2025 Chevrolet Equinox problems

TIRES:SIDEWALL

Both passenger side tires, front and back, have bulging on sidewall. Nothing was hit or damaged. Tires: 275/40 R21 107 H. These tires have 10,600 miles on them.

NHTSA complaint #11764112 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

The dashboard glare on the windshield is very unsafe. I am often unable to see pedestrians on the side of the road and pedestrians crossing the road. This is an ongoing issue, not a single incident.

NHTSA complaint #11763652 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unintendedly accelerated with the transmission hesitating while changing gears. Additionally, the contact stated that the timing chain was rattling abnormally. The vehicle was not diagnosed to determine the cause of the powertrain and transmission failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was scheduled to be diagnosed.

NHTSA complaint #11762009 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ENGINE

On 3 occasions, the last happening today (XXX) traveling north on XXX toward [XXX] at approximately 14:05, the vehicle has stopped abruptly and hard, and will then release. Today, it took it longer to release. When it occurred this time, it braked just as hard but longer, so I had to cross two lanes so the cars behind me would not hit me. The cars swerved around me and the car eventually let go and I was able to accelerate from that dangerous position on the side of the highway. The first time it happened, someone was pretty close behind me. The car stopped hard, real hard, but let go quickly enough to accelerate before a collision. The second time, there was no one in front or behind us, and we were safe. It hadn’t happened in a while, today. We’ve downloaded 2 or 3 software update, and I was hoping it fixed the issue. It did not. Today the car stumbled and the rpm’s jumped. I feel like the car momentarily braked while I was accelerating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11761939 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SERVICE BRAKES

On 3 occasions, the last happening today (XXX) traveling north on XXX toward [XXX] at approximately 14:05, the vehicle has stopped abruptly and hard, and will then release. Today, it took it longer to release. When it occurred this time, it braked just as hard but longer, so I had to cross two lanes so the cars behind me would not hit me. The cars swerved around me and the car eventually let go and I was able to accelerate from that dangerous position on the side of the highway. The first time it happened, someone was pretty close behind me. The car stopped hard, real hard, but let go quickly enough to accelerate before a collision. The second time, there was no one in front or behind us, and we were safe. It hadn’t happened in a while, today. We’ve downloaded 2 or 3 software update, and I was hoping it fixed the issue. It did not. Today the car stumbled and the rpm’s jumped. I feel like the car momentarily braked while I was accelerating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11761939 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

On 3 occasions, the last happening today (XXX) traveling north on XXX toward [XXX] at approximately 14:05, the vehicle has stopped abruptly and hard, and will then release. Today, it took it longer to release. When it occurred this time, it braked just as hard but longer, so I had to cross two lanes so the cars behind me would not hit me. The cars swerved around me and the car eventually let go and I was able to accelerate from that dangerous position on the side of the highway. The first time it happened, someone was pretty close behind me. The car stopped hard, real hard, but let go quickly enough to accelerate before a collision. The second time, there was no one in front or behind us, and we were safe. It hadn’t happened in a while, today. We’ve downloaded 2 or 3 software update, and I was hoping it fixed the issue. It did not. Today the car stumbled and the rpm’s jumped. I feel like the car momentarily braked while I was accelerating. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11761939 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 MPH or below and coming to a stop, the brake pedal was depressed, but the vehicle failed to respond as intended, and the brake pedal was pumped several times until the vehicle responded. The contact stated that the failure mostly occurred while driving on wet, gravel, and snowy roadways. The contact stated that on one occasion the vehicle drove through an intersection. The vehicle was taken to a dealer twice; however, the failure was not reproduced on the first visit. During the second visit, the contact was informed that the failure might be related to a cruise control recall, and a software update was completed; however, the failure persisted. The failure mileage was approximately 2,000.

NHTSA complaint #11761539 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

I've noticed several times that my '25 Equinox LT AWD doesn't shift gears correctly, like it gets stuck on a certain gear. When it gets stuck, I slowly take my foot off the accelerator, it often helps, but this needs to be fixed. I had one scary incident when I was getting on the freeway and accelerating of course and the car automatically shifted to Neutral. Thank goodness there was no cars behind me, I had to pull over and switch it to drive. This is one of the times I took it to the dealership. I've taken it to the dealership several times for this issue, but they say since they can't duplicate that issue there is nothing they can do. I'm in an Equinox group and there's quite a bit of people that are having this same issue.

NHTSA complaint #11760730 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

On the climate control panel, where you turn the knob to turn on the ac/heater and the knob whether you want cold or hot air blowing, has a very tiny and dim light. It's really hard to see it especially in the daylight, other vehicles I've had shows this very clear where you don't have to take your eyes off the road for more than a second. With trying to find where that light is, it isn't safe while driving. I feel this needs to be fixed. The dimmer switch does not work for this, b/c I've been told by the dealership the lighting on the control panels is adjusted automatically when it's bright outside and you can only adjust it when it's dark out.

