2025 Chevrolet Equinox: What to check before buying

The dashboard reflects onto the windshield in sunlight, and this glare dominates the complaints. Drivers describe a mirror image of the dash pattern that can make the glass nearly opaque in late-afternoon sun. Some also see it at night under street lights. Several report near misses with pedestrians, cyclists, or a child on a bike they did not see. A service bulletin, TSB #25-NA-069, adds a dash pad, though one owner says it comes off easily and looks cheap. Some dealers say they know of no fix. A few reports mention A-pillar blind spots and false blind-spot alerts.

The battery goes dead or the car loses power when the OnStar telematics module fails. This is the most common pattern in this category. Dealers confirm the module drains the battery, and replacement parts sit on backorder for weeks with no firm date. Cars end up stranded, jump-started, or towed, in one case at 5,482 miles. A failed module also knocks out GPS, OnStar emergency calls, and app features. Equinox EV owners add instrument screens that freeze or go blank at highway speed, high-voltage system errors, and false automatic braking while reversing.

Phantom braking leads these reports. Automatic emergency braking brings the car to a hard, full stop with nothing ahead. It happens at parking-lot speeds, in roundabouts, and on the highway with adaptive cruise on. Drivers describe near rear-end collisions, and several turn the feature off. Adaptive cruise also fails to slow or stop for traffic ahead, and one driver says it sped up past the set speed. Of 21 complaints, 2 involve crashes. In one, the car went over a curb and rolled down a hillside, injuring the driver. In the other, the car hit a deer and never braked.

Brakes fail to slow the car, mostly on Equinox EV models. The pattern repeats on steep gravel or rocky downhill roads, where the pedal goes to the floor and the car picks up speed. It also happens with one-pedal driving or adaptive cruise on. Other reports describe sudden hard braking with no obstacle, and a brake assist failure that leaves a heavy pedal, no regen, and a 62 mph speed limit. Of 19 complaints, 4 involve crashes into gates, buildings, or other cars. Two people were injured, with whiplash from a phantom stop at freeway speed.

The transmission misbehaves in several ways. Cars shift from Drive to Park on their own while stopped, stall, or refuse to shift and show a "Conditions not correct for shift" message. One owner reports a second valve body replacement. Others describe fluid leaks, shudder, slipping, hesitation in the lower gears, and an 8-speed that will not reach 8th gear at highway speed. Leaks appear between 4,500 and 8,000 miles, and one car needed a new transmission. In one crash, the car lurched forward while parking. Several reports here actually describe the telematics battery drain and phantom braking.

The turn signal stalk snaps past center after a right turn and flashes the left signal two or three times. This is the most repeated issue. The other reports are scattered. Power steering quit at about 8,300 miles after a front camera failure. Other owners describe steering that seizes at highway speed after long drives, a pull to the left, and a steering-wheel button that engages low gear when bumped on the interstate. One owner says the climate controls are unreadable in daylight.

The recessed LED headlights pack with snow, slush, and ice in winter driving. The LEDs do not give off enough heat to melt it, so the light fades gradually until drivers have to pull over and clear the lamps. The other complaints describe the turn signal stalk bouncing into a three-flash left signal after a right turn, which one owner sees more than half the time, or the lever rising and canceling the signal. Dealers either have no fix or cannot reproduce the problem.

Water collects under the passenger footwell carpet. It brings a musty smell and raises concerns about mold and rust. The dealer could not reproduce the leak after two tries, and the owner later found it appeared with AC use. Two other reports describe dashboard glare on the windshield bad enough to hide a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The one crash-related complaint blames emergency braking that stutters to a stop instead of stopping at once and reacts to objects that are not there.