Traction control / brakes locking issue
 

I am having trouble with my 07' Chevy Equinox LT AWD. I have replaced all brake pads, rotors, master cyl, brake booster in search of the problem. What happens is if you turn on the cruise control (or sometimes just out of no where) the car flashes a light saying service stabilitrac. Then sometimes but not all the time the brakes lock up. If I pull over I can wait or just got to the Brake booster and release the vacuum and it will release. Any ideas will help.

Codes coming up when scanned

c0561

c0131(only when brakes are locked)

c0460

p1779

p0404

Thanks,
Chris

I'd look at the possibility of a bad EGR valve. Some of these codes are known to be related to a bad EGR valve. Also, I believe the EGR valve in the equinox is vacuum controlled.

FYI - On my 07 Nox the front left was running hot due to brake dragging (400F, 75K miles). After replacing the calipers/rotors I finally figured out it was the rubber brake line collapsing when it was hot out.
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Ca...700_0282882576
Check all 4 of your rotor temps to see if/which ones are hot.

I replaced the egr a few months back but the some of those codes were still popping up. I'm gunna try to clean the passages when I get a new gasket.

The problem is that all four wheels are locked. Last time it happened I was parked in a parking lot so I jacked up each wheel and they were all locked up.

I've attached a TSB below which suggests that code C0460 must be addressed before doing anything else. It looks like a trip to the dealership will be necessary.

Attachment 8113


All the other codes (except C0131) are commonly caused by a bad EGR valve. The bad EGR valve triggers the Service Stabilitrak/Service Traction Control messages, but only disables Stabilitrak. It doesn't cause anything with the brakes to act up.

Same problem with 07 Trailblazer
 

Having same problem with 2007 Trailblazer. .. was there a resolution?

I have an '07 Equinox LT but it is 2wd. My problems started when one brake started grinding. So new pads all around. What do you know, only one pad was bad. WTF? Ok, later that day or the next, it felt like the parking brake was on. Just going a few blocks more to the house, the brakes started smoking. Same brake. Only one brake.

Long story short, mechanic has replaced the master cylinder (because it was bleeding into the power booster), the booster (because of the master cylinder), then the caliper (but nothing was wrong with it), now he says the only thing left is the ABS system. Oh, and I only have 64,000 miles on it.

Codes do not come up. I disconnected the battery once to see if it was computer related and they came up when the battery was reconnected. I can stand on the brake peddle to get the brakes to release, and the mechanic figured that one out.

I like the brake line collapsing in the heat advise. That makes sense to me.

If you are not seeing any ABS warning messages than it is not an problem with the ABS.

You should always inspect the caliper pins and their protective rubber boots, lubricate the pins with brake grease, and make sure they move freely before mounting the caliper whenever you change the brake pads. If that checks out, I would suggest changing both front brake hoses. They have a high failure rate in the early Equinox/Torrent/Vue.

2007 Chevy Equinox
I just went through this same scenario. Wheel strarted heating up and vibrating due to the brakes engaging. Naturally replaced the wheel baring, caliper, routers, brake pads.... Nothing worked, was about to replace the Master Cylinder, and Brake Booster which would have increased my repair bill exponentially. I read this thread, and decided to replace the brake lines first. It worked like a charm. The mechanic that took the time to share this saved me a lot of time and money. Thank you!!!!!!!!!
June 30th, 2015, 7:08 AM #3
tomwalt

Brake Lines failing caused the brakes to lock up. Genius.........