Power Train Problems of Chevrolet Equinox - part 1

The vehicle lost acceleration/propulsion while traveling at highway speed on a major bridge with limited safe shoulder space. The vehicle suddenly stopped providing power needed to maintain speed in fast-moving traffic. Passengers included an infant, young child, and other family members. This created a serious safety risk because there was little room to safely pull over while traffic continued around the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to an authorized Chevrolet dealer and is available for inspection. The cause has not yet been confirmed. The vehicle has about 15,000 miles. Shortly after the lease began, the check engine light came on intermittently and then turned off the next time the vehicle was driven. There have also been prior concerns with unexpected automatic emergency braking behavior. This complaint is being filed because sudden loss of acceleration/propulsion at highway speed on a bridge creates a serious crash risk.

See all problems of the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

Recall number n202313440 my car matches make, model, and year but for some reason is not included in the recall and my vehicle has the leaking bolts. Please review.

See all problems of the 2020 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

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.

While driving my 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, the vehicle experienced a sudden power and drivability issue. The vehicle began to decelerate on its own while in motion, even though I was actively driving. A warning notification appeared on the driver dashboard, and shortly after, the vehicle power shut off. This creates a serious safety concern because the vehicle can unexpectedly lose speed and/or power while driving in traffic. The issue appears to involve the transmission, powertrain, or vehicle electrical/power management system. The loss of acceleration and sudden deceleration could increase the risk of a crash, especially at highway speeds or in heavy traffic. This incident occurred while the vehicle was being driven, not while parked. The warning message appeared on the dash before or during the power loss. I am reporting this because the vehicle’s sudden deceleration and power shutdown while driving could be a safety defect. I am requesting that NHTSA review whether this issue is related to a known defect, recall, transmission issue, powertrain control issue, or electrical system failure affecting the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox.

While driving over the expressway, the engine light came on the vehicle started revving extremely hard but was decreasing speed to less than 20 miles per hour I had to cut on the hazards and coast into s safety lane where I could get off the expressway. I then shifted the car into park cut off the vehicle and cut it back on, the car started up but make loud noises from the engine I was able to coast my way home and park the vehicle. When I checked the app for issues it started engine and transmission service immediately. I looked up the issues on website and was given link to power train recall but it says my VIN is not added in recall. . . . I have to look into getting my transmission serviced.

See all problems of the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

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.

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the transmission independently shifted into neutral. No warning light illuminated. The vehicle lost motive power. The contact stated that the vehicle stopped in the middle of a busy road. The contact stated that while attempting to start the vehicle, the vehicle started. In addition, the contact stated that the failure was persistent. In addition, the contact stated that later the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, however the vehicle had not been inspected. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 24,000.

On way to [xxx] car started hesitating stop at oreily’s they hooked up said 3rd cylinder was misfiring took to bruner Chevrolet I told them what the read out said on the 3rd cylinder misfiring they said catalytic converter was messed up and changed it out drove car home still hesitating went back to bruner Chevrolet I asked them about the recall on the fuel injector module they said my car was not on the recall said it needed the spark plugs and fuel injectors maintenance they did all that then they test drove the car engine light came on said the fuel injector needed to be replaced cost me 866. 33 for all this what I want to know if the fuel injector module wasn’t working properly would it cause all of this my car only has 40,800 miles on it information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

See all problems of the 2021 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

The contact owns 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while his wife was driving 10 mph, while depress the accelerator pedal and the vehicle failed to respond. The contact mention she put the vehicle gear shift in park and two mins later the vehicle began to work as intended. The contact mention once his wife returned to the residence depressing the accelerator pedal attempting to reverse the vehicle and the vehicle failed to respond again causing the contact to push the vehicle into their driveway. No warning lights illuminated. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was towed to dealer where they informed him, they will need to breakdown the transmission in order to diagnoses the vehicle the vehicle was not repaired. The contact search on the internet found two recalls relating to the failure NHTSA campaign numbers 20v668000 & 17v516000 (power train); however, the VIN was not included in the bulletin. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and they informed the contact to call NHTSA to file a complaint. The failure mileage was 117,000.

This vehicle makes a noise that sounds like your driving over rumble strips. The front end shakes and there is a hard vibration. I purchased this vehicle used on 5/5/26 and it’s been in the dealership twice already. The onstar module is defective and now this noise and vibration. The shaking starts upon accelerating. The dealership, central GMC/Buick of jonesboro, ar. Told me that gm knew about the problems and that their engineers did know the fix yet. They say it’s not a safety issue but this is an unsafe vehicle and gm knows it’s unsafe. I’m afraid to drive it.

