2025 CHEVROLET EQUINOX EV Safety Overview

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"Vehicle: 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV, Front-Wheel Drive Incident date: [XXX] Approximate time: [XXX] CDT Location: Residential garage, Houston, Texas Safety Complaint — Unexpected Severe Automatic Braking On [XXX], at approximately [XXX] p.m., I was slowly driving my 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV forward into my residential garage. My foot was on the accelerator pedal, and I was moving at very low speed. I was still well away from the back wall of the garage, with no apparent obstacle requiring emergency braking. Without warning, the vehicle suddenly braked extremely hard and came to an abrupt, complete stop. I did not apply the brakes and did not notice any audible collision warning or visual alert before the event. The deceleration was sufficiently violent that, despite wearing my seat belt, my head lurched forward and struck the vehicle's headliner. I subsequently experienced neck soreness, which has since subsided. I did not experience a headache, and my head currently feels normal. I intend to consult my primary care physician's office about the incident. I have no explanation for why the vehicle initiated such severe braking under these circumstances. The vehicle has automatic emergency braking and other driver-assistance systems, but I cannot determine which system caused the stop. Google Maps Timeline independently documents my arrival home at approximately [XXX] p.m., providing a useful timestamp for diagnostic investigation. The vehicle previously received an over-the-air software update while I was in Lakewood, Colorado. I do not know whether that update has any relationship to this incident. I am concerned that an unexplained, extremely forceful braking event at low speed could result in serious injuries, particularly if it occurs in traffic or at higher speeds. I request that NHTSA investigate whether the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV has a defect involving unintended automatic braking or other electronic braking-control. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)"

Component: SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"On September 2, 2026, at approximately 3:19 PM, my 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV unexpectedly applied hard automatic braking while I was proceeding through a green intersection. A white SUV ahead of me was moving to the left and clearing my travel path. There was no vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, or other obstacle directly blocking my lane that required emergency braking. At the exact moment the vehicle applied the brakes, a Forward Collision Warning appeared on the driver display. Based on the warning and the braking response, I believe the Forward Collision Alert/Automatic Emergency Braking system falsely detected an imminent collision and activated unnecessarily. The unexpected braking created a risk that a vehicle behind me could rear-end my vehicle. My two children were passengers and were frightened by the sudden braking. No collision or injury occurred. There were no warning lamps, messages, or symptoms before this incident. The Forward Collision Warning appeared only when the unexpected braking occurred. The problem has not yet been reproduced or confirmed by a Chevrolet dealer. The vehicle has not yet been inspected by the dealer, manufacturer, police, or insurance company. I reported the incident to Chevrolet and opened case number 109390168. The vehicle and original dashcam footage are available for inspection upon request. The video shows the traffic conditions immediately before, during, and after the braking event. As a temporary safety precaution pending inspection, I changed the automatic-braking settings to Alert Only while retaining collision warnings."

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"I was going about 65 and the car suddenly brakes for no reason and dropped to about 50. Thought I was going to be rear ended"

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"I have had multiple times where my car kicks in the automatic emergency brake because it things I’m about to hit something. All those instances that it has happened, I was not about to hit something and the car short stops and stops in the middle of the street which is so dangerous because then I quickly have to start my car so that someone doesn’t crash into me since I’m stopped in middle of the road"

Component: BACK OVER PREVENTION

"Phantom automatic emergency rear breaking"

Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"Vehicle slammed on brakes on highway with no obstruction in front. Emergency system reacts to shadows"

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"On numerous occasions, the multiple automatic collision braking systems have engaged in what I would describe as phantom breaking. For me personally, the automatic breaking has on multiple occasions caused a serious crash, both while backing out of parking, at intersections and most recently on Interstate 880. The AEB system engaged and slammed the breaks while changing a lane in traffic and the car came to a complete standstill. Two cars almost crashed into me. I feel less safe with AEB engaged than I feel without it and I this incident was the final straw. I will be disabling AEB. The system is severely flawed and will be the cause for serious accidents."

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"I was driving in heavy traffic. It was a traffic jam. The driver in front of me was stop and go. I was keeping a good distance as we were moving along. Suddenly the engine braked so violently I was thrown off my seat and the seatbelt had to catch me. Inadvertently my hand must have hit the the shifting toggle. The car was then in reverse. I was unaware and shocked, so I went to get out of the brake and then started to reverse for it to then brake on me again in reverse, only slower this time. I contact gm, they put me to a dealer, that treated this like it was routine maintenance and had no urgency. They offered me a rental program, but I had to process a lot of paperwork, I asked for another someone just to take care of it, and they just sent me phone numbers. They never advised me not to drive the car."

Component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL,SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"Front automatic emergency braking has activated abruptly three times in routine following traffic while I was already braking behind a slowing vehicle. It caused a very hard stop and nearly led to a rear-end collision from the vehicle behind me. Please inspect the forward camera/sensors, calibration, AEB settings, and check for any related fault codes or software issues.” This happened on 3/18 while I was getting ready to go onto the freeway and the cars in front of me slowed down I applied the brakes to slow down and the ABS brakes abruptly and strongly I was almost rear ended. There was another passenger that felt the same thing and commented on what happened."

