Fourth generation (D2XX/VSS, S) · first-year watch
2026 Chevrolet Equinox, day 452
- 71complaints since Jul 7, 2025
- 1recalls
- 5involved a crash
- 5,900median miles at failure
Newest report Sep 19, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Changed since August
- 9 new complaints in September, mostly about transmission and drivetrain, brakes and collision avoidance.
- Nothing filed yet on sticky steering, transmission failure, engine failure or fire.
- 8th most complaints of the 79 2026 models on this site.
What's been reported
NHTSA's own component codes. One report can cite several.
- Collision avoidance24
- Brakes19
- Transmission and drivetrain16
- Electrical12
- Other12
- Lane keeping7
- Engine7
- Visibility5
Problems so far
- Brakes grind, pulse or wear early 19 reports
- Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking) 10 reports
- Adaptive cruise or lane keeping misbehaves 8 reports
- Engine stalls or loses power while driving 6 reports
- Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 6 reports
- Windshield cracks or distorts 6 reports
- Seat belt or seat problems 5 reports
Recent reports
“Front seat passenger side seat belt. Does not have a height adjustment for the shoulder strap. Belt comes across the neck of shorter individuals.”
Filed Apr 22, 2026
“I felt ill for a few months. Started to smell gasoline in my garage and inside the car. When I sent in, the Fuel Feed Hose was leaking and not attached and damaged. My car could have blown up at any time, and I inhaled fumes probably for months”
Filed Apr 20, 2026
“Blind spot indicator malfunction. Seat sensors alert for no reason. Cruise control stops working. Vehicle automatically brakes for no reason. Information screen malfunction and goes black at random.”
Filed Feb 5, 2026
“I was traveling about 45mph and the SUV emergency brake system activated, it scared me and my passengers, the guy behind me was even more scared. I had the front seat passenger immediately deactivate the emergency braking system.”
Filed Jan 6, 2026
At a glance
- Next to the 2024
- The 2026 is too new for a fair per-year comparison. It has 71 complaints so far; the 2024, on sale longer, has 79.
- Top problem
- Brake wear leads with 19 of the 71 complaints (27%), ahead of phantom braking at 10. Too few of the brake wear reports give a mileage to say when it starts.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 7 of the 71 complaints (10%) report a crash, a fire or an injury. The typical vehicle on this site sits at 6%, so this one runs well above it. Counted separately (one report can carry more than one), 5 reports mention a crash, 1 mentions a fire and 5 people were hurt. The most crash reports, 3 of 5, fall under brake wear.
- Recalls behind the top problems
- 1 recall is on file, but no problem here has enough reports to set against it.
- When owners filed
- Every complaint so far came in during 2025. So far in 2026, 62 more have come in.
Service bulletins for the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox
Chevrolet filed 171 bulletins and other notices with NHTSA that list the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox. 4 of them deal with a problem owners have reported on this car. Newest first.
Federal rules make a manufacturer send NHTSA a copy of any notice about a defect that goes to more than one dealer or owner. Most of these are service bulletins, the repair instructions manufacturers send to dealers. NHTSA generally leaves safety recall bulletins out of this file, and recalls are listed separately.
Brakes on its own (automatic emergency braking) 1 bulletin · 10 complaints
This service bulletin provides information for the technicians to use a Customer Concern Verification sheet to facilitate the questions needing to be answered by the customer regarding Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) issues.
Infotainment, screen or backup camera fails 3 bulletins · 6 complaints
This PI advise dealers If U3000 is present, follow the correct service doc by Symptom Byte before contacting PQC; if not present, verify the camera is clean, then contact PQC if no issue is found.
This preliminary information is to communicate to technicians that a sequence in programming has changed for these vehicles with this RPO. Failure to follow this sequence will result in a reversed, reverse camera image and cannot be corrected once programmed.
1 more on this problem
This Preliminary Information is to inform the customer and service technicians on how to reset the radio/reboot and it will be corrected and to not replace any parts for this concern.
Recalls
Whether your car is included depends on its VIN. Check yours at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
General Motors has decided that certain 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 2025-2026 Cadillac OPTIQ, Chevrolet Colorado, Equinox EV, GMC Canyon, 2026 Buick Enclave, Envision, Cadillac CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, LYRIQ, VISTIQ, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Corvette Convertible, Corvette Coupe, Corvette Convertible E-Ray, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, Silverado EV, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Hummer EV Pickup, Hummer EV SUV, Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, Sierra EV, Terrain, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The radio may not have been set to the correct status to download the electronic owner's manual during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, “Occupant Protection.”
Risk and remedy
Remedy: Dealers will reset the vehicle radio, which will facilitate automatic download of the electronic owner’s manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 16, 2026. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-866-467-9700, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. The manufacturer's number for this recall is N252540430. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 26, 2026.
The recall on the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox, with the owner complaints on each recalled system
Guide Seeing this on your own car? How to file a complaint with NHTSA
The log
Complaints by the month NHTSA received them, newest first. Blue bars mark a month with a recall or an investigation.
Questions
What is the most common problem on the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox?
Brake wear, with 19 of the 71 complaints.
At what mileage do 2026 Chevrolet Equinox problems start?
Of the 14 complaints that give a mileage, a quarter came by about 1,000 miles and half by about 6,000.
How many 2026 Chevrolet Equinox complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
7 of them (10%). The typical vehicle on this site is at 6%.
Is there a recall for brake wear on the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox?
No recall on file for the 2026 Chevrolet Equinox is on the same system as brake wear. Another recall may still cover your car, so check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.