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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
11,930 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2018 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Comments (Page 1 of 3)

problem #41

Nov 152023

Equinox

  • miles

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

A message has begun appearing in my 2018 Chevy Equinox LT that states "Parking Brake Released". This message did not previously appear and seems to be a potential issue to fix. After doing some online research, I found 3 technical service bulletins for parking brake issues/messages for the 2018 Equinox on an automotive repair website. However, when I contacted the Chevy dealership and did a VIN search, there were no open recalls or any recalls for my car. I am not clear why other 2018 Equinox models have recall notices but my VIN number is not impacted by those notices, even though it was manufactured during the same year. Please help investigate if my car should be included in those TSBs and dealer repairs. The TSB numbers are: 20NA094, 19NA213, and PI1410B.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #40

Nov 152023

Equinox

  • miles
A message has begun appearing in my 2018 Chevy Equinox LT that states "Parking Brake Released". This message did not previously appear and seems to be a potential issue to fix. After doing some online research, I found 3 technical service bulletins for parking brake issues/messages for the 2018 Equinox on an automotive repair website. However, when I contacted the Chevy dealership and did a VIN search, there were no open recalls or any recalls for my car. I am not clear why other 2018 Equinox models have recall notices but my VIN number is not impacted by those notices, even though it was manufactured during the same year. Please help investigate if my car should be included in those TSBs and dealer repairs. The TSB numbers are: 20NA094, 19NA213, and PI1410B.

- Gilbert, AZ, USA

problem #39

Jul 012023

Equinox

  • miles
The sun roof shade is inoperable. The sunshade retracts, but does not go back into the roof so the whole shade hangs down. This completely blocks the view of the driver out the back window and is a severe safety risk. Even when the sunshade is "closed" the material hangs down, continuing to block the drivers view out of the back window. The shade has come off the tracks and unglued. The issue has been confirmed as inoperable and an internal fault in the roof shade assembly by a Chevrolet dealership and needing to be replaced completely. I have taken it to several other shops around my city, and have been informed that this is a common problem that is being referred back to dealerships for fixing. There was no prior warning sign, and my car has been experiencing this issue since July 2023.

- Seabrook, TX, USA

problem #38

Mar 222023

Equinox

  • miles

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

Service brake assist

- Jonesboro, AR, USA

problem #37

Feb 262023

Equinox

  • miles
Shift to park service bulletin 19-NA-206 Currently equinox is not listed under affected models but it has the same components as similar models. Looking around this is a common issue

- Chico, CA, USA

problem #36

Dec 132022

Equinox

  • miles
I purchased my 2018 Chevrolet equinox on July3rd, 2018 with 2 miles on it. Current mileage 67,900 Stop/start system design defect. I have had to have my vehicle battery replaced 4 times in 4 years of ownership. The battery has failed again at 67,900 miles on 12/13/2022 which will be the 5th battery in its lifetime. My dealership said that due to the climate and road conditions where I live my stop/start system has been killing my battery cell every 16,975 miles causing my battery to fail. Chevrolet originally extended my warranty for 6months/ or 60k miles. They said they can no longer extend my warranty and that I-€™d be responsible for the next battery and future battery-€™s.

- Wheat Ridge, CO, USA

problem #35

Sep 162022

Equinox

  • miles

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

I have purchased a 2018 Chevy equinox. It was damaged on the back bumper (rebuilt title). The backup camera works fine but there is a side detection error that comes on everytime I start the vehicle. The shop replaced the entire harness however that did not fix the issue. I have read 1000's of complaints on this. My vehicle has 45000 miles. This is effecting my gas mileage as well as other safety features. I see this has been an issue in MANY GM models and it has been taken care ( special warranty) but not on a 2018 equinox as of yet. I want to report this problem and see if someone can look into all the other forums etc to see how widespread this really is. The light has came on a few times lately but only when I am parked and not going anywhere"?" Thanks in advance.

