How to Stop a Chevrolet Equinox with Brake Failure


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
I'm wondering if there are any members knowledgable about late model GM braking systems that can advise me on a recent situation I experienced. (I guess I gave it away in the post title. :) )

I've got a 2023 Chevy Equinox. I was exiting the freeway at about 65 mph and when I depressed the brake pedal the following happened:
  • The display screen toggled between, "Brake System Failure - 62 MPH Top Speed" and "Service ESC".
  • These four lights illuminated on the dashboard: Check Engine, Brake, ABS, ESC.
  • The brake pedal went to the floor with very little effort.
Fortunately, the off ramp was long and flat, and the brakes seemed to function just barely. I was able to coast to the red light and stop before the limit line so as not to run over the two pedestrians waiting to cross the street in front of me! I drove slowly around the corner and coasted to a stop in a parking lot.

I got out my phone and looked up the error message and saw that it's common in many GM medium-duty pickup trucks, but for most people it's either just an error message with normal functioning brakes or it's a loss of power brakes but you can stand on the brake pedal to stop the car. Very few have a loss of braking like I did. A common fix seemed to be disconnecting the negative battery terminal, which I did, and the car was back to normal, but with only the Check Engine light still on. I cautiously drove home on backroads and parked it in the garage until I could get into the local Chevy dealer.

On the service order, the service technician wrote, "Has code P0595. Followed diag for Doc 5081450. Led to Brake System Control Module replacement due to intermittent failure." I looked up code P0595 and it appears to be a "Cruise Control Servo Control Circuit Low" condition. Not sure what that has to do with brakes.

Anyway, the dealer replaced the brake system control module under warranty. My reading online tells me that this repair doesn't always solve the problem, and quite honestly Mrs. TVWB and I are concerned that it might happen again in a circumstance where you really need your brakes--like having to stop quickly on the freeway at speed when traffic stops in front of you suddenly.

I asked the service writer how I can stop the car if this happens again and she had no clue. I read about people throwing their car into park and I asked if my car would actually go into park at high speed and she wasn't sure. I asked if my parking brake would activate if engaged it at high speed and she wasn't sure. She asked some guy passing through the lobby who was apparently more knowledgable but he didn't know the answers, either.

I may circle back to the service manager on this to see if I can get definitive answers from a service tech, but thought I'd throw it out to anyone here who knows something about recent GM vehicles:
  • Will the car go into Park at high speed or will the computer not allow it? And setting aside the question of whether the transmission blows up in the process, would it do any good in an emergency situation?
  • Can I engage the Parking Brake at high speed? It's got that electric brake switch that you pull up to activate and push down to release...wishing for an old-school parking brake handle with a push button at the end that you could depress and manually brake!
Obviously if I had time and a clear mind, I would downshift the transmission to the max to try to slow down and take evasive action if possible, but I'm wondering what I would do in a worst case scenario where traffic is stopped in front of me or I'm driving down a steep incline without a runaway truck exit. :oops:

Any thoughts are appreciated.
 
Wow; I'm glad you and others were safe from any harm.

My closest experience (which doesn't remotely compare to yours) was one where my cruise control remained on but fortunately it would toggle off when I applied the brakes.

If members here are not able to answer your questions and you cannot get a very clear answer from the dealer, perhaps you can contact GM's Consumer Affairs department for direction on this. As a matter of fact, perhaps you could express your concern about a repeat failure and inquire about their appetite to replace all possible offending components.
 
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I recently had this same type thing in an 07 4runner. The rear brake caliper had busted and I lost All fluid pressure….and fluid. Dash lights went crazy too. You vehicle sounds pretty new for this to happen but you may to look for fluid inside the wheels and in the frame rails.
That is a scary situation on the road with no brakes.
 
Your brake pedal went to the floor easily due to total hydraulic failure. Not because of a Cruise control module. Now the fact that the brake pedal came "back" with them not doing anything hydraulically (i.e. replacing lost fluid, repairing a leak, and bleeding the system) tells me the hydraulic failure was "internal", meaning inside the ABS actuator system. (you will have 2 systems, the master cylinder and the control unit which is the large device under the hood that has multiple brake lines in and out of it, along with a motor and electrical solenoids). That device can fail internally leading to sudden pressure loss, brake to the floor, little to no braking, and a host of other failures) all catastrophic and all possibly leading to a crash.
Honestly Chris from what I see your reporting I would not accept the car back. They did not "fix" anything. They simply "band aided" the remaining failure code they saw, so they could get you out ASAP. (not good). A GOOD service manager would have explained to you they need the car long term for further testing, maybe arranged a loaner as well.
At this point IF you drive it I would do it with an EXTREME abundance of caution (if at all). I would also notify NHTSA of this along with the dealer general manager of actions you've taken and explain to him/her you no longer feel safe in this vehicle until further inspections and testing on the hydraulic system is done.
As for the question of engaging "Park". No it will not function at speed (above 5mph IIRC). All modern transmissions are electronically controlled. Once you hit 5 mph things happen to prevent you from doing what it feels would be a "dumb" move. Like engaging "R" for "Race". Or P for "pass" :D (trying to add a little levity to a VERY serious issue).
If it were my car I would not accept it and threaten to park it in front of the showroom with a large lemon on the roof. In any case it's not something to be taken lightly. Also FWIW, if you'd only lost power assist you could still stop the car. This is a serious issue
 
If I read it correctly, the dealer replaced the brake system control module. Chris was merely sharing what he found online about the P code being related to the cruise control system.
 
