general problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Equinox - part 2

I purchased this vehicle as a certified pre-owned vehicle from george moore Chevrolet in jacksonville, florida, in October 2023. At the time of purchase, the vehicle had approximately 35,000 miles, and it now has approximately 60,000 miles. I have maintained all recommended service intervals and oil changes as required. On June 14, 2025, while stopped at a traffic signal with my foot on the brake pedal, the pedal suddenly sank to the floor, causing the vehicle to roll forward into traffic unexpectedly. I was able to place the vehicle in neutral and then park to prevent a collision. After turning the vehicle off and restarting it when the light changed, the brakes continued to fail. I carefully maneuvered to a nearby area behind a warehouse and allowed the vehicle to come to a complete stop by shifting into neutral. I contacted a tow truck through my state farm roadside assistance program and had the vehicle transported to my local mechanic. Upon inspection on June 16, 2025, the technician determined that the brake lines were corroded and leaking. Initially, he suspected the master brake cylinder, but it was confirmed not to be leaking. He noted that the metal-braided portion of the brake line had completely deteriorated on one side and was severely compromised on the other. Both brake lines were replaced to restore braking function. Fortunately, I was able to avoid an accident, but this was an alarming experience that I have never encountered in any vehicle I have owned. My mechanic expressed concern about the extent of corrosion on such a relatively new vehicle and indicated this could represent a broader safety issue. I respectfully request that this matter be documented and investigated to ensure that other drivers are not placed at similar risk.

Vehicle brakes became hard and failed to stop, check engine light came on and warning saying reduced engine power. Vacuum pump seized and broke off in the crankshaft. After vacuum pump replacement vehicle failed to start multiple times. Vehicle started and had rough idle and stalled multiple times. Currently awaiting dealer inspection.

This past weekend, while driving my 2020 Chevrolet Equinox, I experienced a sudden and complete brake failure. I was turning into a residential neighborhood at approximately 20-30mph when the brakes locked up without warning. Despite pressing the brake pedal, the car would not stop. I attempted to shift into park, but the vehicle continued to roll forward. I had to engage the emergency brake, which caused the car to come to an immediate stop. Thankfully, there were no cars in front of me, but I came dangerously close to hitting a cement wall head-on. This created a serious risk to my safety and potentially to others had the situation occurred in traffic or near pedestrians. There were no warning lights, noises, or prior symptoms indicating an issue with the braking system. The vehicle has since been towed to the dealership and is currently awaiting inspection. I've learned that there are existing recalls on other vins for the 2020 Equinox related to an incorrect lubricant used in the manufacturing process of the rear brake calipers. This defect can cause the calipers to swell, leading to excessive brake drag. Over time, this drag may result in overheating and possible brake lockup, which aligns with what I experienced. The component appears to be the braking system, specifically involving the calipers or pads. At the time of writing, the failure has not yet been confirmed by the dealer. This issue is extremely dangerous and could have resulted in a severe crash. I am reporting this in hopes that it contributes to a broader investigation, especially if this problem extends beyond currently recalled vins.

I am filing a safety complaint regarding a failure of the vacuum pump in my 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The failure occurred without warning and severely impacted the vehicle’s braking performance, posing a serious safety risk while driving. When the vacuum pump failed, I experienced a hard brake pedal and a significant loss of braking power, which made it difficult to stop the vehicle safely. Thankfully, I was not in heavy traffic or approaching a stoplight at high speed when it happened—otherwise, it could have resulted in a serious accident. After researching this issue, I discovered that vacuum pump failures appear to be a recurring problem in other gm vehicles of similar model years. It is extremely concerning that such a critical component could fail prematurely and without adequate warning. I believe this issue should be investigated for a potential defect and safety recall. I urge the NHTSA to look into this matter to ensure the safety of other drivers who may be at risk due to this defect. Thank you for your time and attention.

My breaks stopped working while I was driving, they became hard to press and unable to function. The vacuum pump attached to the engine failed. The vacuum has broken pieces that are now inside of the engine. No warning indicator lights appeared before the incident. As far as I'm aware other similar models are having the same issue but my VIN was not included in the recall.

Service brake assist.

Our car has just around 77,000 miles and the brakes stopped working while driving. To our luck my husband quickly thought to use the e brake to prevent a car crash. We took it into our mechanic who diagnosed a brake pump failure. It looks as though the 2020 Equinox has recalls for brake issues but our VIN number was not listed. This is very dangerous and could have caused a deadly or serious injury crash. We had no prior warning to this happening. The shop owner is fixing the issue and we are holding onto receipts if this becomes a recall available on our vehicle. Very unsafe and according to my research has happened to alot of gm owners.

Abs and breaks exploded at 67k miles and at 78k miles car shut off in middle of the street with no warning. Electric issues confirmed by mechanic.

Unknown, my wife was driving my 2020 chevy Equinox on the freeway when suddenly the vehicle shut down with no warning signs . . She tried to turn on the emergency lights and did not function slowly she yield to other lanes and cars honking she safely made it to the side of the freeway. . She tried to turn the car and did not wanted to restart everything shutdown . She call roadside assistance. . They came and try to give her a jumpstart and it fail. They tried to tow it and they couldn't cause the brakes were also locked. . This. Was a scary situation that would had cause major accident.

The vaccum pump seized which is connected to the camshaft which broke causing the timing chain to break. This caused the vehicle to lose breaking g power and almost wreck.

I put the vehicle into reverse to back in into my garage when it suddenly lurched forward and hit the garage door on the garage across the alley. There was damage to the garage and the car's front end. It has never done anything like this before.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while pressing the brake pedal to stop the pedal was hard when pressed, the vehicle did not immediately stop and the braking distance was extended. During the failure the message "brake assist" had displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who replaced the brake pads and brake rotors but the failure continued to occur. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet contacted. The failure mileage was 71,000.

I was driving my car approaching a four way intersection, to realize my brake pedal was not pressing down to the floor. This was 9/28/24. I have a 2020 chevy Equinox. I put my car in the shop to only find out that vacuum pump has exploded and left metal inside the engine. Done some research with the repair shop and to my surprise, gm has had a lot of recalls with vehicles having this issue. Who ever the ceo is, I pray that you understand how deadly and serious this issue is. This could have ended badly for me and could have been tragic for my family. I can not afford to get the metal out of my engine. And to replace the vacuum pump alone was $700. In order for them to clean the engine would cost me an extra $1000. That's ridiculous for a car that I have only had almost 4 years and with maybe 10,000 miles when I purchased it. My voice will be heard. And I will keep advocating for people who are going through this! our lives matter. This is very common in vehicles with 1. 5 liter engines. I'm going to keep researching and hopefully gm will compensate me for this and the engine work.

I have 149,000 miles in this car. In my lifetime of being the one owner and purchasing this car brand new the vacuum pump has failed five times. Twice now resulting in blown engines. And still no recalls.

Was driving (in July) through a parking lot when brakes became hard to push. After stopping car, it would not start and went into battery save mode. Car was towed to chevy dealership in paducah, ky. Vacuum pump was replaced and damage to cam shaft and timing chain. Problem was fixed after about $5800 of repairs. Now 2 months later, was driving and noticed “service brake assist” light came on, and brakes were hard to press. Luckily was at a low speed and able to pull over on the side of the road. Car was towed to the local chevy dealership in hopkinsville, ky. It is currently waiting for diagnosis of probably the same issue. First incident happened in July, 2nd was at the end of August.

We were driving on the highway and just exited. My husband hit the brakes and the pedal was hard to push. He basically had to put all his weight on the pedal in order to slow down. Once we were able to stop completely, we got the 2020 chevy Equinox looked at and we were told that the vacuum pump that is attached the the cam shift exploded and pieces were in the engine. This has caused approx. $3000 in damage that me and my husband can't afford. The vehicle is still at classic Chevrolet in grapevine. We are going to have to tow it back to my brothers until we can afford the payment to fix it.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 mph and approaching a red traffic light, the brake pedal was depressed but the vehicle failed to respond. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact swerved to the left and overtook the vehicle in front of her vehicle, drove off the road, and drove in circles on the grass until the vehicle stopped. The contact then parked the vehicle. The contact stated then resumed driving to the residence at slower speeds. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring while driving. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 106,070.