- Chrisitiana, TN, USA

problem #34

Jul 142022

Equinox

  • miles
Since I bought this car I have had to replace sensors like they-€™re going out of style. However I would like to report on 3 sensors that went out simultaneously on my vehicle in heavy traffic. I had the vacuum boost sensor for my master cylinder, my cam shaft sensor and my crank shaft sensor go out simultaneously. As a result my vehicle engine cut off completely (battery components still working) and I had zero control over my breaks. I had to use my full body weight on my break pedal to get the vehicle to stop. I was fortune to have been able to pull off into a parking lot. I have had to replace several o2 sensors on this vehicle. I didn-€™t think anything of having any electrical issues until this happened. My check engine light has stayed on for over a year despite clearing codes and replacing o2 sensors. We check periodically and the only code is usually for the o2 sensor. We can save the sensors we have replaced for inspection if necessary. I had a low engine power signal flash across the infotainment system just before this happened. I was in heavy traffic and I-€™m just fortunate I was able to get out of the way quickly enough before I hurt myself or someone else. The break issue and loss of power was actually terrifying

- Marbury , AL, USA

problem #33

Mar 212022

Equinox

  • miles
I see that this isn't a recall but is affecting many models of chevy from year models 2016-2019 with the gear selector assembly. The issue is the harness, solenoid, or sensor in the gear selector assembly is faulty and when trying to put the vehicle in park, the vehicle thinks it is NOT in park when it IS. Then, when you leave the vehicle, the interior beeps at you and electricals stay on as well as headlights/tail lights and will drain the battery unless you disconnect the battery. I don't see why this hasn't been recalled? I see SOOOO many people with the same issue and I've read that some dealerships are reluctant to fix because they can't "duplicate the problem" The problem is, you can't just buy the gear selector harness assembly wiring harness since it only comes with the whole assembly itself. So this should indeed be a recall because the average person isn't going to be able to figure this out and they shouldn't have to pay since it is happening in what looks like thousands if not tens of thousands or more vehicles.

- Plymouth, MI, USA

problem #32

May 052021

Equinox

  • miles
When my cats gets turned on my radio doesn-€™t turn on so I have to reset it until it turns on meaning I have to press and hold for 20sec to get the volume knob lite but my radio doesn-€™t work and on top of it the auto stop is tripping when I do auto stop the car turns off and restarts on its own and shows light on dash saying traction control on or off and then it will say brake release and than brake check my steering wheel controls don-€™t work meaning my auto control isn-€™t working to set and one day out of nowhere it will all work like nothing happen radio will turn on but I can-€™t turn volume on or change station and it-€™s a frozen screen and sometimes it goes all blank black but I can hear music with no screen

- Hammond, IN, USA

problem #31

Apr 272022

Equinox

  • miles

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

rear liftgate will only open most of the time it will not close when using the buttons on vehicle or on key fob, ongoing issue since

- Vermontville, MI, USA

problem #30

Oct 262021

Equinox

  • miles
The vehicle first started having a cigarette residual smoke smell in it during the summer of 2019. It was right after a good rainfall, but we didn't know what to attribute it to. We called the local Chevrolet dealership and they weren't sure what it might be either. The odor would come and go over the last couple of years, but we couldn't figure out what it was from as none of my family members smoke. Then my husband went to run errands in my vehicle during a heavy downpour and heard water running inside of the car. He found water coming out of the fuse panel on the driver's side in the rear hatch (video available). He started removing the wet stuff in the rear hatch & when he got down to the spare tire compartment, he found it was filled with water. He also smelled the cigarette smoke-like odor like 10 times stronger than before & realized that it was due to the felt-like pad in the spare tire compartment being soaked in water. We again called the local dealership & they weren't sure what the problem might have been. My husband & stepfather did research and found out a lot of Equinox owners were experiencing the same issue & it had been determined that it was due to the sunroof water drainage system being clogged. The provided solution was to run air through the water drainage pipes, which my husband did. However, the vehicle still had some water appearing behind the driver's side seat during the lighter rainfalls afterwards. As well, the odor that smelled like cigarette smoke had now been replaced with a strong mildew/mold smell. This poses two major safety issues - water going into fuse boxes (water & electrical don't mix), as well as the mold/mildew being inhaled - especially of concern since we have two toddlers sitting in the backseat of this family vehicle. One dealership was unable to duplicate water inside the vehicle, but found the water drain pipes partially clogged. Other dealership noted mold/mildew smell and did an ozone detailing.

- Cortland, NY, USA

problem #29

Mar 152022

Equinox

  • miles
After auto stop/ start system engages messages on dash appear -€œ service brake assist-€, -€œservice steering assist-€, -€œservice parking brake-€, -€œservice 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 #28

Dec 182021

Equinox

  • miles
We were driving at night I had turned on the overhead cabin light and when I turned on the overhead cabin light so my wife could hand food to our are sun and behind us the At the same time that I push the button the sunshade started to go and so I let it go but then it got jammed and it started to crank so I pushed the button in it started to go and reverse and then it like Jim in it aint like you know the motor growing sound and like there's a big shatter we thought that it was the glass from the moon roof shuttering turned out it was just like the plastic piece it was like holding the shade in place and so And so then to get that repaired they had to take the roof off take the rails out to get to the little plastic piece to call that plastic piece an external trim fastener so if it was an internal fastener it would be covered if it was because it was a fascinary if it was because it was a fascinator if it was because it's trim I don't know what trim you have to pull a roof off and pull rails out to it to find but that is why they didn't call it cover

- Commerce City, CO, USA

problem #27

Oct 102020

Equinox

  • miles
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 #26

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 #25

Mar 112021

Equinox

  • 34,000 miles
The driver side power seat would intermittently and without warning slide suddenly forward and continue to do so even after the power seat was reversed. In some instances the seat washed pushed so far forward I could not continue safely and was forced to pull off the road. Usually after a short wait I could continue driving. The problem occurred in a number of different driving situations, highways, city streets and interstate highways. I found at least 5 bulletins issued by GM regarding the specific problem described the bulletin number is pit5608D. The bulletins were issued between 2018 and 2021.

- Hermitage, TN, USA

problem #24

Feb 262021

Equinox

  • 40,000 miles
When using the bluetooth/handsfree with my phone while driving or stationary, the radio unit with dial out a call, but when the person on the other end picks up that person can not hear me. The person will say hello several times before hanging up. This could be an issue if I had an accident and couldn't get ahold of someone to talk to immediately. The vehicle is outside of the bumper to bumper warranty 3 years/36000 miles.

- Great Falls, MT, USA

problem #23

Nov 012020

Equinox

  • 55,000 miles
After going through a car wash or driving in a heavy rain, the vehicle door locks periodically no longer function. Door lock/unlock function cannot be used either with the key fob or with direct press of the lock/unlock button on the interior of the vehicle. At one point had to climb out the back of the vehicle. If you are outside of the vehicle, the only way to unlock the vehicle is to remove the cover from the door lock and use the embedded key in the key fob. Issue will last anywhere from 1 hour to 24 hours after the car gets wet. Huge safety concern if there were ever to be an issue arising where you had to exit the vehicle in an emergency. Took the vehicle to the dealer and they were unable to duplicate the problem. I have video of the issue occurring.

- Pataskala, OH, USA

problem #22

Jan 042021

Equinox

  • 27,450 miles
Message: I own a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, 4 cylinder with electronic steering, the vehicle has approx 27500 miles recorded. While driving I sensed a slight delay in the steering, it appears to be only a millisecond delay and does not happen all the time. In addition there are times when the vehicle seems to wonder left or right when steering wheel is not held firmly. I reported the issue to blaize alexander phillipsburg pa service mgr. And asked if there was a reported issue with the steering. Their response was no. But suggested to schedule an apt. After arriving home I searched the issues on the internet and found several reports of steering problems with 2018 Chevrolet Equinox causing near miss accidents due to the electronic control failures. After consult with independent GM certified technician it was learned that there are significant issues with electronic steering. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer this day, the results of the inspection was they could not duplicate the problem as all parameters were within spec. This condition so far has been sporadic in nature, however due to the seriousness of potential hazards deserves more attention directed to it.

- Smithmill, PA, USA

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