2024 Chevrolet Equinox Problems: 12 Known Issues

On the 2024-2026 Chevrolet Equinox, the telematics control module — the OnStar unit — fails on a large scale across the redesigned Equinox and the Equinox EV. It is the single largest complaint cluster in NHTSA's electrical-system category for the 2025 Equinox. When the module fails it stops sleeping and continuously draws current, flattening the 12-volt battery; owners report waking to a dead vehicle and, in the worst cases, the car shutting down mid-drive, with one report of the battery measured at 0.03 volts. The failure simultaneously disables every OnStar-dependent safety and convenience function: Automatic Crash Response, emergency calling, GPS position (which can read miles off), remote start, remote lock/unlock through the myChevrolet app, and over-the-air update delivery. Replacement modules have been on nationwide backorder for extended periods, with owners reporting month-plus waits and at least one case where the replacement module was itself faulty. GM has not issued a recall or a public service bulletin for the defect.

On the 2024-2025 Chevrolet Equinox, equinox EV owners report that the turn signal stalk does not settle at its neutral position. After a turn completes and the signal self-cancels, the stalk drops forcefully past center and latches the opposite direction — a driver who signaled right and completed the turn ends up with a three-blink or continuous left signal displayed to traffic behind. Other reports describe the stalk overshooting neutral on initial actuation. The vehicle gives the driver no audible or visual alert distinguishing the unintended signal from an intended one, so the wrong-direction indication can run unnoticed. Three of the five 2025 Equinox EV electrical-system complaints on CarComplaints describe this same stalk behavior, and one owner reports the dealer could not replicate it despite being shown video. The hazard is that following and merging traffic acts on a signal the driver never requested.

On the 2018-2024 Chevrolet Equinox, the center touchscreen (Chevrolet MyLink / Infotainment 3) intermittently goes completely black, freezes, or reboots in a loop while the rest of the car operates normally. Owners lose the backup camera, climate display, radio, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, and OnStar screen. The failure is usually a software/HMI-module fault but is also commonly traced to loose or corroded connectors and cables at the radio receiver located behind/below the glove box, or to a failing HMI (Human-Machine Interface) display module. A temporary fix is a system reboot (hold the power/volume knob ~10-15 s, or hold Home + fast-forward for 10 s), but it returns until the underlying module or wiring is addressed. This is one of the most-searched Equinox electrical complaints across model years.

On the 2023-2024 Chevrolet Equinox 1.5L turbo I4 (LSD), owners of 2023-2024 Equinox models with the 1.5L turbo (LSD) report the engine-mounted high-pressure direct-injection fuel pump failing, often well under 60,000 miles (some as early as 28,000 miles). The pump can no longer maintain rail pressure, so the engine suddenly loses power, drops into 'Engine Power Reduced' limp mode (speed limited to roughly 5-55 mph), stalls, or won't restart, frequently leaving the vehicle undrivable and requiring a tow. CarComplaints logged 20 distinct 2023 fuel/propulsion complaints centered on this part, and many owners report the replacement pump being on national back-order for months. This is a separate failure from the earlier 2021-2022 in-tank low-pressure fuel pump module recall.

On the 2018-2025 Chevrolet Equinox, the direct-injection fuel injectors on the 1.5L turbo can leak - internally past a cracked injector body/tip (dumping raw fuel into the cylinder and causing a misfire) or externally past worn upper O-rings (fuel smell, weeping at the rail). This is distinct from the covered high-pressure fuel-pump and in-tank fuel-pump-module failures. GM issued a Customer Satisfaction Program for a fuel-injector leak on some 2025 Equinox that directs dealers to replace all four injectors and the fuel feed pipe.

On the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox 1.5L turbo I4 (LYX), gM recalled certain 2024 Chevrolet Equinox (gas) vehicles — along with the Blazer, Blazer EV and GMC Terrain — because door strikers supplied by Brano Group A.S. may not have been heat-treated to GM hardness specifications and can fracture. A broken striker can allow a door to open unexpectedly while the vehicle is being driven, increasing the risk of injury or a crash. The gas Equinox portion of the campaign covers a small build window (about 201 Equinox units).

