Complaint volume
288 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2019 Chevrolet Equinox Complaints
288 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox, grouped by component category.
288 Total complaints
21 Crash reports
7 Fire reports
4 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are engine, service brakes, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 21 crash reports, 7 fire reports, 4 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 127 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 27,001 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to engine, service brakes, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2019 Chevrolet Equinox?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2019 Chevrolet Equinox
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox complaints?
21 Crash
7 Fire
4 Injury
0 Fatality
20 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2019 Chevrolet Equinox complaint categories?
ENGINE 42
SERVICE BRAKES 39
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 19
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 17
POWER TRAIN 17
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13
SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE 8
AIR BAGS 7
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE 6
288 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed and attempting to slow the vehicle, she became aware that the brake pedal required excessive effort to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. The vehicle returned to normal functionality, but the failure became a regular occurrence. The ABS warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who was unable to duplicate the failure. Later, the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the vacuum pump, resulting in damage to the timing chain. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 130,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 130,000 |
| Apr 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | UNKNOWN Shift to park after pulling to into parking spot and coming to complete stop. Car would not register it was in park on the dash or the gear shift and kept prompting to “Shift To Park”. Check engine light, TC system light, TC light, and park assist light all popped on at once. Car would not turn off. Car had no power going to transmission upon tow. Car would still not turn off after tow. While E-brake was on and waiting for tow, car kept idling and would make a “clunk” noise and then the RPM would jump. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | Mechanic said it is this exactly like the other cars but yet my cars vin does not show recall for this [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | The radio volume changes up and down while driving making it very difficult to hear and concentrate on the road. I've called the dealer and been told to check for recalls and no recall exist for the radio. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | While driving my 2019 Chevy Equinox it was acting to me to have a flat tire shaking weirdly in what felt like the front right tire. I was going around 72 mph down the freeway slowed to exit to the nearest station no issues there my speed was around 37 mph exiting off the freeway and SUDDENLY THE BREAK PEDAL WAS TO HARD TO PRESS I FOUND MYSELF WITH NO BREAKS the break pedal was EXTENDED OR? It wouldn’t press down at all and although I tried to pump them, I didn’t want to break anything and it felt like if I pushed down it would break something! So I wheeled it into the gas station and put it in park to stop. I called right away to the dealership I bought it at and had it towed from the station! I was lucky! I KNOW I WAS LUCKY! I MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN!! This came without warning other than thinking I had a flat from the shaking! There was no light or other symptoms to alert me! IMAGINE SUDDENLY THE CAR IS SHAKING AND YOU HAVE NO BREAKS!?! THE CAUSE I WAS TOLD IS A FAULTY BOOSTER! IF YOU CANT GUARANTEE THE BREAKS WHY SELL THE CAR! ITS A VITAL ASPECT OF SAFETY! NOW IM TERRIFIED! THIS IS NOT OKAY! ALL I GET IS EXCUSES AND RUNAROUNDS ABOUT IT! BE AWARE THESE CARS HAVE ISSUES! HOW CAN A CONSUMER FEEL SAFE DRIVING A VEHICLE NOT KNOWING IF THE BREAKS WILL WORK OR NOT?! The shaking was my warning I say looking back but NOT AN ACCEPTABLE ONE! I think it’s what SAVED MY LIFE AND THOSE OF MY CHILDREN! Only the shaking!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT OKAY GMC NOT AT ALL!!!!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | Driving 70mph on the interstate with moderate traffic. Came up on a slow down and tried to brake but my brake pedal would not move. It took both feet pushing as hard as I could to stop my car. Luckily I didn't hit anyone. Had to trailer the car home. Had the code read at O'Reilly auto parts and it is the failure of the brake booster vacuum pump. My car has a little less than 70,000 miles on it. There were no warning lights, NO NOTHING up to this point. Luckily I leave plenty of room between me and other cars or this could have been a really bad turnout. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Mar 2024 | STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | My car is leaking oil and stalling just other cars in NHTSA ID: 20V668000 my car is 2019 Chevy equinox and is leaking oil stalling and a message comes on the street say my steering may might be impacted | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | The vacuum pump exploded and caused issues with the cam. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | As stated per Chevrolet of Flemington, “ Both rear door latches have actuators that are failing tested operation of rear door locks and found both rear door locks to be INOP preformed circuit checks and found to be ok. Found inside latches that the lock actuators have failed.” Basically, a few months back, the doors started to malfunction, and would either not lock, or not unlock. When I would put my car in drive and accelerate, the doors would not lock, which is a serious safety concern. When I tried to lock the doors, they would not lock, leaving the whole car accessible to stranger, and could have been stolen or hijacked by someone. The problem was confirmed by dealer and was fixed for $1500 dollars which is completely absurd as it is a safety hazard produced by their own car that is not even 5 years old. The vehicle was not inspected by the manufacturer or anyone else besides the dealership which eventually found and fixed the safety hazard. No, there were no warnings or other symptoms, and the problems first occurred back in October of 2023. