2018 Chevrolet Equinox
Problems, recalls and owner-reported issues
Service brakes is the leading concern among 408 owner complaints filed for this model year. This is the 10th highest complaint count among 21 Equinox model years with reports.
Of the 2018 reports, 23 involved a crash and 4 involved a fire. 30 people were injured and 1 person died.
What owners report most often
Recalls and investigations
Power train, automatic transmissionOct 29, 2020
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.
Campaign 20V668000 on NHTSA.gov
Service brakes, hydraulic, foundation components, disc, caliperAug 30, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.
Campaign 18V576000 on NHTSA.gov
Fuel system, gasoline, delivery, fuel pumpMay 31, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2018 GMC Canyon, 2016-2017 Buick Envision, 2016-2018 Chevrolet Colorado and Malibu, 2017-2018 GMC Acadia, 2018 Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Equinox, and GMC Terrain vehicles. The high pressure fuel pump may detach from its mounting flange, possibly resulting in the pump damaging the high pressure fuel line.
A damaged fuel line can create a fuel leak, increasing the risk of a fire.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the high pressure fuel pump, and high pressure fuel pipe, free of charge. The recall began July 2, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18188.
Campaign 18V358000 on NHTSA.gov
VisibilityApr 19, 2018
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Equinox vehicles. The driver and front passenger door window glass may not be properly tempered. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 205, "Glazing Materials."
If the glass is not tempered properly, and the window is broken, the glass can break into large pieces, increasing the risk of injury.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the glass in the front doors, free of charge. The recall began May 15, 2018. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 18136.
Campaign 18V252000 on NHTSA.gov
Power train, driveline, driveshaftAug 22, 2017
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles and 2017-2018 GMC Acadia vehicles. The right front intermediate driveshaft may fracture and separate while driving.
If the front right intermediate drive shaft assembly separates while driving, the vehicle will lose propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. If the assembly separates while parked on a grade, without the park brake engaged, the vehicle may move unintentionally, increasing the risk of a vehicle roll-away.
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the right front intermediate drive shaft assembly, free of charge. The recall began August 25, 2017. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 17329.
Campaign 17V516000 on NHTSA.gov
Representative owner complaints: power train
66 reports, newest first. Show all
Power train, Service brakes, Engine, Aug 15, 2023
The vacuum pump that controls the power brakes broke/went tight, causing the brake pedal to get extremely hard and almost caused us to crash on the interstate. It turns out that this vacuum pump is attached to the camshaft on the 2018 Equinox and it doesn't have a shear pin, so when it goes tight, it destroys the camshaft and timining chain as well. It will cost over $4k to repair. This is a huge safety concern, not to mention the unexcpected costs to the consumer. GM is well aware of this issue, and has issued recalls on the same vacuum pump on different models of Chevrolets/GMCs
Power train, Jul 31, 2023
While accelerating on an onramp, the rear driveshaft, where it connects to the transmission, just disconnected. I had been traveling on an interstate just prior to the event and was getting back on the interstate. This is very concerning since the interstate speed is 75, and with the driveshaft dropping down at that speed it could have been catastrophic. There was no vibration prior to the issue.
Steering, Service brakes, Power train, Jul 13, 2023
Auto stop caused Service Brake Assist warning to pop up on dash. Resolved on its own. A week later, steering assist disabled message pops up while driving and car didn't start after coming to a stop. Service ESC, Traction off, service brake assist messages, all pop up. Car did not restart. Vehicle is currently at Cooley Chevrolet in Irving, TX awaiting results of tests. Obviously, this is a common issue judging from the number of complaints on the Internet about it.
Power train, Apr 15, 2023
Check Engine Light on Diagnosis (1-2) 1. P171A-00 - transmission surge solenoid valve circuit open 2 - P171B-00 - Transmission surge solenoid valve circuit low
Power train, Apr 1, 2023
My Equinox loses power, it feels slow and drives sluggishly. If I am driving at 35 mph it suddenly starts reducing speed and whining noises ensue. The hazard lights turn on and off, then the doors lock and unlock. If I reduce speeds below 20mph, then I suddenly have full power again as if nothing ever happened. The check engine light comes and goes after you drive for a while. Highways and offramps are questionable. I can not increase speed to merge properly on the freeway as this would put me at significant risk, I am not willing to gamble to see if I can make 65mph with oncoming traffic. I have ordered and paid for a new transmission from Chevrolet. Back ordered with an unknown delivery date.
