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Chevrolet · NHTSA safety record

2019 Chevrolet Equinox

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

296

Complaints

21

Crashes

7

Fires

8

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2019 Chevrolet Equinox have filed 296 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2018 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 99 of them (33%). The typical failure was reported at 9,000 miles, the median across the 127 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (4)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

20V668000 · October 29, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Cruze and Buick LaCrosse, 2018-2020 Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Terrain, 2018 Chevrolet Malibu, 2019-2020 Buick Encore, Buick Enclave, Cadillac XT4, Chevrolet Blazer and GMC Acadia, and 2020 Cadillac XT6 vehicles. The start/stop accumulator endcap may have missing bolts.
The risk
Missing bolts on the start-stop accumulator endcap could result in a transmission oil leak and may progress to a loss of propulsion, increasing the risk of a crash. A transmission fluid leak in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of fire.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the start-stop transmission accumulator and replace it if any bolts are missing, free of charge. The recall began December 15, 2020. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Buick Customer service at 1-866-608-8080, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313440.

General Motors LLC · up to 194,105 vehicles across all model years covered

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY

19V667000 · September 19, 2019

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Chevrolet Equinox all-wheel drive vehicles. The fuel tanks may have been manufactured with an improperly sealed seam, possibly allowing fuel to leak along the seam near the fuel inlet.
The risk
A fuel leak in the presence of the ignition source can increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel tank, free of charge. The recall began October 24, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-586-596-1733. GM's number for this recall is N192271870.

General Motors LLC · up to 301 vehicles across all model years covered

SEATS

19V184000 · March 7, 2019

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles. The rear-right seat may have insufficient welds on the head-restraint bracket.
The risk
In the event of a crash, the insufficient welds may result in an increased risk of injury for an occupant seated in the rear-right position.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the rear-right seatback frame, free of charge. The recall began April 15, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192209550.

General Motors LLC · up to 120 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER

18V576000 · August 30, 2018

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Chevrolet Equinox, Impala, Cruze, Volt and Bolt EV vehicles, GMC Terrain vehicles, Buick Lacrosse and Regal vehicles, Cadillac XTS and XTS Professional vehicles and 2018 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. The rear brake caliper pistons may have an insufficient coating causing gas pockets to form, potentially reducing rear brake performance.
The risk
A reduction of braking performance can increase the risk of a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will bleed the vehicle's brake system, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2018. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 18279.

General Motors LLC · up to 210,628 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 296.

ENGINE 99 33%
SERVICE BRAKES 67 23%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 43 15%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 40 14%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 36 12%
POWER TRAIN 34 11%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 13 4%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 4%
AIR BAGS 11 4%
STEERING 9 3%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 7 2%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 6 2%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2019 at 60.

2018 2019 2026
2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

SERVICE BRAKES

3 injured · crash · towed

My wife and I were in our car driving on [XXX] on [XXX] at about 4:30 in the afternoon. I was about three car lengths behind the car in front of me and I was doing 30-32 miles per hour. The brake lights in front of me went to red and I immediately stepped on my brakes but my car would not stop nor slow down causing me to hit the person in front of me. It was a matter of seconds passing but when I hit the back of that car in front of me I had both feet on the brake pedal. My car would not stop. My wife was injured, the young lady that I hit hurt her leg and the back end of her car was destroyed. Our car was totaled. The vehicle is now in possession of AAA auto insurance where I was told the

NHTSA complaint 11716995, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed · 75,000 miles

The contact owned a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while the daughter was driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle collided with a second vehicle and flipped over one and a half times. During the crash, the vehicle sustained front-end damage, and the bumper was partially separated from the vehicle but the front driver's air bag did not deploy. The driver sustained a head injury and was treated at the hospital. The occupant of the second vehicle sustained a shoulder injury but no further information was available. A police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was destroyed and later towed away. The cause of the failure was not determined. The local dealer and

