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2026 Chevrolet Equinox

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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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

Limited mileage data: 12 of 70 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

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.

  • Forward Collision Avoidance. Review the 19 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Service Brakes. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 16 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

5 crash reports1 fire reports5 injury reports

What owners actually said

70 reports
Mileage unknown · May 28, 2026
Visibility

See attached document for complaint.

NHTSA ODI #11740629

14,000 miles · May 19, 2026
Power Train

The contact owns a 2026 CHEVROLET Equinox. The contact stated while driving the vehicle at 63 MPH and above, he notices that the vehicle is not able to go into the 8th gear. The contact stated that for the vehicle to reach 8th gear, he would have to slow down to between 62 MPH and 55 MPH while driving on a 75 MPH highway, causin…

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The contact owns a 2026 CHEVROLET Equinox. The contact stated while driving the vehicle at 63 MPH and above, he notices that the vehicle is not able to go into the 8th gear. The contact stated that for the vehicle to reach 8th gear, he would have to slow down to between 62 MPH and 55 MPH while driving on a 75 MPH highway, causing serious safety concerns while merging into traffic. The vehicle was taken to a dealer but was not able to be diagnosed. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 14,000.

NHTSA ODI #11738835

Mileage unknown · May 18, 2026
Forward Collision Avoidance

Sign recognition in advanced cruise control fails to slow prior to slower speed limit signs. Fails to decelerate in accordance with traffic regulations.

NHTSA ODI #11738577

Mileage unknown · May 14, 2026
Power Train

At approximately 75 mph on the highway, the vehicle suddenly shifted into Neutral after the Park button was accidentally pressed. Once in Neutral, the vehicle would not re‑engage Drive or any gear. The vehicle lost propulsion in fast‑moving traffic. I had to coast to the shoulder, stop completely, and shut the vehicle off. Only …

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At approximately 75 mph on the highway, the vehicle suddenly shifted into Neutral after the Park button was accidentally pressed. Once in Neutral, the vehicle would not re‑engage Drive or any gear. The vehicle lost propulsion in fast‑moving traffic. I had to coast to the shoulder, stop completely, and shut the vehicle off. Only after restarting did the transmission respond again. No warnings appeared before the incident, and no software updates were pending. Loss of propulsion at highway speed is a serious safety hazard and indicates a possible failure of the shift‑by‑wire system or transmission control module to prevent unsafe gear changes. A transmission error did show up when coming to a complete stop.

NHTSA ODI #11737963

Mileage unknown · May 8, 2026
Forward Collision AvoidanceFuel/propulsion SystemUnknown Or Other

The vehicle cannot be shifted into neutral if the vehicle runs out of gas. There is no way to shift to neutral and roll it to the side of the road. The vehicle ran out of gas on the interstate, automatically braked and could not be moved out of the middle of the interstate. To make matters worse, this was in a construction zone.…

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The vehicle cannot be shifted into neutral if the vehicle runs out of gas. There is no way to shift to neutral and roll it to the side of the road. The vehicle ran out of gas on the interstate, automatically braked and could not be moved out of the middle of the interstate. To make matters worse, this was in a construction zone.

NHTSA ODI #11736615

Mileage unknown · May 6, 2026
Forward Collision AvoidanceService Brakes

I was driving down my neighborhood road about 20mph there were no other cars around on the road at all only mailboxes and cars parked in driveways. The car suddenly slams the brakes hard enough the tires were squealing and threw us forward thankfully me and my child had our seat belts on. It scared the heck out of us cause there…

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I was driving down my neighborhood road about 20mph there were no other cars around on the road at all only mailboxes and cars parked in driveways. The car suddenly slams the brakes hard enough the tires were squealing and threw us forward thankfully me and my child had our seat belts on. It scared the heck out of us cause there was no warning and definitely not expected.

