My vehicle is a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV equipped with a stalk-mounted electronic shift selector. On multiple occasions, when shifting from Reverse(R) to Drive(D), the transmission has failed to actually engage Drive despite the shifter indicating the D position had been selected. In most instances this resulted in the vehicle to unexpectedly move backward, requiring me to re-select the gear. This defect caused a collision. I was attempting to Dirve out of a parking space and needed to move quickly. I shifted the stalk to Drive, and — consistent with normal driving behavior — did not look at the instrument panel to visually confirm the gear had engaged before accelerating, as drivers do not typically re-verify gear selection after shifting. The vehicle had not actually engaged Drive. When I applied the accelerator, the vehicle did not move as expected, and I struck a vehicle behind me. The collision caused damage to my vehicle's rear hatch requiring full hatch replacement, estimated at approximately $4,000. There was no visible damage to the other vehicle. This is not an isolated occurrence for my vehicle — the shifter has intermittently failed to register a gear change from R to D on other occasions, typically resulting in only a few inches of unintended travel in the wrong direction rather than a collision. I reported this issue verbally to my dealership's service department, and was told they have received other reports of similar shifting problems with this vehicle, thou
2025 Chevrolet Equinox
Owners filed 224 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. No safety recall has been issued.
26 complaints record an odometer reading. Failures cluster around 0–10,000 miles; the median is 8,300 miles.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unknown or Other | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Visibility/Wiper | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Power Train | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Exterior Lighting | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steering | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance › Automatic Emergency Braking | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsBoth 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.
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.
Car acclerated and steering pulled right, which pulled me off the road doing damage to steering gear and linkage, wheels, front suspension, exhaust system and slight body damage. Could be defect in car causing safety issue. With dealer, GM is involved but have been unable to determine why it happened. Insurance involved to cover damage. no warning lamps or failures appeared.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the brakes locked up, and the vehicle accelerated independently, causing the vehicle to crash into another vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The contact had not sustained any injuries. Medical attention was not required. The contact stated that a Police report was not filed. The vehicle was still drivable. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that a callback would be provided. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
The lower plastic trim/bezel piece at the base of the steering wheel repeatedly detaches from the steering wheel while the vehicle is in use. It has come loose [and fallen off] on multiple occasions. The component is still in my possession and is available for inspection upon request. I believe the retaining fastener securing this trim piece was overtightened during manufacturing, which stripped or damaged the mounting boss/threads in the plastic so that the part can no longer be held securely. Reinstalling the piece does not resolve the issue; it works loose again during normal driving. This creates a safety risk. The trim is located on the steering wheel itself, directly adjacent to the driver airbag module. A piece that detaches during driving becomes a loose object in the driver's lap or footwell, which is a distraction and a potential interference with pedal operation. It also raises concern about the integrity of the surrounding steering wheel assembly and airbag cover in a deployment event, since the mounting point appears to be damaged. I have taken the vehicle to three separate franchised GM dealers. The condition was observed by dealer personnel; however, the repair was denied under the factory warranty by the manufacturer. To my knowledge no root-cause inspection or teardown of the mounting point has been performed, and the manufacturer has not inspected the vehicle directly. The vehicle has not been inspected by police or insurance representatives. There were no w
The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV suffers from a severe engineering design flaw in its front dashboard that creates a critical safety hazard. Under normal daylight driving conditions, the design of the dashboard surface produce an extreme, blinding glare across the inside of the windshield. This intense reflection completely obliterates the driver's forward line of sight. Because this visual obstruction occurs suddenly depending on the angle of the sun, it creates an immediate and dangerous crash hazard. It severely compromises the driver’s ability to see pedestrians, oncoming traffic, and road obstacles, making the vehicle unsafe to operate during sunny days. General Motors is aware of this widespread visibility defect but has failed to issue a legitimate safety recall to fix the underlying engineering flaw. Instead, the manufacturer is offering aftermarket fabric dashboard mats to affected owners as a remedy. This band-aid solution is entirely unacceptable. These fabric mats ruin the aesthetic appearance of a brand-new vehicle, present long-term durability and cleanliness issues, and fail to address the root engineering defect. A temporary, cosmetic cover-up is not a substitute for a true safety remedy. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration needs to open a formal investigation into this visibility hazard. The manufacturer must be compelled to issue a proper safety recall that provides a permanent, engineered solution to eliminate this hazardous windshield glare.
The On Star component failed mid- drive, resulting in loss of navigation and emergency calling. This happened before, parts were replaced and it has happened again.
20 of 224 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Across model years
Worst on record: 2010| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 70 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2025 — this page | 224 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Above average |
| 2024 | 78 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2023 | 95 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2022 | 170 | 6 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 2021 | 94 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2020 | 306 | 4 | 7 | 1 | Fatalities reported |
| 2019 | 301 | 4 | 7 | 0 | Above average |
| 2018 | 407 | 5 | 4 | 1 | Fatalities reported |
| 2017 | 272 | 0 | 4 | 0 | Above average |
| 2016 | 395 | 1 | 3 | 0 | Above average |
| 2015 | 679 | 2 | 6 | 0 | Above average |
| 2014 | 546 | 1 | 4 | 0 | Above average |
| 2013 | 751 | 2 | 5 | 0 | Above average |
| 2012 | 683 | 3 | 6 | 0 | Above average |
| 2011 | 782 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Fatalities reported |
| 2010 | 784 | 3 | 9 | 0 | Above average |
| 2009 | 94 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2008 | 370 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Above average |
| 2007 | 685 | 4 | 6 | 0 | Above average |
| 2006 | 695 | 0 | 9 | 1 | Fatalities reported |
| 2005 | 638 | 1 | 13 | 0 | High concern |
Reading this record
Complaint volume is well above typical for a single model year.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.