NHTSA complaint 11600062, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed · 99,500 miles

The contact's boyfriend owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH and decelerating to 50 MPH to switch lanes, the vehicle drove over an icy road surface and spun. The contact attempted to turn the wheel and depressed the brake pedal; however, the vehicle crashed into the left guard rail, and the vehicle then crashed into the right guard rail and came to an abrupt stop. The contact stated that the vehicle sustained significant front-end damage. The air bags failed to deploy. Several warning lights were illuminated after the crash. The vehicle owner was occupying the front passenger's seat during the incident. A police report was filed. The tow truck driver

NHTSA complaint 11711379, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

1 injured · crash · towed

On July 1, 2025 I was involved in an accident and none of my airbags deployed. Car was inspected by police, insurance company and General Motors who haven’t sent me the report yet. No warnings or symptoms appeared.

NHTSA complaint 11677338. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Hard brake pedal and Service Assist message. This issue was recalled for trucks and larger SUVs but not the Equinox. This is a known safety issue to Chevrolet, making my vehicle undrivable until I can come up with the $1,500 to have it towed and repaired.

NHTSA complaint 11757499. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
In May 2026 while driving home from her job in downtown St. Louis, my daughter was driving my equinox. While traveling on the highway at the speed limit of 55 miles an hour her brakes failed and she came within a few feet of rear ending a full gas tanker truck. She was able to maneuver to the shoulder of the highway and avoid an accident. After a few moments of the engine, idling the engine completely stopped working and shut down. After having the car towed to my local mechanic at a Midas shop, they began the diagnosis. I began similar research online to find cases of similar things happening. What was diagnosed is that the vacuum pump on the brake line was faulty and broke. Pieces of this

NHTSA complaint 11755541, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Car fails to move while in reverse, the rpm’s accelerate but the car doesn’t move the transmission seems to not be griping when in reverse i get a reading from diagnostic saying P2723

NHTSA complaint 11753369. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I was driving and the suv moved forward with a jump like that scared myself, this happened several times. I just had my oil changed at the dealership of which I been working with for 20 years. A few of my sensors went out at the same time. On June 19-26 my suv refused to change gears. I pulled over and tried again. Made it home and towed it to the dealership June 22. I noticed that there are two car factories having the same issue and had a repull, so I thought that my suv would be included. Well, Not, my suv is from another factory that has no recalls. Dealership wasn’t working with me until July 17th after I reported them to BBB-and General Consumer. I met with the dealership July 24, and

NHTSA complaint 11752619, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
To Whom It May Concern, I am submitting this formal complaint regarding my 2019 Chevrolet Equinox and the repeated failure of its brake vacuum pump. This is not an isolated repair issue. I have had the brake vacuum pump replaced or repaired three separate times, and each failure has placed my safety, and the safety of others, at serious risk. The first failure was the most terrifying. While driving approximately 65 miles per hour on my way to work, I suddenly applied the brakes and discovered that I had almost no braking assistance. The brake pedal became extremely hard, and the vehicle failed to slow down as expected. I was fortunate that traffic conditions allowed me to avoid a

NHTSA complaint 11750577, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

towed

The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the brake assist warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed but was stiff. The brake pedal was pressed with force to slow the vehicle. The contact pulled over to the side of the road, and the message "Engine Power Reduced" was displayed, and the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the mechanical vacuum pump had exploded and there were metal shards inside the engine oil, camshaft, and the timing jump, and that the engine was blown and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was

NHTSA complaint 11750245, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Chevrolet Equinox

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 60 1
2025 212 0
2024 71 1
2023 92 3
2022 160 5
2021 89 4
2020 299 4 1
2018 397 5
2017 271 0
2016 393 1
2015 679 2
2014 546 1
2013 749 2
2012 682 3
2011 781 3 2
2010 784 3

Other 2019 Chevrolet models

Every Chevrolet on this site — 298 vehicles, 747 recall campaigns and 5 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst