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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
8 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
7 / 0
Average Mileage:
17,212 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2018 Chevrolet Equinox brakes problems

brakes problem

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2018 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Comments (Page 3 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #40

Apr 162022

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vacuum pump in my 2018 Chevrolet Equinox no longer works. I have a -??hard brake-?? and when I attempt to stop At low speeds there is a grinding sound with my vehicle.

- Upper Marlboro , MD, USA

problem #39

Apr 142022

Equinox

  • 75,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal became very firm and difficult to depress and the braking distances was extended. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the brake vacuum pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000.

- Valparaiso, IN, USA

problem #38

Apr 072022

Equinox

  • miles
While driving brakes suddenly became very hard to press. We could not stop our car. We luckily were in a toll plaza and not moving at high speed. This problem was scary, no warning and my family could have been harmed. We had a mechanic come and fix the problem, but this needs to be fixed.

- Tulsa, OK, USA

problem #37

Mar 152022

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

After auto stop/ start system engages messages on dash appear -?? service brake assist-??, -??service steering assist-??, -??service parking brake-??, -??service stibilitrac-??, Failure at 55,400 miles Dealership found a loss communication error to the muddles due to low battery voltage. Fix: replaced battery at 55,436 miles Battery has been replaced 3 times in 4 years starting at 18, 500 miles, then at 32,562 miles, now at 55,436 miles due to the same issue with the auto stop start operation. Car is out of warranty as of 58,300 miles or October 2022

- Wheat Ridge, CO, USA

problem #36

Feb 052022

Equinox

  • miles
Service Brake Assist warning. Same issue as NHTSA campaign number 20V603 and GM recall N202300860 but no active recalls on this VIN.

- Massillon, OH, USA

problem #35

Dec 282021

Equinox

  • miles
I own a 2018 Chevy Equinox. The brakes have now failed 3 times. Dealership confirmed each time it was an issue with the brake vacuum pump. The Equinox has not been included in a recall, yet there are clearly safety issues. GM had numerous cars recalled for this exact same reason. There is a serious safety issue here. I am now without a car again because of a third brake vacuum pump failure. I have not been able to get any assistance from GM or my local Chevy dealership. I now am faced with a bill for repair for almost $2000. It is ridiculous to think that such a serious safety issue would exist and the industry will not acknowledge that it goes far beyond the vehicles they have already recalled. I wonder how many more accidents will happen before this is corrected. To be honest, when I do get my vehicle back I-??m not sure I will drive it. When you lose your breaks 3 times it-??s very difficult to trust. I would like to see this corrected and the Equinox needs to be added. My car has 128,000 miles on it at the time of the third failure. The other two failures were at approximately 60,000 miles and 92,000 miles. Thank you.

- Gray, GA, USA

problem #34

Oct 102020

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

When I lift my foot off brake the car Stop/Start feature engage causing lurching jerks forward or roll backwardson hill I fear the roll back on inclines praying vehicles are to close behind and rolling backwards into another vehicle, censors lights take turns coming on each time I lift my foot off the brake pedal. All of the following, service brake assist, service stabilittrak, park brake released, service hill start assist action not working, car locks unlock and relock by themselves. I have had these issues since. These issues have been occurring since around 16,000 miles and keep getting worst everyday. GM claim not to have a fix for these issues. They offered a few thousand to buy back the vehicle claiming drastic depreciation for milage and wear. At that time owed over $25,000 balance for the vehicle. No one stood to benefit but the lemon law attorneys.They did not consider the milage when these issues started and this is my only source of transportation to use which I told the lemon law attorneys. The lemon law attorneys were going to charge their fee from me if GM refused to pay their fees. I told them I felt in my best interest I should wait for GM's recall for this vehicle as I'm sure I wasn't the only consumer that was having these same issues. My problem is my vehicle is becoming dangerous to drive due to the rolling back and, jerking of the steering wheel, engine cutting off, locks unlocking and relocking and unstable steering. These issues were hit and miss now happens every time I drive which is daily. These issues started 2020. Last correspondence with GM they still claim they did not know how to fix these issues. I question why they are making vehicles and are not able to fix these issues. I have given my family a list of these issues because they create a safety hazard and in case I, a passenger or someone in another vehicle is injured or killed due to GM's negligence, lack of concern and greed.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #33

Dec 302021

Equinox

  • miles
While attempting to apply the brakes to slow down a message appeared on the instrument panel that said Service Brake Assist.. My safety was put at risk by not having proper breaking. The problen was addressed at a gm dealer and I was told there are no recalls for this type of problem for my vehicle.

- Council Blfs, IA, USA

problem #32

Dec 082021

Equinox

  • miles
The power booster brake assist vacuum pump, without any warning, failed while exiting the freeway. My wife couldn't stop the vehicle. Replaced unit for $750. Now Fine SCARED the crap out of her. Approximately 84,000 miles. This is a sealed unit. I am a highly skilled machinist and I have made braking components for auto and aircraft and disassembled and reassembled for evaluation to determine cause and to remedy problem. What happened? DEFECTIVE PARTS OR POOR DESIGN. I request all replaced damaged parts so I have the part here. I did my research and have seen this is an ongoing problem with GMC and yet NO recall. HELP!

