10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
7,108 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

Get free help with your lemon!
close ad
problem #15

Sep 302023

Equinox

  • miles
When washing the vehicle through a standard car wash (Mister) in Minnetonka, MN 55345. The vehicle takes on gallons of water. This seems completely inappropriate. A car built in 2018 should be able to be washed. Taking on gallons of water on all areas of the floor board is unacceptable and ultimately a quality concern for mold and rust longer term.

- Excelsior, MN, USA

problem #14

Jul 012023

Equinox

  • miles
The sun roof shade is inoperable. The sunshade retracts, but does not go back into the roof so the whole shade hangs down. This completely blocks the view of the driver out the back window and is a severe safety risk. Even when the sunshade is "closed" the material hangs down, continuing to block the drivers view out of the back window. The shade has come off the tracks and unglued. The issue has been confirmed as inoperable and an internal fault in the roof shade assembly by a Chevrolet dealership and needing to be replaced completely. I have taken it to several other shops around my city, and have been informed that this is a common problem that is being referred back to dealerships for fixing. There was no prior warning sign, and my car has been experiencing this issue since July 2023.

- Seabrook, TX, USA

problem #13

Sep 092021

Equinox

  • miles
Aluminum hood corrosion on front hood lip on many Equinox models. I thought mine was a 1 off but after researching it, a ton of people are having this issue. Even other Chevys like the Colorado and the Traverse.

- Reading, PA, USA

problem #12

Jun 112023

Equinox

  • miles
At 12pm on June 11, 2023 I was parked in a church sparking lot in East Rochester and was facing the church's stone wall. My vehicle was only 2 feet from the was when the car accelerated toward the wall and all of the airbags opened and the hood and side panels were affected causing the vehicle was considered totaled by my insurance. My foot was on the brake and I was preparing to put the car in park when the car lurched forward and hit the wall at a high rate of speed. GM examined the car and gave me a report I could not understand but their report indicated that there was not a vehicle defect. I find this highly improbable. I can send the report and perhaps your organization can read it or do your own inspection of my vehicle. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. This same thing has happened to 2 other people I know who drive Equinoxes. Best Regards, [XXX] [XXX] Cell [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Cicero, NY, USA

problem #11

Dec 132022

Equinox

  • miles
I purchased my 2018 Chevrolet equinox on July3rd, 2018 with 2 miles on it. Current mileage 67,900 Stop/start system design defect. I have had to have my vehicle battery replaced 4 times in 4 years of ownership. The battery has failed again at 67,900 miles on 12/13/2022 which will be the 5th battery in its lifetime. My dealership said that due to the climate and road conditions where I live my stop/start system has been killing my battery cell every 16,975 miles causing my battery to fail. Chevrolet originally extended my warranty for 6months/ or 60k miles. They said they can no longer extend my warranty and that I-??d be responsible for the next battery and future battery-??s.

- Wheat Ridge, CO, USA

problem #10

Dec 012022

Equinox

  • miles
The clip at the bottom of the piston for the lift gate broke which caused the lift gate to fall. The strut got wedged between the body of the car and the rear reverse light so the lift gate didn-??t end up falling on me but causing damage. Upon further inspection, the other strut-??s clip is also cracked.

- Pawling, NY, USA

problem #9

Apr 272022

Equinox

  • miles
rear liftgate will only open most of the time it will not close when using the buttons on vehicle or on key fob, ongoing issue since

- Vermontville, MI, USA

problem #8

Oct 262021

Equinox

  • miles
The vehicle first started having a cigarette residual smoke smell in it during the summer of 2019. It was right after a good rainfall, but we didn't know what to attribute it to. We called the local Chevrolet dealership and they weren't sure what it might be either. The odor would come and go over the last couple of years, but we couldn't figure out what it was from as none of my family members smoke. Then my husband went to run errands in my vehicle during a heavy downpour and heard water running inside of the car. He found water coming out of the fuse panel on the driver's side in the rear hatch (video available). He started removing the wet stuff in the rear hatch & when he got down to the spare tire compartment, he found it was filled with water. He also smelled the cigarette smoke-like odor like 10 times stronger than before & realized that it was due to the felt-like pad in the spare tire compartment being soaked in water. We again called the local dealership & they weren't sure what the problem might have been. My husband & stepfather did research and found out a lot of Equinox owners were experiencing the same issue & it had been determined that it was due to the sunroof water drainage system being clogged. The provided solution was to run air through the water drainage pipes, which my husband did. However, the vehicle still had some water appearing behind the driver's side seat during the lighter rainfalls afterwards. As well, the odor that smelled like cigarette smoke had now been replaced with a strong mildew/mold smell. This poses two major safety issues - water going into fuse boxes (water & electrical don't mix), as well as the mold/mildew being inhaled - especially of concern since we have two toddlers sitting in the backseat of this family vehicle. One dealership was unable to duplicate water inside the vehicle, but found the water drain pipes partially clogged. Other dealership noted mold/mildew smell and did an ozone detailing.

