Chevy is recalling 80,000 vehicles for a defective pedestrian alert audio system
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More than 80,000 Chevy vehicles are being recalled because their pedestrian warning system is not working, federal regulators said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warned owners in a December notice that certain 2025 to 2026 model year Chevrolet Equinox EVs fail to meet federal highway safety regulations because they do not meet basic noise requirements for hybrid and electric vehicles.
General Motors made the decision after discovering that the pedestrian alert audio system in these vehicles may have an incorrect software calibration, meaning they will not be able to “produce external noise at the volume required when the vehicle accelerates from a standstill to 6.2 mph,” according to the NHTSA notice.
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The administrator said in a reminder that some pedestrians cannot tell by the sound that the car approaching them is speeding or slowing down under certain conditions, which puts their safety at risk.
Chevrolet shows off the new 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV model during the Chicago Auto Show at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago, Illinois. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images/Getty Images)
A GM engineer submitted a report to the automaker’s Speak Up for Safety program in September following an internal test of the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV. That test showed that the vehicle failed the federal requirements under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 141, which sets the relative volume change when the vehicle goes from a standstill to 10 km/h, according to the recall.
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The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV was shown at the Edmonton Motor Show. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
An investigation from that report later found that although the software calibration used in the 2025 and 2026 model years is different, both software versions may not meet the volume change requirement when going from a standstill to 10 km/h.
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The measurements for the 2025 and 2026 model years are different from the measurements used for 2024 vehicles and the measurements used to repair 2024 vehicles.
Cars on the highway (Jonas Walzberg/photo alliance via Getty Images)
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The recall was issued on December 11. However, there were no accidents or incidents related to the matter, the notice said.
GM told FOX Business that fixing the issue “will involve updating the body control module software using over-the-air technology or by dealer service teams.”
