it's easy to see any junk that the filter caught. Much easier to dispose of too.

 

[LS2JSTS]

We have three ecotecs in the family. 2 2.4's, one in 2010 Nox and the other in a Terrain as well as one 2.2 in an HHR. All three with the cable dipstick and the cartridge filter.

Easiest and cleanest oil change I've ever done on ANY car. Your points 1 and 3 are completely off base and unfounded imo.

The tranny has a plug for checking the level, similar to a rear end...no biggie, I checked my 2.2 the day I brought it home.

Buy what you want, no skin off my nose, but at least come up with some real criticisms instead of these straw men.

 

[badtlc]

for a member of a GM family, you seem really unfamiliar with GM products.

Also, from the reviews I have seen, the MPG numbers on the equinox are a pipe dream. I find that really odd because the new EPA estimates are WAY too conservative from my experience but apparently GM found a way to cheat the new system so that it is not conservative enough.