Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2007 Chevrolet Equinox owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The airbag on the passenger side of my 2007 Chevrolet Equinox LS. Has never worked correctly. I purchase my 2007 Chevrolet Equinox LS coming up on 2 year's ago. Since I purchased my car the passenger side air bag has never worked correctly. Sometimes it would turn on maybe 5% of the time I had a passenge. The 95% it doesn't come on and says service air bag. Now the service air bag is staying on. Chevrolet had a big recall on the 2007 Chevrolet Equinox for 2 or 3 problems with the passenger air bag. I can not afford to pay for this myself. I feel Chevrolet should pay for the fix. I am scared to drive my Equinox because I don't know if it is going to deploy while I'm driving. I had reported this on KKB more then once. I would greatly appreciate some information on how I can make Chevrolet pay for the fix. Thank you for your time
Passenger seat airbag is malfunctioning. It won't also sense that a passenger is seating in the seat. I am referring to a full grown adult and not a young child, so weight is not an issue and it should sense someone occupying the seat. The airbag will turn off and on while driving with the passenger seat occupied. When this happens, the service airbag system message comes across the dash as well as the red airbag light. This is a very serious safety issue that needs to be looked into. A passenger could get seriously injured or possibly die in the event of an accident, as the airbag won't deploy. First noticed the issue a few months ago and it seems to be happening more frequently.
My passenger airbag doesn't pick up when someone is sitting in it and says service airbag. Chevrolet had recalls on them but not in my state. Now no one has to be in the seat and it will flash service airbag and the light on the dash stays on. I can't afford to fix it myself and think Chevrolet is responsible for the fix.
Keys constantly stuck in the ignition. The air bag always turns on and off. Now, there's gas leaking somewhere and you can smell it well after the cars off. I think it may be the fuel pump, which is very pricey. All these were recalled in the past but none of them included my car.
Takata recall. On March 29th 2015 I was involved in a auto accident. As a result of that accident, I suffered a broken wrist, broken jaw, and the loss of my left eye. All of these injuries were the result of my vehicles airbag system. In the accident, none of my windows were broken, there were no loose items in the vehicle. The only thing in the vehicle that hit me was the airbag and its is the only thing which had blood on it in the vehicle. I was wearing my seatbelt at the time of the accident. I was driving down the highway (atlantic city expressway) when a turnpike commission vehicle made a u-turn and turned up in front of me leading to the accident. My vehicle was traveling on a flat highway at night, on a straight section of road at that time. …
Tl* the contact owned a 2007 Chevrolet Equinox. While driving 20 MPH, the contact crashed into a concrete embankment to avoid colliding with another vehicle. The air bag failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the right shoulder and left arm that required medical attention. A police report was not filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a tow lot. The contact called allen tillery auto (located at 4573 central ave, hot spring, ar 71913, [phone]) and was informed that the air bag should have deployed since it was just installed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and did not assist. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000.
On 9/22/08 we took our vehicle to gregg young Chevy in omaha ne with complaint of the passenger air bag did not register passenger. The could not duplicate and nothing was done. Again on 4/10/10 we took the vehicle in again with same complaint. We were told again could not duplicate at this time, no problem found scanned, no codes. No bulletins found, system working as designed. Then again 9/28/11 we took it in again and complained the service air bag light is on intermittently. They replaced the pps module. We had to pay labor and factory warranty deductible. I see by you recall page there was a recall #07V344000 on the passenger sensor and or calibration. If there was a recall why were we charged to replace a default by the maker? Now here we are in dec 2016 and now we are having the same problem again. …
I don't know if it's a Takata inflator, but there was a recall for the 2007 Chevy Equinox, but, for some reason the recall did not have my wife's car's VIN # regarding this recall. So, her car did not receive a recall notice! What I'm upset about is, that she has low mileage on her car, and had the same problem, just recently, and it's the same model and year, regarding the recall, that did not involve her car! I was told by GM, that because her VIN # was not "in" the recall, that there was nothing that they could do, but if I wanted to, because it's a safety problem, that I could contact you! And "then" if you told them that it was a safety problem, which it is, that you could then, get in touch with GM, and they would take care of it! So, what can be done, this shouldn't be like this!!! …
When I have a passenger in the seat the airbag never comes on and the airbag light stays on and tells me it needs service. Also all my gauges are all out of wack not sure if it is a recall or not once I hit 100,000 miles all these things came about. Also there was a recall on the fuel system and at the time I did not have a problem as of yet, on 9/29/15 I then smelled the gas and called mk smith Chevrolet to see if there were any recalls on this and they told me no, so I did take it somewhere else to be fixed due to it being cheaper for me and got it fixed and paid $633.60. I have document for that. Now my key in the ignition does not come out and I hear a clicking noise by the ignition I'm not sure if that as well is a recall on the Equinox 2007. Please let me know if any of these problems are recalls on my vehicle. …
We bought our son this vehicle when he got his license back in sept 2019. The front passenger seat sensor isn't working causing the passenger air bag to not be safely engaged. This is a huge safety issue and should be a recall and replaced immediately. Also, there is hardly any heat coming from the blowers. We had it in multiple times but noone can figure it out. We have replaced: heater core, water pump, thermostat, radiator, resevoir. Ect..flushed it a million times and had the heads pressure checked, nothing worked. It gets very little heat when idling, and gives "luke warm" heat when rpms increase while driving. Last winter my son could hardly keep his windshield defrosted/defogged and almost lost visibility while driving to school. Not to mention freezing to death with no adequate heat. This is a huge safety issue.
Related recalls
Air bags
Certain passenger vehicles not equipped with optional roof rail airbags or optional sunroof fail to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 201,"occupant protection in interior impact." during NHTSA impact tests, the interior occupant protection test points exceeded the standard requirements.
Remedy: Dealers will install an energy absorbing foam piece to each of the a-pillar trim assemblies free of charge. The recall began on May 8, 2008. Owners May contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.
Air bags › Frontal › Sensor/control module-inactive
Certain sport utility vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." in these vehicles, the right front passenger seat is built with a passenger sensing system.
Remedy: Dealers will reprogram the seat's electronic control unit. The manufacturer has not yet provided an owner notification schedule for this campaign.
Airbag complaints in other Equinox years
Frequently asked questions
How common are airbag problems on the 2007 Chevrolet Equinox?
NHTSA has 146 complaints about the air bags of the 2007 Chevrolet Equinox, 21% of the model year's 685 complaints. The component named most often is frontal (12 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2007 Chevrolet Equinox airbag problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 07V-520 (air bags, Nov 7, 2007); NHTSA recall 07V-344 (sensor/control module-inactive, Aug 7, 2007). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2007 Chevrolet Equinox airbag problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 80,000 miles, and 18% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 8 crashes, 0 fires and 10 injuries to air bags problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.