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH for approximately a mile, the Engine Power Reduced message was displayed. The vehicle lost motive power, and the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact spoke with an independent mechanic, who informed the contact that the vehicle needed to be diagnosed. The contact continued to drive, and the engine power reduced message was displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The dealer contacted the manufacturer for additional guidance. The dealer later informed her that the vehicle needed two computer program updates. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. While driving at unknown speeds, the vehicle decelerated. The reduce engine power message was displayed. The vehicle was taken back to the same local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the air conditioner caused the failure, the charge air cooler was freezing, and the turbo and shutter system needed to be cleaned. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure persisted. While driving at highway speeds, the reduced engine power message was displayed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Michael Bates Chevrolet Inc. (23755 Allen Rd., Woodhaven, MI 48183, (734) 365-6790), where it was diagnosed that there was zero pressure in the turbocharger. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a complaint was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 78,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 78,000 |
| Feb 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | Vacuum pump failed at 39,000 miles causing little to no brake boost. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | SEAT BELTS | My wife drove her car to Arizona from Idaho in January 2024. I flew down from Idaho with my 6 year old grandson last week and when she picked us up from the airport, I attempted to buckle my grandson into the rear seats and found both seat belts, left and right rear to be broken and unusable. The seat belts would not retract at all when pulled out of the normal position. We had to buckle my grandson in the middle position since it was the only working rear belt. Prior to January 2024 we routinely used these seat belts to fasten two car seats in the back seat so I know that they were in good working condition prior to that time. It appears to me that there must be a defect in these belts since they both stopped working at the same time. We had it checked out at Friendly Auto Center in Mesa, Arizona and they said that the seat belt mechanisms both needed to be replaced. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Feb 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake assists, and the check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed oil valve. The vehicle was repaired. The contact was informed that when the check engine warning light illuminated, other warning lights would sometimes become illuminate. The contact stated that a day later, while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brakes were inoperable. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the contact noticed that the brake pedal was difficult to depress. The brake assists warning light illuminated and then disappeared. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and advised the contact to report the failure to the NHTSA Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 122,000 |
| Feb 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving 50 MPH, upon attempting to bring the vehicle to a complete stop, the brake pedal was firm, requiring excessive force to depress. The service brake warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 53,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 53,000 |
| Jan 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | Vacuum pump failure resulted in greatly reduced braking ability | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, he observed flames emanating from underneath the vehicle, prompting him to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. After a visual inspection of the vehicle, the contact observed that the fire originated in the fuel tank. Local emergency fire services arrived and were able to extinguish the flames. A police and fire report was filed, with no injuries reported. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a tow yard, awaiting investigation by the manufacturer. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V667000 (Fuel System, Gasoline), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 93,000. | Crash: No Fire: Yes Towed | 93,000 |
| Jan 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | My 2019 Chevy Equinox with 30,000 miles will not start due to a "Shift to Park" error. This is a common issue with other models of Chevrolet in that same time frame 2017 - 2019 Malibu, Traverse, and Volt. The dealer wants to charge over $1500.00 for an issue that appears to be related to a failing sensor. The vehicle will turn on (power) but will not start. Once power is on, you can not shut off the power as it believes that the vehicle is in gear. This causes the battery to drain. This should be a recall by GM as this is a common issue that the manufacture chooses to ignore. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2024 | SERVICE BRAKES | Failure of Brake Vacuum Pump. Oil intake screen of brake vacuum pump became clogged. (Have been diligent in regular oil changes) clogged intake caused pump to not receive lubrication, which resulting in it seizing. Pump is mechanically driven by exhaust cam shaft. Failure caused brakes to become almost impossible to engage. Even worse. The metal parts that were connected to the cam shaft were shattered, and the pieces ended up directly in the crankcase. This seems like a dangerous and potentially very expensive design flaw Pieces in picture had to be removed from crankcase.. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | I was at a stop light, the light turned green and I proceeded to lift my foot off of the break giving the vehicle a moment to autostart, I pressed the accelerator, and the car started to make a sputtering sound and tremble terribly. The vehicle's engine shut down in the middle of traffic, no warning lights appeared on my dash board. The power of the vehicle was still on. I placed the car in park, then I turned the power off. I tried to restart the vehicle this time the vehicle continued to shake and sputter but it did not move when I placed the gear in Drive. I had to be pushed put of the road by the Police and then towed to the dealer. The service engineer at the Chevy Dealership was able to start the engine and take it for a test drive, the vehicle also shut done on him but also left him with no ability to use the breaks. He was unable to stop. Thankfully no one was in front of him or behind him he was able to have the vehicle towed back to the service bay. I was told that the break vacuum pump disintegrated and went into the engine cam shaft. That caused the engine to completely shut down. I believe this is a safety issue as no sensor or engine codes ever displayed and the dealership took 2weeks to diagnose what was wrong because they were not getting any codes displayed on their diagnostic equipment. There was no way for me to know this break vacuum pump was failing to be able to proactively replace it to prevent this serious malfunction from occurring. I could have been seriously injured and cause a horrible accident as I was headed to the highway that morning. I would like to be contacted in regard to this. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | 2019 Equinox LT. 1.5 litre Vacuum pump clogged and exploded internally. Almost killed my wife and I when brakes failed. There appears to be TSB’s dating as far back as 2015. Chevy has been aware of this issue yet continued to produce vehicles with this defective and dangerous design. It sounds as if piston rings are prem The pump connects to and is powered by intake cam. Dumb. Micheal Bates dealership say I’m responsible for the parts and repairs, because is no warranty, which are about the car used repairs, all internal damage to engine. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | POWER TRAIN | The vacuum pump blew apart and sent shrapnel into the cam shaft and valve cover. Yes it is available for inspection because it’s still down. Our safety was put at risk because we were coming off the freeway and our brakes basically went out. We have an estimate from the dealer for $1,926.87. No warning at all!! | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | SERVICE BRAKES,ENGINE | The vacuum pump failed, which left me without power brakes while slowing down on an interstate exit ramp. There were no warnings or indications of failure in advance. The brakes were fine as I got on the interstate, then I became aware of the problem as I exited about 30 minutes later. I nearly rear-ended the car in front of me as we approached the stoplight. Without power brakes, much more force than usual was necessary to come to a stop safely. This is a very dangerous situation as elderly or physically disabled drivers may find it very challenging to apply enough force to come to a stop, especially when slowing down from 70+ MPH interstate speeds. Metal pieces broke off from the vacuum pump and caused damage to the cam shaft. While reviewing some YouTube videos on the topic, I discovered I'm not the only Equinox owner to experience this type of failure around 5x,xxx to 6x,xxx miles for the 2019 or similar model years. Here is the link to one representative video, and the comments indicate there are others who have experienced something similar... 2018 Chevy Equinox Vacuum Pump Catostrophic Failure! [XXX] Here's another: 2020 chevy equinox brake pedal really hard or no brakes fix [XXX] --F One more example: 2018 -2019 and up chevy equinox brake pedal Hard easy fix [XXX] Unfortunately, my vehicle was subsequently totaled in an unrelated accident, so it is unavailable for inspection. I believe public safety is at risk, however, so I have decided to submit this report anyway. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | LCD screen as part of the infotainment system blanks out then repeatedly restarts. This goes for the entire drive. The GPS is not picking up the correct temperature and reports in Celsius not Fahrenheit. I'm not able to use any of the infotainment features including not being able to use the phone feature. Also the radio volume increases and decreases on its own. All of this is very distracting as I drive. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | EXTERIOR LIGHTING | Headlight aim is too high, blinding oncoming drivers. Dealer says that the headlight aim on this vehicle is not adjustable. When I am driving at night oncoming drivers are constantly flashing their lights at me, but my lights are on low beam. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2023 | POWER TRAIN | I bought my 2019 Chevrolet Equinox brand new from Chevrolet dealership. I was driving to pick up passengers. As I drove on too the customers property I pick up my passenger in a wooded area I had to drive up a steep hill. Then I backed up into the next drive path, as I was making my turn to go forward to leave, I tried to backup to make a clear turn but my reverse gave out on me. Something got lodged under my vehicle as I was going forward I got stuck in a ditch on there property. I called me wife and she came to pick me up, I contacted my insurance to request a tow truck and waited 45 minutes but no one showed up. Two of the customer neighbor pulled me out using their tow strap attacked to their 4×4 truck. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |