Table 1 shows one common power train related problems of the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Power Train problems |
I am driving a rental Chevrolet Equinox with the steering-column-mounted electronic gear selector. I believe this shifter design creates a serious safety hazard. The gear selector is a stalk on the steering column positioned and operated similarly to controls commonly used for windshield wipers in other vehicles. While driving, pulling back on this stalk can immediately shift the transmission into neutral, even at highway speeds. My wife and I have unintentionally shifted this vehicle into neutral approximately a dozen times because of this control arrangement. Once the vehicle is in neutral while moving, we have been unable to shift it back into drive until coming to a complete stop. This creates a dangerous situation: the vehicle suddenly loses propulsion in moving traffic, and the driver cannot simply restore drive. The driver must coast, find a safe place to stop, come to a complete stop, and then select drive. This is particularly dangerous while merging, crossing an intersection, driving on a highway, or anywhere that maintaining acceleration may be necessary to avoid a collision. This is not a complaint that the controls are merely unfamiliar. The vehicle accepts a neutral command at road speed from a simple movement of a steering-column stalk, while preventing the driver from immediately restoring drive. Because the stalk’s location and operation can conflict with established driver muscle memory for steering-column controls, I believe this represents a foreseeable human-factors safety hazard. I am requesting that NHTSA investigate this design and determine whether it presents an unreasonable risk to drivers and other road users.
On xxx, at approximately 5pm est, my wife stopped our 2026 Chevrolet Equinox ev after backing out of the garage and put the vehicle in park. After exiting the driver's seat, she was outside the open driver's door, had both feet on the ground and cleared the door enough that she was preparing to close it, when the vehicle began moving with no one in the driver's seat. The vehicle traveled down our inclined driveway, continued onto neighboring property, and continued through grass. A [xxx] neighboring child was in the vehicle's path. My wife believed the vehicle would strike the child and screamed for her to move. The child moved clear before the vehicle reached her, and no contact occurred. The vehicle stopped when it hit the left side of the neighbor’s garage causing damage to the stone siding and framing of the garage. The vehicle then started to move forward over the lawn and into the street. At some point after it started moving forward the neighbor, an adult male, was attempted to stop the vehicle physically but was unable to. I came out of the house and saw what was going on at this point and was able to help stop the vehicle, entered it and apply the brakes. My wife also tried to enter the vehicle and stop it during these events which ended in substantial scraps, bruising and other injuries. We are reporting unintended movement after driver exit and request investigation of park engagement, the shift-by-wire system, electric parking brake, automatic vehicle hold/driver-exit functions, reverse automatic braking and propulsion/brake controls. Two Chevrolet ev concierge agents separately were unable to retrieve remote diagnostic information. The vehicle is currently at my house and has only been driven to secure it in the garage since the incident. Opened a case with gm ev concierge and they escalated it to "the executive team". It should be towed to a dealer today. Police report submitted but I do not current know the report number. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5.
Under light-moderate acceleration, a feeling of the transmission slipping is felt. From my understanding, this is a known issue with the newest generation of Equinox & terrain. I previously owned a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox lt awd and it had the exact same issue. My local gm dealership replaced the cv axle and axle and the issue was corrected temporarily, but soon after the issue returned. I then recently purchased a brand new 2026 Chevrolet Equinox lt awd and the issue started with mine around 300 miles, but worse than my previous 2025 model. I am not sure if this an issue with only the awd models or not, but an investigation needs to be conducted because I am concerned about the safety and longevity of the the axles and or other affected components on the vehicle that is causing the persistent issue.
Possible O2 sensor. Engine misfired, bucking under acceleration, engine light flashing and auto hold system shutdown. Upon pulling out into traffic, I hit the gas and this happened, which was a risk to me and other drivers as I could not accelerate properly. I am taking my car to reedman toll on July 13. I can reproduce the problem every time I heavy accelerate.
I was heading home from my vacation with my lady and had cruise control on and then all of a sudden my rpms shot through the roof and then a flashing check engine light showed up and a message that said “acceleration reduced drive with care” when I took it to the dealer they told me it was due to the side object detection system malfunctioned and caused that issue then today I felt the car idle weird so I hooked up a scanner and it’s got a misfire on cylinder 2 and 4.
The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the automatic engine start/stop system engaged, and the vehicle shut off completely. The message "please hit the start button again" was displayed, and several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The contact press the start button, but the vehicle failed to start. Additionally, the gear shifter was stuck in park(p), forcing the tow agency to drag the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The vehicle was not yet diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 5,900.
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.
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.
On February 23, 2026, while driving my 2026 Chevrolet Equinox ev home from folsom Chevrolet following a prior repair visit, the “service park assist system” warning illuminated, first intermittently, then after a few miles, continuously for the remainder of the 11-mile drive home. During the same drive, while reversing with no objects present behind or around the vehicle, the automatic emergency braking system activated and applied the brakes with significant force without cause. The vehicle was returned to folsom Chevrolet (repair order #559378, opened February 23, 2026). Diagnostic code u1126 was found — indicating the left rear short range radar sensor had lost communication on can bus 8. The sensor module was on national backorder, keeping the vehicle out of service for approximately two weeks. The module was replaced and programmed on March 7, 2026. Safety concern: unexpected activation of automatic emergency braking with no objects present creates a serious collision risk from following traffic. This failure occurred on public roads during normal driving. Additionally, the u1126 can bus communication fault is the same vehicle communication architecture implicated in the battery/electrical failure documented in repair orders #558923 and #559167, suggesting these failures share a common root cause in the vehicle’s electrical communication network rather than representing isolated component failures.