LMichaels said:
Also FWIW, if you'd only lost power assist you could still stop the car. This is a serious issue
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This would be my main concern if that's what occurred. The dash lighting up and bad modules happen but should not prevent you from stopping the car even without abs, traction control or whatever. I've had Chevy Equinox company cars up until 2020 which is basically the same as your 2023 and have never heard about this problem so it must be something new.
 
BFletcher said:
If I read it correctly, the dealer replaced the brake system control module. Chris was merely sharing what he found online about the P code being related to the cruise control system.
Click to expand...
I misread, I thought the cruise control module. In any case looks like the right track but if I were in that service dept I would not stop at that alone. I would have replaced the entire assembly, and the master cylinder before allowing a customer to take possession of the car.
In any case Chris, I fully know it may be hard to keep your head straight when faced with a failure like this. And I forgot a piece of advice on what to do. Do not shut the engine off (or you will lose all "assist" (steering, braking etc.). Do downshift the car to the lowest gear on the selector. Don't worry about over speeding the engine. The transmission will not allow any lower gear to engage that is safe. Also, hydraulic pressure can many times "come back" but simply removing your foot from the brake pedal (I know seems counter intuitive) but if an internal seal in the ABS system leaked, many times releasing pressure will allow it to reseat and bring you to a stop.
Sorry about the misread, but all my other advice still stands.
 
There's some awfully good advice here. Downshift, and use the parking/emergency brake. Do NOT shift into Park. If the parking pawl engages at anything more than a very slow speed, you just caused some expensive repairs. I'd be quite concerned about a reset and a module replacement would fix this, this reeks of a booster failure (vacuum or hydroboost?)

I experienced a complete brake system hydraulic failure on a 1972 Chevy C60 loaded down to about 32,000 lbs. Single circuit brakes, and I ruptured a rear brake line when some <BEEEP><BEEEP><BEEEP><BEEEEEP>ing idiot pulled out in front of me. I did manage to slow down by downshifting, and careful timing to get through 1 traffic light and a left turn where I had to unload. Absolutely no fun at all.
 
This where I am sad that these companies which is all of them have gone to Electric Emergdncy Brakes systems. The older emergency brake handle could be used to slow you down much better and control excessive heat build up also by modulating of the brake handle for whatever situation you were in.
I had a failure also but luckly I had the manual E brake, but still as you do not really train with using one it is learning under fire.

Glad to hear you are OK and now trying to learn more about this problem,and share your findings with others.
 
on modern automatics you can sling it into park or reverse but neither will do anything. Even on very old autos i.e. Torque Flights and the like. Once above a certain speed the mechanical governor will lock reverse out and the park pawl will simply bounce. Actually was a trick we used to clean the little check valves in the valve body and the like. The vibrations would shake loose the little valves on the governor shaft.
IDK about the electronic parking brakes. Whether they will work at any speed. In any case due to the adoption of rear disc brakes the electronic ones are far superior to the old top hat style rotor ones. Which were a total PIA to service and always rusted up.
Just good there was no one in front of Chris and he was able to have a "runout" area. Or it could have been his obit here next.
 
Chris Allingham said:
Mrs. TVWB and I are concerned that it might happen again in a circumstance where you really need your brakes--like having to stop quickly on the freeway at speed when traffic stops in front of you suddenly.
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Chris, sorry to read you experienced this, and glad you made it through without anyone being injured.

As others have said, filing a report to the NHTSA should be done in this situation, in my opinion.

www.nhtsa.gov

Report a Safety Problem | NHTSA

File a complaint with NHTSA if you experienced a vehicle, tire, car seat or equipment safety problem that could be a safety defect.
www.nhtsa.gov www.nhtsa.gov

Hopefully the mechanics working on your vehicle take care of the problem.
 
I've never seen an "e-boost" first hand, but it sounds like it is a complete "brake-by-wire" system without a direct mechanical link from the pedal to the master cylinder. Is that the case on the equinox?

It looks like there are recalls for other models prior to 2023.

I would would definitely file a report as suggested by others.
 
One more reason to learn to drive a manual transmission and understand it. I’m shocked at how few people bother to learn the basic method of “stick” driving. It’s a lot more fun!!
 
To answer your questions, Chris, Will the car go into Park at high speed or will the computer not allow it? And setting aside the question of whether the transmission blows up in the process, would it do any good in an emergency situation? It doesn't matter. Don't do it. But yes, I think you won't be allowed to do that by the computer or whatever controls that kind of thing. Can I engage the Parking Brake at high speed? It's got that electric brake switch that you pull up to activate and push down to release...wishing for an old-school parking brake handle with a push button at the end that you could depress and manually brake! I don't know if you can. But it won't work like the old school ones with the cable, which you could use in this circumstance. It's like an on-off switch. I suspect like the Park situation, it won't let you do that. But even if you were to use it to avoid a pedestrian, you'd lose control of the vehicle and probably not miss him/her anyway. Go to another dealer. It's too bad that the guys from Car Talk (Click and Clack the Tappet brothers) on NPR aren't doing their program anymore (unfortunately, Tommy Magliozzi is no longer with us). They would have had a field day if you asked them your question. But you really can't drive it until someone gives you a decent answer as to what is going on.
 
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