2017 vs. 2018 Chevrolet Equinox: What Changed

The 2018 Chevrolet Equinox has several substantial changes in the specifications and ratings we track compared with 2017.

EPA lists a 1.5-litre four-cylinder, a 1.6-litre four-cylinder and a 2.0-litre four-cylinder for 2018 that do not appear in the 2017 listing.

The 2.4-litre four-cylinder and 3.6-litre six-cylinder are listed for 2017 but not for 2018.

NHTSA's overall rating goes from 4 stars in 2017 to 4 and 5 stars in 2018.

A 9-speed automatic appears for 2018.

Five campaigns (fuel system, power train, service brakes and others) cover the 2018 and not the 2017.

Fewer campaigns do not establish better reliability. Confirm each car's coverage and repair status by VIN.

The campaigns that separate them

Imported NHTSA recall campaigns that name one of these two model years but not the other, with their component labels. Campaigns covering both years are left out of this list.

Only the 2017

No campaign names this year that does not also name the other.

Only the 2018

17V516000 power train
18V252000 visibility
18V358000 fuel system
18V576000 service brakes
20V668000 power train

A campaign may cover only part of a model year's production. Use the campaign number to ask an authorized dealer whether the car's VIN is included and what work remains. Our recall tool finds model-year campaigns; this guide explains the vehicle-specific check.

Side by side

	2017	2018
Engines listed	2.4L 4-cyl, 3.6L V6	1.5L 4-cyl, 1.6L 4-cyl, 2.0L 4-cyl
Drive types	All-Wheel Drive, Front-Wheel Drive	All-Wheel Drive, Front-Wheel Drive
Fuel types	Regular Gasoline	Regular Gasoline, Diesel, Premium Gasoline
Combined MPG	18–25	24–32
Recall campaigns	0	5
Complaints on file	272	403
Investigations	0	0

Complaint totals reflect different time on the road, sales and reporting. They cannot rank these years for reliability. The categories below identify symptoms to read about, not failure odds. How reporting time affects the comparison.

What owners reported, by system

2017

Engine 164 (60%)

Drivetrain 31 (11%)

Other 25 (9%)

2018

Brakes 103 (26%)

Other 88 (22%)

Drivetrain 62 (15%)

Full reports

Open each year's report to read the recall, investigation, manufacturer communication and EPA variant records on file:

2017 Equinox full report 2018 Equinox full report Every Equinox year compared

Sources and methodology

Recalls, complaints and investigations: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Engines, transmissions, drive types and fuel economy: FuelEconomy.gov (EPA/DOE). Differences between listed configurations do not by themselves establish a redesign.
See our methodology and data sources pages for how this comparison is built and its limitations.