On the 2024-2026 Chevrolet Equinox, forward-collision avoidance is one of the largest NHTSA complaint categories on the redesigned Equinox and the second-largest on the Equinox EV. Owners report the automatic emergency braking system engaging hard with nothing in front of the vehicle — on open highway, entering shadows or overpasses, near roadside guardrails and signs, and repeatedly during low-speed parking maneuvers. Several complainants state the false activation caused or nearly caused a rear-end collision from following traffic. This is distinct from the separate recall in which adaptive cruise control failed to brake hard enough: here the system brakes when it should not. A related sub-cluster describes ABS remaining active on a long descent, with the driver unable to slow the vehicle for roughly two minutes.

On the 2017-2024 Chevrolet Equinox All engines, owners across multiple model years report the factory windshield cracking from very minor rock strikes that would normally cause only a chip, with some drivers on their second, third, or fourth windshield within a year or two. A separate but related complaint is optical distortion/blurriness in the glass that causes glare and, for some, motion sickness, and which often persists even after a warranty replacement. The thinness/quality of the laminated glass is the suspected root cause; there is no recall, but the complaint volume is high.

On the 2024-2026 Chevrolet Equinox Electric (Ultium), multiple recalls address the Equinox EV's exterior pedestrian warning sound (required on EVs at low speed) being too quiet or not varying enough in volume between standstill and creeping speeds, due to incorrect body control module / sound system software calibration. Pedestrians — especially those who are blind or have low vision — may not hear the vehicle approaching, increasing the risk of a pedestrian crash. The campaigns span the 2024 model year (25V639000), 2025 (24V925000), and a large ~81,000-vehicle 2025-2026 campaign (25V878000).

On the 2018-2024 Chevrolet Equinox 1.5L Turbo I4 (LYX), because the 1.5L turbo (and the earlier 2.4L SIDI) is a gasoline direct-injection engine, no fuel washes over the back of the intake valves. Over 40k-80k miles, oil vapor from the PCV system bakes onto the valves as hard carbon, restricting airflow and disrupting the seal. Owners report a check-engine light with single- or multi-cylinder misfires that are worst on a cold start, plus a slight loss of power and rougher idle. GM Preliminary Information PIP5029D acknowledges misfires caused by 'major carbon build up on the intake and/or exhaust valves' on its earlier direct-injection engines, including the 2010-2014 Equinox 2.4L, 3.0L and 3.6L; it does not list the 1.5L turbo.

On the 2024-2025 Chevrolet Equinox, the sculpted, ribbed upper dashboard of the Equinox EV reflects sunlight onto the windshield, producing a bright banded glare across the driver's forward view. It is the most-complained-about defect on the vehicle: visibility/wiper is the single largest NHTSA complaint component for the 2024 Equinox EV (58 of 108 complaints) and the 2025 Equinox EV (80 of 165 complaints). Owners describe the glare as severe enough to hide a car in the adjacent lane, mask a pedestrian crossing the road, or be mistaken for a vehicle or deer ahead. The condition is worst in low winter sun and on light-colored interiors. GM acknowledged the condition in bulletin 25-NA-069, 'Windshield Dash Reflection and/or Glare Concerns,' but the prescribed fix is a dash mat, not a redesigned dashboard, and the mat has been on national backorder at dealers.

On the 2018-2024 Chevrolet Equinox, a widespread, heavily-searched complaint: the driver information center displays "Shift to Park" even though the lever is already fully in Park, and the vehicle then refuses to lock, refuses to allow the key/fob to leave, or will not restart. The root cause is an internal park-position microswitch inside the transmission-control (shifter) assembly whose contacts/actuator arm wear out and stop sending the correct low-voltage signal to the Body Control Module. It is intermittent at first (often heat- or vibration-related) and progresses to a daily no-start/no-lock condition. GM's service bulletins for this condition (e.g. the PIT5616 series and 19-NA-206) list other GM models such as the Malibu, Traverse, Blazer and Acadia rather than the Equinox, and there is no recall; the official repair on those models is replacement of the entire shifter assembly because the switch is not sold separately. The same defect affects the platform-mate GMC Terrain and many other 2014-2024 GM models, which is why owner forums are full of it.