Power train, Electrical system, Mar 1, 2023
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
Power train, Jan 23, 2023
On December 26th, unexpectedly, my driveshaft snapped in two. My car was in "all wheel drive" mode as I pulled out of a parking lot onto the road. Fortunately, there was no other cars behind me so I could safely pull to the side of the road. The Driveshaft/prop shaft was replaced. I do have the snapped driveshaft in two pieces in my garage.
Power train, Electrical system, Structure, Dec 13, 2022
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.
Power train, Service brakes, Oct 19, 2022
I have a 2018 chevy equinox that I bought brand new back in December of 2018. The vacuum pump failed therefore breaking the camshaft which in turn caused failure to my brakes. I went to stop at a light and my brake pedal was hard and my car skidded to a stop through the light. No warning that anything was wrong nothing. My brakes worked fine up until I went to stop at the next light. Then out of the blue my brake pedal was hard and I had no brakes. I almost got into a severe accident due to the brake failure. Evidently there have been other people this has happened to. Extremely dangerous and unsafe. There have been lawsuits filed against GM for faulty vacuum pump part although they were for the year of 2020. GM needs to take a look at this issue and also install some kind of warning. I get warnings for a tire being a little low you would think they could put a warning in for the brake system!! The warranty is still good on my car do I do not have to pay for the repair. In addition when the camshaft broke it threw pieces of metal into the top part of the engine!!
Power train, Aug 23, 2022
We were driving home and the car was losing acceleration power. My husband would press on the pedal and there was no acceleration. the all of a sudden the car would seem to get a connection and lurch forward. Thankfully we were were close to home and there wasn't a lot of traffic as it was scary. It ended up being the O2 sensor and I did see recalls on this part for earlier model years of the same car but not for 2018. It appears the issue has not been resolved in the newer models.
Power train, Service brakes, May 18, 2022
While driving to Tennessee my brakes went out on the car. The vacuum pump broke into pieces and made braking nearly impossible. Had it repaired and less than a week later the same thing happened coming off the interstate no brakes again on the off ramp. We had to glide to a stop for the brakes to kick in a little past the hard brake pedal. Checked the vacuum pump and again no suction so it’s bad again, not only that it appears that the rear main could be leaking but could be something else all together.
Power train, Electrical system, May 6, 2022
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.
Power train, Engine, Apr 21, 2022
The “Check Engine” light is still on regardless of the maintenance done on the vehicle. The oil pump is possibly damaged after pieces from broken vacuum pump may have entered into engine.
Power train, Feb 23, 2022, crash
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that after parking in the driveway and switching the shifter to the park position the driver exited and moments later the vehicle erroneously rolled backward down the driveway. The driver attempted to get back into the moving vehicle and fell causing the vehicle to roll over the driver's body and crash into a tree. During the incident, the contact experienced an injured hip which required medical treatment. The vehicle was towed to a local body shop for repair. The manufacturer was notified of the incident and a manufacturer's engineer examined the vehicle but no problem was found. The cause of the failure was not determined. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 17v516000(Power train). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced the same failure listed in the recalls. The failure mileage was 42,000.
Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Jan 9, 2022
Winter 2020/2021 I had to replace my exhaust manifold and now winter 2021/2022 I am having issues with my turbo/super charger but same code of P0299 for both incidents. Wondering what is going on with my vehicle. I bought it at 42,000 miles and now has 88,000 on it
Power train, Electrical system, Service brakes, Oct 29, 2021
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.
Power train, Seat belts, Service brakes, Oct 18, 2021
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.
Steering, Power train, Engine, Jul 26, 2021
62 k Miles car completely shut down and power steering became useless making it extremely hard to even move out of traffic. There were no warning lights Car has always been fully serviced at dealership. Vac pump failed causing camshaft to break , bending pistons New engine required. Car at dealership going into 3 weeks now
Power train, Jul 19, 2021
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the accelerator pedal was depressed however, the vehicle failed to respond. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The emission testing message was displayed. Additionally, the vehicle was shaking. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the fuel pump was leaking fuel into the oil causing the vehicle to stall. The vehicle was repaired however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact stated that the failure was like NHTSA campaign number: 20V668000 (Power Train). The failure mileage was 80,000.
