Wiper problems of the 2016 Chevrolet Equinox - part 1

The wiper blade motor is gone out. The tire pressure sensor is off : the oil seems to disappear faster than the sensor.

I am writing to formally document a series of catastrophic mechanical failures regarding the aforementioned vehicle. Despite rigorous maintenance and significant financial investment, the car remains non-drivable, posing a severe safety risk. Chronology of failures: October 2024: four months post-purchase, the timing chain failed on I-94. Atwater Chevrolet replaced the component; however, this did not resolve the underlying engine instability. December 3, 2025: following a dashboard warning light, a northland Chevrolet dealer replaced the solenoids. At this time, the windshield wiper motor also required replacement. Late December 2025: shortly after these repairs, the vehicle suffered a major failure of the rear main seal and engine block during sub-freezing temperatures. This caused a total loss of oil and left the driver stranded in hazardous conditions. Maintenance and disclosure: we have invested over $4,000 in preventative maintenance, including oil changes every 2,800 miles to mitigate known oil consumption issues. At the time of sale, there was no disclosure regarding the inherent engine defects common to this model. Current status: the vehicle is currently at a dealership and is inoperable. A $10,000 loan balance remains. Current diagnostics suggest a frost plug failure triggered the event. I have contacted gm regarding bulletin 14882, which addresses identical issues in similar models, but was informed it does not currently attach to this VIN. Furthermore, the extended warranty provider has denied the claim following an inspection, despite the documented manufacturing issues known to affect these engines for several years.

While driving with windshield wipers on, they suddenly stopped working. The wipers were stuck in position in the center of my windshield. Upon inspection, it appeared that one of the arms had become disconnected from the piece it was connected to. Snapped right off during unsafe driving conditions.

When I was driving home from the grocery store a very heavy thunderstorm started I turned my wipers off because of the sudden rain just to realize that they were not working. I had to pull over because I couldn’t see. Causing me to almost get rear ended with my 6 month old, 18 month old and 6 year old I was finally able to start driving 45 minutes later when the rain stopped. This was a very dangerous incident that happened that could have ended in a car catch.

Front wipers stop working in the middle of a rain storm while driving down the highway we were unable to see anything(road/cars)out of the window. We had to put on flashers and stick head out of a rolled down window to (which with rain slapping you in the face is not safe either) try and get to a shoulder on the highway safely. My hubby and I were terrified and thought we were going to die or cause harm to others on the highway. After rain slowed down we got home very slowly with hazard light running. Once home I searched the web for problems that could have caused the wipers to suddenly stop. Results were to check fuses and relays (all checked out fine). I read that it could be a bushing on linkage arm that came off. Husband and I took off wipers and the cowl and sure enough linkage arm bushing had popped off of the ball joint. We tried to replace old bushing with a new one and put everything back together as it was taken off. Turned on wipers and it popped right back off. My car is now sitting in the yard unusable because I can not safely (for my family or other families out there) go any where because it is raining/will rain. There were no warnings or messages nothing they just stopped moving. One of the most scariest things in our lives, so glad our kids and grandson was not with us when it happened and that by the grace of god my husband and I made it home safely. This is very dangerous. It is also not uncommon due to information/videos on the internet. Please help correct this dangerous issue. Car is available for inspection any time thank you.

While driving on the highway, it was barely raining so I turned my wipers on low and about 5 minutes into my drive the rain picked up, and I tried to turn my wipers up at which point the stopped working altogether. I had to pull off on the shoulder and wait for the rain to end, which was about 20 minutes later. Afterwards I proceeded to the nearest gas station and purchased a squeegee to use while I was driving since cars were kicking up rain from the wet ground. Having wipers abruptly stop while it is raining heavily and traveling at 55 mph is beyond dangerous. I see all of the complaints online and a recall should and needs to be issued, as this issue could have and still can caused a tragic accident.

Component- windshield wipers available for inspection-yes how was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I was driving in light rain at first, turned on the windshield wipers on low. Slowed for a service vehicle and the rain became heavy so I moved the selector to high on the second or third pass across the windshield they quit, I could not see anything. I had to roll down my window and stick my head out to see so I could get off the road. I had to wait for the rain to stop before I could move. I first checked the fuses, it was fine. I can hear the wiper motor working. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? not yet has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? no got the car home before the next rain were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? no absolutely no warning.

The wipers quit working while I was driving in a thunderstorm. Safety was definitely a risk as I was on a major highway. I pulled over and waited for rain to stop and made it to an auto parts store to replace fuse. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the issue. The recall does not include 2016 Equinox. I don’t understand why it’s not included.

