Fuel leak or fuel odor on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox
When fuel leak or fuel odor gets reported
Owners of the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox report fuel leak or fuel odor at a median of 100,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 80,000 miles and a quarter after 155,000 miles, from 10 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 90,000 miles. It is the 13th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 55,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 180,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 126,139 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54,061 miles | 81,000 miles | 100,500 miles | 156,250 miles | 180,200 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 $300–$2,500 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.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 4 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2018, at a median of 75,000 miles, and latest on the 2010 at 190,000 miles.
By volume the 2007 carries the most reports, with 40; the 2008 has 10. 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.
While driving my equinox the check engine and stabilitrak light came on and stayed on. I called the dealership o'rielly chevrolet tucson az, I purchased the vehicle from and they told me I would have to pay them to check it. I went to another repair shop and they did a diagnostic test and said there was a air leak in the fuel line most likely the gas cap. I replaced the gas cap and both lights went off. Then they both randomly came back on. I called o'reilly chevrolet again they offered to fix charging me what the cost was to fix. I went to a different repair shop and I was told the erg valve was bad so I had that replaced. The stabilitrak light went off but the check engine light came back on. This has gone on for a year. I just received a soft recall notice from gm about a fuel leak and there were three issues showing up. One of the issues is the check engine light on. I took this recall along with my equinox to o'riellys chevrolet mechanic tec explained to me that it could be a 50 50 chance it was either my problem or the recall and they would fix it at my cost. Each time I called I was never told at this dealership that my…
I took my car in for its routine oil change and they informed me that I had a gas leak and that I was driving a time bomb. I bought my car at the beginning of this year and it only had 36,000 miles on it and it now only has 47,000 miles and I don't understand how it could be leaking gas. A month after I purchased the car I also tried to use the washer cleaner to clean my windows and it does not work either, at this point, I am at a lost for words, I just started a new job and I have to find a way to work. Frustrated!!!!
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet equinox. While driving 55 MPH, the contact noticed strong fuel fumes emitting from the exterior and interior of the vehicle. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed fuel leaking underneath the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who stated that there was a fuel leak, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 103,000.
Also reported on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox
Other electrical problem
Other body or interior problem
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other driver assistance problem
Other steering problem
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 10 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 fuel leak or fuel odor happen on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox?
Across 10 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 100,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 80,000 miles and a quarter after 155,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel leak or fuel odor on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox?
10 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.4 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