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.
I was traveling at expressway speeds (70 mph) when traffic in front of me hit the brakes quickly to avoid an object in the road. At this time, I hit my brakes relatively hard and fast in what I would describe as a panic brake. I avoided incident here. About a mile further up the road, traffic in front of me hit the brakes once again. At this time, I also hit my brakes, but I could not. My brake pedal was hard as a rock, and it would push down only about 2 or 3 inches with little to no effect. I was afraid I might break the pedal arm. I was able to maintain my lane until about 40 mph at which time I was forced to hit the shoulder to avoid colliding with the cars in front of me which were now stopped. I pressed the brake pedal hard and coasted along the shoulder of the expressway for about 40 or 50 yards, rolling past the stopped traffic. A few minutes after my car came to a complete stop, the information panel on my dashboard read "service brake assist". My car was towed to a GM dealership local to where I came to a stop. The documentation from the dealership, as well as what I was verbally told, indicates that there was an internal failure of the vacuum pump. According to the service manager, there was nothing I could have done to prevent this. Obviously, I was extremely lucky. If this would have happened in two-lane city traffic, or approaching a stop light I would have been forced to veer into oncoming traffic or simply barrel into those in front of me. I know this, because for the last month, as I'm driving, I constantly analyze what would happen if my brakes were to go out like that at various points along my drive. Often times, my only option would be to brace for a major accident or land my car in the front yard of a business. This catastrophic failure could have easily killed me, and/or other drivers on the road. Other people will not be so lucky, and I know this. For that reason, it's time for NHTSA to finally take action on this matter.
I was driving on the highway in traffic when the brake pedal became hard as a rock I was unable to stop causing a major safety concern for myself and baby. Turns out the vacuum pump was faulty causing my brakes to fail.
I have 2019 chevy equinox I purchase the car last year with 61 miles. On March 12, 2024 I was 5 minutes away from home after driving an hour from work, try to stop at the stop sign the car didn't stop I tried several time to stop finally put it in neutral for the car to slow down to be able to pull over to stop thank God I wasn't hurt. After taking it to the dealership to get look at now the telling me my camshaft broke to pieces which will cost with the vacuum booster $24000 with only 70 miles.
Our 2019 Chevrolet Equinox had a sudden Brake Vacuum Pump failure causing loss of braking power by about 80%. The only reason we did not have an accident is it was early morning and there was no traffic when we exited the highway. I was not happy to realize that GM has no recall on this. They apparently knew this was a problem and in more recent years have changed the design. The other flaw is this pump is attached to the wall of the engine and shrapnel can fall into the engine compartment and that debris could lead to total engine failure if it travels to the combustion area. This is not only dangerous but financially ruining.
- Howell, MI, USA
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Mechanic said it is this exactly like the other cars but yet my cars vin does not show recall for this [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Driving 70mph on the interstate with moderate traffic. Came up on a slow down and tried to brake but my brake pedal would not move. It took both feet pushing as hard as I could to stop my car. Luckily I didn't hit anyone. Had to trailer the car home. Had the code read at O'Reilly auto parts and it is the failure of the brake booster vacuum pump. My car has a little less than 70,000 miles on it. There were no warning lights, NO NOTHING up to this point. Luckily I leave plenty of room between me and other cars or this could have been a really bad turnout.
While driving my 2019 Chevy Equinox it was acting to me to have a flat tire shaking weirdly in what felt like the front right tire. I was going around 72 mph down the freeway slowed to exit to the nearest station no issues there my speed was around 37 mph exiting off the freeway and SUDDENLY THE BREAK PEDAL WAS TO HARD TO PRESS I FOUND MYSELF WITH NO BREAKS the break pedal was EXTENDED OR" It wouldn-??t press down at all and although I tried to pump them, I didn-??t want to break anything and it felt like if I pushed down it would break something! So I wheeled it into the gas station and put it in park to stop. I called right away to the dealership I bought it at and had it towed from the station! I was lucky! I KNOW I WAS LUCKY! I MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN!! This came without warning other than thinking I had a flat from the shaking! There was no light or other symptoms to alert me! IMAGINE SUDDENLY THE CAR IS SHAKING AND YOU HAVE NO BREAKS!?! THE CAUSE I WAS TOLD IS A FAULTY BOOSTER! IF YOU CANT GUARANTEE THE BREAKS WHY SELL THE CAR! ITS A VITAL ASPECT OF SAFETY! NOW IM TERRIFIED! THIS IS NOT OKAY! ALL I GET IS EXCUSES AND RUNAROUNDS ABOUT IT! BE AWARE THESE CARS HAVE ISSUES! HOW CAN A CONSUMER FEEL SAFE DRIVING A VEHICLE NOT KNOWING IF THE BREAKS WILL WORK OR NOT"! The shaking was my warning I say looking back but NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ONE! I think it-??s what SAVED MY LIFE AND THOSE OF MY CHILDREN! Only the shaking!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT OKAY GMC NOT AT ALL!!!!!
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake assists, and the check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed oil valve. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was informed that when the check engine warning light illuminated, other warning lights would sometimes become illuminate. The contact stated that a day later, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes were inoperable. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the contact noticed that the brake pedal was difficult to depress. The brake assists warning light illuminated and then disappeared. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
Failure of Brake Vacuum Pump. Oil intake screen of brake vacuum pump became clogged. (Have been diligent in regular oil changes) clogged intake caused pump to not receive lubrication, which resulting in it seizing. Pump is mechanically driven by exhaust cam shaft. Failure caused brakes to become almost impossible to engage. Even worse. The metal parts that were connected to the cam shaft were shattered, and the pieces ended up directly in the crankcase. This seems like a dangerous and potentially very expensive design flaw Pieces in picture had to be removed from crankcase..
