Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox
When fuel tank, filler or evap failure gets reported
Owners of the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox report fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure at a median of 95,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles, from 8 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 10th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 55,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 110,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 56,875 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.
0% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54,025 miles | 70,188 miles | 95,500 miles | 101,750 miles | 110,900 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–$1,800 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 6 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2012, at a median of 25,000 miles, and latest on the 2022 at 130,000 miles.
By volume the 2007 carries the most reports, with 28; the 2008 has 12. 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.
My wife smelled gas on my 2008 equinox when the vehicle was parked in the garage. Vehicle was pulled out and I noticed the smell was coming from the passenger rear. I got under the car to see if I could see a visible leak and noticed gas around the gas tank. Monday july 30 2012 I will take the vehicle in to my local dealership. I searched on line and noticed this is a on-going problem with the equinox, I'm alarmed that there has not been a recall on this issue. This could lead to a fire/ fatalities with the vehicle. *js
My vehicle should have two recalls; first the airbags. When my passenger is sitting in the seat the check engine light will come on telling me to check my airbag and the airbag light is off. I'm not sure if it will deploy if I get in an accident or if it will on its own one day hurting my passenger. Second, my vehicle smells like gasoline. It smells worse when I fill the tank up and its doesn't start right away. I am driving my vehicle since this is the only vehicle I have. I have seen online were the 2007 equinox had a recall for the airbag and gas tank. Please help me.
My vehicle should have two recalls; first the airbags. When my passenger is sitting in the seat the check engine light will come on telling me to check my airbag and the airbag light is off. I'm not sure if it will deploy if I get in an accident or if it will on its own one day hurting my passenger. Second, my vehicle smells like gasoline. It smells worse when I fill the tank up and its doesn't start right away. I am driving my vehicle since this is the only vehicle I have. I have seen online were the 2007 equinox had a recall for the airbag and gas tank. Please help me.
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 12 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 tank, filler or evap failure happen on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox?
Across 8 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 95,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 70,000 miles and a quarter after 100,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel tank, filler or evap failure on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox?
12 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.5 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