I am submitting this on behalf of my daughter, [xxx] . On Friday, may 8, 2026, [xxx] was traveling southbound on highway 89a approaching [xxx] . Highway 89a is a narrow, winding two-lane canyon road with limited shoulder and significant elevation changes. While still on the canyon road, her 2020 Chevrolet Equinox suddenly lost all power, including power assist to both steering and brakes. A sudden loss of power steering and brake assist on this road presented a serious risk of loss of vehicle control. Fortunately, she was able to get the car stopped off of the roadway. However, she was then unable to place the car into park or shut off the ignition. Multiple warning lights were illuminated across the instrument cluster. Her roadside assistance plan towed the car to the nearest repair facility, where on Monday, technicians were unable to replicate the issue. A previously stored dtc p3055 was found in the diagnostic system. This code relates to a known and documented issue with Chevrolet Equinox vehicles, for which Chevrolet has issued multiple technical service bulletins, including TSB 21-na-139, which identifies the multifunction power supply converter (gm part #13510484) as the known culprit for this failure mode. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at 70 mph, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated to 10 mph with no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to restart the vehicle following the failure. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,700.

The transmission system failed abruptly. I pulled away from a stoplight, had accelerated to 20-25 mph, and then the car came to a sudden stop, as if someone had put on an emergency brake. It continued to act as if the brake was on when I tried to go forward or reverse. I put it into neutral so that I could push it off the road. I realized it would drive slowly in neutral, so I drove it less than a mile back to my workplace. Regarding safety, I nearly got rear-ended when the car stopped suddenly. This endangered me and the other driver. I was headed to the freeway, then would have been crossing a bridge, to get home, so the danger could have been amplified. The dealership's service manager told me that something internally had failed in the transmission. As far as I know they haven't taken it apart to find out what internally failed. They told me that the transmission needed to be replaced. As far as I know, no one has inspected the internal components of the transmission. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms prior to this incident.

See all problems of the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed as needing transmission fluid. The vehicle was repaired. In addition, the contact stated that the failure reoccurred, and the vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic, where the vehicle was diagnosed with missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator impact. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Upon further investigation, the contact related the failure to NHTSA campaign:20v668000 (power train); however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000.

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.

While driving on the freeway, my vehicle displayed a “service all-wheel drive system” warning and unexpectedly switched into two-wheel drive. This created a serious safety concern due to sudden loss of traction and control. Additionally, on multiple occasions while reversing, the vehicle abruptly applied the brakes without any obstruction present, displaying a message that automatic braking had engaged. My foot was on the accelerator at the time, and this created a sudden and unsafe situation. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership for repair, but due to the unpredictable nature of these issues, I no longer feel safe operating the vehicle.

The contact owns a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 80 mph, the vehicle unexpectedly decelerated. The contact pulled over to the closest exit and pulled over to the side of the road. The vehicle was turned off and then restarted; however, while attempting to drive forward or reverse, the vehicle failed to move. The contact inspected the vehicle. While inspecting the vehicle, the contact became aware that there was fuel leaking from the side of the engine near the high-pressure fuel pump underneath the vehicle. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a certified mechanic, who diagnosed that the transmission intake failed, causing the transmission to fail. The transmission was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 168,053.

On Saturday, April 18, 2026, I was driving home from a neurology appointment with my two daughters, including my child with special needs. I intentionally chose not to take the expressway and instead drove a lower-speed route home for safety reasons. While traveling approximately 35 mph, the vehicle suddenly displayed an “engine power is reduced” warning. As I attempted to safely maneuver through traffic and pull over, the brake pedal became extremely stiff and difficult to depress, requiring significant physical force to slow and stop the vehicle. The sudden reduction in braking assist created a serious safety hazard for my family. Had this occurred at highway speeds on the expressway, the outcome could have been catastrophic. A post-incident inspection identified failure of the vacuum pump drive assembly and related timing/variable valve timing (vvt) components. Photographs taken during disassembly document the condition of the timing chain, camshaft, vvt actuator/phaser, vacuum pump assembly, and associated components at the time of repair. Diagnostic records also documented dtc code p1101 following the incident. The vehicle is currently undergoing further inspection and diagnostic evaluation at a certified Chevrolet dealership to validate cpo warranty coverage and determine the full extent and cause of the failure. Based on the sudden loss of engine performance and reduction in brake assist, I believe this condition represents a significant safety risk to vehicle occupants and the public.

While operating the vehicle on both interstate highways and local roadways, an intermittent malfunction occurs involving the all-wheel drive (awd) system. The instrument panel displays a warning message stating, “service all-wheel drive system. ” when this warning appears, the vehicle automatically disengages from awd and reverts to two-wheel drive (2wd). Once this occurs, the system does not allow the driver to manually return the vehicle to awd. This issue has occurred on more than three separate occasions. Notably, there have been instances where the warning indicator illuminated immediately upon starting the vehicle, prior to any extended operation. When the malfunction is present, the vehicle exhibits abnormal driving behavior, including a noticeable jerking or hesitation that feels consistent with a transmission-related issue. The failure is unpredictable in nature, with no clear pattern or triggering condition identified. This creates a significant safety concern, particularly when operating the vehicle at highway speeds or in conditions where awd capability may be necessary for proper traction and control. An appointment has been scheduled with an authorized dealership for diagnostic evaluation; however, at the time of this report, the vehicle has not yet been inspected or repaired, and the issue remains unresolved.

