10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 6 / 2
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 4 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 5,544 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.
When first breaking on the exit ramp after a 2 hour ride on highway the rear breaks made a loud grinding sound & took longer to stop with 2 cars in front of mine. I put flashers on & pulled as far to side of road incase I was unable to stop at the bottom of the exit (down hill) to avoid collision with the 2 cars in front of me. Previously my vehicle shown no signs of any issues. There were no sounds coming from breaks, no issues slowing down or stopping, & no lights on dashboard to indicate an issue of any kind. I looked my Chevy Equinox up and saw that there was an isdue with the rear calipers and many had been reported and recalled. My VIN doesn't show my calipers have been recalled. However, the GM site states if there is an issue with the rear breaks/ calipers to report it and Chevy will repair the issue. Many Chevy Equinox owners have taken to the internet to report the same issue, there are also reports that only 166 were recalled. This is clearly a manufacturing error and not normal wear & tear. I bought my 2020 Equinox brand new in 2021, it was unsold in 2020. Please help myself & the other Chevy Equinox owners make Chevy take responsibility & fix this error before people are injured or killed because our breaks give out unexpectedly.
- Bradford, VT, USA
I received a service brake module warning and then the vehicle became difficult to stop. I was not traveling at typical highway speeds at the time, but I was on the highway. After applying extensive pressure on the brake pedal to stop, the engine lost power and stalled. It was towed to a dealership and determined that vacuum booster pump experienced a catastrophic failure.
- Roscoe, IL, USA
I was driving and the -??service brake assist-?? light came on and I then the brake pedal became stiff and so hard to push! I was driving on the expressway and almost couldn-??t stop my car. No warning at all. It happened as soon as the light came on.
- Oak Creek , WI, USA
Brake assist fail
- Oak Creek , WI, USA
I was operating the vehicle when it suddenly shut off in traffic. I attempted to restart the vehicle and received a "reduced engine power" and "Service brake assist" message. The vehicle had a clunky noise and failed to restart. Upon inspection at the dealership, I was told that the vacuum pump inside the engine had exploded and sent metal components throughout the engine system. No previous issues or warnings were present prior to this failure. This is a safety issue as the vehicle gave no warning signs of issue and shut off in the flow of traffic with very little ability to brake or steer out of the way.
- Graysville, TN, USA
The Vacuum pump has exploded 3 times, twice under warranty and now outside warranty. This time it has taken out the camshaft.
- Paris, IL, USA
[XXX] My wife received a warning light that the Brake fluid was low, upon the husband checking under the hood after cleaning the reservoir cap and opening the cap and looking inside of the reservoir I could see that there was no visible brake fluid in there. Using another car I purchased Prestone Dot 3 and filled the reservoir it, it took 8 oz out of 12 oz. The 2020 Equinox Premier only has 34,500 miles. On [XXX] I have an appointment to bring the vehicle to Midas via being towed because of this issue, it is not safe to drive there. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
- Jackson, NJ, USA
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with two electric parking brakes. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the electric parking brake engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the rear brake calipers were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated while driving 45 MPH on a slippery road, the electric parking brake engaged inadvertently, causing the rear wheels to lock, and the vehicle spun. The contact stated that he was able to regain control of the vehicle and drove to the residence at slow speeds. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly while driving. The contact stated that while investigating the failure online, he learned that it was a common failure that occurred because the electric parking brake was not fully retracted. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
- Lancaster, NY, USA
In June of 2023 the brake booster vacuum pump failed, I took it to my regular repair shop and paid for it to be repaired. March 1, 2024 I was driving out of town and again the brakes failed, took it to Weimar Chevrolet in Cumberland MD to once again after less than 10,000 miles to be repaired again. Thankfully the dealership coordinated with the original repair shop and was able to do the repair this time at not cost to me (except I had to pay for a rental for 4 days)
- Dundalk, MD, USA
Hit my brakes and had nothing but a hard pedal NO BRAKES AT ALL! This almost caused a major accident being speed limit is 70 and I could not stop the car. There was no warning light until I shut it off and turned it back on then lights blinked and said brake assist failure then the warning disappeared once again. This is very scary and I cannot believe there were other reports and nothing has been recalled.
- Edgewater , FL, USA
Brake control lost with no warning. Friend whom bought same car 2 days after me experienced same scenario around October 2023. I just dropped off my kid and I was coming off the highway! I could have killed others and if happened 20 mins prior my children! I'm a single mom and my kids only have me. There's no way this is coincidence on the same make, model, year! There has to be a faulty brake system that needs addressed before people do die!! I've been without my car for 3 days now and no one has answers!
