2025 Chevrolet Equinox Problems: 10 Known Issues

On the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox Electric (Ultium), gM recalled approximately 2,890 model year 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV all-wheel-drive vehicles (those NOT equipped with Super Cruise) because incorrect brake system control module software can cause the adaptive cruise control system to fail to engage the friction brakes as expected. When adaptive cruise control senses a need to slow down, the Equinox EV cannot activate the service brakes and attempts to slow using propulsion (regenerative) torque alone, so it may not slow or stop sufficiently, increasing the risk of a collision.

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 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 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 2025-2026 Chevrolet Equinox Electric (Ultium), gM recalled certain 2025-2026 Chevrolet Equinox EV models (and Cadillac Optiq) equipped with optional 21-inch Continental CrossContact RX 275/40R21 all-season tires (RPO QLT). Continental found that tires built during DOT week 4024 (week of October 6, 2024) had inadequate sulfur in the tread-base rubber compound, which can prevent proper adhesion and lead to partial or full tread detachment — raising crash risk. The campaign covers roughly 19,000 Equinox EVs of the ~22,900 total vehicles.

On the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox 1.5L Turbo I4 (LSD), nHTSA complaints on the 2025 Equinox describe a powertrain cluster distinct from the already-documented injector and high-pressure fuel pump failures: the vehicle abruptly loses acceleration at highway speed, drops into neutral without driver input, or shuts down entirely mid-drive, in some reports leaving the vehicle stopped in a live traffic lane. A related set of complaints describes the transmission refusing to engage a requested gear with a 'Conditions Not Correct For Shift' message, inability to reach top gear at highway speed, and clunking when reversing. All 2025 Equinox vehicles use the single turbocharged 1.5L LSD four-cylinder, paired with a CVT on front-drive and an eight-speed automatic on all-wheel drive.

On the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, owners of the 2025 Equinox report that the lane-keeping and lane-centering system intervenes incorrectly, applying steering torque that pulls the vehicle toward or into an adjacent lane rather than holding it centered. Complaints concentrate on behavior in curves, where the lane-centering logic tracks the wrong edge line, and on unprompted steering-wheel tugs on straight highway sections. A related sub-set of steering complaints describes steering wheel vibration at highway speed. The combination of an unexpected steering input and the dashboard-glare problem on the same vehicle is aggravating, because a driver fighting glare may not see the lane the car is steering toward.

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 2024-2025 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.