Worst Vehicle Ever Built

[jacktesterson]

So I've been on her for years and came across this thread. It's a short thread. Give it a quick read.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2149876


I have a 2006 Chev Equinox LT AWD 3.4L V6. It's the worst mistake of my life. If you google what I'm about to to you below you will find thousands of others with the identical problems. Many call it the worst Chev ever built. The 05/06 Equinox feature a Chinese built power train (was 1st chev with this motor) and it was absolute junk. The old 3.4s found in th Montanas, etc were US built and different motors.

Also I can tell you 100% those are leaking transmission cooler lines in the above thread. I know because I had to change them too and the cause is the clamps which you point to. Some people have rigged up there own lines online just because the GM lines for this vehicle develop leaks so easily. And yes they need replaced or eventually you will be in trouble as they get worse and worse at leaking.

Mine right now has about 85,000 miles on it. I've had to do the following:

1) Head Gasket Job - $1700
2) Steering Shaft/Column has been done TWICE.
3) Center Carrier Bearing and U-Joint
4) All axels
5) New Radiator
6) New Water Pump
7) Front Struts
8) Transmission Cooler Lines
8) AC Compressor and Condensor + recharge
9) New muffler
10) Sway bars and links
11) All stabilizer bars
12) Factory Radio quit
13) Warped Rotors at 10,000 miles.
14) Wheel Bearings front twice, rear once.
15) Ignition has been replaced as key wouldn't start vehicle
16) Factory installed car starter no longer works.

Now for the bad news. Right now my Equinox needs:

1) Water pump is leaking AGAIN. The housing gasket needs replaced. It's 6-7 hour job for a $10 part.

2) Water swishing sound in the dash. Researched and likely either head gasket, heater core or air getting into the system. Air in system is likely with water pump leaking.

3) I am also losing Motor Oil and have not been able to trace where or how. I drove the Equinox 4 highway hours today and lose 1/2 quart of oil. Luckily I have no coolant in my oil. Where is it going?

4) Squeaking from underneath the car. I think it's driveshaft related.



We have had enough and should have got rid of it years ago. We also put so much money into it we always had this feeling we could let it go since we kept it in as good as condition we could... Yet it didn't matter. You can't fix junk.

I can't believe I've been on the hook for all this for 85,000 miles. I'll never buy another GM again.

I googled Equinox Dash Water and just found pages of forums like this
http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-equinox/TSB07R2H23NLSVO5A

Sound familiar?

 

[nOOky]

A friend had an Equinox, I'm not sure what year, but it had so many issues she was fed up and wanted to get rid of it. All of the problems were different enough that she could not use the lemon law here in WI as somehow the issues just barely did not meet the criteria.

She'll never buy a Chevy again, and has finally moved on to a Honda. The Honda had the oil consumption issue, but at least it has given her zero problems other than having to check the oil frequently and add when necessary. Honda has extended the factory warranty and is fixing engines that meet the specs for excessive oil consumption. I also had a CR-V with the same issue, and traded it on an Edge.

I have not had any problems with the Fords I have owned, knock on wood. I had a 1992? Mazda 626 that was total junk though...

 

[tracerbullet]

Ridiculous. Hopefully you can unload it without feeling too bad about who it is sold to.

I had a 1992? Mazda 626 that was total junk though...

My parents had one from that era for quite a long time and never had an issue. My Ford Probe GT was also bulletproof and based on the same mechanicals (the V6 version anyhow). Odd.

 

[postmortemIA]

So... they still use Chinese engines on the new model? probably by this time they're nearing quality of US parts? That's usually how it goes with outsourcing

Heh, even Japanese car makers outsource their production ... to USA

2015 American-made index

 

[Torn Mind]

The engine is Chinese--made in Shanghai.

The transmission is made by Aisin, a Japanese company. Makes sense, given this is a joint venture vehicle between GM and Suzuki.

Believe it or not, the older US ones had intake manifold gaskets being eaten up by the DexCool coolant, apparently. The head gaskets blowing are not unique to made in China, but rather poor GM build quality.

 

[Insomniator]

Looking at google images I'm not all that surprised.

It looks like a Chinese piece of crap. Again and again I'm reminded to never buy GM.

It looks like some weird Suzuki or even Indian copy of a normal car.

 

[Torn Mind]

Looking at google images I'm not all that surprised.

It looks like a Chinese piece of crap. Again and again I'm reminded to never buy GM.

It looks like some weird Suzuki or even Indian copy of a normal car.

Joint venture with Suzuki. Two companies prone to making garbage working together. Yeah...the results

 

[madoka]

I guess some people have never heard of the Yugo.

So crappy that a woman died when her Yugo was blown off a bridge.

 

[Sheep221]

Yeah the car is some bad mix of Kia sportage, suzuki vitara and rebadged with chev front grille.

Dude I know you bought the car for a lot but I guess do yourself and rest of the world a favor and just drive it to nearest junkyard and be done with it.

Actually the worst car of all time ever is Trabant made for a while in then-east germany.

 

[SearchMaster]

I guess some people have never heard of the Yugo.

So crappy that a woman died when her Yugo was blown off a bridge.

