Chevrolet Equinox EV Recall Affects Thousands of Vehicles
General Motors has issued a safety recall for 23,700 units of the 2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV, and the reason is almost comically ironic. Affected units of the electric SUV, built between August 2023 and August 2024, are simply too quiet for their own good. The Chevy Equinox may not make enough noise to alert pedestrians when they’re creeping up at low speeds or shifting into drive.
The culprit is a faulty pedestrian alert sound system with incorrect software calibration. The problem occurs when the vehicle travels from a standstill to 6.2mph, where the sound system doesn’t produce the required volume changes to warn anyone nearby. GM discovered the issue after NHTSA testing revealed the noncompliance, though they’re not aware of any actual incidents. The fix will require a software update to the body control module rather than replacing the entire system.
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Electric Vehicle Sound Requirements Keep Pedestrians Safe
The Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act, signed into law in 2011, mandated that electric and hybrid vehicles produce audible sounds specifically to protect blind and visually impaired pedestrians. Before this regulation, EVs were essentially ninja vehicles gliding through streets completely undetected. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 141 requires these vehicles to emit sounds at specific volumes during various operating conditions, including when stationary, in reverse, and moving forward at speeds up to 18.6mph.
Traditional combustion engines naturally create mechanical and exhaust noise, inadvertently serving as an audible warning for pedestrians. Electric vehicles eliminated the “noise pollution” but also removed an important safety feature that people didn’t realize they relied on until it was gone.
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When Technology Works So Well It Becomes a Problem
We spent decades making cars quieter because engine noise was considered a nuisance. Then we finally achieved the dream with electric vehicles that run almost silently, and now we have to artificially add noise back in because they’re too good at being quiet.
The Chevy Equinox EV, which has become America’s best-selling electric vehicle outside of Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3, now joins an exclusive club of products recalled for exceeding expectations in the wrong direction. Owner letters will go out in November 2025, and affected vehicles will get their software updated so they can properly announce their presence to the world. So if you own a 2024 Equinox EV built during that specific window, congratulations. Your car is so technologically advanced and refined, it needs to be downgraded slightly to meet safety standards. What a time to be alive.
