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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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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.
Driving on trip to New York and lost the brake assist system halfway there. No alerts or engine lights came on as they should have. Luckily we were coming up to stop light so not going to fast but almost hit car in front of us. We had no warning and this is a known problem with these cars.
This vehicle starts glitching after exposure to rain. All of the gauges start going up and down, and every action required message pops up one after the other stating "Fuel Level Low, Shift to Park, Park Assist Off, All Wheel Drive System, Service Power Steering, ESC". The vehicle does this while driving at low to high speeds, even on the highways it has happened, the brakes are hard to push in while this is happening. This puts me and others in high danger if I cannot control the vehicle while driving. I have taken the vehicle in over 6 times to the service department of GM and not one time has anything been done. They have been unsuccessful in duplicating the problem every time I've brought it in even when it is occurring.
When I was driving my vehicle, I came up to a red light and my brake pedal was hard and I could not stop the vehicle. The brakes would not work when I tried to stop. With fast acting and thinking, I was able to pull over to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me, luckily no other cars were around at that time. Mine and my child's safety were at risk when the vehicle would not stop and we could have been in an accident from the brakes not working. The vehicle is currently at the dealership getting diagnosed. No warning sings, warning lamps, messages or other signs happened before, during, or after the failure of the brakes. The brake pedal was so hard you could not push it down at all.
I was driving home from work, just got off the highway, and when I was about to turn into my apartment complex, i went to push on the brake to slow down, and I noticed I couldn't push down on the brake at all. Luckily, it was later in the evening and no other cars were around at the time of the incident. There was no prior warning that popped up before that. My car didn't stop until I pulled the parking brake and then the "service brake assist" message popped up finally. No accident occurred but I am pretty shaken up considering how different the outcome could have been if I was on the highway for myself and if there was any other car involved. I will be taking it to the dealership in a few days.
I was driving on the highway when suddenly my brakes became stuck and I was unable to stop. I was able to safely maneuver to the side of the highway with the help of quick thinking and my parking brake. However, no warning lights or messages appeared from my car directly prior to the event. Although I was safe, this could have had a fatal outcome for either myself or other drivers on the highway had I not been able to move to the side of the highway quickly. My car is currently at a dealership for the weekend and I am awaiting them opening this week so they will be able to perform a full inspection. A sheriff presented to the scene when this happened as I had my hazard lights on while on the side of the road and he did a visual inspection of the hood of my car as well. I am extremely concerned regarding the unprompted failure of my brake system and lack of warning prior.
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 MPH, he depressed the brake pedal however, the vehicle failed to respond. As a result, the contact had to apply pressure and pumped the brake pedal approximately ten to fifteen times before the vehicle stopped. The contact then engaged the parking brake. The vehicle was taken to Tires Plus where it was diagnosed that the brake vacuum pump had exploded and caused damage to the camshaft. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was notified of the failure and the contact was scheduled to take the vehicle to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was provided a case number. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000
The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she depressed the brake pedal to slow the vehicle; however, the vehicle failed to respond. As a result, the contact had to apply pressure and pump the brake pedal several times to stop the vehicle. The contact was able to navigate the vehicle off the roadway. The vehicle was then towed to Tires Plus where it was diagnosed that the brake vacuum pump malfunctioned and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
The P0556 code gets stored when the PCM has detected a problem with the brake booster pressure sensor circuit because of abnormal feedback. Braking distance significantly affected by brake pedal becoming difficult to depress. Cause is the brake booster vacuum pump. Internet reports indicate multiple vehicle types during the late 20-teens and early 2020s. Problems are occurring during or shortly after warranty expiration. This is a very dangerous problem that could cause serious injury.
My brake pedal became hard as a rock requiring all of the leg strength I had to stop vehicle followed by a Brake Booster warning light and an email from OnStar. My concern here is GM eliminated that foot/hand operated emergency/parking brake leaving no backup method to stop in an emergency. Women, for the most part, and inexperienced drivers would not have the strength or knowledge to push on the brake pedal as hard as possible to stop the vehicle. Once they pushed with normal pressure and the vehicle didn't stop there would be an accident. In my case I was traveling at 45 mph in congested multi lane traffic on the inside of four lanes when traffic suddenly stopped leaving me about 2 seconds to react.
While driving the Brake pedal became very hard to press and stopping distance increased greatly. the check engine light and service brake light on the dash became illuminated. After looking online it became apparent that there are a lot of people with Chevrolet vehicles equipped with the 1.5L engine that had the same problem and the cause was a faulty vacuum pump. I removed the vacuum pump and it has broken pieces that have fallen off of it and are now inside of the engine and will need more engine components removed to have access to remove all of the metal fragments.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Cibolo, TX, USA