NHTSA complaint #11760737 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STRUCTURE:BODY

I was driving and my sunroof exploded. This sent shards of glass lose in my car and glass flying onto the road as well. The sunroof was replaced and was inspected by the service department as well. No warning signs or message.

NHTSA complaint #11757892 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

After taking a long drive, our phone suddenly stopped connecting via Apple car play, all of a sudden the screen went black while we were doing 80 miles an hour on the highway using GPS and then the phones wouldn’t connect again at all. Multiple attempted to restart the car and display did nothing. This has now become an intermittent error on the vehicle. I was told by a Chevy dealership there was nothing they could do & I just needed to wait for an update to come out. Fast forward two months and countless hours of research I attempted to call onstar to have our connection reset to onstar because I saw that helped out. I found out our vehicle had not been connected for over 6 months while I was paying for the service and the telematics unit was likely the issue. 3 visits to the dealership, 3 modules later & the problem is still persistent. GM will not cover my rental, will not give me a loaner vehicle and will not accommodate my schedule to have the 4th module attempted to be replaced. This is an extremely scary and frustrating concern. I fear for my safety when I’m on the road and my dashboard goes black for several minutes at highway speeds. the issue has been confirmed and is widespread in this model and should be recalled - GM should be forced into a lemon law for anyone who has had this many problems as most of us have.

NHTSA complaint #11757907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

After taking a long drive, our phone suddenly stopped connecting via Apple car play, all of a sudden the screen went black while we were doing 80 miles an hour on the highway using GPS and then the phones wouldn’t connect again at all. Multiple attempted to restart the car and display did nothing. This has now become an intermittent error on the vehicle. I was told by a Chevy dealership there was nothing they could do & I just needed to wait for an update to come out. Fast forward two months and countless hours of research I attempted to call onstar to have our connection reset to onstar because I saw that helped out. I found out our vehicle had not been connected for over 6 months while I was paying for the service and the telematics unit was likely the issue. 3 visits to the dealership, 3 modules later & the problem is still persistent. GM will not cover my rental, will not give me a loaner vehicle and will not accommodate my schedule to have the 4th module attempted to be replaced. This is an extremely scary and frustrating concern. I fear for my safety when I’m on the road and my dashboard goes black for several minutes at highway speeds. the issue has been confirmed and is widespread in this model and should be recalled - GM should be forced into a lemon law for anyone who has had this many problems as most of us have.

NHTSA complaint #11757907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS

After taking a long drive, our phone suddenly stopped connecting via Apple car play, all of a sudden the screen went black while we were doing 80 miles an hour on the highway using GPS and then the phones wouldn’t connect again at all. Multiple attempted to restart the car and display did nothing. This has now become an intermittent error on the vehicle. I was told by a Chevy dealership there was nothing they could do & I just needed to wait for an update to come out. Fast forward two months and countless hours of research I attempted to call onstar to have our connection reset to onstar because I saw that helped out. I found out our vehicle had not been connected for over 6 months while I was paying for the service and the telematics unit was likely the issue. 3 visits to the dealership, 3 modules later & the problem is still persistent. GM will not cover my rental, will not give me a loaner vehicle and will not accommodate my schedule to have the 4th module attempted to be replaced. This is an extremely scary and frustrating concern. I fear for my safety when I’m on the road and my dashboard goes black for several minutes at highway speeds. the issue has been confirmed and is widespread in this model and should be recalled - GM should be forced into a lemon law for anyone who has had this many problems as most of us have.

NHTSA complaint #11757907 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION:FRONT:WHEEL BEARING

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from the vehicle, and the vehicle shuddered abnormally. The failure had occurred on several occasions. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer to be diagnosed; however, the cause of the failure was not determined. The dealer made the contact aware of an unknown recall and stated that the wheel bearings needed to be replaced; however, the VIN was not under recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another dealer, Grinnell Motors (410 W St S, Grinnell, IA 50112); where it was diagnosed and determined that the front wheel bearings needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 8,700.

NHTSA complaint #11756261 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My 2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS is experiencing critical active safety and electronic malfunctions. While reversing out of my driveway, the vehicle unexpectedly executed an aggressive "phantom braking" event, violently slamming on the brakes with no actual physical hazards or cross-traffic behind the vehicle. The Reverse Automatic Braking (RAB) and Rear Cross-Traffic Braking systems are hypersensitive and falsely triggering mechanical emergency stops, creating an immediate physical hazard and whiplash risk. Additionally, the Google Built-in infotainment system constantly suffers from communication freezes with Apple CarPlay and media apps like Pandora. Commands to select or play audio tracks freeze and fail to execute on the 11.3-inch screen, indicating a systemic software architecture defect affecting the vehicle's dashboard modules. The vehicle has previously been out of service for an extended duration (30+ days)due to a broken telematics module causing parasitic battery drain down to 3 volts, along with multiple dashboard error messages. The manufacturer has been unable to permanently resolve these electronic and active safety failures.