I was at a stop light, the light turned green and I proceeded to lift my foot off of the break giving the vehicle a moment to autostart, I pressed the accelerator, and the car started to make a sputtering sound and tremble terribly. The vehicle's engine shut down in the middle of traffic, no warning lights appeared on my dash board. The power of the vehicle was still on. I placed the car in park, then I turned the power off. I tried to restart the vehicle this time the vehicle continued to shake and sputter but it did not move when I placed the gear in Drive. I had to be pushed put of the road by the Police and then towed to the dealer. The service engineer at the Chevy Dealership was able to start the engine and take it for a test drive, the vehicle also shut done on him but also left him with no ability to use the breaks. He was unable to stop. Thankfully no one was in front of him or behind him he was able to have the vehicle towed back to the service bay. I was told that the break vacuum pump disintegrated and went into the engine cam shaft. That caused the engine to completely shut down. I believe this is a safety issue as no sensor or engine codes ever displayed and the dealership took 2weeks to diagnose what was wrong because they were not getting any codes displayed on their diagnostic equipment. There was no way for me to know this break vacuum pump was failing to be able to proactively replace it to prevent this serious malfunction from occurring. I could have been seriously injured and cause a horrible accident as I was headed to the highway that morning. I would like to be contacted in regard to this.
2019 Equinox LT. 1.5 litre Vacuum pump clogged and exploded internally. Almost killed my wife and I when brakes failed. There appears to be TSB-??s dating as far back as 2015. Chevy has been aware of this issue yet continued to produce vehicles with this defective and dangerous design. It sounds as if piston rings are prem The pump connects to and is powered by intake cam. Dumb. Micheal Bates dealership say I-??m responsible for the parts and repairs, because is no warranty, which are about the car used repairs, all internal damage to engine.
The vacuum pump failed, which left me without power brakes while slowing down on an interstate exit ramp. There were no warnings or indications of failure in advance. The brakes were fine as I got on the interstate, then I became aware of the problem as I exited about 30 minutes later. I nearly rear-ended the car in front of me as we approached the stoplight. Without power brakes, much more force than usual was necessary to come to a stop safely. This is a very dangerous situation as elderly or physically disabled drivers may find it very challenging to apply enough force to come to a stop, especially when slowing down from 70+ MPH interstate speeds. Metal pieces broke off from the vacuum pump and caused damage to the cam shaft. While reviewing some YouTube videos on the topic, I discovered I'm not the only Equinox owner to experience this type of failure around 5x, xxx to 6x, xxx miles for the 2019 or similar model years. Here is the link to one representative video, and the comments indicate there are others who have experienced something similar... 2018 Chevy Equinox Vacuum Pump Catostrophic Failure! [XXX] Here's another: 2020 chevy equinox brake pedal really hard or no brakes fix [XXX] --F One more example: 2018 -2019 and up chevy equinox brake pedal Hard easy fix [XXX] Unfortunately, my vehicle was subsequently totaled in an unrelated accident, so it is unavailable for inspection. I believe public safety is at risk, however, so I have decided to submit this report anyway. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While driving from a short trip when we got back home we stopped to get something to eat and when backing out of our parking space I put on the brakes but the peddle was really hard and it was very hard to stop. I went the next day to a parts store and used their scanner and came up with code for brake assist vacuum pump. I had a very hard time finding a replacement and it had to come from Kansas city. I replaced it myself and had problems with it too. The original one the drive connector disintegrated where it connects to the cam shaft. The replacement one went on fine but oil ran from it due to the outer faceplate being warped. Every part store in town says they can't get it.
The contact owned a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, she began to smell a burnt odor inside the vehicle. The contact saw white smoke entering from the windshield defroster and decided to continue driving to her destination. The contact stated the check engine warning light was illuminated and black smoke began to enter the windshield defroster. The contact depressed the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle and caused her to crash into a guard rail on the front driver side. No air bags deployed. The contact was not able to open the front driver side door due to being blocked by the guard rail. The contact climbed into the back of the vehicle and exited the rear driver side door, while the flames were inside the front of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire report was not filed. The police report was filed. The contact did not sustain any injuries but sought medical attention the following day. The vehicle was not drivable. The insurance company deemed the vehicle to be a total loss. The vehicle was towed to the towing lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.
Was driving in a busy area of Erie, PA, when approaching a traffic signal driving near 45 mph before the speed limit dropped. Attempted to apply brakes as traffic was backed up at the light, but couldn't depress the brakes at all. The service brake assist light came on at that moment. Was fortunate that light turned green a few seconds later so traffic cleared and I was able to make a wide high speed right turn at the intersection before pulling into a nearby empty business parking lot and coasting to a start without colliding with anything. It was a miracle. The car was towed back to a Chevy dealership (Ben Bissett) in Mercer, PA, where they identified a failed brake vacuum pump, which also caused other damage when it failed. We have since uncovered dozens of reports of similar incidents in these vehicles nationwide and believe this is something you should look into as this is a serious safety issue that could lead to injury or death. Thank you so much for your time on this matter.
I was approaching and intersection with a red light and I put my foot on the brakes. The car slowed down but then bucked forward three time until I hit the vehicle in front of me. Been driving for 44 years and never experienced anything like it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Wentzville , MO, USA