I was traveling at expressway speeds (70 mph) when traffic in front of me hit the brakes quickly to avoid an object in the road. At this time, I hit my brakes relatively hard and fast in what I would describe as a panic brake. I avoided incident here. About a mile further up the road, traffic in front of me hit the brakes once again. At this time, I also hit my brakes, but I could not. My brake pedal was hard as a rock, and it would push down only about 2 or 3 inches with little to no effect. I was afraid I might break the pedal arm. I was able to maintain my lane until about 40 mph at which time I was forced to hit the shoulder to avoid colliding with the cars in front of me which were now stopped. I pressed the brake pedal hard and coasted along the shoulder of the expressway for about 40 or 50 yards, rolling past the stopped traffic. A few minutes after my car came to a complete stop, the information panel on my dashboard read "service brake assist". My car was towed to a GM dealership local to where I came to a stop. The documentation from the dealership, as well as what I was verbally told, indicates that there was an internal failure of the vacuum pump. According to the service manager, there was nothing I could have done to prevent this. Obviously, I was extremely lucky. If this would have happened in two-lane city traffic, or approaching a stop light I would have been forced to veer into oncoming traffic or simply barrel into those in front of me. I know this, because for the last month, as I'm driving, I constantly analyze what would happen if my brakes were to go out like that at various points along my drive. Often times, my only option would be to brace for a major accident or land my car in the front yard of a business. This catastrophic failure could have easily killed me, and/or other drivers on the road. Other people will not be so lucky, and I know this. For that reason, it's time for the federal safety agency to finally take action on this matter.
2019 Chevrolet Equinox brakes complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 85, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving on the highway in traffic when the brake pedal became hard as a rock I was unable to stop causing a major safety concern for myself and baby. Turns out the vacuum pump was faulty causing my brakes to fail.
I have 2019 chevy equinox I purchase the car last year with 61 miles. On March 12, 2024 I was 5 minutes away from home after driving an hour from work, try to stop at the stop sign the car didn't stop I tried several time to stop finally put it in neutral for the car to slow down to be able to pull over to stop thank God I wasn't hurt. After taking it to the dealership to get look at now the telling me my camshaft broke to pieces which will cost with the vacuum booster $24000 with only 70 miles.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, the "Service Brake Assist" message briefly flashed on the instrument panel. The vehicle then independently downshifted and decelerated to 30 MPH, with the brake pedal depressed to the floorboard. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle but was able to coast the vehicle to an independent mechanic. The contact was able to turn off the vehicle after the failure; however, the mechanic was unable to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle was then towed to a dealer where a mechanic informed the contact that the vacuum pump had failed and sent debris through the camshaft. The contact was informed that the vacuum pump, timing chain, cam shaft, and pistons all needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was given a reference number. The vehicle was not repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Our 2019 Chevrolet Equinox had a sudden Brake Vacuum Pump failure causing loss of braking power by about 80%. The only reason we did not have an accident is it was early morning and there was no traffic when we exited the highway. I was not happy to realize that GM has no recall on this. They apparently knew this was a problem and in more recent years have changed the design. The other flaw is this pump is attached to the wall of the engine and shrapnel can fall into the engine compartment and that debris could lead to total engine failure if it travels to the combustion area. This is not only dangerous but financially ruining.
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.
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)
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.
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!!!!!
The vacuum pump exploded and caused issues with the cam.
Vacuum pump failed at 39,000 miles causing little to no brake boost.
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 federal safety agency Hotline. The failure mileage was approximately 122,000.
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.
Vacuum pump failure resulted in greatly reduced braking ability
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..
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.
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.
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)
While driving from a short trip when we got back home we stopped to get something to eat and when backing out of our parking space I put on the brakes but the peddle was really hard and it was very hard to stop. I went the next day to a parts store and used their scanner and came up with code for brake assist vacuum pump. I had a very hard time finding a replacement and it had to come from Kansas city. I replaced it myself and had problems with it too. The original one the drive connector disintegrated where it connects to the cam shaft. The replacement one went on fine but oil ran from it due to the outer faceplate being warped. Every part store in town says they can't get it.
The contact owned a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving at 60 MPH, he depressed the brake pedal however, the brakes were inoperable. The contact stated that the vehicle crashed into the rear of a truck, striking the truck three times before coming to a stop. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle was towed to a tow lot. The contact stated that a Police report was filed. The contact stated that the vehicle was deemed a total loss. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 13,150.
The contact owned a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving 55 mph, she began to smell a burnt odor inside the vehicle. The contact saw white smoke entering from the windshield defroster and decided to continue driving to her destination. The contact stated the check engine warning light was illuminated and black smoke began to enter the windshield defroster. The contact depressed the brake pedal but failed to stop the vehicle and caused her to crash into a guard rail on the front driver side. No air bags deployed. The contact was not able to open the front driver side door due to being blocked by the guard rail. The contact climbed into the back of the vehicle and exited the rear driver side door, while the flames were inside the front of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. A fire report was not filed. The police report was filed. The contact did not sustain any injuries but sought medical attention the following day. The vehicle was not drivable. The insurance company deemed the vehicle to be a total loss. The vehicle was towed to the towing lot. The vehicle was not diagnosed. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while her daughter was attempting to drive from a complete stop, she depressed the brake pedal, but the brake pedal was firm. The contact stated that her daughter stood on the brake pedal and the brake responded as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that her daughter parked the vehicle because it was unsafe to drive the vehicle. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The failure mileage was unknown.