When first breaking on the exit ramp after a 2 hour ride on highway the rear breaks made a loud grinding sound & took longer to stop with 2 cars in front of mine. I put flashers on & pulled as far to side of road incase I was unable to stop at the bottom of the exit (down hill) to avoid collision with the 2 cars in front of me. Previously my vehicle shown no signs of any issues. There were no sounds coming from breaks, no issues slowing down or stopping, & no lights on dashboard to indicate an issue of any kind. I looked my chevy Equinox up and saw that there was an isdue with the rear calipers and many had been reported and recalled. My VIN doesn't show my calipers have been recalled. However, the gm site states if there is an issue with the rear breaks/ calipers to report it and chevy will repair the issue. Many chevy Equinox owners have taken to the internet to report the same issue, there are also reports that only 166 were recalled. This is clearly a manufacturing error and not normal wear & tear. I bought my 2020 Equinox brand new in 2021, it was unsold in 2020. Please help myself & the other chevy Equinox owners make chevy take responsibility & fix this error before people are injured or killed because our breaks give out unexpectedly.

I received a service brake module warning and then the vehicle became difficult to stop. I was not traveling at typical highway speeds at the time, but I was on the highway. After applying extensive pressure on the brake pedal to stop, the engine lost power and stalled. It was towed to a dealership and determined that vacuum booster pump experienced a catastrophic failure.

I was operating the vehicle when it suddenly shut off in traffic. I attempted to restart the vehicle and received a "reduced engine power" and "service brake assist" message. The vehicle had a clunky noise and failed to restart. Upon inspection at the dealership, I was told that the vacuum pump inside the engine had exploded and sent metal components throughout the engine system. No previous issues or warnings were present prior to this failure. This is a safety issue as the vehicle gave no warning signs of issue and shut off in the flow of traffic with very little ability to brake or steer out of the way.

3/21/2024 my wife received a warning light that the brake fluid was low, upon the husband checking under the hood after cleaning the reservoir cap and opening the cap and looking inside of the reservoir I could see that there was no visible brake fluid in there. Using another car I purchased prestone dot 3 and filled the reservoir it, it took 8 oz out of 12 oz. The 2020 Equinox premier only has 34,500 miles. On 3/23/2024 I have an appointment to bring the vehicle to midas via being towed because of this issue, it is not safe to drive there.

In June of 2023 the brake booster vacuum pump failed, I took it to my regular repair shop and paid for it to be repaired. March 1,2024 I was driving out of town and again the brakes failed, took it to weimar Chevrolet in cumberland MD to once again after less than 10,000 miles to be repaired again. Thankfully the dealership coordinated with the original repair shop and was able to do the repair this time at not cost to me(except I had to pay for a rental for 4 days).

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle was designed with two electric parking brakes. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the electric parking brake engaged independently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the rear brake calipers were defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated while driving 45 mph on a slippery road, the electric parking brake engaged inadvertently, causing the rear wheels to lock, and the vehicle spun. The contact stated that he was able to regain control of the vehicle and drove to the residence at slow speeds. The contact stated that the failure had been recurring increasingly while driving. The contact stated that while investigating the failure online, he learned that it was a common failure that occurred because the electric parking brake was not fully retracted. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.

Brake assist fail.

I was driving and the “service brake assist” light came on and I then the brake pedal became stiff and so hard to push! I was driving on the expressway and almost couldn’t stop my car. No warning at all. It happened as soon as the light came on.

Hit my brakes and had nothing but a hard pedal no brakes at all! this almost caused a major accident being speed limit is 70 and I could not stop the car. There was no warning light until I shut it off and turned it back on then lights blinked and said brake assist failure then the warning disappeared once again. This is very scary and I cannot believe there were other reports and nothing has been recalled.

Brake control lost with no warning. Friend whom bought same car 2 days after me experienced same scenario around October 2023. I just dropped off my kid and I was coming off the highway! I could have killed others and if happened 20 mins prior my children! I'm a single mom and my kids only have me. There's no way this is coincidence on the same make, model, year! there has to be a faulty brake system that needs addressed before people do die!! I've been without my car for 3 days now and no one has answers!.

