Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2011 Chevrolet Equinox owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH during a rainstorm, the contact heard the driver's side windshield wiper making a snapping noise before with the windshield wiper ceased operation. The contact stated there was no warning light illuminated. The contact had driven the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the windshield wiper transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer had been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 MPH in the rain, the windshield wipers became inoperable. The contact pulled over and waited until the rain stopped falling before continuing to drive. The dealer was contacted and stated that an unstated bushing needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not taken to be repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 114,000.
The contact owns a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while the windshield wiper was activated, the windshield wiper arms detached. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.
Joint on the front windshield wiper assembly failed. Was driving in a 4 lane highway doing about 70 mph while it was raining. Windshield wipers stopped halfway through the movement they sat for a moment they moved to as far as they could go towards the driver side and that's where they stayed. The driver side one was over the edge of the vehicle. I followed tail lights turning onto a side road, pulled over safely. Moved the wipers to a down position, there was no resistance. Checked the fuse and that was fine. Waited a bit for the rain to settle a bit and drove to a safer location. Once off the highway and away from traffic when turning the windshield wipers on I could hear the motor still going so knew it was an issue with the arms. I had been on the road for about 2 hours all major highway with still over 2.5 hours left of my drive when they failed. …
The windshield wipers and yes, available at anytime for inspection. I was traveling Hwy 80 and the wipers stopped working completely in a downpour of rain at 70 mph. I could not see and could not even follow the rear taillights in front of me to stay in my lane. I put my right blinker on and slowly moved to the slow lane in order to take the next exit off the highway. Had to travel over the highway on the overpass and needed to turn right. Couldn't see detail so ended up running over yellow barriers then made it to the right turn and was barely able to make out a driveway which was a Starbucks. Stopped to confirm wipers would not work and to move wipers by hand to clear windshield. Every 4 or 5 blocks had to stop and get out to physically move wipers by hand to clear rain water from windshield in order to drive further. …
Driving on the highway while it was raining and I had my wipers on and all of a sudden they stopped working. Wipers aren't moving at all but can hear the motor turning. Assuming it's in the wiper trans/linkage assembly.
I was driving home from work in a very bad rain storm on route 9 in newington ct going southbound (please check the weather for that day around 5:10 pm). This is a highway where cars were traveling probably between 50 ? 60 miles per hour during rush hour traffic, when the windshield wipers just stopped working. I was driving blind down a major highway in poor weather conditions. I was lucky enough to barely find the breakdown lane while falling off the road periodically as I could not see where the roadside was. I slowly worked my way on to the exit 29 ramp so I could sit until help arrived. The dealer replaced the motor. Over the course of four months, the heating mechanism that controlled the direction of the heater, and throttle body were replaced. …
Driving while it was raining windshield wipers were going all of a sudden they went way past where they normally stop and couldn't see the road tried turning them off and on nothing happened had to hang my head out the window to find a place to pull over to safety because it was at night time and couldn't see if anything was coming or if I was going to run off in a ditch and had my little girl in the back seat to make matters worse but once I got out looked at them was able to move them by hand back into position but still wouldn't work you could hear the motor moving inside but wipers wouldn't at all im thank ful when this happened I wasn't on the interstate and was only going like 40 MPH with it raining but wipes never gave a sign previously anything was wrong they have always worked fine there was no reason for this vehicle to do this im a Chevy person and have stood my it but this …
3 weeks after purchasing this vehicle from a used car lot, the wipers stopped operating while in use. The motor was working properly, however my mechanic found that the wiper transmission had failed. He stated that in his opinion, this is a common issue due to the fact that the local Chevrolet dealership had several of this part in stock. This repair was not covered under the 90-day warranty provided by the dealership where I purchased the vehicle. I believe I should be reimbursed by the manufacturer for this repair, which totaled $367.35 (receipt available upon request) and an investigation should be conducted on these wiper transmissions as this is a serious safety hazard. In researching this issue online, I have found that others have complained of the same issue on the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox.
I was driving my 2011 Chevrolet Equinox home on weds September 11, 2019 in a torrential downpour on the 696 freeway in metro detroit. I was going approximately 50 MPH, slower then the speed limit because of the downpour, and I had my windshield wipers on the fastest speed. Without any type of warning my windshield wipers stopped working. The driver's wiper had moved past the windshield so at first I thought that was the culprit. I pushed the wiper back onto the windshield (while driving), but the wipers remained stationary and no longer operated. Still on the highway in the downpour I had to maneuver off the nearest exit, surprisingly without incident, and parked in a subdivision until the rain stopped. The wiper transmission assembly was replaced.
NHTSA investigations
Windshield Wiper Transmission Failure
On November 2, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened a Recall Query (RQ18-002) to assess the scope of Recall 16V-582.General Motors (GM) initiated Safety Recall 16V-582 on August 3, 2016 to address windshield wiper failure in the Model Year (MY) 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain.
Front Wiper Transmission Inoperative
On December 13, 2019, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) upgraded RQ18-002 to an Engineering Analysis (EA19-005) to further assess the MY2010-2016 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain windshield wiper failures. Due to a prior recall, 16V-582, addressing this issue in the MY2013 subject vehicles, MY2013 was not included in the analysis.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Equinox years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox?
NHTSA has 74 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox, 9% of the model year's 782 complaints. The component named most often is glass, side/rear (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2011 Chevrolet Equinox window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2011 Chevrolet Equinox, though it has 3 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2011 Chevrolet Equinox window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 110,000 miles, and 8% before 25,000 miles.
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.