Was driving in a busy area of Erie, PA, when approaching a traffic signal driving near 45 mph before the speed limit dropped. Attempted to apply brakes as traffic was backed up at the light, but couldn't depress the brakes at all. The service brake assist light came on at that moment. Was fortunate that light turned green a few seconds later so traffic cleared and I was able to make a wide high speed right turn at the intersection before pulling into a nearby empty business parking lot and coasting to a start without colliding with anything. It was a miracle. The car was towed back to a Chevy dealership (Ben Bissett) in Mercer, PA, where they identified a failed brake vacuum pump, which also caused other damage when it failed. We have since uncovered dozens of reports of similar incidents in these vehicles nationwide and believe this is something you should look into as this is a serious safety issue that could lead to injury or death. Thank you so much for your time on this matter.
I was approaching and intersection with a red light and I put my foot on the brakes. The car slowed down but then bucked forward three time until I hit the vehicle in front of me. Been driving for 44 years and never experienced anything like it.
Something is wrong with the brake assist system. The car was serviced literally towards the end of may and the brake assist service light keeps turning on. It is now causing the vehicle to have a check engine light that comes and goes as it pleases and the car now thinks that it is a bucking bronco at times with how hard it runs at times now. We have spoken and seen now multiple others complaining about the fueling system which does not alloe you to fill the gas tank up all the way. The tank holds 14.9 gallons and if the car is empty and on its last drop the car will only allow 12 gallons at best and that takes nearly 20 minutes of fighting with the car at the pump. The electrical in the vehicle is unstable. Multiple times while driving the radio and power to the car just turn off. I have also seen the recalls for the brake problems but when I enter my VIN it comes back all clear. We had a 2017 Chevy Malibu with multiple issues and spoke to Chevrolet about the issues and it wasn't until we traded it in that we started to receive the recall notices. This vehicle has some of the same problems and we have a toddler that we need to keep safe.
I was driving on a main interstate and went to take an off-ramp, I tried to use my brakes to slow down but the peddle was rock hard and couldn’t brake at all.
The contact owns a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 MPH and depressing the brake pedal, the cruise control failed to immediately deactivate. Additionally, the brake pedal was very hard while being depressed. The contact stated that a message to repair brake assist was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the brake booster was faulty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The local dealer was contacted and notified of the failure. The manufacturer was not yet notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 79,000.
I would like to bring to your attention the maintenance issue I experienced as it could have been catastrophic. On December 15, 2022 I was driving home from work in Dallas. I was going about 40 mph when the vehicle in front of me started to slow down, so I was going to as well. However, when I tried to, my brake pedal wouldn’t move. I tried again and still nothing. Now my engine light comes on and a “service brake assist” warning is popping up on my dash. I took my foot off the gas to slow down in time and was able to pull to the side of the road. There were NO warnings that this was coming! Please reference this link for other examples of this issue.... https://www.carproblemzoo.com/chevrolet/equinox/service-brakes-problems.php
I was driving exiting a school zone going about 35 mph. As I was coming up on a stop sign my brakes went completely out on my 2019 Chevy Equinox, and to avoid hitting kids walking across the sidewalk I ran into a cement wall to stop my car this morning on 9/21. I had it diagnosed twice and both vendors said it was the Vacuum pump brake and they have been seeing many of these cases. I checked the recall and there isn’t one but over 200+ reviews with this exact issue! This is a huge safety issue! People could of been severely hurt today. I called the dealership and they said I need to not get it fixed and wait to file a claim and call product quality claim.
The brake system failed and my car is now in a salvage lot. I believe the car will remain there only until I submit the car title. While driving in heavy traffic I was unable to make a sudden stop to avoid hitting the car in front of me. I had enough time to stop, but the brakes failed to engage properly. The brakes were very stiff and vibrated or pulsated as I applied the brakes and my car wouldn't stop prior to colliding with the car in front of me. My safety and the occupants in the other car were at risk. The life of a pedestrian, if involved, could have resulted in death. Luckily, there were no serious injuries and exterior damage appeared minimal but my car suffered serious internal damage. I was not able to confirm the problem with the dealership. My phone calls were not returned. I also contacted Chevrolet and now waiting for a follow-up call. The car was only inspected by the insurance appraiser, who deemed my car a total loss because the car frame was cracked on both sides, air condenser damage, exterior damage plus more. The insurance co. had my car towed to a holding parking lot for salvage. My greatest concern is if this had been a situation where I was unable to stop suddenly to avoid hitting a pedestrian and killed someone! The appraiser suspected the air bag sensor might have failed since the impact was hard enough to crack the car frame. Seven days prior to the accident I had rear brakes and roters replaced at a Chevrolet dealership. They also looked into a warning message on my dash - Service brake assist system. I was told nothing was wrong with that.
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