The nice thing about the Yugo was that when you filled the gas tank, the car's value doubled

I remember in college (late 80s) someone posted up an ad on the bulletin board selling their Yugo. It has 20,000 miles with a recently rebuilt engine and transmission. Sheesh.

 

[tortillasoup]

I guess some people have never heard of the Yugo.

So crappy that a woman died when her Yugo was blown off a bridge.

Yugo had a curbweight of 1 ton, if it got blown off a bridge, that's a pretty strong wind gust.

 

[lxskllr]

I like the idea of the Yugo. I don't think anyone makes an absolute bare bones car anymore(for sale in the US). Even basic work trucks are pretty tricked out by historic standards. I'd like to see a vehicle that has a low base price, a quality core, and absolutely everything is optional.

 

[Zivic]

So I've been on her for years and came across this thread. It's a short thread. Give it a quick read.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2149876


I have a 2006 Chev Equinox LT AWD 3.4L V6. It's the worst mistake of my life. If you google what I'm about to to you below you will find thousands of others with the identical problems. Many call it the worst Chev ever built. The 05/06 Equinox feature a Chinese built power train (was 1st chev with this motor) and it was absolute junk. The old 3.4s found in th Montanas, etc were US built and different motors.

Also I can tell you 100% those are leaking transmission cooler lines in the above thread. I know because I had to change them too and the cause is the clamps which you point to. Some people have rigged up there own lines online just because the GM lines for this vehicle develop leaks so easily. And yes they need replaced or eventually you will be in trouble as they get worse and worse at leaking.

Mine right now has about 85,000 miles on it. I've had to do the following:

1) Head Gasket Job - $1700
2) Steering Shaft/Column has been done TWICE.
3) Center Carrier Bearing and U-Joint
4) All axels
5) New Radiator
6) New Water Pump
7) Front Struts
8) Transmission Cooler Lines
8) AC Compressor and Condensor + recharge
9) New muffler
10) Sway bars and links
11) All stabilizer bars
12) Factory Radio quit
13) Warped Rotors at 10,000 miles.
14) Wheel Bearings front twice, rear once.
15) Ignition has been replaced as key wouldn't start vehicle
16) Factory installed car starter no longer works.

Now for the bad news. Right now my Equinox needs:

1) Water pump is leaking AGAIN. The housing gasket needs replaced. It's 6-7 hour job for a $10 part.

2) Water swishing sound in the dash. Researched and likely either head gasket, heater core or air getting into the system. Air in system is likely with water pump leaking.

3) I am also losing Motor Oil and have not been able to trace where or how. I drove the Equinox 4 highway hours today and lose 1/2 quart of oil. Luckily I have no coolant in my oil. Where is it going?

4) Squeaking from underneath the car. I think it's driveshaft related.



We have had enough and should have got rid of it years ago. We also put so much money into it we always had this feeling we could let it go since we kept it in as good as condition we could... Yet it didn't matter. You can't fix junk.

I can't believe I've been on the hook for all this for 85,000 miles. I'll never buy another GM again.

I googled Equinox Dash Water and just found pages of forums like this
http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-equinox/TSB07R2H23NLSVO5A

Sound familiar?

no offense, but that's what you get for buying a GM. it may be anecdotal, but GM produces one POS model after another. Only GM vehicle I ever owned was given to me.... and every time I drove it I literally thought to myself 'who would be stupid enough to pay money for this thing?'

 

[evident]

Buy American, buy Honda

The equinox was a really crappy rental when i had it, only surpassed by the jeep compass and dodge caliber.

Just dump it and get something else. It sounds like a lemon, except that it seems everyone else is having hte same issues as you!

 

[SearchMaster]

I like the idea of the Yugo. I don't think anyone makes an absolute bare bones car anymore(for sale in the US). Even basic work trucks are pretty tricked out by historic standards. I'd like to see a vehicle that has a low base price, a quality core, and absolutely everything is optional.

Nissan was advertising the Versa as the only car on the market under $10K a few years ago, which in reality compares fairly well to the $4K Yugo in 2008 dollars and was undoubtedly a vastly superior car. I'm pretty sure it lacked any real amenities - no A/C, manual windows, manual transmission, etc.

The only new car my parents ever bought while I was growing up was a Datsun 210 that was $4K. It had AM radio only, no A/C, manual windows and locks, etc. It actually held up pretty well until about 100K miles then had some major engine problems (and 100K was about the expected lifespan of a car then).

 

[Topweasel]

Yugo had a curbweight of 1 ton, if it got blown off a bridge, that's a pretty strong wind gust.

The bridge sways a lot, she was speeding, and bounced on a grated portion as it was at an extreme point in the sway sending air under the car through the grates. But it is true.

 

[cbrsurfr]

The 3rd Gen Ford Exploder I had would give your Equinox a run for it's money. Great looking well maintained vehicle with lots of new parts. In the 4 months I had it I learned why the previous owner dumped it.