Power train, Mar 17, 2021
WHEN ACCELERATING IT WILL CREATE A HARD SHIFT OR NOT FULLY ENGAGE INTO 2ND OR 3RD GEAR. ALSO, WHEN AUTO STOP/START ENGAGES IT JOLTS THE CAR WHEN STOPPED.
Power train, Mar 6, 2021
TWICE IN TWO YEARS MY VEHICLE HAS EXPERIENCED A PROBLEM WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL. THE FIRST TIME, THE VEHICLE WAS BRAND NEW. THIS TIME IT HAS ABOUT 5300 MILES ON IT. IT MAKES A NOISE WHILE DRIVING IT. IT SOUNDS KIND OF LIKE A SMALL PLANE IS FLYING BEHINDS YOU. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU ARE DRIVING, HIGHWAY, SMALL TOWN DRIVING, ETC. AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE IN ALL WHEEL DRIVE OR NOT.
Power train, Dec 31, 2020
THE CAR STARTED GOING INTO AUTO STOP AND WOULD NOT GO FORWARD ONE THE BRAKE WAS RELEASED ON THE HIGHWAY OR AT STOP SIGNS. THIS CAUSED US TO ALMOST HAVE A WRECK BECAUSE THE CAR WOULDN'T GO WHEN IT NEEDED TO WHEN PULLING OUT ONTO A ROAD WHEN IT WAS CLEAR TO GO. IT CREATED A TIME LAG THAT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.WE ALSO ALMOST ROLLED INTO THE CAR BEHIND US WHILE STOPED AT AN INTERSECTION ON A HILL THAT ENTERED A HIGHWAY. WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE FIRST TIME THEY CHARGED US FOR DIAGNOSTIC AND ONLY CLEARED THE CODE. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON IMMEDIATELY WHEN WE PICKED IT UP. THEN THEY CHANGED A SENSOR, AND WE HAD TO BRING IT BACK. THEN THEY REBUILT THE TRANSMISSION. WE HAVE TO BRING IT BACK THE SAME DAY. THEN THEY REPLACED THE TORQUE CONVERTER. WE JUST PICKED IT UP TODAY.
Power train, Dec 16, 2020
MY WIFE AND I NOTICED THIS PAST WEEK THAT OUR 2018 CHEVY EQUINOX WILL ACCELERATE ALL ON ITS OWN WITHOUT DRIVER INPUT. WE FEEL THIS INCREASE IN SPEED WITHOUT INPUT IS DANGEROUS. WE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT AT THE DEALER IN ANCHORAGE, ALASKA THAT SOLD US THE VEHICLE.
Power train, Engine, May 27, 2020
WHEN I NEED TO ACCELERATE TO PASS A VEHICLE OR SPEED UP FROM A OFF OR ON RAMP, ENGINE LIGHT, ABS LIGHT, CHECK ESC LIGHT, ALL COME ON AND CRUISE CONTROL IS NOT ABLE TO BE USED. ENGINE HAS TO BE SHUT DOWN. TRANSMISSION IS SLIPPING AS WELL. *TR
Power train, Engine, Mar 13, 2020
TOOK CAR TO DEALER FOR ROUTINE OIL CHANGE AND SERVICE, I REPORTED TO THEM A VERY FREQUENT PROBLEM WITH CAR HESITATING TO ACCELERATE ANDJERKS AT SPEED BETWEEN 40 AND 50 MPH ALSO PASSSENGER CAN FEEL THIS RIDING IN THE BACK SEAT. TOOK TO DEALER THEY SAID NOTHING SHOWED ON COMPUTER BUT GM HAS SOFTWARE ISSUE. FOR THE PRICE OF CARS FEEL THAT THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE TO HAVE TO DRIVE AN OTHERWISE NICE CAR I NOTICES SEVERAL OTHER SIMILAR COMPLAINT ON THIS WEBSITE