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
408 reports, newest first.
Air bags, Mar 29, 2023
The air bag system failed.
Electrical system, Service brakes, Engine, Mar 27, 2023
Service brake assist
Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Mar 15, 2023, crash
My own words, That my vehicle didn't stop, the car driver in front stop short my vehicle just ran behind the car. My 2018 Chevy equniox I have purchase last year for it safety reason pay extra now and days, those safety is not there very disappointed with GM What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Automatic Emergency Braking - Together - Forward Collision Warning
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
Service brakes, Hydraulic, Feb 9, 2023
The contact's husband owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that on five separate occasions, the brakes failed to operate upon the depression of the brake pedal. The parking brake warning light was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions and the contact was informed that the vacuum pump booster needed to be repaired. The contact stated that the brake booster vacuum pump was replaced; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle remained in the possession of the dealer but was not yet repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 20,000.
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.
Other or unspecified, Forward collision avoidance, Jan 10, 2023
Was driving down the road and had just hit about 50mph at 4k rpms when suddenly the car started shaking and the check engine light started flashing, i knew immediately it was just a misfire, HOWEVER then the car immediately locked up brakes on full blast and engine cut off. Almost caused a mass accident let alone launching all my stuff. Then i turned the car back on and it drove fine for 20 miles. Just before i got home i am starting to try and stop at a stop sign. Hit the brake and the brake went all the way in with no pressure. A car is coming my car wont stop and im laying on my horn. Car finally got brakes again and boom the car stopped. Got home and ran the codes and it was Abs, t/c, stability lignts all on, airbag system, stability trac, anti lock + braking system, engine and tranny on my chevy app all said “service immediately” rear differential clutch control, electronic brake control module all showed up when i ran the code reader. Was extremely terrifying!! Im going into the dealership tomorrow to get it looked at
Service brakes, Jan 2, 2023
Vaccum pump brake failure while coming to a red-light. Lucky to avoid serious injury. Definitely put my children at risk! No warning lights or dash notices until after the incident. Vehicle was inspected two days prior.
Other or unspecified, Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Dec 31, 2022
I constantly get error messages When the ambient (outside) temperature exceeds 100 degrees. The lane keeping assist, the forward collision sensors, etc. When it gets below freezing, the forward collision sensors, the brake assist and the service indicators go bonkers.
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.
Other or unspecified, Dec 11, 2022
Transmission is leaking fluid, I saw a recall for loose screws causing the leak of fluid
Electrical system, Engine, Dec 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while at a stop light and releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle shutdown before the accelerator pedal was depressed. The contact turned off the vehicle and the vehicle failed to restart. The electrical systems in the vehicle turned on and off and the doors were locking and unlocking independently. Additionally, the instrument cluster warning lights were turning on and off. The contact also stated that the parking brake and traction control functions were engaged. The contact released the brake pedal and the vehicle jolted and turned on and restarted. While driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and referred her to the NHTSA hotline, but no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 99,400.
Service brakes, Dec 2, 2022
I have never experienced an issue prior to today, no warning lights on, no symptoms. While driving down the highway I had to slow for traffic and my brake pedal would not push down, a terrible noise was heard and it took everything in my body to stop my vehicle. I thought I was going to kill everyone in front of me. Had to swerve to the right to prevent this. I then see the words, “service brake assist”. Then the check engine light came on. In researching I see there is a history of brake issues. I haven’t taken it to a repair shop because it literally just occurred and I can’t stop shaking to take it or tow it
Structure, Dec 1, 2022
The clip at the bottom of the piston for the lift gate broke which caused the lift gate to fall. The strut got wedged between the body of the car and the rear reverse light so the lift gate didn’t end up falling on me but causing damage. Upon further inspection, the other strut’s clip is also cracked.
Forward collision avoidance, Nov 29, 2022
ABS or assistant brake system has been checked and fixed however the light continues to come on and does not want to Drive it has a delay and then there's a sensor on the battery that is good but it keeps saying that is not getting enough voltage when the sensor has changed these are the issues that I have fixed and because of this I can't drive my car through emissions in the state of Arizona because it's saying I need to get these things fixed when they are fixed so my problem or concern is is this a defect do I have bad sensors am I getting back parts I'm not for sure what the issue is but I cannot continue to spend money to continue to fix these sensors and they're new and they're hard to find where the shops that are fixing to my vehicle
Seats, Nov 3, 2022
While driving, my driver's side power seat will automatically go to the "exit position". Because of my short stature, this causes me to not be able to reach the gas and brake pedals until I move the seat back up. It first occurred when I was in 5 lanes if traffic during rush hour traffic. There was no warning or indication of a problem before it happened. Scary, as momentarily I couldn't brake. I took it to the dealership for repair. They we able to reproduce the issue and diagnosed it as the power seat memory switch in the door panel. They replaced the part but it did not fix the problem.
Fuel/propulsion system, Oct 24, 2022
The braking system failed as the engine compartment filled with smoke and flames. At first the doors remained locked but eventually unlocked so that the occupants were able to exit the vehicle unharmed. The vehicle was consumed by the fire before the fire department could extinguish the fire(5-10 minutes).
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!!
Electrical system, Lane departure, Oct 12, 2022, crash
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.
Service brakes, Forward collision avoidance, Sep 11, 2022
When I applied brakes, the pedal was hard to push down and the service brake assist light came on.
Engine, Fuel/propulsion system, Sep 8, 2022
Has had 2 codes come up for bad fuel injectors maybe more before it hit 50,000 miles dealer can't recreate cases a bad miss fire really surprised it runs
Seat belts, Aug 24, 2022
When buckled, the part of the seat belt buckle where the LAP belt slides through the actual buckle part becomes binding and has to be manual pushed through the buckle in order to move your hips when seated. This issue has absolutely nothing to do with the shoulder part of the belt or the belt not retracting. It is solely an issue with the plastic buckle and the belt not sliding through it when seated. This is a safety issue because the lap belt becomes binding while seated. If the driver needs to shift in the seat, he must pull the shoulder belt out to create give in the belt and then use both hands to manually feed the belt through the buckle. This is unsafe when driving for obvious reasons if the driver is unable to use any hands on the steering wheel. If the driver doesn't continuously adjust the belt in this way, it becomes so tight across the hips that it causes discomfort and redness on the skin and abrasions if the vehicle turns wide or breaks quickly. This intense discomfort makes me avoid wearing my seatbelt which causes obvious risk or poses a risk to myself and other drivers if I need to take both hands off the wheel to adjust it while driving. The front passenger seat belt has the same issue. I began to notice this issue about 6 months ago and have taken the vehicle to a dealer/service center 3 times without any recourse other than being offered the opportunity to replace the entire seat belt system for $700 each.
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.
Electrical system, Fuel/propulsion system, Jul 17, 2022
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
Service brakes, Jun 15, 2022
Vacuum pump, check valve failure led to loss of function while exiting interstate. Less than two weeks later, “service brake assist” notification followed by degraded brake performance in busy city traffic.