Had to be the worst engine ever built. It was based on a 1960's design and retrofitted over the years. In the last gen it had 4 - yes 4 timing chains and each one was prone to some sort of failure. Lots of people had timing failures before 75,000 miles. The trans was shit, case is aluminum but servos are hardened steel. Guess what happens over time? Ruined case and trashed valve body. If you catch it early enough there are fixes but they are all temporary. Rear diff bearings were garbage, labor is so involved most people just replace the whole diff. Wheel bearings were also extremely common failures. Back hatch cracking, throttle body issues, leaking intake, leaking coolant temp sensors, and tons of other issues.

If I had only known what I know now before buying it...

Previous owner had replaced:
Back hatch that cracks
Back hatch struts
Water pump
Sway bar end links
Heater flapper door that breaks (dealer charged 1500 I believe)
Replaced rear diff
All 4 wheel bearings
Plus a bunch of normal maint stuff

I put on:
Hood struts
Upper control arms
Throttle body
Serp belt, tensioner, and pulley, as well as dampner (rubber separates and it falls apart taking things with it along the way)
Crank position sensor
Did rear brake job (found out later it needed calipers too as that's why they were bad)
4x4 shift motor
Some gaskets (intake, front cover, etc.)
Front primary timing chain guide and tensioner
Both head timing chain tensioners (external)
Deleted balance shaft tensioner as that broke and wasn't necessary to keep it running.


When I dumped it (after 4 months) during the auto show cash for clunkers it needed:
AC didn't work and was leaking
Heat stopped working (I believe the fresh air door broke in the open position)
New PCM and PATS key reprogramming (would shut off while driving)
Guides on pass head timing chain cracked (engine out job ~4000 to have dealer do it)
Trans valve body and servo bores (if not the whole trans it got really bad near the end)
Rear diff that was only a couple years old whined like crazy
front cv boots were torn and leaking
backup sensors stopped working (cheap to fix but have to remove bumper)
Also started leaking oil

I'm probably forgetting a couple things. It could only make it about 5-6 miles before it would start having issues (shifting, shutting off, etc.)

I couldn't in good conscience dump it on Craigslist. I would have been lucky to get 1K for it. Carmax would give me $250. Honda would give me $500. Kia offered $750. Ford dealer offered 2K (after haggling) and Ford itself kicked in 2K so I ended up with 4K for it. Still lost money but I was happy to be out of it. I like to think I just rented it for the 4 months I had it.

Funny thing is when I visited the dealer another almost identical had been traded in with fewer miles but more issues. Both were sold for scrap to be parted out.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The bridge sways a lot, she was speeding, and bounced on a grated portion as it was at an extreme point in the sway sending air under the car through the grates. But it is true.

Speeding in a Yugo... never a good idea.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Jeez. And here I am, worried about my Volvo's turbo leaking oil at 230K miles.

My Mom's Dodge Charger certainly isn't high up on the list of Most Reliable Vehicles either. The ignition likes to cut the motor at times while driving.

 

[tortillasoup]

I like the idea of the Yugo. I don't think anyone makes an absolute bare bones car anymore(for sale in the US). Even basic work trucks are pretty tricked out by historic standards. I'd like to see a vehicle that has a low base price, a quality core, and absolutely everything is optional.

Nissan Versa is the barebones car you've been waiting for. Adjusted for inflation, it's only slightly more expensive than a Yugo but with way more features and comfort. MSRP is like what $12k and the Truecar estimate is like $10K for the Manual transmission version.

 

[lxskllr]

I like the looks of the Versa; Well.. Let's say I appreciate what they're going for. Not very exciting, but it gets you around cheaply. If I were looking for a car, I'd check it out for sure. I especially like that it isn't loaded with electronic gizmos that perform trivial functions, and break easily.

 

[AdamK47]

GM sucks.

 

[jacktesterson]

Thinking of trading it in on a new EcoBoost Ford Escape. Took a loaded one for a drive today and really liked it.

Also tried out a new Hyundai Sonata today and a Volks Tiguan. I liked the Escape better than the VW. I prefer crossovers over Cars

 

[Engineer]

GM sucks.

Agree 100%. Finally threw in the towel after about four GM's (various models). Just too damn many things going wrong on them all the time.

 

[jacktesterson]

Agree 100%. Finally threw in the towel after about four GM's (various models). Just too damn many things going wrong on them all the time.

I also owned in the past a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am (3.4L V6), 2002 Grand Prix GTP (3.8L V6 Supercharged) and a 2004 Pontiac Montana (3.4L V6). The Montana is still driven by me daily to work.

The Montana is still on the road today with 200,000 miles and everything still works including the AC. Other than intake manifold it's been an excellent mini van. I will also be upgrading this vehicle to something 2010-2012 range in the next year.

Prior to this though I had the Grand Am and Grand Prix brand new and both were junk. The Grand Am was one of earliest cars to have the 3.4L and it was a head gasket nightmare. I traded it in on a 2001 Ford Taurus 3.0L V6 that was an excellent vehicl until it hit a Buck and wrote off. This is when I got thget GTP. Loved the performance of the car, but again, head gasket issues and Intake manifold gasket issues.

I then had kids and got the Montana. I've kept it long term as a good vehicle.

I bought the Equinox in 2007 with 9900 miles and it will be the final GM I buy in my life. I should have known right then when I got them to change the rotors as part of the sale.