- Baden, PA, USA
The brake system failed without any indication it would do so. The dealership acknowledged the car brake pedal was not able to be moved when attempting to stop the vehicle and the vehicle did not stop by use of the brakes. The Equinox is no longer in my possession and was bought by Dick Genthe Chevrolet. The safety of myself, my 11 year old daughter and the drivers around me were put at risk due to the brakes locking up with no prior notice or indication this would happen. The brakes locked up as I was exiting the expressway and I had to turn the car on a side street and let it coast in order for it to stop. GM and Dick Genthe Chevrolet take no accountability for the incident and instead told me that the car worked well the first four years at least. In January 2024 the check engine light came on and I had it checked in the service department by the manager and the P code that came back was a sensor issue and the service manager said that it was nothing serious and the car was safe and the check engine light would likely go off on its own in two days or so. After the brakes had already failed, a "service brakes" warning message showed in the display and the check engine light came on.
- Wyandotte, MI, USA
Experienced brake issues in March of 2022, brake pedal became extremely stiff and difficult to use. Bulletin showed an issue with vacuum brake pump and that was replaced with the exact same faulty part. On 12/28/2023 my engine blew in the middle of the road, leaving myself and my children stranded as I could not shift the vehicle out of neutral for quite sometime. The faulty vacuum brake pump caused the cam to break off the shaft- resulting in debris inside the engine.
- Anderson, IN, USA
During the month of November while driving on Interstate 35 inTexas I attempted to administer my braking system during slowed traffic and they did not respond. The brake pedal became completely stiff and I had to apply incredible pressure to get the vehicle to slow down until I turned on my hazards and rolled to a stop on the shoulder. I did not have any alerts or warnings until I powered the vehicle off and powered back on to find my engine light on and the service brake assist alert on as well. I had it towed for service to which they replaced the vacuum pump, brake booster pressure sensor and brake fluid. Everything seemed to be working fine however a month later the same exact issue occurred. I took it in to the same place for service and had a brake inspection done and was told everything looked good and they were not sure what was wrong other than the ecm and ebcm were now reading codes. The issue is that this is intermittent with no warning and has been incredibly difficult to pinpoint the exact issue. This has also been incredibly pricey trying to chase an issue that appears one day and clears itself the next and lastly this has been terrifyingly frustrating as I do not know if i will have valid brake control or not on each ride. This issue could be life or death and was traumatizing as I had my son and mother in the car with me during the first event.
- Cibolo, TX, USA
I was traveling the interstate I90/94, merged to the exit ramp and found the brake pedal hard and unable to push to brake. I had to slide the car into neutral and use two feet on the brake pedal to slow down enough to make the corner at the end of the off ramp. All due to a faulty vacuum pump. The debris from the exploded vacuum pump were sent through the engine. And after having the car fixed it now uses about a quart of oil every 500 miles. Engine is shot! Seriously bad engineering design that will kill someone if it hasn't already. I am 5'11" and weigh 190 lbs. I estimate it took around 200-250 lbs of force to push the pedal to even start to slow. If I hadn't had over 40 years of driving experience, this would have ended in a catastrophic incident.
- New Lisbon , WI, USA
Faulty Brake Booster Vacuum code on after 60,000 miles
- Conroe, TX, USA
2020 Chevy equinox vacuum pump. Impossible to get the part, safety hazard, no accident yet, takes 2 feet to hold peddle down. No Chevy dealer will help me, i need to go to work.
- Webster, MA, USA
Attempted to start braking while in high traffic. Brake assist came on and prevented the car from braking properly, almost causing a crash on the highway with the car in front. The brakes had to pressed extremely hard and the e brake had to be engaged in order to stop. Since then the brake assist has not turned off and the vehicle is not safe to drive.
- Saint Joseph, MO, USA
Driving and brakes went out with no warning, no sounds, no anything almost causing me to rear end a 16 wheeler in the dead of night and almost causing another passenger to rear end me! No fluids are leaking. Break fluid not low. The brakes will not go to the floor in reverse, neutral, or drive. I had to get a Uber and get the car towed back home. Upon research it is apparent that this is a known problem in Chevrolets, specifically the 2020 equinox model with the vacuum pumps or something randomly going out while driving. This is very dangerous and I could have lost my life or caused someone else to loose their life! I just got my car a few months ago and it says-?? no unrepaired safety recalls reported-?? however this is clearly a known defect that was not bought to my attention upon purchasing the car.
- Richmond, VA, USA
- West, MS, USA