2016 Chevrolet Equinox: ball joint or control arm failure

Filed Aug 2, 2025 · Visibility · GA

Front wipers stop working in the middle of a rain storm while driving down the highway we were unable to see anything(road/cars)out of the window. We had to put on flashers and stick head out of a rolled down window to (which with rain slapping you in the face is not safe either) try and get to a shoulder on the highway safely. My hubby and I were terrified and thought we were going to die or cause harm to others on the highway. After rain slowed down we got home very slowly with hazard light running. Once home I searched the web for problems that could have caused the wipers to suddenly stop. Results were to check fuses and relays (all checked out fine). I read that it could be a bushing on linkage arm that came off. Husband and I took off wipers and the cowl and sure enough linkage arm bushing had popped off of the ball joint. We tried to replace old bushing with a new one and put everything back together as it was taken off. Turned on wipers and it popped right back off. My car is now sitting in the yard unusable because I can not safely (for my family or other families out there) go any where because it is raining/will rain. There were no warnings or messages nothing they just stopped moving. One of the most scariest things in our lives, so glad our kids and grandson was not with us when it happened and that by the grace of God my husband and I made it home safely. This is very dangerous. It is also not uncommon due to information/videos on the internet. Please help correct this dangerous issue. Car is available for inspection any time Thank you

Filed Feb 9, 2024 · Visibility · WA

While vehicle was in motion front wiper failed to operate while it was heavily raining. Resulting in have to pull to side of road and request a tow to a mechanics due to the dangerous hazard of no longer being able to see out of front windshield and possibly causing accidents and or fatalities. This problem was due to the Ball joint linkage system failing.

Filed Apr 22, 2023 · Visibility · NC

In February of 2021, I was traveling with my son (and was 8 months pregnant) on a highway going roughly 60-65 mph. All of a sudden, a terrible storm hit the area and I turned my wipers on. Within moments I heard a noise and both wipers were no longer working. I had no visibility and almost wrecked. I was extremely traumatized by the situation. I was able to pull off the road and waited until the storm passed (2 hours). I found a small shop that confirmed the wiper mechanism needed to be replaced because of the “ball joints”. They didn’t have the part, so I had to continue the 3 hour drive stopping when it started to rain. A 3 hour drive took us 6 hours. I was able to have the issue repaired for nearly $215.00. Fast forward to today (4/22/23) and again, the wiper mechanism has given out. Again, we were on the Highway and during a storm, the mechanism gave out and we lost operation in the wiper on the driver side. I was traveling with my two children, and again almost ran off the road and had no visibility. After doing research it looks like there is a “special coverage” for this issue and I think it’s a poor decision for this part to not be recalled and handled appropriately by GM. I have called GM and scheduled an appointment to have my wiper mechanism inspected/fixed and was told I would need to cover the cost. That is unacceptable. This is extremely dangerous and has caused me not only hundreds of dollars now, but the security of even getting in my vehicle to drive when it’s raining or a storm is approaching. Please do the right thing and require a recall. Invoice from the first fix in 2021 is attached. I am happy to provide the invoice for the next fix after it occurs next week.

Filed Oct 9, 2022 · Visibility · MA

I own both a 2015 & 2016 Chevy Equinox. The 2015 has a recall for the wiper blade ball joints rusting, but the 2016 does not have the recall. I did have an incident with the 2016 Equinox where the wipers stopped working during a rain storm due to corrosive ball joints (see attached photos). I think the recall needs to be expanded to include other years besides 2014-2015 models.

Filed Jun 14, 2021 · Visibility · FL

While driving on the interstate through a heavy rain storm, with the windshield wipers on 'high', they suddenly stopped working. The view through the windshield was instantly obscured. I barely was able to pull into the left hand breakdown lane and out of the traffic lane, by rolling the driver side window down and looking out the side window. If I had been traveling in one of the middle lanes and had to navigate through traffic in the other lanes, I am not sure I would have been able to get out of the travel lanes without a crash. If I had been on I10 instead of I95, there would have been no breakdown lane to move to due to construction and lane closures. There was no warning prior to the failure. When I finally got home I found the plastic ball joint linkage had popped apart. The car has 66,240 miles on it.

Filed Feb 15, 2021 · Visibility · 90,000 miles · NC

There have been recalls with chevrolet equinox's wiper components in recent years due to the wiper ball joint bushings corroding. As I was driving with my young son in the middle of a terrible storm, my wipers stopped working putting us in danger on a highway with cars traveling around us in speeds in excess of 70 MPH. I took my equinox to the local shop and was told it would be ~$500 to fix because chevy doesn't allow for the bushings to be purchased. You have to replace the entire linkage. There are so many complaints online about this and it is unfair for my car to not be apart of this recall when it is the same exact issue that others were experiencing in the recall. This is extremely dangerous and chevy needs to step up and fix this for all cars in the 2010-2016 range, not just some. Please help!!!!

Filed Aug 11, 2020 · Visibility · 102,064 miles · NY

I was driving my vehicle on the new york state thruway in a rain storm when my wipers just stopped working. I had to pull over to the shoulder of the thruway and wait it out until the rain stopped. My father in law (retired automotive teacher) diagnosed the problem to be a ball joint on the wiper transmission had come apart disconnecting the wiper transmission from the wiper motor. He replaced the wiper motor assembly with a new unit from chevrolet parts department which was modified to include a deflector to keep the elements away from the wiper transmission ball joints. I learned gm had a recall on the 2013 model year equinox for the same issue but never extended it to the 2016 model year despite several complaints from owners.

Filed Oct 31, 2019 · Visibility · 18 miles · TX

While driving early in the morning to work it was dark outside as time has not changed yet about 45 degrees. I dropped my daughter to elementary school about 10 minutes prior and it was raining the windshield wipers stopped working when I turned the corner onto two way highway and accelerated about 25-30 MPH. The windshield was not visible and I was unable to get off of road for about two minutes, nearly caused head on collision and side swiped cars. I had to drive and stop or pull over in a median to clear windshield and even hang out driver window to pull the wipers in order to get to a secure place. Chevrolet dealership stated windshield wiper transmission, later called to see if it would be covered and he told them it was fastener or ball joint to keep in place corroded and it would not be covered. The cost is about $565 to be replaced. Then the chevy service rep stated they dont have the part to be replaced, would take about a couple of days because of gm issues with strike. As well as chevy doesn't have any loaner cars while my equinox stayed at the dealer. It was also rain expected again during the day. Truly unacceptable when there have been precious issues with windshield wipers.