I was driving my car and a "service high voltage battery" message appeared on the screen and a message to reduce charging the car to 68%. The message coincided with the car having no cabin heat and no ability to defrost the windshield. The dealership says that the cabin heat and ac use the same cooling system as the battery and that any failure in the battery cooling system can cause a no heat/ac situation.

Multiple times (Friday, March 27, Monday March 30, 2026) we have had the 2020 Equinox fail to accelerate at green lights. The gas pedal is pressed to the floor and car is very slow to accelerate. It takes multiple depressions of the gas pedal to accelerate more than 10 mph. There are open recalls on certain VIN numbers from the NHTSA but mine was not on list yet appears to have many of the same concerns. Our local mechanic believes the details of recall bulletin 20v668000 should apply to our car as well.

Vehicle looses power and can very easily cause a bad wreck I've replaced multiple thing and it still does it I'm not sure what it is possibly the timing or something to do with camshaft.

See all problems of the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

The vehicle’s high-voltage battery system and propulsion system appear to have failed, causing a complete loss of power while driving. The vehicle is currently at the dealership for inspection, the vehicle completely shut down while I was driving on florida’s turnpike, creating an extremely dangerous situation on a high-speed highway. There was no warning prior to the shutdown, and I am currently pregnant, which made the situation especially traumatic and heightened the risk to both myself and my unborn child, as well as other drivers on the road. The vehicle has been taken to the dealership for inspection. As of now, the problem has not been reproduced, but the shutdown event is confirmed and documented by the dealer during the incident report and intake process. The vehicle is currently at the dealership for inspection. General motors engineers or technical assistance center (tac) may review the vehicle once the dealership reports the incident. No police or insurance representatives have inspected the vehicle for this issue. No warning lamps, messages, or other symptoms appeared prior to the sudden battery drop and complete loss of propulsion. The failure occurred without any prior indication while driving on the highway.

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.

Engine went into limp mode with now warning. I recieved a reduced engine power warning and the vehicle lost acceleration on the highway almost leading to an accident. I had the car towed to coggin gm for diagnostic and was told that my throttle body has to be replaced. I was advised that this is common issue with this engine and notify due to a recall of older Equinoxes.

See all problems of the 2014 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.

I keep loosing power and get the message "engine power reduced" and the car stops while driving down the road, sometimes it just stutters and won't maintain speed without the warning. I've had 2 shops check it out and can't find anything wrong. This vehicle has had all required maintenance done by the dealer since it was new.

Was told bad fluid pump at 35k. Replaced. Car broke down 30 seconds from dealer. New transmission to be replaced now. Parts on backorder. Will be without car for “months”. No symptoms prior to failure. No warning lights. Car just wouldn’t start.

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.

The contact owns a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that after coming to a complete stop, the vehicle hesitated while accelerating. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who replaced the front wheel drive transmission assembly, flushed the transmission fluid, and updated the transmission control module. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

While backing out of a parking space, with my 1 year old infant in the back seat, my vehicle became stuck in reverse and would not shift into drive or park. The vehicle became disabled and the warning dash stated to put the vehicle in park but I could not park or do anything else and couldnt take my foot off the brake or else I would continue reversing. Eventually I was able to at least turn the vehicle off but the vehicle remains with the shifter stuck in reverse after being towed. The lights and power to the vehicle remained on and this was not a battery issue. This was extremely terrifying for me especially with a baby in the car and getting it hooked up to the tow truck was also nervracking for all involved as the vehicle was in reverse. While there is not a current recall related to this issue on my vehicle, research shows that there have been in the past and this is a common issue for this vehicle.

The car automatically brakes when nothing is in front of you and all of sudden it slams on its breaks. This is going to cause someone to rear end you. The steering is all over the road and does. It feels safe to drive. Transmission gets stuck and revs really high until it catches and they say nothing is wrong. Safety sensors go off all the time and nothing is near you. Key fob not detected, multiple awd issues.

Safety complaint: engine stall/loss of power at highway speeds – 2014 chevy Equinox incident details: • the failure: while driving, the vehicle suddenly stopped responding to the accelerator. I was forced to navigate through highway traffic to the shoulder with no engine power. Once stopped, the vehicle would not restart. • warning signs: leading up to the event, the check engine light and battery light flickered intermittently. • diagnostic history: prior to the breakdown, a technician replaced the starter and checked the battery, yet the check engine light remained on. The engine exhibited high rpms (reaching 3,000+) during normal acceleration before the total failure. • safety risk: this defect caused a complete loss of propulsion in high-speed traffic, placing myself and my infant in immediate danger of a high-speed rear-end collision.

Transmission fluid leaking from the bolts.

I was driving south on interstate 55 near arnold missouri in adaptive cruise control mode at approximately 65 mph when the car braked suddenly and came to a complete stop on the interstate. Car would not go forward after stopping. Turned the car off and restarted and the car now would drive normally. Have not used acc since and car has behaved normally. Took the car to dealership in farmington, mo and they reported no error codes and no recalls. I had driven over 13,000 miles in the car without any incidents previously.

See all problems of the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox 🔎.