NHTSA complaint #11756326 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SERVICE BRAKES

My 2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS is experiencing critical active safety and electronic malfunctions. While reversing out of my driveway, the vehicle unexpectedly executed an aggressive "phantom braking" event, violently slamming on the brakes with no actual physical hazards or cross-traffic behind the vehicle. The Reverse Automatic Braking (RAB) and Rear Cross-Traffic Braking systems are hypersensitive and falsely triggering mechanical emergency stops, creating an immediate physical hazard and whiplash risk. Additionally, the Google Built-in infotainment system constantly suffers from communication freezes with Apple CarPlay and media apps like Pandora. Commands to select or play audio tracks freeze and fail to execute on the 11.3-inch screen, indicating a systemic software architecture defect affecting the vehicle's dashboard modules. The vehicle has previously been out of service for an extended duration (30+ days)due to a broken telematics module causing parasitic battery drain down to 3 volts, along with multiple dashboard error messages. The manufacturer has been unable to permanently resolve these electronic and active safety failures.

NHTSA complaint #11756326 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING

My 2025 Chevrolet Equinox RS is experiencing critical active safety and electronic malfunctions. While reversing out of my driveway, the vehicle unexpectedly executed an aggressive "phantom braking" event, violently slamming on the brakes with no actual physical hazards or cross-traffic behind the vehicle. The Reverse Automatic Braking (RAB) and Rear Cross-Traffic Braking systems are hypersensitive and falsely triggering mechanical emergency stops, creating an immediate physical hazard and whiplash risk. Additionally, the Google Built-in infotainment system constantly suffers from communication freezes with Apple CarPlay and media apps like Pandora. Commands to select or play audio tracks freeze and fail to execute on the 11.3-inch screen, indicating a systemic software architecture defect affecting the vehicle's dashboard modules. The vehicle has previously been out of service for an extended duration (30+ days)due to a broken telematics module causing parasitic battery drain down to 3 volts, along with multiple dashboard error messages. The manufacturer has been unable to permanently resolve these electronic and active safety failures.

NHTSA complaint #11756326 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

On July 18, 2026, I was driving to work around 0530 am when my rear driver's side tire blew out from the tread sidewall to the rim ruptured, having a catastrophic failure that almost resulted in a crash. The tire only had 18,500 miles without any prior damage or hitting something. Their is a current recall for these tires for the very thing that happened yet my tire batch was not listed as part of the recall. This event was costly and prevented me from working that day. Continental CrossContact 275/40/R21

NHTSA complaint #11754254 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

TIRES:SIDEWALL

On July 18, 2026, I was driving to work around 0530 am when my rear driver's side tire blew out from the tread sidewall to the rim ruptured, having a catastrophic failure that almost resulted in a crash. The tire only had 18,500 miles without any prior damage or hitting something. Their is a current recall for these tires for the very thing that happened yet my tire batch was not listed as part of the recall. This event was costly and prevented me from working that day. Continental CrossContact 275/40/R21

NHTSA complaint #11754254 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

2025 Chevy Equinox EV — Telematics Module Failure & Lemon Law Buyback. Brought vehicle in for a total telematics module failure (screen dark / communication dead). The safety comminication system did not work. The vehicle sat at the dealership for 40 days on backorder with no permanent fix or ETA. GM refused to guarantee or warrant the replacement module in writing, leaving me no choice but to force a full Lemon Law repurchase. Great driving vehicle when it works, but the software/module reliability and corporate customer service make it a high-risk purchase until GM fixes these supply chain issues.

NHTSA complaint #11752431 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

POWER TRAIN

On XXX while traveling near the posted speed limit and entering [XXX], my 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV FWD suddenly lost propulsion and no longer responded normally to the accelerator. My friend was driving. The vehicle coasted to a stop but remained partially in the travel lane, creating a serious risk of being struck from behind. I immediately activated the hazard flashers and contacted OnStar SOS. There were no warning chimes, and neither of us noticed any warning message. I did not think to check the dashboard gear-selection indicator during the event, so I cannot say whether it continued to show Drive or had changed to Neutral. After the vehicle stopped, I instructed the driver to place it in Park so it would not roll. After waiting several minutes for assistance, I attempted to restart the vehicle. It started immediately and subsequently operated normally. When I first asked my friend to move it, I initially failed to remind her that the brake pedal had to be pressed before shifting out of Park. Once the brake was applied, the vehicle shifted normally. I then drove it completely onto the shoulder and continued to our hotel without further incident. OnStar later performed remote diagnostics and reported no faults. The MyChevrolet app showed all vehicle systems as normal. OnStar also reported that the vehicle software was fully up to date and that there were no open recalls. The vehicle has continued to operate normally, but the cause of the sudden loss of propulsion remains unknown. No collision or injury occurred, but the event presented a substantial safety hazard because the vehicle became disabled at road speed and stopped partially in an active traffic lane. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11751235 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.