NHTSA Complaint #10416820 — 2006 CHEVROLET EQUINOX

I WAS TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF ABOUT 10-15 MILES PER HOUR, CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION PERTAINING TO MY JOB,WHEN I BEGAN TO HEAR A LOUD CLICKING SOUND COMING FROM MY ENGINE AREA.I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND TURN THE VEHICLE OFF.AFTER LETTING THE ENGINE REST/COOL FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES,I RESTART THE VEHICLE, AT WHICH POINT THE AMBER OIL ALERT LAMP ACTIVATES,AND THEN TURNS OFF.NOW,MIND YOU,I HAD JUST HAD AN OIL CHANGE APPROX 700 MILES PRIOR TO THIS OCCURRING.THE CLICKING BEGAN TO SUBSIDE,AND, SINCE THE AMBER OIL ALERT LAMP WAS NO LONGER ON,I FIGURED IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA JUST TO GET IT BACK HOME SO THE OIL COULD BE CHECKED THE NEXT MORNING.SUDDENLY,WHEN I ARRIVE HOME, AND GET READY TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF IN THE DRIVEWAY,THE AMBER OIL ALERT LAMP RE-ACTIVATES, THE ENGINE,AGAIN, CLICKING.I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF.THE FOLLOWING MORNING,I CONTACTED A G.M. DEALERSHIP AND DESCRIBED TO THEM WHAT HAD OCCURRED.THEY TOLD ME I SHOULD BRING THE VEHICLE TO THEM TO BE INSPECTED; HOWEVER, THE SOONEST I COULD GET IN WAS ABOUT THREE WEEKS.INSTEAD,I CONTACTED A LOCAL OIL-CHANGE STORE AND HAD THE OIL CHANGED AND THE SYSTEM CHECKED OUT.A LITTLE WAYS DOWN THE ROAD, ABOUT 1,000 MILES INTO MY OIL CHANGE, THE AMBER OIL LAMP COMES ON AGAIN, STILL CLICKING, BUT NOT NEARLY AS MUCH AS BEFORE.I PULL INTO MY DRIVEWAY A FEW MILES LATER AND START HEARING A "CLUNKING" KNOCKING SOUND COMING FROM THE ENGINE AREA,AT WHICH POINT THE RED OIL LAMP CAME ON.I CALLED THE GM CORPORATE CUSTOMER SUPPORT,WHOM AFTER I DESCRIBED WHAT WAS GOING ON,STATED TO ME IT SOUNDED LIKE A MAJOR ENGINE PROBLEM RELATING TO OIL ISSUES.I ASKED WHAT GENERAL MOTORS COULD DO FOR ME, AND SHE STATED "I AM SORRY, [XXX], BUT THE EQUINOX,PRIOR TO THE 2008,WAS NOT MANUFACTURED WITH ANY TYPE OF POWER TRAIN WARRANTY WHATSOEVER.I AM SORRY BUT THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU."NOW I HAVE TO REPLACE MY ENGINE DUE TO MAJOR DAMAGE! (83,600 MILES).INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)*KB