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Owner-Reported Problems · NHTSA

2018 Chevrolet Equinox — Problems & Complaints

NHTSA has 409 owner complaints on file for this vehicle. Every report below was filed by a real owner with the US government's road-safety agency.

409
Complaints
filed with NHTSA
23
Involved a Crash
owner-reported
4
Involved Fire
owner-reported
30 / 1
Injuries / Deaths
across all reports
Years to Avoid

Chevrolet Equinox — Complaints by Model Year

Years flagged AVOID have at least twice this model's average complaint count — the strongest public-data signal of a bad year.

782 complaints

685 complaints

751 complaints

548 complaints

680 complaints

398 complaints

276 complaints

409 complaints

305 complaints

314 complaints

99 complaints

179 complaints

98 complaints

80 complaints

235 complaints

Problem Areas

What Owners Complain About Most

Service Brakes 132 reports
Engine 86 reports
Power Train 66 reports
Electrical System 61 reports
Unknown Or Other 56 reports
Fuel/propulsion System 33 reports
Structure 17 reports
Forward Collision Avoidance 16 reports
In Their Own Words

Recent Owner Reports

Unknown Or Other ODI 11499645 12/31/2022

I constantly get error messages When the ambient (outside) temperature exceeds 100 degrees. The lane keeping assist, the forward collision sensors, etc. When it gets below freezing, the forward collision sensors, the brake assist and the service indicators go bonkers.

Service Brakes ODI 11445748 12/31/2021

While attempting to apply the brakes to slow down a message appeared on the instrument panel that said Service Brake Assist.. My safety was put at risk by not having proper breaking. The problen was addressed at a gm dealer and I was told there are no recalls for this type of problem for my vehicle.

Power Train ODI 11385951 12/31/2020

THE CAR STARTED GOING INTO AUTO STOP AND WOULD NOT GO FORWARD ONE THE BRAKE WAS RELEASED ON THE HIGHWAY OR AT STOP SIGNS. THIS CAUSED US TO ALMOST HAVE A WRECK BECAUSE THE CAR WOULDN'T GO WHEN IT NEEDED TO WHEN PULLING OUT ONTO A ROAD WHEN IT WAS CLEAR TO GO. IT CREATED A TIME LAG THAT COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT.WE ALSO ALMOST ROLLED INTO THE CAR BEHIND US WHILE STOPED AT AN INTE…

Power Train ODI 11292216 12/31/2019

JUST FINSHED MY SECOND YEAR INTO MY 3 YEAR 2018 CHEVY EQUINOX LEASE AND FOR THE LAST MONTH OR SO THE SERVICE BRAKE ASSIST HAS APPEARED AND DISSAPEARED DOZENS OF TIMES WHEN STARTING THE VEHICLE AND WHILE DRIVING AS WELL AS THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS COME ON AND OFF FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS. ORGINALLY MAD AN APPOINTMENT BUT THE DEALER SHIP CANCLLED IT AND THEN MY CAR SUDDENLY HAD…

Steering ODI 11562784 12/30/2023

the vacumm pump grenaded and sent metal chunks into the camshaft knocking the reluctant wheel out of position causing the car to shut down and lose brakes and power steering. There were no prior engine codes or warning. multiple mechanics verified this and it is a known issue. Gm needs to deal with this and should put out a recall. such a new vehicle should not need motor work…

Same Vehicle

Recalls & Crash Tests

Complaints are one half of the picture — see the official recalls and NHTSA crash-test stars for the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, or check your exact car by VIN with the free VIN lookup.

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Problems Checker

Any year, make and model: open the Car Problems Checker. Data: NHTSA (US DOT, public domain), cached up to 7 days.

Questions

FAQ

Is the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox reliable?
Owners have filed 409 safety complaints with NHTSA for the 2018 Chevrolet Equinox, most often about service brakes. Compare the complaint counts across model years above — a year with far more complaints than the model's average is the strongest 'avoid' signal in public data.
Which Chevrolet Equinox years should I avoid?
The rule of thumb used by analysts: a model year whose complaint count is well above the model's own average (we flag 2× or more) usually had a real manufacturing or design problem — not just noisy reporting. Use the year-by-year strip on this page.
Where do these complaints come from?
Directly from NHTSA, the US government road-safety agency. Any owner can file a Vehicle Owner Questionnaire; NHTSA publishes them as public domain data. We cache each lookup for up to 7 days.
Do complaints mean a recall is coming?
Sometimes. NHTSA opens defect investigations when complaint patterns emerge, and investigations can end in recalls. Check the recalls page for this vehicle to see what has already been recalled.