These help you judge whether this one is worth its price.
Costly problem zones ahead at your miles come with a Car Hunt Pass or Pro. See plans
Loading the EPA's yearly fuel cost
What about the price? Check the asking price on two listing sites. Buying from a dealer? Run its offer through the offer X ray.
Education, not financial or mechanical advice. Have any used car checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.
The full record
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What owners complain about
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Seller kit
Questions for the seller, test drive checks and price points
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Walk up to the seller ready
Questions to ask the seller of a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, built from this year's owner complaints and recalls. What to feel, hear and look at on the test drive, with boxes to tick at the car. Honest points to raise on price, from the records and never from guesses. Copy the questions to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Write your offer
A ready to send offer for the seller, by text or email
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Send the seller a fair offer
Type the asking price and your own offer for the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, tick what you found, and get a polite message ready to text or email. Its reasons come from this year's owner complaints, recalls and crash ratings, and never from made up repair prices.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
When problems show up
Loading mileage at failure
Will it outlast the loan?
The month of your loan each problem zone lands in
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Recalls
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Crash ratings
NHTSA's stars out of five, for each version it tested. Front crash stars only compare cars of about the same size and weight. The tests changed for 2011 models, so these stars do not line up with newer ones.
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Fuel economy
The EPA's estimates for each engine and transmission, and its own yearly fuel cost. Yours depends on how you drive and the shape the car is in. Figures for 2007 and older use the EPA's 2008 method, so they may be lower than the original sticker.
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True cost to own
The loan, fuel, insurance and upkeep, a month and over 5 years
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What it really costs to own
What the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox costs a month and over 5 years: the loan and its interest, fuel worked out from the EPA's figures for the version you pick, and your own insurance, registration and upkeep. A cost a mile, a link that reopens your numbers, and the breakdown copied to your phone in one tap.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
Every year of the Equinox
Owner complaints for each model year, this one outlined. Tap a year to open it. The newest 2 are not judged yet. Bars are totals, so older years stand taller; the verdict compares every year at the same age.
Loading every year of this model
Before you buy this one
Built from this year's numbers. Whatever the data says, the car in front of you is the one that counts.
Not every car needs every fix. Run the VIN at NHTSA to see which are still open. Repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand; ask before any work.
Transmission and drivetrain
Jun 30, 2004 · Recall 04V302000
Certain sport utility vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 114, 'theft protection.' an ignition key park lock cable end fitting was not fully seated on the automatic transmission shifter nail head during installation.
What can happen
This can prevent the cable auto-set from correctly adjusting the cable. An incorrectly adjusted cable prevents the shifter from locking in the 'park' position when the key is removed from the key cylinder.
The fix
Dealers will inspect for a properly functioning shift lock when the ignition key is removed. Dealers will repair vehicles that exhibit the subject condition. The recall began august 17, 2004. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438.
Unverified reports, not adjusted for sales. One complaint can name several parts, so shares add up past 100%. Filed Aug 11, 2004 to Mar 3, 2023. 46% name a part that is usually costly to fix.
Owners reported 56 crashes, 13 fires and 40 injuries in these complaints.
Engine165 · 26%Usually costly to fix
Electrical159 · 25%
Transmission and drivetrain114 · 18%Usually costly to fix
What one owner wrote about the engine
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that after starting the vehicle, the vehicle remained in LIMP mode. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer but they are all unable to identify the issue. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage…
Filed Jan 21, 2022NHTSA complaint 114483531 of 18 owner quotes
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15 more parts, and 18 owner quotes
Every part owners name for the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, with their own words about what went wrong. Usually costly to fix among them: Body and frame.
Car Hunt Pass: $15 once for 30 days, a launch price. It never renews. Full refund if you ask within 7 days.
5 checks, with a close look at the engine
The bar holds the middle half of the complaints that gave a mileage; the dark mark is the middle one. 196 complaints of 638 gave one. Owners file when something fails, so this shows when problems were reported, not how long the cars last.
EngineCostly45,000 to 100,000 mi
Half of these 58 complaints came between about 45,000 and 100,000 miles, the middle one around 70,000.
050K100K150K200K250K
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Mileage for 5 more parts, 1 usually costly
The mileage band for every part owners name, and your car's miles laid across them.
Run the VIN at NHTSA to confirm every recall was fixed.
This year has 1 recall on file. Recall repairs are usually free at a dealer for the brand. Ask the dealer to confirm before any work is done. Look up a VIN at NHTSA.
Ask the seller for the service records.
Look closely for any work on the engine. It is the part owners complain about most for this year.
Have a mechanic you trust inspect it before you pay.
Ask them to look hard at the engine. It is usually costly to fix.
Look at a vehicle history report.
It can show reported crashes, flood or salvage titles, and mileage that does not add up.
On the test drive, pay attention to the engine.
Start it cold if you can. Listen for knocking or ticking, and watch for warning lights and smoke.
2005 Chevrolet Equinox: problems, recalls, verdict · WhipWorthy
Year verdict
Worthy
0.9× a typical year
About as many owner complaints as a typical year. Still get it inspected.
Confidence: Medium
NHTSA did not answer for 10 years, so the typical year may shift.
NHTSA did not answer for 10 years, so this may change.
How the dial was counted
Year verdict: Typical year: 374 complaints, the median of 8 nearby years. Each counted over its first 8 years from January 2004; this one had 346.
19 Worthy, 1 Maybe, 1 Pass, of 23 years on file
Our take: worth a look.Owners filed about as many complaints as in a typical year of this model.