- Cortland, NY, USA

problem #7

Feb 012020

Equinox

  • 71,000 miles
Water is leaking into the spare tire well.

- Amelia, OH, USA

problem #6

May 242019

Equinox

  • 500 miles
Windshield was not properly sealed from the manufacture. While driving on the interstate, seats and mirrors randomly moved. At one point the seat was so close to the steering wheel, causing husband's stomach to touch the wheel. Thus causing the inability to turn and control the steering of vehicle. Mirrors moved randomly out of position, causing inability to see blind spots while driving on the interstate. I purchased this car on 5-15. This first incident occurred 5-24. The second incident happened 6-10 again while driving. The rain inside the unsealed windshield caused corrosion on electrical wiring and connections. There is corrosion also inside the body. This brand new vehicle is rusting from the inside out. There will always be issues with this car either electrical or body.

- Graettinger, IA, USA

problem #5

Jan 122019

Equinox

  • 17,118 miles
While driving on freeway sunroof of panoramic roof shattered and glass fell into car. This was not caused by an accident with any vehicle. I was never hit by any object to cause sunroof to shatter. Weather conditions were dry, cool, and cloudy.

- Farmington Hills, MI, USA

problem #4

Oct 262018

Equinox

  • 9,000 miles
We were driving on I-75 at 70mph. We heard a loud noise and pulled over on the side of the highway. Got out and discovered that the rear panel above the bumper on the driver sad had torn off. We did not hit anything and we believe it just blew off the car. We filed an allegation with GM and were denied. On the phone the customer service person said that we were denied due to prior bumper damage. There was no prior damage and GM will not put it in writing why they denied our claim. Also they will not give us a copy of their report or the independent investigation report saying that it is private. We were lucky that the part did not hit anybody behind us as that could have been disastrous. Nobody else pulled over behind us, so we have no witness as to what happened.

- Sterling Heights, MI, USA

problem #3

May 212018

Equinox

  • 900 miles
2018 Equinox premier sunroof gave out on me 5 weeks after purchasing brand new. GM has had my car for 3 months and has not found a fix. It doesn't matter if the car was stationary or motion. The sunroof and the privacy screen will stop opening/closing. They have replaced all the wires and the entire sunroof and new motors and it still doesnt work. GM customer care is not working with me and says that basically they won't have a time when I will get my car back. They aren't helping me with a trade in either. The dealership is helping me (bravo at las cruces nm). But GM themselves aren't taking any responsibility when it solely is their responsibility. I have heard of atleast 8 other cases online with the same issue. Some were fixed with a computer reboot but mine cannot get fixed whatsoever.

- Las Cruces, NM, USA

problem #2

Oct 072017

Equinox

  • 100 miles
Right rear door will not open from inside or outside due to defective latch. The original latch, the first replacement latch and the second replacement latch do not allow passenger to exit the vehicle as the door is stuck shut. This is dangerous is someone needs to exit the vehicle quickly. Local Chevy dealership will replace the second latch this month (July 2018). The problem happens when the car is stationary.

- Webster, NY, USA

problem #1

Dec 152017

Equinox

  • 8,000 miles
I was driving to work and my panoramic sunroof exploded. Nothing hit it, no one in front on me, no one passed. Me and no one was behind me. It sounded like a gun shot and then the sunroof completely shattered. The car dealer that I bought it from did take care of all the expenses! but after all, it was not my fault and I have only had the car for 6 months. This is very scary and thankfully I did not get cut. I have a new sunroof but I am very afraid that it is going to happen again

- Hanoverton, OH, USA