- Uniontown, OH, USA

problem #31

Nov 282021

Equinox

  • miles
1. The brake component that failed was the vacuum pump. It has been repaired and is not available for inspection. 2. I lost braking ability(the ability to brake normally) on a major interstate in Georgia while driving 74 mph. By stomping on the brakes with full body weight, I was able to drop back in traffic, eventually find an exit to pull off the road. 3. The service report from the dealership that fixed it stated, "Customer states the vehicle has very limited brakes. You have to apply brake pedal extremely hard to stop.....Customer concern verified. No brake vacuum present." 4. Do not know. 5. Right before the incident occurred a light signaling something about the brakes came on. That was wile the car was moving at 74 mph.

- Camden, SC, USA

problem #30

Jul 302020

Equinox

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving on an interstate I had to brake suddenly and the brakes were extremely difficult to engage. I was able to get to the shoulder and down shift the transmission in order to stop. The vehilces brake booster had failed. There were no warning lights to inform me. Fortunately, I had a repair warranty to fix the brake booster. However, I feel this may be a problem that GM should be made aware of.

- Hammond, IN, USA

problem #29

Oct 242021

Equinox

  • miles
While driving the traction and stability lights came on along with the ESC service light. Also my Lane assist stopped working. It stayed on for at Least 30 mins until I turned off the car and restarted. Stopped at the closest garage and they checked the battery and used a scan tool to identify that it had a fault code U0121 Lost Communication with Anti-lock Brake System Module.

- Endwell, NY, USA

problem #28

Nov 292019

Equinox

  • miles
Was heading to run some errands and when I parked my car I try to release my seat belt buckle and it was not releasing. So I had a knife and I tried wiggling it so the buckle would release and it did not so I was frustrated and broke the seatbelt for driver as well as my rear seat belt. My transmission has been acting weird since 2019 and it happen every morning when it starts running my car shakes for a little then it would run fine. And for brakes my brakes would hesitate and shake as is braking.

- New London, CT, USA

problem #27

Jun 222021

Equinox

  • miles
The electronic parking brake unexpectedly and automatically engaged while I was driving. The car would jerk and instantly slow down. It didn't matter if I was on a freeway going 55 mph or on a side street going 20 mph. In the course of 24 hours, it got worse and worse. It was extremely dangerous, because I would slow and / or stop unexpectedly in front of cars behind me. I could disengage it with the button, but in just a matter of minutes it would engage again. Finally, I could not disengage it anymore, and I had to park it on the side of the road and get it towed. This was a car rented from Hertz in New Orleans, Louisiana.

- Hanover, NH, USA

problem #26

May 262021

Equinox

  • miles
Dealership stated that it is an internal failure of the vacuum pump. Have had the Vacuum pump fail 2 times since I got it and now it just occurred for the 3rd time. Had it replaced by a dealership both times before and will be bringing it back there this afternoon. No warning light. Brakes just stop working while driving. They feel very hard and barely stop the car. Have to use the emergency brake to stop the car. First and second time it happened I was going about 45-50 mph, coming up to the red light and had no brakes. No previous issue or warning. This time I was in a parking lot so not that fast but had no brakes all of a sudden again.

- Atlanta, GA, USA

problem #25

May 212021

Equinox

  • miles
I waa getting off the highway on an exit ramp and my brake pedal started vibrating. Then I could not depress the brake pedal, it wouldn't budge. It was as hard as a rock. I then lost my breaks and almost had a major accident. I swerved and ended up on the grass shoulder near the woods. Then the -??Service Brake Assist-?? message came on the dashboard, and the engine light came on. It was the most scariest experience I have encountered and now I no longer want to own this car. I had it towed to Apple Cheverolet in York Pa.

- Hanover, PA, USA

problem #24

Feb 142021

Equinox

  • 67,000 miles
While in motion driving on rt 73 headed North in a strait driving direction. Break pedal would not go down. Stuck in up position enabling the vehicle to stop.

- Maple Shade, NJ, USA

problem #23

Feb 052021

Equinox 4-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
The contact was speaking on behalf of his daughter who owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contacts daughter was approaching an intersection at low speeds, when the brake pedal failed to engaged properly and traveled to the floor causing the contact to crash into the rear of the vehicle in front. No injuries were sustained. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The contacts daughter managed to drive the vehicle to her residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer priority Chevrolet (1495 S military hwy, chesapeake, va 23320 757) 424-1811) where it was pending a diagnostic test. The vehicle sustained damages to the front grill and bumper. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case number was provided. NHTSA campaign number: 18V576000 (service brakes, hydraulic) was mentioned as a possible solution to the failure however, the VIN was not included. The failure mileage was approximately 61,000.

- Gloucester, VA, USA

problem #22

Jan 112021

Equinox

  • 86,000 miles
Was driving in stop/go traffic - about 35-40 mph. Went to hit the brakes and the brake pad wouldn't move. I pumped and nothing happened. No lights/warnings on the dash, and the car had functioned fine prior to then. I had to throw the car to neutral, try to veer into another lane, then pull emergency brake to keep from hitting another car. Warning then came across the dash saying "brake assist service needed" (or something to that effect). The car is now at the dealership- was told that the vacumn pump failed, the gear inside broke apart and the pieces have been taken into the engine, so they have to replace the pump and get the pieces out of the engine. No ABS warning prior, no other engine trouble or other warning lights prior to this happening. 86K miles, 2018 Equinox.

- Davenport, FL, USA

problem #21

Jan 062021

Equinox

  • 62,144 miles
Brakes failed following a vacuum pump failure while driving at faster speeds on a busy city street (45mph). "reduced engine power" was displayed and when I applied the brakes, the pedal felt solid and did not depress. Using the neutral gear and parking brake I was able to stop the car. This could have been a fatal failure in a different scenario with a lesser driver

- Armada, MI, USA

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