2006 CHEVROLET EQUINOX instrument panel

Seats and Restraint Systems........................... 1-1
Front Seats
............................................... 1-2
Rear Seats
..............................................1-10
Safety Belts
.............................................1-12
Child Restraints
.......................................1-30
Airbag System
.........................................1-55
Restraint System Check
............................1-66
Features and Controls..................................... 2-1
Keys
........................................................ 2-2
Doors and Locks
....................................... 2-6
Windows
.................................................2-11
Theft-Deterrent Systems
............................2-13
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
...........2-15
Mirrors
....................................................2-27
OnStar
®System
......................................2-32
Storage Areas
.........................................2-34
Sunroof
..................................................2-41
Instrument Panel............................................. 3-1
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
......................................3-18
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
........3-23
Audio System(s)
.......................................3-38Driving Your Vehicle....................................... 4-1
Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle
..... 4-2
Towing
...................................................4-36
Service and Appearance Care.......................... 5-1
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
Checking Things Under the Hood
...............5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-39
Bulb Replacement
....................................5-41
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
.........5-45
Tires
......................................................5-47
Appearance Care
.....................................5-74
Vehicle Identication
.................................5-83
Electrical System
......................................5-84
Capacities and Specications
.....................5-89
Maintenance Schedule..................................... 6-1
Maintenance Schedule
................................ 6-2
Customer Assistance and Information.............. 7-1
Customer Assistance and Information
........... 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
...........................7-13
Index................................................................ 1
2006 Chevrolet Equinox Owner ManualM

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this manual you will nd these notices:
Notice:These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
A notice tells about something that can damage the
vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered
by your vehicle’s warranty, and it could be costly. But
the notice will tell what to do to help avoid the damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see
CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors
or in different words.
There are also warning labels on the vehicle. They use
the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
The vehicle has components and labels that use
symbols instead of text. Symbols are shown along with
the text describing the operation or information
relating to a specic component, control, message,
gage, or indicator.
If you need help guring out a specic name of a
component, gage, or indicator, reference the following
topics:
Seats and Restraint Systems in Section 1
Features and Controls in Section 2
Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3
Climate Controls in Section 3
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators in Section 3
Audio System(s) in Section 3
Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5
iv

Manual Lumbar
If your vehicle has
this feature, the knob is
located on the front of the
driver seat lower cushion
on the inboard side.
Turn the knob clockwise or counterclockwise to increase
or decrease the lumbar support.
Heated Seats
If your vehicle has heated
seats, the switches are
located on the center
console of the instrument
panel above the shift lever.
Press the switch, nearest to the seat, once to turn the
heated seat on to the high setting. Both indicator lights
will be lit. Press the switch a second time to turn the
heated seat to the low setting. One indicator light will
be lit. Press the switch a third time to turn the heated
seat off.
The ignition must be on for the heated seats to operate.
1-4

or the instrument panel... or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why
safety belts make such good sense.
1-16

To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult or
larger child passenger. When the safety belt is not in use,
slide the latch plate up the safety belt webbing. The latch
plate should rest on the stitching on the safety belt, near
the guide loop on the side wall.
Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have roof-mounted side impact airbags.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are available for the
driver and the passenger seated directly behind the
driver and for the right front passenger and the
passenger seated directly behind that passenger.
If your vehicle has roof-mounted side impact airbags,
the word AIRBAG will appear on the airbag covering on
the ceiling near the driver’s and right front passenger’s
window.Even if you do not have a right front passenger seat in
your vehicle there is still an active frontal airbag in the
right side of the instrument panel. Do not place cargo in
front of this airbag.
{CAUTION:
Be sure that cargo is not near an airbag. In
a crash, an inating airbag might force that
object toward a person. This could cause
severe injury or even death. Secure objects
away from the area in which an airbag would
inate. For more information, seeWhere Are
the Airbags? on page 1-58andLoading Your
Vehicle on page 4-31.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag. But
these airbags must inate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
1-55

There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-26
for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
1-58

The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the driver and the person seated directly behind the
driver, it is in the ceiling above the side windows.
1-59

Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted side
impact airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 1-55.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are intended to inate
in moderate to severe side crashes. A roof-mounted side
impact airbag will inate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The threshold level
can vary with specic vehicle design. Roof-mounted side
impact airbags are not intended to inate in frontal or
near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, ination is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For roof-mounted
side impact airbags, ination is determined by the
location and severity of the impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inator, which inates the airbag. The inator, airbag,
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger. For vehicles
with roof-mounted side impact airbags, there are also
airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near
the side windows.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The airbag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But the
frontal airbags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion
is not toward the airbag. Side impact airbags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including many
frontal or near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear
impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is
not toward those airbags. Airbags should never
be regarded as anything more than a supplement to
safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal collisions for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate
to severe side collisions for side impact airbags.
1-62