Incident date: February 10, 2026 mileage: 1,260 on the morning of February 10, 2026, my 2026 Chevrolet Equinox ev (1,260 miles) would not start. The instrument cluster simultaneously displayed three warning messages: 1)“service battery fault — vehicle won’t restart,” 2)“charging is unavailable,” and 3)“charge vehicle soon. ” the vehicle could not be placed in neutral and required dolly tow from my garage, as the front wheels were locked and could not roll freely. Aaa and I measured the 12v battery at 11. 8 volts. Aaa technician made attempt to jump 12 volt battery with no success. He made the observation that it was very rare for an ev not to start once the 12 volt battery was jumped. The vehicle was towed to folsom Chevrolet (repair order #558923, opened February 10, 2026). The technician performed a global reset, becm reprogramming, standalone radio programming, and a manual reset procedure. The repair order was closed with “confirmed no further concerns,” however the root cause — identified in the repair notes as a possible hv module communication fault — was never confirmed diagnosed or repaired. Seven days later (February 17, 2026, ro #559167), the vehicle returned to the dealer with overnight 12v voltage loss, starting at 12. 12v and continuing to drop. A parasitic draw test found an 11ma draw. After a second overnight test the dealer closed the repair order as “no concerns found” without identifying or repairing a root cause. Safety concern: a vehicle that cannot be started, cannot be charged, and cannot be placed in neutral poses a serious safety risk — particularly if such a failure occurs on a roadway rather than in a driveway. The inability to shift to neutral prevents the driver from clearing the vehicle from traffic. The root cause of this dual electrical failure has never been confirmed repaired despite two repair attempts.
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.
See attached document for complaint.
After I purchased my vehicle, 2026 chevy Equinox rs, I noticed severe distortion on the front windshield. I had it replaced once, with the same problem. They were going to put another windshield in but we wanted to see it first, which was worse than the first two. I do not like the feeling of being car sick. Also, the transmission slipped once, while driving. It felt like it went into neutral and then back into gear. The dealer looked at it and could not find anything wrong. It was good for a few weeks and then it did it again.
Gm has redesigned the gear shift of the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox to be placed on the steering wheel. That's fine except engineers put it in the exact spot of where the windshield wiper lever traditionally is and made it look and act and move like a windshield wiper lever, which instinctively means you as a driver will hit that gear shift when it starts raining or when you want to trigger windshield wiper fluid. Doing so, as we experienced twice (once on a highway exit and another time on a major road) will cause the car to go into neutral since pulling the lever toward you (a movement that used to trigger fluid on the windshield) triggers the car to go into neutral. When you're driving on a major road, this is dangerous, slows the car, forces you to have to figure out how to get it back into drive and there's no obvious workaround for that. You can't come to a complete stop on a highway or a major busy road when in neutral and the car doesn't have easy/instinctive ways to send it back into drive. Numerous drivers have complained of this on reddit and facebook and presumably to gm. I sent a complaint to gm today. This is the first time in 40 years of car ownership that I've felt nervous driving a car because I'm worried I will cause a wreck because of poor design. There needs to be a workaround or alert to to this. Very dangerous.
The contact owns a 2026 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that there was a crackling sound coming from the brake pedal while depressing the brake pedal, with the message a "service all wheel drive system" displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that while the awd feature was activated and driving up an incline, the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal with the "service all wheel drive system" message displayed. The dealer was notified of the failure, and an appointment was made for service. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 150.
The gear selection is on the steering column and to change from park to reverse or drive takes usually over six attempts to get in the right gear. When your entering traffic and you get delayed trying to put the car into the proper gear this becomes a very dangerous safety issue. General motors refuses to advise me how to deal with this problem unless I give them the name of an attorney who will represent me.
I purchased this vehicle in June 2025 and the gear selection lever is constant problems. It will never go into or go out of gear on the first attempt. This has caused some near accidents on two occassions as I backed out of a parking space trying to get in gear and proceed timely to avoid on-coming traffic but the lever will constantly bounce to another gear or park which was not selected. The car also has a seat problem in which the seat will start a quiver motion which does startle me as the driver. As an 82 year old driver this becomes a safety issue since is very disruptive and unexpected which makes the driver panic. I notified Chevrolet of these problems but that communication was ignored. The vehicle now has 1400 miles, the selling dealer is 320 miles away. I was told by Chevrolet that to return the vehicle to the dealer would require that I pay $6 per mile charge. This is simply malicious treatment to a senior. There is one gm dealer in my county but they do not want to address another dealers problem. Yes this safety issue has put other drivers at risk because I pull into traffic and cannot get going with traffic flow with a defective gear selector. Anyone can come to my home to inspect this problem.