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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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
While driving on the interstate at the 70 mph speed limit, I attempt to slow down and could not without utilizing my emergency brake. I ended up taking my car to the nearest dealership and had to get a new vacuum pump and pressure sensor. I immediately looked up the issue and saw that there had been multiple complaints of this issue. I had to pay in order to receive my vehicle back, but this type of issue should not rely on a consumer. My vehicle is only 2 years old and I've been the only owner. This was a very dangerous incident, as I also had my wife and 2 young children in the vehicle.
While driving on a county highway, the service brake assist light appeared. Upon braking, brakes were extremely hard (like pushing on a brick) to stop. After attempting to brake several times and finally getting stopped, I turned off the vehicle. Upon attempting to restart, car failed to start. Towed from holstein Iowa to milford, Iowa late on a Friday. Next morning, dealer in spirit lake Iowa was contacted. A 2nd tow to the dealer happened on Saturday. Dealer briefly looked at it and stated it was a camshaft actuator or sensor and they would get to it after the holiday weekend. The gave me a rental to get home (5 hrs South) however, I am still paying on a uhaul trailer rental as the rental van did not have towing capabilities. Tow 1 was $250 and tow 2 was $125. Rental is $50 per day. Parts/labor is expected to be a little over $2200 plus the van rental, plus the uhaul trailer extra days rental, plus the gas to go back and get the vehicle and bring it home with the uhaul trailer. Dealer was advised by me to look at the vacuum pump on tue a.M. tue P.M. dealer called back. Verified vacuum pump issue and stated it was defective and that it disintegrated. It was also sitting on the front dual overhead exhaust and that was attached to the camshaft exhaust. Both of those broke away as well. Need to replace those and the timing chain with an oil change to ensure no metal remains in the engine. GM/Chevy should be fixing this at no cost plus paying for the towing charges, extra rentals, and gas. Not having brakes is a major safety issue and putting my life, my family's life and the life of people on the road around us is not what I consider a good product. Photos from the dealer will be asked for, especially the vacuum pump. I will promptly forward bills as soon as they arrive.
10/2019 - while driving on highway, coming into a construction zone, I went to slow down. When I pushed my brakes to slow down, they were very hard and was unable to push them down. Ended up having to drive off the side of the road to avoid collision. Vaccum pump failed which caused a failure in my brake assist system. It was fixed under warranty. 9/2020 - driving on the highway and went to slow down when the same thing happened again and I was unable to slow down. Again had to drive off the side of the road to avoid collision. This time when the vacuum pump failed, it broke a gear causing metal pieces to be sucked in the engine and now my engine is needing replaced. This is a common problem with this car based on the research I have done but my VIN is not included in recall. I feel this is very dangerous to happen twice in less than a year while traveling high speeds and being unable to stop. I have 2 young children that I no longer feel safe putting in this vehicle
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed but was firm causing the braking distance to be extended. The service brake assist warning light was illuminated. Radley Chevrolet (3670 jefferson davis hwy, fredericksburg, va 22408, (540)898-4000) was contacted and informed of the failure. The contact was referred to the manufacturer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000.
9 months aga, complete brake failure while driving on the highway. Dash said service brake assist. Turner Chevrolet in crosby, tx replaced the vacuum pump making the brakes work. Now we had the same issue again while driving on the highway at highway speeds. In both cases, we instantly lost all braking, but were able to slow down by letting off the accelerator and had enough distance to slow down.
I was driving to work one morning. When I got into a car accident and hit a car almost head on. As my traffic light turned red I started to break but my brakes locked up on me. Which felt like a brick. I tried to pump the brakes but it would not pump it just stayed very hard like a brick. I start to slide while not really reducing speed I turned my steering wheel a little bit trying to avoid the on coming traffic when my steering wheel locked as well causing me slide right into a car.
I purchased this vehicle I June 28th of 2018. I have had to take it into the shop at least three times with complaints of squeaking from brakes mirror alert problems trunk sticking and the suspension has gotten worse since I first started driving it I'm noticing it. Every time I complain they tell me nothing is wrong except for at the beginning of my lease it had to be taken in for repairs. I was told that the brakes squeaking is not a safety issue and it was recommend to change my brake pads and in the same conversation was told that my brakes were fine. I spoke to the manager at balise Chevy because I felt like this veichele was a lemon. I asked if there was anything they could do because I did not have time to keep taking this brand new veichele because it was a lease so they did nothing. Balise Chevy in warwick should have notes of complaints. I also took the vehicle to hurd auto mall in johnston. There was a slow leak in one of my tires and balise could not find the leak so I was told if it happens again they would submerge the tire and check that way. They sent me home the tire continued to leak air my last oil change was done at hurd automall in johnston where they did an oil change found the tire leak no problem and fixed it.
I was driving down the highway and I got an error saying engine power reduced, and my engine cut out, and then right after, I got an error saying brake assist on, and my brakes felt like a brick when I tried to push them. I made it to the emergency lane on the hwy, and pushed my brakes really hard and then put the parking brake on. After getting it towed to the closest dealership, the service advisor told me this is a known issue with Equinoxs with my engine type, where the vacuum pump goes out, and then the gear running it brakes, and then the metal from that gear got sucked up into my engine. That vacuum pump connects to both my brakes and my engine, which is why I lost both at the same time with no prior warnings or any indication anything could be wrong before it happened. My engine is now completely blown with no warning. It's a known issue with the factory part, and they assured me it had nothing to do with maintenance or anything, some of the vacuum pumps they used are just bad. There are no open recalls on my VIN. This could have been very bad. I lost my brakes and my engine going highway speeds on a bridge. I was just lucky enough to be able to make it to the emergency lane and stop without getting hit or hitting anyone else.
Just finshed my second year into my 3 year 2018 Chevy Equinox lease and for the last month or so the service brake assist has appeared and dissapeared dozens of times when starting the vehicle and while driving as well as the check engine light has come on and off for the last few weeks. Orginally mad an appointment but the dealer ship canclled it and then my car suddenly had reduced power the died in the middle of the road as I was driving on the road. Not a highway. Got it towed to the dealer and the say a vacum pump seized? now are saying there is metal in the engine amd they dont know why. Trying to get me to pay for cost. Have taken car of vehchile and done the required matinence. This should not be happening on a 2 year old car with on 32000 miles. Very concerned there is something defected with the car. As numerous vehicles have been recalled for similar issues to mine by GM.
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. While driving 40 mph, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard when it was depressed. The contact's vehicle failed to stop and crashed into two vehicles. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The contact sustained burns to the arms and hands, but medical attention was not provided. The air bags deployed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to the local dealer. The contact stated that the failure recurred thirty days later. The vehicle was towed to matthews-hargreaves Chevrolet (2000 twelve mile rd, royal oak, mi 48067, (866) 275-2746), but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and provided case number: [xxx]. the failure mileage was unknown. ('parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).')
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Hammond, IN, USA