The brake system failed without any indication it would do so. The dealership acknowledged the car brake pedal was not able to be moved when attempting to stop the vehicle and the vehicle did not stop by use of the brakes. The Equinox is no longer in my possession and was bought by dick genthe Chevrolet. The safety of myself, my 11 year old daughter and the drivers around me were put at risk due to the brakes locking up with no prior notice or indication this would happen. The brakes locked up as I was exiting the expressway and I had to turn the car on a side street and let it coast in order for it to stop. Gm and dick genthe Chevrolet take no accountability for the incident and instead told me that the car worked well the first four years at least. In January 2024 the check engine light came on and I had it checked in the service department by the manager and the p code that came back was a sensor issue and the service manager said that it was nothing serious and the car was safe and the check engine light would likely go off on its own in two days or so. After the brakes had already failed, a "service brakes" warning message showed in the display and the check engine light came on.

Experienced brake issues in March of 2022, brake pedal became extremely stiff and difficult to use. Bulletin showed an issue with vacuum brake pump and that was replaced with the exact same faulty part. On 12/28/2023 my engine blew in the middle of the road, leaving myself and my children stranded as I could not shift the vehicle out of neutral for quite sometime. The faulty vacuum brake pump caused the cam to break off the shaft- resulting in debris inside the engine.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at slow speeds speed, an abnormal grinding sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to an independent mechanic and was informed that the rear brake calipers had failed and needed to be replaced. The mechanic replaced the rotors and the calipers; however, the contact stated the failure returned while driving at slow speeds. Upon investigation, the contact discovered NHTSA campaign number: 19v704000 (service brakes, hydraulic) and linked the failure to the recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and a case was filed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 71,000.

Power train: I purchased a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox LS in January 2023. For the past 4 to 7 months the vehicle has completely lost power in traffic several times and I'm not talking about autostop and start, the battery life was great, with no dead cells at all. The vehicle went dead, absolutely no power source inside or outside the Equinox, the SUV could not be placed in neutral to move it out of traffic, nor would the remote key work. The Equinox remained in this mode for approximately 20 minutes. During each incident, the vehicle displayed no warning signs or check engine symbol on the dashboard display before or after each episode. Fuel/propulsion system: upon placing unleaded fuel in the vehicle and starting up the ignition, the SUV would start vibrating, sputtering, jerking, and popping sounds. Also, while driving the vehicle upon acceleration at times it seems as if fuel isn't reaching the engine. Brakes: service brake assist may illuminate randomly on the dashboard while on the interstate. These issues has placed and caused my family and I to be in great danger. This is my primary vehicle and I purchased this vehicle because I believed in the reliability of the gm Chevrolet brand. Not an accident waiting to happen. Yes, the vehicle has been inspected, but please remember if no check engine light is illuminating on the dashboard the issues can not be assessed properly!.

I was traveling the interstate i90/94 , merged to the exit ramp and found the brake pedal hard and unable to push to brake. I had to slide the car into neutral and use two feet on the brake pedal to slow down enough to make the corner at the end of the off ramp. All due to a faulty vacuum pump. The debris from the exploded vacuum pump were sent through the engine. And after having the car fixed it now uses about a quart of oil every 500 miles. Engine is shot! seriously bad engineering design that will kill someone if it hasn't already. I am 5'11" and weigh 190 lbs. I estimate it took around 200-250 lbs of force to push the pedal to even start to slow. If I hadn't had over 40 years of driving experience, this would have ended in a catastrophic incident.

During the month of November while driving on interstate 35 intexas I attempted to administer my braking system during slowed traffic and they did not respond. The brake pedal became completely stiff and I had to apply incredible pressure to get the vehicle to slow down until I turned on my hazards and rolled to a stop on the shoulder. I did not have any alerts or warnings until I powered the vehicle off and powered back on to find my engine light on and the service brake assist alert on as well. I had it towed for service to which they replaced the vacuum pump, brake booster pressure sensor and brake fluid. Everything seemed to be working fine however a month later the same exact issue occurred. I took it in to the same place for service and had a brake inspection done and was told everything looked good and they were not sure what was wrong other than the ecm and ebcm were now reading codes. The issue is that this is intermittent with no warning and has been incredibly difficult to pinpoint the exact issue. This has also been incredibly pricey trying to chase an issue that appears one day and clears itself the next and lastly this has been terrifyingly frustrating as I do not know if I will have valid brake control or not on each ride. This issue could be life or death and was traumatizing as I had my son and mother in the car with me during the first event.

Faulty brake booster vacuum code on after 60,000 miles.

The vacuum pump has exploded 3 times, twice under warranty and now outside warranty. This time it has taken out the camshaft.