NHTSA ODI #11736126

Mileage unknown · Apr 28, 2026
Power TrainService BrakesSuspension

I am experiencing multiple unresolved defects with my 2026 Chevrolet Equinox affecting drivability, braking behavior, and vehicle structure/fit and finish. The primary issue is a persistent vibration, shimmy, or wobble during moderate acceleration from a stop. This condition is felt through the steering wheel, seat, and floor, a…

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I am experiencing multiple unresolved defects with my 2026 Chevrolet Equinox affecting drivability, braking behavior, and vehicle structure/fit and finish. The primary issue is a persistent vibration, shimmy, or wobble during moderate acceleration from a stop. This condition is felt through the steering wheel, seat, and floor, and occurs consistently during low‑speed launch and normal acceleration. In addition, the vehicle produces a snapping or grunting noise during hard braking, as well as rough and loud movement noises from underneath the vehicle during normal operation, which raises concerns about braking and drivetrain integrity. There are also body and interior fitment defects. The front passenger door does not sit flush with the rear door panel and appears slightly open when closed. The dealership service manager stated that correcting this condition would require removing and pulling the rear door panel outward so both doors align. The glove box door also does not sit flush when closed, and the service manager advised that replacement might make the condition worse. These concerns were reported to an authorized Chevrolet dealer. The dealer confirmed that General Motors has acknowledged the acceleration vibration condition in a Preliminary Information service bulletin (PIT6466) affecting 2025–2026 Equinox vehicles and advised that GM engineering is investigating the issue and that no repair is currently available. The combination of drivability issues, abnormal noises during braking, underbody movement sensations, and body misalignment affects the use, value, and safety perception of the vehicle. The vehicle has very low mileage, and several of these issues have been present since early ownership. I am submitting this complaint to document these conditions and request that NHTSA monitor potential powertrain, braking, suspension, and vehicle structure concerns if a defect trend exists. All of these defects have been acknowledged by the Dealership Service Dept

NHTSA ODI #11734354

Mileage unknown · Apr 22, 2026
Seat Belts

Front seat passenger side seat belt. Does not have a height adjustment for the shoulder strap. Belt comes across the neck of shorter individuals.

NHTSA ODI #11733148

Mileage unknown · Apr 20, 2026
EngineFuel/propulsion System

I felt ill for a few months. Started to smell gasoline in my garage and inside the car. When I sent in, the Fuel Feed Hose was leaking and not attached and damaged. My car could have blown up at any time, and I inhaled fumes probably for months

NHTSA ODI #11732441

Mileage unknown · Apr 19, 2026
Lane Departure

Vehicle will detect objects in the blind spot when there are none there. I will look back and see that nothing is in the blind spot. Turn my turn signal on to indicate a lane change. I get half-way through the lane change and the light on the mirror starts to flash indicating that something is in my blind spot. I react and retur…

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Vehicle will detect objects in the blind spot when there are none there. I will look back and see that nothing is in the blind spot. Turn my turn signal on to indicate a lane change. I get half-way through the lane change and the light on the mirror starts to flash indicating that something is in my blind spot. I react and return to my original lane. I look back again and ther is nothing there. This is the classic false positive. It is dangerous because I am learning that the system is unreliable and an unreliable system eventually gets ignored. This is the classic "Boy Who Cried Wolf." GM is aware of the problem but it is not getting the urgent attention that it needs. This is a bad situation. I would prefer it the system were turned OFF. This happens quite regularly in the drivers side blind spot.

NHTSA ODI #11732190

Official recalls

1

26V114000 · Equipment:other:owners/service/other Manual

Feb 26, 2026

General Motors has decided that certain 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 2025-2026 Cadillac OPTIQ, Chevrolet Colorado, Equinox EV, GMC Canyon, 2026 Buick Enclave, Envision, Cadillac CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, LYRIQ, VISTIQ, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Corvette Convertible, Corvette Coupe, Corvette Convertible E-Ray, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, Silverado EV, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Hummer EV Pickup, Hummer EV SUV, Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, Sierra EV, Terrain, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The radio may not have been set to the correct status to download the electronic owner's manual during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, “Occupant Protection.”

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Without an owner's manual to consult, owners may not know how to safely use and operate the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.

Remedy: Dealers will reset the vehicle radio, which will facilitate automatic download of the electronic owner’s manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 16, 2026. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-866-467-9700, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. The manufacturer's number for this recall is N252540430. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 26, 2026.

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.

Go deeper into Chevrolet Equinox problems