IllustrationPASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR IS MALFUNCTIONING. FOR YEARS THE AIRBAG LIGHT HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY DISPLAYED, OR GOES OFF AND ON DEPENDING ON WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS A PASSENGER, AND IS A SAFETY CONCERN. OCCUPANTS HAVE NO SECURITY OF KNOWING WHETHER OR NOT THE AIRBAG WILL DEPLOY IF INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT.
2008 Chevrolet Equinox
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2008 Chevrolet Equinox do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 382.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Equinox years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
180–25K
5825–50K
7050–75K
6975–100K
62100–150K
21150K+
298 reports with mileage · 72 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 110 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 65 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electronic Stability Control (esc). Review the 46 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
9 crash reports1 fire reports8 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
110 reportsI HAVE A LIGHT ON SAYING SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MY AIRBAG .ALSO A TAPPING IN MY ENGINE
SERVICE PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT ON FOR LAST YEAR ALL THE TIME
PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR IS MALFUNCTIONING. AIRBAG LIGHT GOES OFF AND ON AND IS A SAFETY CONCERN. CHEVROLET, ALTHOUGH THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE REPORT THIS REFUSES TO FIX. COST TO FIX AT DEALER IS AROUND $1000.00. THIS IS CLEARLY A DEFECTIVE PART THAT IS A SAFETY ISSUE. CHEVROLET SHOULD FIX THIS
PASSENGER AIR BAG CONSTANTLY COMING ON SAYING IT IS NOT WORKING. ALL OTHERS RECALLED BY 2008. NOW SERVICE TRACTION CONTROL AND SERVICE STABILITRAK SENSOR ON. I'VE READ ABOUT BOTH OF THESE ISSUES ONLINE HERE SO WHY NO RECALLS WHEN IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REACURRING FOR OTHERS.
2008 CHEVY EQUINOX PASSENGER PRESENCE SENSOR SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE. IT WAS RECALLED ON THE 2007'S BUT NOT THE 2008'S EVEN THOUGH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE PERSISTS. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE BUT GM WILL NOT RECALL IT. THIS IS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE AS THE AIRBAG WILL NEVER DEPLOY AS THE SENSOR AND/OR PRESSURE…
Read full complaint
2008 CHEVY EQUINOX PASSENGER PRESENCE SENSOR SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE. IT WAS RECALLED ON THE 2007'S BUT NOT THE 2008'S EVEN THOUGH THE EXACT SAME ISSUE PERSISTS. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ISSUE BUT GM WILL NOT RECALL IT. THIS IS A CRITICAL SAFETY ISSUE AS THE AIRBAG WILL NEVER DEPLOY AS THE SENSOR AND/OR PRESSURE MAT IS DEFECTIVE. THE "SERVICE AIRBAG" LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON. THIS IS ABOUT A $1,000 CHARGE AT A DEALER THAT IS DUE TO AN ELECTRICAL DEFECT. THEY ADMITTED ON THE 2007'S AND SHOULD BE FORCED TO FIX THE 2008'S ALSO. LIGHT HAS BEEN ON FOR 40,000 MILES WAITING FOR THE RECALL.
TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT IS ON, ALWAYS . AIR BAG IS OFF ALWAYS. THIS CAR IS ONE PIECE OF TRASH.
SERVICE AIR BAG, SOMETIMES PASSENGER CAME ON, SOMETIMES DIDN'T, NOW FAILED INSPECTION BECAUSE OF IT. AUTO DOOR LOCKS SOMETIMES WORK, SOMETIMES DO NOT
AIRBAG LIGHTS COMING ON AND OFF PASSENGER AIR BAG WORKS SOMETIMES ON AND OFF ELECTRICAL WITH THE LIGHTS BRAKE LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE AIR BAGS A LOT AND THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR DOESN'T GO ON OR GOES ON AND THEN TURNS OFF WHILE IN CAR DRIVING OR STATIONARY. MOVING AROUND ON SEAT MAKES IT SWITCH BACK AND FORTH. LOOKS LIKE THIS IS THE SAME ISSUE FROM THE 2007 RECALL, BUT NOT EXTENDED TO 2008. HAVEN'T TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP YET, BUT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM. WAS SOLD TO ME LA…
Read full complaint
PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR DOESN'T GO ON OR GOES ON AND THEN TURNS OFF WHILE IN CAR DRIVING OR STATIONARY. MOVING AROUND ON SEAT MAKES IT SWITCH BACK AND FORTH. LOOKS LIKE THIS IS THE SAME ISSUE FROM THE 2007 RECALL, BUT NOT EXTENDED TO 2008. HAVEN'T TAKEN TO DEALERSHIP YET, BUT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM. WAS SOLD TO ME LAST MONTH FROM A USED CAR DEALER.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.