Misfire or rough idle on the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
When misfire or rough idle gets reported
Owners of the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox report misfire or rough idle at a median of 20,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles, from 9 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 92,000 miles. It is the 26th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 20,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 65,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 40,086 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
67% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22,481 miles | 22,481 miles | 22,481 miles | 62,567 miles | 62,567 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 11 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2012 at 120,000 miles.
By volume the 2010 carries the most reports, with 23; the 2005 has 9. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I have had numerous problems with my 2005 AWD chevy equinox, including the head gaskets blowing, losing acceleration on the 270/highway, ongoing acceleration problems, and other problems which still continue. I have begged for chevy to help get the car fully repaired and the customer service representatives just keep telling me to bring it into the dealer. I've tried two dealers and returned to the purchasing dealer who will only make repairs if they can pull a code - they report I am having problems with my spark plug wires - first they reattached it, and then replaced one but car still doesn't drive as it did before head gaskets blew. Please, please help me - I've had my car in the shop 8 times in 4 months and the dealer and chevy will not provide me with an extended warranty - car warranty ends in 6 months or help repair properly. I am scared to drive this car and don't know what to do as they don't take my concerns seriously as the only way they diagnose is by pulling codes. *tr
I have had numerous problems with my 2005 AWD chevy equinox, including the head gaskets blowing, losing acceleration on the 270/highway, ongoing acceleration problems, and other problems which still continue. I have begged for chevy to help get the car fully repaired and the customer service representatives just keep telling me to bring it into the dealer. I've tried two dealers and returned to the purchasing dealer who will only make repairs if they can pull a code - they report I am having problems with my spark plug wires - first they reattached it, and then replaced one but car still doesn't drive as it did before head gaskets blew. Please, please help me - I've had my car in the shop 8 times in 4 months and the dealer and chevy will not provide me with an extended warranty - car warranty ends in 6 months or help repair properly. I am scared to drive this car and don't know what to do as they don't take my concerns seriously as the only way they diagnose is by pulling codes. *tr
I have had numerous problems with my 2005 AWD chevy equinox, including the head gaskets blowing, losing acceleration on the 270/highway, ongoing acceleration problems, and other problems which still continue. I have begged for chevy to help get the car fully repaired and the customer service representatives just keep telling me to bring it into the dealer. I've tried two dealers and returned to the purchasing dealer who will only make repairs if they can pull a code - they report I am having problems with my spark plug wires - first they reattached it, and then replaced one but car still doesn't drive as it did before head gaskets blew. Please, please help me - I've had my car in the shop 8 times in 4 months and the dealer and chevy will not provide me with an extended warranty - car warranty ends in 6 months or help repair properly. I am scared to drive this car and don't know what to do as they don't take my concerns seriously as the only way they diagnose is by pulling codes. *tr
Also reported on the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox
Other engine problem
Other electrical problem
Head gasket failure
Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure
Other powertrain problem
CV axle or driveshaft failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 9 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does misfire or rough idle happen on the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 20,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 20,000 miles and a quarter after 65,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is misfire or rough idle on the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox?
9 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 136 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed