2016 Chevrolet Equinox Visibility Problems

I am writing to formally document a series of catastrophic mechanical failures regarding the aforementioned vehicle. Despite rigorous maintenance and significant financial investment, the car remains non-drivable, posing a severe safety risk. Chronology of Failures: October 2024: Four months post-purchase, the timing chain failed on I-94. Atwater Chevrolet replaced the component; however, this did not resolve the underlying engine instability. December 3, 2025: Following a dashboard warning light, a Northland Chevrolet dealer replaced the solenoids. At this time, the windshield wiper motor also required replacement. Late December 2025: Shortly after these repairs, the vehicle suffered a major failure of the rear main seal and engine block during sub-freezing temperatures. This caused a total loss of oil and left the driver stranded in hazardous conditions. Maintenance and Disclosure: We have invested over $4,000 in preventative maintenance, including oil changes every 2,800 miles to mitigate known oil consumption issues. At the time of sale, there was no disclosure regarding the inherent engine defects common to this model. Current Status: The vehicle is currently at a dealership and is inoperable. A $10,000 loan balance remains. Current diagnostics suggest a frost plug failure triggered the event. I have contacted GM regarding Bulletin 14882, which addresses identical issues in similar models, but was informed it does not currently attach to this VIN. Furthermore, the extended warranty provider has denied the claim following an inspection, despite the documented manufacturing issues known to affect these engines for several years.

NHTSA ID

11711299

Incident

Dec 19, 2025

The wiper blade motor is gone out. The tire pressure sensor is off : the oil seems to disappear faster than the sensor

NHTSA ID

11708723

Incident

Dec 26, 2025

While driving with windshield wipers on, they suddenly stopped working. The wipers were stuck in position in the center of my windshield. Upon inspection, it appeared that one of the arms had become disconnected from the piece it was connected to. Snapped right off during unsafe driving conditions.

NHTSA ID

11706997

Incident

Nov 28, 2025

When I was driving home from the grocery store a very heavy thunderstorm started I turned my wipers off because of the sudden rain just to realize that they were not working. I had to pull over because I couldn’t see. Causing me to almost get rear ended with my 6 month old, 18 month old and 6 year old I was finally able to start driving 45 minutes later when the rain stopped. This was a very dangerous incident that happened that could have ended in a car catch INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11690357

Incident

Sep 22, 2025

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

NHTSA ID

11678031

Incident

Jul 29, 2025

While driving on the highway, it was barely raining so I turned my wipers on low and about 5 minutes into my drive the rain picked up, and I tried to turn my wipers up at which point the stopped working altogether. I had to pull off on the shoulder and wait for the rain to end, which was about 20 minutes later. Afterwards I proceeded to the nearest gas station and purchased a squeegee to use while I was driving since cars were kicking up rain from the wet ground. Having wipers abruptly stop while it is raining heavily and traveling at 55 mph is beyond dangerous. I see all of the complaints online and a recall should and needs to be issued, as this issue could have and still can caused a tragic accident.

NHTSA ID

11673768

Incident

Jul 15, 2025

component- windshield wipers available for inspection-yes How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? I was driving in light rain at first, turned on the windshield wipers on low. Slowed for a service vehicle and the rain became heavy so I moved the selector to high on the second or third pass across the windshield they quit, I could not see anything. I had to roll down my window and stick my head out to see so I could get off the road. I had to wait for the rain to stop before I could move. I first checked the fuses, it was fine. I can hear the wiper motor working. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Not yet Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No got the car home before the next rain Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No absolutely no warning

NHTSA ID

11670635

Incident

Jul 1, 2025

The wipers quit working while I was driving in a thunderstorm. Safety was definitely a risk as I was on a major highway. I pulled over and waited for rain to stop and made it to an auto parts store to replace fuse. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the issue. The recall does not include 2016 equinox. I don’t understand why it’s not included.

NHTSA ID

11655094

Incident

Apr 4, 2025

The wipers stopped working during a rain snow mix. My brother looked up der the shroud and the motor and assembly are all working fine. But the bushing or housing that keeps the arm in place has corroded and there are barely no threads left to them. This was said to be a problem with the 2015 Equinox as well. He tried to put a new nut in to fix the problem. But that only worked for a little while. Now it is no longer holding and it's going to be an awfully snowy few days starting tonight.

NHTSA ID

11642947

Incident

Feb 15, 2025

During a snow storm the windshield wipers quit working. After troubleshooting, the short wiper linkage arm was disconnected. This was due to the plastic bushing popped off the ball stud. This part does not have a clip for retention. The replacement plastic bushing is extremely difficult to install without a press. 2 bushings were broken trying to preform a quality repair. A safe repair requires a replacement linkage assembly [$100 +] to complete the repair with confidence minimizing chance of a repeated repair.

NHTSA ID

11629534

Incident

Dec 4, 2024

Front windshield wipers bushing failed. Yes, vehicle is available for inspection. Safety was put at risk, as wipers stopped working while driving in heavy rain, causing severe lack of visibility. Problem is in ongoing, as wipers suddenly stopped and no longer work, as bushing came apart. Vehicle has not been inspected. No warning lamps before or during issue, just sudden loss of wipers.

NHTSA ID

11616972

Incident

Sep 19, 2024

Wiper linkage. Wipers just stopped working.

NHTSA ID

11609804

Incident

Aug 20, 2024

Wipers stopped during driving on interstate during rain.

NHTSA ID

11607715

Incident

Aug 10, 2024

I was driving in the rain & it just stoped working out of nowhere .

NHTSA ID

11600239

Incident

Jul 7, 2024

Front Windshield wiper motor stopped working / Broke while driving on an interstate in a severe rain storm. I almost and could have been killed in a crash. Why isn't this a RECALL?

NHTSA ID

11597196

Incident

May 26, 2024

While driving in heavy rain windshield wipers stopped working. 0 visibility while driving is a major concern for me and other drivers

NHTSA ID

11596411

Incident

Jun 25, 2024

Wiper blades stop during light or heavy ran I spoke with the dealer and they won’t correct it I see there we recalls

NHTSA ID

11593043

Incident

Jun 7, 2024

On [XXX] at approximately 10:30 am I was driving on [XXX] to [XXX] . It started raining heavily and all of a sudden my wipers just quit. Could not see nothing and scared me to death but thankfully was able to get off road and call tow truck. Tow truck took me to Bentons Auto in Guthrie Oklahoma where they replaced the wiper blade mechanism. Mechanic said it was a bad design. They have a mechanism bar which just pops on to a plastic ball. There is not a screw to hold it in place on it anywhere. He said the plastic ball just wears down and arm mechanism just falls off. This could have cost me my life! I looked on line and saw many more complaints on same thing! How can I guarantee it wont happen again unless they have a recall and fix it? [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11591940

Incident

May 30, 2024

During a severe rain storm, the wipers just stopped working mid-use after only about five minutes of use. We had to quickly pull over due to significantly decreased visibility. They did not return to the off position on their own and no setting moved them. We manually pushed them back down, but they were able to stretch far beyond the window, leading me to believe something became completely disconnected, not a motor function failure.

NHTSA ID

11582095

Incident

Apr 9, 2024

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.

NHTSA ID

11570949

Incident

Feb 5, 2024

I was driving on a freeway with my child in the car it was pouring down raining and my wipers stopped working almost causing up to be in a bad wreck!

NHTSA ID

11551101

Incident

Oct 20, 2023

As I was driving, it started to rain, so I turned on my windshield wipers. While the wipers were functioning, they abruptly stopped in the middle of their rotation. I had to stop on the side of the road while the wipers were stuck, and I couldn’t drive in the rain without them, so I had to wait until the rain went away before I could drive. I took it to the dealership the next day when it wasn’t raining, and they told me the windshield wiper arm detached from the motor and the whole thing needed replacement. The year of my car is 2016, and I noticed that while my car didn’t have this recalled, the 2015 model does. It literally is the same issue as seen on the 2015 version. Because my car’s year isn’t under recall, I had to pay the full amount to get this issue replaced. Thankfully, this did not occur during heavy rainfall or a winter storm, especially on the highway, because I would’ve been stranded. There is no way a windshield wiper arm detached from the motor on its own unless it was a defect right from the start, as evident by the fact that the 2015 model was already recalled for exactly this issue.

NHTSA ID

11547886

Incident

Sep 25, 2023

Driving in a very heavy downpour and had wipers on high about 10 hours from home on a vacation. On a country road, no real burm to pull off on, both wipers stopped up on the windshield leaving no way to see the road. Had to drive not seeing until I could find a semi pull off. Had to sit for an hour with flashers on until rain passed. Stopped at a parts store to spray rainex on until I could find a garage. Next day, found a garage to look at it and paid him $72.00 to say hopefully it could get me home. He said there was something in there that was bad and had never seen this fail before. Left garage and next morning about 5 minutes into a drive, wipers quit working again. This is a very dangerous thing to fail.

NHTSA ID

11543705

Incident

Sep 7, 2023

Driving down the highway at 70mph in a downpour, when the drivers side wiper went up, and never came back down.

NHTSA ID

11539432

Incident

Aug 17, 2023

Windshield wipers became inoperative during a rain storm, leaving us stranded on the highway till the rain passed.

NHTSA ID

11539231

Incident

Aug 17, 2023