2025 CHEVROLET EQUINOX EV Recalls, Complaints & Safety

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the battery failed to continue charging while driving or while parked. Additionally, the door opened independently, the Automatic Emergency Braking system (AEB) failed, and while the brake pedal was depressed, there was a delay before the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available.

I was driving in heavy traffic. It was a traffic jam. The driver in front of me was stop and go. I was keeping a good distance as we were moving along. Suddenly the engine braked so violently I was thrown off my seat and the seatbelt had to catch me. Inadvertently my hand must have hit the the shifting toggle. The car was then in reverse. I was unaware and shocked, so I went to get out of the brake and then started to reverse for it to then brake on me again in reverse, only slower this time. I contact gm, they put me to a dealer, that treated this like it was routine maintenance and had no urgency. They offered me a rental program, but I had to process a lot of paperwork, I asked for another someone just to take care of it, and they just sent me phone numbers. They never advised me not to drive the car.

Front automatic emergency braking has activated abruptly three times in routine following traffic while I was already braking behind a slowing vehicle. It caused a very hard stop and nearly led to a rear-end collision from the vehicle behind me. Please inspect the forward camera/sensors, calibration, AEB settings, and check for any related fault codes or software issues.” This happened on 3/18 while I was getting ready to go onto the freeway and the cars in front of me slowed down I applied the brakes to slow down and the ABS brakes abruptly and strongly I was almost rear ended. There was another passenger that felt the same thing and commented on what happened.

Vehicle will randomly apply brakes detecting something with the automatic brake system that is not there. I was driving at 30 mph with nothing in front of me and the vehicle applied full brakes and beeped. Also at a light I went to take off as the first car and it immediately applied brakes when trying to accelerate on green. My 5 y/o in the back had her head slammed forward and was crying because of the force from accelerating/decelerating. It’s happened 5 or 6 times since January purchase

The vehicle will hard brake on its own while going down the freeway, no blockage of the camera or vehicle in front when it happen

The system that failed is the headlight design. I was driving home this evening in a moderate snowstorm, and the snow accumulated and completely blocked the headlights. It was nearly impossible to see the road in the dark without the lights providing adequate lighting. This put the safety of my wife and me (the passengers), and all other cars on the road at risk. This can't easily be reproduced without a snowstorm, particularly wet snow that catches and does not just brush off, but instead accumulates in the recessed light design.

While driving on the highway during morning rush hour the automatic braking fully engaged during slow traffic almost causing me to be rear-ended. The braking engaged after a split second collision warning after a car had merged in front of me. I was already slowing down via one pedal driving and about to begin applying my brakes when this occurred and there was plenty of space before any type of collision. I was going roughly 5-10 mpg when this occurred having slowed down to allow the car to merge. Afterwards it took a few seconds for the car to allow me to re-engage the gas to start moving again. This type of phantom braking has occurred in other instances in my driveway and in store parking lots but this is the first time it's put me at risk. It is available for inspection as needed. This has not been examined or reproduced by the dealer on my vehicle or inspected.

I was waiting behind 2 cars at a red light to turn left. Once the light turned green, I slowly started to accelerate and turn, the car then came to an immediate stop in the middle of the intersection. The HUD indicated the front automatic braking was enabled. Luckily there was no one behind me so I wasn’t rear ended. This was at night time. This was a completely empty intersection besides the 2 in front of me.

Driving several times in normal city conditions, the car activated the automatic emergency brakes stopping the vehicle in the middle of the street and in danger of being rear ended. There was no reason for the brakes to activate - we were driving below the speed limit in city streets

The emergency braking system is not engaging appropriately and when activated it stutters to a stop and does not come to an immediate stop. When in emergency situations the braking system detect objects that are not present causing it to come to a stuttering stop and causing a hazard and accident.

Crash

The emergency braking system is not engaging appropriately and when activated it stutters to a stop and does not come to an immediate stop. When in emergency situations the braking system detect objects that are not present causing it to come to a stuttering stop and causing a hazard and accident.

Crash

The emergency braking system is not engaging appropriately and when activated it stutters to a stop and does not come to an immediate stop. When in emergency situations the braking system detect objects that are not present causing it to come to a stuttering stop and causing a hazard and accident.

Crash

The telematics module has failed on approx. [XXX] and due to a large scale amount of GM vehicles having this same failure the replacement parts are unavailable. My research has found that this module failure has been a problem since at least February 2025 and now in December the parts are still on backorder for each failure. I purchased this car for my [XXX] daughter and now that this module has failed I am unable to track the vehicle and the vehicle's mapping system is useless, along with the ability to locate nearby charging stations. Additionally, the OnStar system is disabled and that is a safety issue. When we took the car into the dealership, they were very accommodating and diagnosed the issue quickly. This was in part due to the fact that my daughter is only [XXX] and cannot be provided a loaner vehicle or rental for age related requirements. I am unable to swap cars with my daughter since I drive a very large truck for work. So, basically we are stuck with a vehicle that has a faulty telematics module for un uncertain amount of time (Dealership expected 6 weeks) all while GM continues to produce new vehicles with the parts it is receiving and not honoring those who have already purchased a vehicle and should have priority to parts under both the warranty itself and the fact that this is a safety related issue. Also, the fact that this has not become a recall or at least a part that needs to be inspected for potential premature failure is unacceptable. GM appears to have zero ability to rectify this in a reasonable amount of time and instead is putting it on the backs of their customers while they continue benefitting from new cars sales with the parts stock that are available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The automated emergency braking system triggered when nothing was in front of the car. It suddenly stopped the vehicle for no reason and it almost caused an accident.

On 10/26/25 at approximately 3:40pm while on a freeway (traveling approximately 65mph) with no traffic or cars in close proximity for the automatic brakes to be engaged, the 2025 ev equinox slammed its brakes on its own without driver braking. This caused whiplash to be experienced by two of the three passengers and it felt like we were rear ended but no cars were around. This is very dangerous. Had there been car behind me this would have caused serious accident.

2 injured

On 10/26/25 at approximately 3:40pm while on a freeway (traveling approximately 65mph) with no traffic or cars in close proximity for the automatic brakes to be engaged, the 2025 ev equinox slammed its brakes on its own without driver braking. This caused whiplash to be experienced by two of the three passengers and it felt like we were rear ended but no cars were around. This is very dangerous. Had there been car behind me this would have caused serious accident.

2 injured

Yesterday the car was moving forward at 2-3 mph, when the brakes suddenly engaged without warning, bringing the car to a sudden stop, violently enough that I thought I had been in a collision. However, there were no cars behind me, and the car in front was about 20 feet away, also moving forward slowly. No pedestrians were in view. A light mist was falling, but otherwise the weather and visibility were fine. If there had been a car close behind me, or if this had happened on a highway, a serious accident could have resulted. A quick internet search shows that this problem has been reported by other Equinox owners, and the only apparent fix is to disengage the automatic braking system. This is a safety issue (both the unexpected braking problem itself and the unsafe fix of disengaging a major anti collision feature), and warrants a recall.

I have driven the vehicle 13,000 miles without incident. However, twice this week, once moving forward and once backward, the emergency parking brake engaged without warning, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop. In both cases it was daylight, clear weather, with no visual indication of an obstacle in the vehicle's path. In response I have turned off its automatic braking/collision avoidance features and will see if that solves the problem. What is concerning, however, is that this did not occur for 13,000 miles, and then abruptly started.

Traveling down a gravel road, down hill with security gate at bottom of hill. Traveled 100's of times. starting going down hill and used brakes to slow, no slowing. Pushed harder and still no slowing. As hard as possible and hit the gate lots of damage to car. It was as if there were no brakes. In fact I think the car speeded up and the brakes released all the way.

Crash

While driving the vehicle there is a glare on the windshield that prevents the ability to see through the windshield. It is almost total obstruction from safely viewing out of the windshield. Totally blinding the driver.

As reported by many before, the glare off the dashboard is a safety issue, disrupting visibility and potentially causing collisions with unseen objects. The TSB #25-NA-069 relating to this issue was installed on my car, but the cabin now looks cheap, reducing the overall value of the car. The pad that was installed cannot be considered permanent, since it is easily removed by the owner. The 2026 model has redesigned the dashboard so the glare problem has been remedied.

On star Telematics is not working the issue is effecting GPS and most importantly the adaptive driving system including cruise control system. I have stopped using these services to due an intermittent failure while driving. The adaptive cruise will disengage itself. Also the collision avoidance system will initiate braking randomly. I was told that the replacement parts are not available and or “extremely long wait time”. I’m not comfortable driving this vehicle and have no options but to continue until the lease is up.

The front dash reflects on the windshield to the point where it is impossible to see the roadway clearly while driving.

On star Telematics is not working the issue is effecting GPS and most importantly the adaptive driving system including cruise control system. I have stopped using these services to due an intermittent failure while driving. The adaptive cruise will disengage itself. Also the collision avoidance system will initiate braking randomly. I was told that the replacement parts are not available and or “extremely long wait time”. I’m not comfortable driving this vehicle and have no options but to continue until the lease is up.

During the day a strong glair from the dash obscures the driver's ability to see out the front windshield. I have noticed this several times and on one occasion kept me from seeing a man walking on the side of the road until he was next to my front wheel. There were no indicators letting me know someone what in front of me from the vehicle. On other occasions I have had great difficulty seeing the roadway. I took the vehicle to Victory Chevrolet in Charlotte, NC, where I purchased it, and asked them if they had a solution and was told there were no known issues and they did not have a solution. They also stated that they would not be able to recreate the issue.

Since May 2025, my 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV has experienced repeated electronic malfunctions with the central display and instrument cluster. The screens have frozen, flickered, and rebooted multiple times while driving. On one occasion at approximately 75 mph, the entire display and instrument panel shut down and did not return for about two minutes. The vehicle continued to respond to steering, brakes, and propulsion, but I was driving completely blind with no speedometer, warnings, or navigation. I slowed down and exited the highway to give myself space and carefully made it home. This was extremely stressful and left me concerned for my safety and my family’s safety. In another incident while stopped at a traffic light, the system froze while music was playing and the vehicle became unresponsive. It only restarted after I shifted into Park and restarted the car. The “Buckle to Drive” safety feature has also failed twice. This feature was enabled, but the vehicle allowed me to shift into Drive without the seatbelt engaged. In the most recent case, I drove for about five minutes before the reminder appeared. I have video evidence of this failure. In July 2025, the vehicle lost all connectivity (OnStar, GPS, and remote functions). This issue was eventually fixed, but I had to drive for several weeks without these features while waiting for a backordered part. The vehicle has been at the dealer since July 14, 2025. Many internal components have already been replaced, and one part is still on backorder. There were no warning lamps or error messages before the failures occurred. I am not confident that these problems have truly been resolved, because if such issues can happen with an extremely new vehicle, it raises serious concerns about what to expect from the long-term reliability and safety under warranty.

Driving down rural highway (Interstate 43 in northern Walworth County, WI, divided access restricted freeway) the car panic braked with no car or obstacle in front of it. No warning sign, no error message, called Onstar and they reported no faults, took to Chevrolet dealership and they reported no issue. Car also has had phantom alerts from the forward collision warning system.

The dash grill pattern totally blinds the driver because the sun casts a reflection or glare of this dash pattern on the entire windshield. I have come close to hitting a child in residential that was riding his bike that I didn't see because of the reflection that blinded me. Luckily, I was traveling slow enough he moved in time. I didn't see him until the side window after he moved and I drove past.

Driving down rural highway (Interstate 43 in northern Walworth County, WI, divided access restricted freeway) the car panic braked with no car or obstacle in front of it. No warning sign, no error message, called Onstar and they reported no faults, took to Chevrolet dealership and they reported no issue. Car also has had phantom alerts from the forward collision warning system.

Car randomly brakes hard when traveling at highway speeds with adaptive cruise control active. Happens about once a day.

Phantom braking at high speeds when there is no reason to stop. Had happened at lower speeds too and around turns.

Automatic emergency braking engaged when there was no risk of a collision. I was in a roundabout (traffic circle) when the brakes suddenly engaged, nearly stopping my car. There was a car yielding to roundabout traffic ahead of me (waiting for me to clear before entering the roundabout). I was nearly rear ended by another car due to the sudden braking. I then disabled the automatic emergency braking feature to avoid similar “phantom” collision detections.

I was pulling into the parking lot of my job. The one pedal driving mode was on, and my vehicle was not slowing down like it generally does. So, I immediately stepped on the brake, and it still didn't slow down, it felt like a brick, I stepped on it harder. It still did not stop! I ran into the barn/building I work in. I was terrified!! What if there was a person there, or another car, or kids playing, etc. I immediately called the Chevy Dealership in Woodland at 8am, they had me tow the 2025 Equinox to them. I just talked to them at 4:30pm. They said there were no messages with regard to the braking system. They said they would install the update, and would continue to diagnose the problem. I do not feel safe in this vehicle, it poses a significant risk as a driver!

The dashboard has lines on it that causes significant glare during the day and in sunlight. It is difficult to see out the windshield when driving or to see pedestrians.

The onstar module in the vehicle has not worked in two months. Its the only way the vehicle can receive updates and many safety features linked to it. No Help or response from GM or Dealership. They just say we don't have an ETA and its a waiting game. Note, no software updates can be installed without this service.

Glare on the windshield from the reflected dash can be quite profound on sunny days. At times, when the sun is at a particular angle during late afternoon, the glare makes driving in congested city traffic very difficult due to a nearly opaque view through the glass. A perfect image of the dash blocks the driver's view of near objects, especially people walking on front of the vehicle.

Can't see out of the front windshield due to extreme glare from the dash design.