Chevrolet Equinox
Published · Researched 2026-09-21
Chevrolet Equinox review
Verdict: the redesign broke what the old car had finally fixed. Buy a late third-gen, or wait until the fourth-gen's software grows up.
The Chevrolet Equinox is the automotive equivalent of a reliable paycheck — or at least it was. The third generation (2018–2024) spent years maturing into exactly what a compact crossover should be: an unremarkable, average-reliability appliance that starts every morning and asks nothing of you. The 1.5T's oil-consumption era was long behind it. Then GM redesigned it for 2025, and the fourth generation managed to lose the Consumer Reports Recommended rating — based on survey data from over 380,000 vehicles — before most buyers had even heard of the new model. That is not a blip. That is signal.
The 2025's problem list reads like a first-year-redesign bingo card. Owner-survey complaints include transmission fluid leaks, control-computer faults, electrical failures, and infotainment reboots. GM Authority's bulletin watch adds false blind-spot alerts, an acceleration wobble/shake under investigation, and — this one's special — some 2025–2026 Equinox and GMC Terrain models can get stuck in first gear. Stuck. In first gear. On a brand-new $30,000 crossover. It's a bulletin-level issue rather than a full recall, but "your transmission may decide it's a golf cart" is not a sentence that belongs anywhere near a new car.
The Facebook owner's group captures the mood: 2025/2026 owners discussing software-update anxiety. Updates that fix one thing and break another. Uncertainty about whether to accept them at all. When your customers are afraid of your software updates, your software program has a problem. The redesign's tech-heavy cabin was sold as a leap forward, and the leap landed in a pile of reboots. None of this is catastrophic — no engine-replacement campaigns, no fires — but the pattern is unmistakable: the tech arrived before it was finished, and early adopters are the QA department.
None of which means the Equinox is a bad car in concept. The fourth-gen formula is right: bolder styling, a genuinely nice cabin, one simple powertrain (1.5T, 175 hp, CVT on FWD or eight-speed on AWD), and 2026 pricing from roughly $30,795 to $37,595. When the software works, owners like the thing — the redesign looks great in driveways, and the fundamentals of space, comfort, and value are sound. The question is only whether you want to pay to find out if your particular car's computers have settled down.
Here's the move the evidence supports: buy the old car. A 2024 — the final year of the third generation — is the most mature, most debugged Equinox you can buy. Same basic virtues, none of the fourth-gen's computer drama, and depreciated. The used market hasn't fully priced the generational split yet, which means the 2024 is the value play hiding in plain sight. Alternatively, wait: if the 2026 carryover's TSBs actually resolve the leaks, the reboots, and the first-gear saga, the fourth gen could become the car it was supposed to be. "Could" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, which is why waiting means waiting for evidence, not for hope.
Support is broad — GM dealers everywhere, the 1.5T is one of GM's highest-volume engines — but with a catch: bulletin-level fixes depend on dealer diligence, and not every dealer applies every bulletin proactively. The transmission leaks and computer faults are warranty items on 2025–2026 cars, so get everything documented early and in writing. Insurance is mainstream-crossover priced. Resale on the 2025s took a hit from the lost CR recommendation; they'll price softer than the equivalent RAV4 or CR-V, which is a warning if you're selling and an opportunity if you're buying with open eyes.
Who should skip it: anyone shopping a 2025 as if it were a safe redesign-year buy — it wasn't. Anyone who needs their car's software to simply work; the update-anxiety in the owner groups is real. Anyone paying near-new prices for a 2025 when a 2024 costs less and breaks less. And anyone who assumes the dealer's "software update available" means the problem is solved — ask owners about update history, not just mileage.
Sweet spot: a 2024, the final and most mature year of the third generation. Years to avoid: 2025, the redesign year carrying the leaks, the reboots, and the first-gear bulletin. Revisit the fourth gen with the 2027s, once there's a full year of TSB history to judge.
GM knew how to build this car. Then it redesigned it and forgot. Buy the one they remembered how to build.