2025 Chevrolet Equinox Ev

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.

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.

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.

On 10/26/25 at approximately 3:40pm while on a freeway (traveling approximately 65mph) with no traffic or cars in close proximity for the automatic brakes to be engaged, the 2025 ev equinox slammed its brakes on its own without driver braking. This caused whiplash to be experienced by two of the three passengers and it felt like we were rear ended but no cars were around. This is very dangerous. Had there been car behind me this would have caused serious accident.

I have driven the vehicle 13,000 miles without incident. However, twice this week, once moving forward and once backward, the emergency parking brake engaged without warning, bringing the vehicle to an abrupt stop. In both cases it was daylight, clear weather, with no visual indication of an obstacle in the vehicle's path. In response I have turned off its automatic braking/collision avoidance features and will see if that solves the problem. What is concerning, however, is that this did not occur for 13,000 miles, and then abruptly started.

Traveling down a gravel road, down hill with security gate at bottom of hill. Traveled 100's of times. starting going down hill and used brakes to slow, no slowing. Pushed harder and still no slowing. As hard as possible and hit the gate lots of damage to car. It was as if there were no brakes. In fact I think the car speeded up and the brakes released all the way.

I was pulling into the parking lot of my job. The one pedal driving mode was on, and my vehicle was not slowing down like it generally does. So, I immediately stepped on the brake, and it still didn't slow down, it felt like a brick, I stepped on it harder. It still did not stop! I ran into the barn/building I work in. I was terrified!! What if there was a person there, or another car, or kids playing, etc. I immediately called the Chevy Dealership in Woodland at 8am, they had me tow the 2025 Equinox to them. I just talked to them at 4:30pm. They said there were no messages with regard to the braking system. They said they would install the update, and would continue to diagnose the problem. I do not feel safe in this vehicle, it poses a significant risk as a driver!

Phantom braking at speed: I have experienced more than one alarming instances of "phantom braking at speed" where the vehicle unexpectedly brakes, all wheels locked, and violently skids on the pavement. This is a very alarming occurrence to driver and passengers as well as to drivers of other nearby vehicles. Specifically, this first occurred without warning on [XXX] on [XXX], traveling at 30 mph. The wheels then unlocked spontaneously after 2 to 4 seconds. This is potentially a significant and intolerable life-safety issue. When a car suddenly and unexpectedly slams on its brakes, it can create a dangerous situation for both the driver and passengers and others on the road. This could lead to a rear-end collision if the driver behind my Equinox vehicle does not have enough time to react; this may also result in Driver panic and overcorrection: The startling nature of the Phantom Braking can cause the driver to potentially swerve into another lane or oncoming traffic. The Phantom Braking again occurred on the afternoon of [XXX] on [XXX] in SLO while driving at 40 mph past [XXX]. Loss of confidence: Repeated incidents of phantom braking have eroded this driver's trust in the vehicle's safety features, which could lead to ignoring legitimate warnings in the future. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

(1) On Saturday 8/23/25, the braking system failed while driving on gravel roads going downhill. 
 (2) I could not stop the vehicle going downhill. I thought I was going to crash. As I started to go downhill @ ~5 mph, I put my foot on the brake pedal, the car would not brake. Pressing hard or lightly didn’t make a difference. It felt like an anti-lock brake (ALB) pulse 1X and then gave up releasing all braking even though the foot is on the brake. The 2-way road is heavily used, smooth, wide, and maintained. Other vehicles were going down the gravel fine. The grade is ~10%. (3) The problem was reproduced numerous times on 8/24/25, while my husband drove on gravel going downhill and attempting to slow down or stop the car. This gravel is with potholes and some rocks starting w/ grades 5-6%. I was a passenger in the car. At one point I thought we were going to hit the on-coming car, because the brakes were not working properly. (4) An appointment is being made w/ the dealer to inspect the car. (5) (On 8/23) I am not aware of warnings or messages. (On 8/24) A “ABS” alert appeared on the display sometimes. Additional Info: (6) On 6/15/25, I drove on gravel with 5-10% grades w/o issues for ~6 miles. When I pressed on the brake pedal, the car slowed down without issues. ALB did not engage. (7) I have recently read break failure stories that are similar from other Equinox EV owners. "... my car has had two separate brake failures..." "… now going down a fairly steep gravel hill daily, i experience very little braking..." "… I pressed the brakes and there was no perceived braking for at least 20 feet... " ... brake failure this past weekend while descending a dirt/stone road… The ABS, would not shut off for our entire descent, which lasted for about 2 full minutes. During this time, we could not stop the car and were accelerating out of control…."