Misfire or rough idle on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox
When misfire or rough idle gets reported
Owners of the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox report misfire or rough idle at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 65,000 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 12th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 45,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 75,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 26,944 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
11% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47,056 miles | 66,000 miles | 66,000 miles | 66,000 miles | 74,000 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 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 chevrolet equinox. The contact was driving 70 MPH when the reduced engine power warning light illuminated momentarily. The vehicle did not experience any failures yet the contact was concerned that the vehicle could potentially experience some type of failure while driving. The contact stated that the failure occurred five times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer each time the reduce power light illuminated. The dealer replaced the evaporative emission canister, A/C unit traction control module, ECM, EGR valve, spark plug wires and the fuel tank pressure sensor. None of the repairs corrected the failure. The failure mileage was 50,650.
I purchased my car in dec. 2007 and have had electrical issues since jan. 2008. At first it was simple things like replacing the radio in apr. 2008 (under warranty), faulty wiper switch in sept. 2009 (under warranty). Then in oct. 2010 I had to pay $175.54 to replace a faulty spark plug and wire. But february 2011 has been the worst! On 2/10/11 I was driving down a mountain in bad weather on my way to work when my entire dashboard lit up, stabilitrack disabled, ABS, traction control turned off, check engine light; I couldn't drive faster than 20 MPH without my car sliding all over the place. I was terrified. The dealership said the vacuum line wasn't plugged back in during my last oil change and that's what was causing it. I drove home and the same thing happened all the lights lit up again. Back to the dealership 2/16/2011. Dirty sensor, they cleaned it. I picked up my car and all the lights were on again so they replaced the sensor costing me $174.54. Eight days later my car is back in the shop. The check engine light came on, stabilitrack light came on and my power steering failed. The dealership says its electrical and I most…
I purchased my car in dec. 2007 and have had electrical issues since jan. 2008. At first it was simple things like replacing the radio in apr. 2008 (under warranty), faulty wiper switch in sept. 2009 (under warranty). Then in oct. 2010 I had to pay $175.54 to replace a faulty spark plug and wire. But february 2011 has been the worst! On 2/10/11 I was driving down a mountain in bad weather on my way to work when my entire dashboard lit up, stabilitrack disabled, ABS, traction control turned off, check engine light; I couldn't drive faster than 20 MPH without my car sliding all over the place. I was terrified. The dealership said the vacuum line wasn't plugged back in during my last oil change and that's what was causing it. I drove home and the same thing happened all the lights lit up again. Back to the dealership 2/16/2011. Dirty sensor, they cleaned it. I picked up my car and all the lights were on again so they replaced the sensor costing me $174.54. Eight days later my car is back in the shop. The check engine light came on, stabilitrack light came on and my power steering failed. The dealership says its electrical and I most…
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 misfire or rough idle happen on the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox?
Across 9 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 65,000 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 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