There are 7 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2025 Chevrolet Equinoxin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
While pulling into a parking spot of a business and approximately 6 feet from the curb, the automatic emergency brake engaged forcing my whole body forward, slamming my head on the visor/roof of the car very forcefully/painfully. I was not in traffic, I was getting ready to park. My front seat passenger slammed against her seatbelt and I had a child in the back seat who slammed forward as well. No dash indicators or seat rumbling occurred, it was just an immediate jolt/hard stop that I was not braced for. At risk of concussion or TBI.
VEHICLE INFORMATION Vehicle: 2025 Chevrolet Equinox (Gas) Purchase Price: $46,000 In-Service Date: January 28, 2026 Current Mileage: 2,433 miles First Repair Attempt: Approximately 200 miles DEFECT DESCRIPTION (SAFETY-CRITICAL) The vehicle experiences intermittent but recurring safety system failures while driving, including: • Complete instrument cluster blackout (all gauges dark) • All warning lights and alerts disappear • ADAS / driver-assist systems shut down • System appears to reboot for approximately 15 seconds while in motion • Vehicle settings reset to default (vehicle systems, not radio) • Brake pedal becomes hard during these events • Stopping distance feels increased during braking events This behavior indicates a brake assist interruption and a loss of critical driver information while the vehicle is moving. REPAIR HISTORY SUMMARY • Vehicle has been in the dealership approximately 4–5 times for the same or substantially similar defect • Dealership has performed software updates • Dealership has replaced computer modules controlling the information center and related systems • The defect persists SAFETY ASSESSMENT Loss of braking assist (hard pedal with increased stopping distance) combined with full instrument cluster blackout while driving constitutes a substantial impairment of vehicle safety. This is not an infotainment issue.
SEE NHTSA Safety Recall Report 25V-12- It appears it should apply to both 2025 FRONT WHEEL DRIVE Chevy Equinox EVs with ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL (and without Super Cruise) in addition to 2025 ALL WHEEL DRIVE Equinox EVs with ACC (also without Super Cruise). This is very dangerous. Here's what happened: My 8 month old 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV FRONT WHEEL DRIVE w/ACC(no Super Cruise) has had 2 instances where a very large "thunk" sound and vibration emanating from the rear of the car while stopped at an intersection, was immediately followed with sudden brake failure and sudden forward acceleration. The ACC was on in both instances. The first time this happened was alarming but since the was nothing in front of me there was no damage and the problem seemed to resolve itself thereafter. The second time was while waiting at a red light about 10 feet behind another vehicle. My car shot forward and into the other car, which was then pushed into the car ahead of it. Both my car and the car ahead of me had very expensive damages, but fortunately, no injuries. What I experienced sounds exactly like the recall problem described in NHTSA Safety Recall Report 25V-12 which has thus far only been applied to the AWD version of the 2025 Equinox EV, not the FWD version that I have. I believe this needs rapid consideration due to the danger of of sudden acceleration resulting in serious property damage, injury, or death. It appears to me that other instances of this problem have been described in various online forums and YouTubes.
I placed my foot on the brake to start my vehicle and when I pushed the start button my brake pedal went to the floor and warning came up stating brake failure ect. I contacted the dealership and was told to drive it to them so the could put it on the scope and tell me if it is safe to drive. I did and then was told it was a master brake cylinder failure and not safe to drive. In researching this is a know failure by gm service notice N252494220
I was driving my 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV on the highway with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) engaged. The vehicle was also set to "One-Pedal Driving" (High regenerative braking). The vehicle in front of me slowed down abruptly. My vehicle's ACC began to slow the car, but it was not decelerating quickly enough to avoid a collision. I immediately intervened by pressing the brake pedal as hard as I could, pushing it completely to the floor. Critical Safety Failure: The vehicle's physical brakes failed to engage. Despite my foot being pressed hard to the floor, the vehicle did not slow down. It felt as though only the regenerative braking was (slowly) working and that my manual brake application had zero effect. The vehicle continued to glide forward with no significant braking power, and I was unable to stop the car in time, resulting in a collision with the rear of the vehicle ahead. Summary of Defect: The primary safety failure was the complete lack of response from the manual brake pedal. My attempt to override the vehicle's automated systems in an emergency was unsuccessful, as the brake pedal was unresponsive. Reporting History: I have already reported this incident to my auto insurance, my local Chevrolet dealership, and the Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center. A representative from Chevrolet recommended that I file this report with the NHTSA to help identify and track similar safety-critical incidents.
Vehicle may be involved in GM Service Update N252494220 , Reduced Brake Performance. I cannot get a response from Chevrolet if the vehicle is part of the brake problem issue. Based on the information provided, this should be escalated to a recall. I also have not been able to get an answer from the selling dealer. Per the information in the Service Update bulletin, the vehicle was not to be sold until it was inspected for the problem.
On 3 separate occasions now, my vehicle has slammed on the brakes abruptly when there were no other cars around me in close proximity. The sensors vibrated the driver seat each time right before slamming brakes on, even though no other cars were even close to me. The sensors often go off when they shouldn’t be. The first time this happened, there were no cars ahead of me or beside me on the highway but there was one car behind me about 50 feet I’d say. Thankfully he was paying attention or he would have rear ended me. The 2nd time my husband was getting off an exit ramp so he was only going about 25mph and the car slammed the brakes on. There were no cars ahead of him or behind him. The 3rd time I was pulling out of a plaza entering a stop light and when I saw no cars coming, I started to pull out and it slammed on the brakes. There was a car behind me, but none beside me, and since I was turning left to approach the stop light, there were a few cars in each lane but they were about 20 feet away from me. None of these incidents should have activated the emergency braking. It has to be faulty sensors as they go off often when they shouldn’t. My husband and I both felt like we had bruised ribs and we thank God that nobody hit us, but at some point, we won’t be so lucky! And I am forced to drive this death trap because it’s not showing any codes for the dealership AND I still have to pay on my loan to drive an unsafe car!
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026