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"Vehicle will randomly apply brakes detecting something with the automatic brake system that is not there. I was driving at 30 mph with nothing in front of me and the vehicle applied full brakes and beeped. Also at a light I went to take off as the first car and it immediately applied brakes when trying to accelerate on green. My 5 y/o in the back had her head slammed forward and was crying because of the force from accelerating/decelerating. It’s happened 5 or 6 times since January purchase"

Component: EXTERIOR LIGHTING

"The system that failed is the headlight design. I was driving home this evening in a moderate snowstorm, and the snow accumulated and completely blocked the headlights. It was nearly impossible to see the road in the dark without the lights providing adequate lighting. This put the safety of my wife and me (the passengers), and all other cars on the road at risk. This can't easily be reproduced without a snowstorm, particularly wet snow that catches and does not just brush off, but instead accumulates in the recessed light design."

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"While driving on the highway during morning rush hour the automatic braking fully engaged during slow traffic almost causing me to be rear-ended. The braking engaged after a split second collision warning after a car had merged in front of me. I was already slowing down via one pedal driving and about to begin applying my brakes when this occurred and there was plenty of space before any type of collision. I was going roughly 5-10 mpg when this occurred having slowed down to allow the car to merge. Afterwards it took a few seconds for the car to allow me to re-engage the gas to start moving again. This type of phantom braking has occurred in other instances in my driveway and in store parking lots but this is the first time it's put me at risk. It is available for inspection as needed. This has not been examined or reproduced by the dealer on my vehicle or inspected."

Component: SERVICE BRAKES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"I was waiting behind 2 cars at a red light to turn left. Once the light turned green, I slowly started to accelerate and turn, the car then came to an immediate stop in the middle of the intersection. The HUD indicated the front automatic braking was enabled. Luckily there was no one behind me so I wasn’t rear ended. This was at night time. This was a completely empty intersection besides the 2 in front of me."

Component: STRUCTURE,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"The emergency braking system is not engaging appropriately and when activated it stutters to a stop and does not come to an immediate stop. When in emergency situations the braking system detect objects that are not present causing it to come to a stuttering stop and causing a hazard and accident."

Component: UNKNOWN OR OTHER,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"The vehicle will hard brake on its own while going down the freeway, no blockage of the camera or vehicle in front when it happen"

Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

"The telematics module has failed on approx. [XXX] and due to a large scale amount of GM vehicles having this same failure the replacement parts are unavailable. My research has found that this module failure has been a problem since at least February 2025 and now in December the parts are still on backorder for each failure. I purchased this car for my [XXX] daughter and now that this module has failed I am unable to track the vehicle and the vehicle's mapping system is useless, along with the ability to locate nearby charging stations. Additionally, the OnStar system is disabled and that is a safety issue. When we took the car into the dealership, they were very accommodating and diagnosed the issue quickly. This was in part due to the fact that my daughter is only [XXX] and cannot be provided a loaner vehicle or rental for age related requirements. I am unable to swap cars with my daughter since I drive a very large truck for work. So, basically we are stuck with a vehicle that has a faulty telematics module for un uncertain amount of time (Dealership expected 6 weeks) all while GM continues to produce new vehicles with the parts it is receiving and not honoring those who have already purchased a vehicle and should have priority to parts under both the warranty itself and the fact that this is a safety related issue. Also, the fact that this has not become a recall or at least a part that needs to be inspected for potential premature failure is unacceptable. GM appears to have zero ability to rectify this in a reasonable amount of time and instead is putting it on the backs of their customers while they continue benefitting from new cars sales with the parts stock that are available. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)"

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"The automated emergency braking system triggered when nothing was in front of the car. It suddenly stopped the vehicle for no reason and it almost caused an accident."

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"Driving several times in normal city conditions, the car activated the automatic emergency brakes stopping the vehicle in the middle of the street and in danger of being rear ended. There was no reason for the brakes to activate - we were driving below the speed limit in city streets"

Component: FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"Yesterday the car was moving forward at 2-3 mph, when the brakes suddenly engaged without warning, bringing the car to a sudden stop, violently enough that I thought I had been in a collision. However, there were no cars behind me, and the car in front was about 20 feet away, also moving forward slowly. No pedestrians were in view. A light mist was falling, but otherwise the weather and visibility were fine. If there had been a car close behind me, or if this had happened on a highway, a serious accident could have resulted. A quick internet search shows that this problem has been reported by other Equinox owners, and the only apparent fix is to disengage the automatic braking system. This is a safety issue (both the unexpected braking problem itself and the unsafe fix of disengaging a major anti collision feature), and warrants a recall."

Component: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE

"The contact owns a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the battery failed to continue charging while driving or while parked. Additionally, the door opened independently, the Automatic Emergency Braking system (AEB) failed, and while the brake pedal was depressed, there was a delay before the vehicle stopped. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available."