The wipers stopped working during a rain snow mix. My brother looked up der the shroud and the motor and assembly are all working fine. But the bushing or housing that keeps the arm in place has corroded and there are barely no threads left to them. This was said to be a problem with the 2015 Equinox as well. He tried to put a new nut in to fix the problem. But that only worked for a little while. Now it is no longer holding and it's going to be an awfully snowy few days starting tonight.

During a snow storm the windshield wipers quit working. After troubleshooting, the short wiper linkage arm was disconnected. This was due to the plastic bushing popped off the ball stud. This part does not have a clip for retention. The replacement plastic bushing is extremely difficult to install without a press. 2 bushings were broken trying to preform a quality repair. A safe repair requires a replacement linkage assembly [$100 +] to complete the repair with confidence minimizing chance of a repeated repair.

Front windshield wipers bushing failed. Yes, vehicle is available for inspection. Safety was put at risk, as wipers stopped working while driving in heavy rain, causing severe lack of visibility. Problem is in ongoing, as wipers suddenly stopped and no longer work, as bushing came apart. Vehicle has not been inspected. No warning lamps before or during issue, just sudden loss of wipers.

Wiper linkage. Wipers just stopped working.

Wipers stopped during driving on interstate during rain.

I was driving in the rain & it just stoped working out of nowhere .

While driving in heavy rain windshield wipers stopped working. 0 visibility while driving is a major concern for me and other drivers.

Wiper blades stop during light or heavy ran I spoke with the dealer and they won’t correct it I see there we recalls.

On may 20th at approximately 10:30 am I was driving on I-35 south to oklahoma city. About exit 132b. It started raining heavily and all of a sudden my wipers just quit. Could not see nothing and scared me to death but thankfully was able to get off road and call tow truck. Tow truck took me to bentons auto in guthrie oklahoma where they replaced the wiper blade mechanism. Mechanic said it was a bad design. They have a mechanism bar which just pops on to a plastic ball. There is not a screw to hold it in place on it anywhere. He said the plastic ball just wears down and arm mechanism just falls off. This could have cost me my life! I looked on line and saw many more complaints on same thing! how can I guarantee it wont happen again unless they have a recall and fix it? michael markum.

Front windshield wiper motor stopped working / broke while driving on an interstate in a severe rain storm. I almost and could have been killed in a crash. Why isn't this a recall?.

During a severe rain storm, the wipers just stopped working mid-use after only about five minutes of use. We had to quickly pull over due to significantly decreased visibility. They did not return to the off position on their own and no setting moved them. We manually pushed them back down, but they were able to stretch far beyond the window, leading me to believe something became completely disconnected, not a motor function failure.

While vehicle was in motion front wiper failed to operate while it was heavily raining. Resulting in have to pull to side of road and request a tow to a mechanics due to the dangerous hazard of no longer being able to see out of front windshield and possibly causing accidents and or fatalities. This problem was due to the ball joint linkage system failing.

I was driving on a freeway with my child in the car it was pouring down raining and my wipers stopped working almost causing up to be in a bad wreck!.

As I was driving, it started to rain, so I turned on my windshield wipers. While the wipers were functioning, they abruptly stopped in the middle of their rotation. I had to stop on the side of the road while the wipers were stuck, and I couldn’t drive in the rain without them, so I had to wait until the rain went away before I could drive. I took it to the dealership the next day when it wasn’t raining, and they told me the windshield wiper arm detached from the motor and the whole thing needed replacement. The year of my car is 2016, and I noticed that while my car didn’t have this recalled, the 2015 model does. It literally is the same issue as seen on the 2015 version. Because my car’s year isn’t under recall, I had to pay the full amount to get this issue replaced. Thankfully, this did not occur during heavy rainfall or a winter storm, especially on the highway, because I would’ve been stranded. There is no way a windshield wiper arm detached from the motor on its own unless it was a defect right from the start, as evident by the fact that the 2015 model was already recalled for exactly this issue.

Driving in a very heavy downpour and had wipers on high about 10 hours from home on a vacation. On a country road, no real burm to pull off on, both wipers stopped up on the windshield leaving no way to see the road. Had to drive not seeing until I could find a semi pull off. Had to sit for an hour with flashers on until rain passed. Stopped at a parts store to spray rainex on until I could find a garage. Next day, found a garage to look at it and paid him $72. 00 to say hopefully it could get me home. He said there was something in there that was bad and had never seen this fail before. Left garage and next morning about 5 minutes into a drive, wipers quit working again. This is a very dangerous thing to fail.

Driving down the highway at 70mph in a downpour, when the drivers side wiper went up, and never came back down.

Windshield wipers became inoperative during a rain storm, leaving us stranded on the highway till the rain passed.

I was driving down the interstate at 70+ mph when my windshield wipers suddenly stopped mid swing. They stayed frozen in place and did not fall back down. I have been unable to have the wipers work in any situation since. This occurred during an extremely heavy downpour and my vision was immediately obscured. In the car we’re also my wife and 5-month old child. I was able to turn on my hazards and begin to slow down by releasing the accelerator but I had to drive blindly for about 30-seconds at speed to allow 2 18-wheelers and a car from behind me to pass before I could move over 2 lanes and onto the shoulder. My wife had to help provide assistance from the backseat where she was seated next to our child’s car seat. Her view out of the rear-passenger window was enough of an angle and less obstructed to be able to help. We were forced to wait out the remainder of the rain on a narrow shoulder with 18-wheelers continually plowing past. After the rain passed I could use the shoulder to drive about a mile to the next exit. Unsure at the time what the issue was, we were able to get rain-x and contacted a jiffy lube. A brief diagnosis by their mechanics was a faulty wiper transmission since the wiper motor was still operating and making noise but the wipers appear to have disconnected from the motor. They had neither the time nor the parts for repair. I will be taking the car to a gm/chevy dealership for inspection and repair. There was no prior indication of a problem and has never occurred in the past.

I was driving down the road & my windshield wipers stopped working in the middle of a horrible downpour of rain. I know there was a recall on the 2015 model mine is a 2016.

Front wipers just suddenly stopped working in the middle of a interstate highway, during a downpour, causing to lose complete visibility. And unable to get them working again, as we're stuck on the shoulder.

Driving in heavy rain and turned the wipers on to hi position and they completely stopped working while in passing lane of highway. Limited visibility caused me to pull of on left side in dangerous position of traffic coming from behind. Dangerous situation to get off the highway.

Drivers side windshield wiper stopped working and will not wipe.

Windshield wipers quit working during transport during a heavy rain storm. Visibility 0.

On January 25, 2023 there was snowfall in my area. While driving as snow was falling, while the wipers were engaged, the wipers suddenly stopped moving. I tried my best to safely pull over to the side of the road and sat for hours until the weather conditions improved and I could see through the windshield before I could drive off. My child was in the vehicle after being picked up from school. I could barely see anything around us, putting our lives at risk. On 1/30/23 I was advised the wiper transmission/linkage part failed costing me close to $500 to repair.

I was driving in heavy downpour at 8pm when my windshield wipers suddenly stopped working. They would not respond to the steering wheel mechanism and became inoperable making visibility incredibly difficult if not impossible to see. It put my life at risk on a busy route that was already exacerbated from the darkness and rain. I was extremely lucky in that only 3 other cards were around me at the time as I immediately put on my hazards and these cars went around me. Luckily, I was somewhat familiar with my surroundings and was able to pull over into a safe parking lot and wait for assistance. In fact, I was unable to drive my car for a day and half because it rained the next day, and I could not retrieve my car. My issue was confirmed by the Chevrolet dealership on 1/24/23 after inspection that there was an issue with my 'windshield wiper transmission,' and that it would need to be replaced. Right now, this will cost me $614 to replace the windshield wiper transmission. No warnings, messages or other symptoms were provided prior to this issue. It was a sudden and very abrupt malfunction.

Driving on a major highway with pouring down rain, wiper blades suddenly stopped. I couldn't see anything, it was very dangerous and nerve racking, especially with a 5 year old. Luckily I was in the right lane and able to maneuver over. Had I been in the left lane, I'm not sure how I would have safely handled the situation. There was no warning or indication they were about to give out. They stopped on the driver's side, I've noticed this is common in the forums. This should already be a recall. They are putting a lot of lives in danger. I replaced the fuse, that did not solve the issue. I'm having the motor replaced tomorrow.

Was driving in a rainstorm and the wipers stopped working. It seems like something broke as the driver side wiper was over near the driver side door. After reviewing some of the online issues with the 2016 chevy Equinox wipers, this looks to be very consistent with many of the other wiper issues listed. Safety was at a major risk as the vehicle was traveling on interstate 90 during on Sunday 11/27/22 after thanksgiving holiday. There were no warning lights indicating a problem with the wipers. I have pulled off the road and am waiting for a ride since I can't drive the car in the rain.