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 Identi cation
.................................5-83
Electrical System
......................................5-84
Capacities and Speci cations
.....................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
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 in ating 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
in ate. 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 in ating frontal airbag. But
these airbags must in ate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
1-55
Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even if
you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Airbags are “supplemental restraints” to
the safety belts. All airbags are designed to
work with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes. They
are not designed to in ate in rollover, rear
crashes, or in many side crashes.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
And, for some unrestrained occupants, frontal
airbags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful airbags have
provided in the past.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are
designed to in ate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of your
vehicle. They are not designed to in ate in
frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes. Everyone
in your vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
1-56
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
If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the right front passenger and the person seated
directly behind that passenger, it is in the ceiling above
the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not in ate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
in ating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an airbag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering. And, if your vehicle has
roof-mounted side impact airbags, never secure
anything to the roof of your vehicle by routing
the rope or tiedown through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an in ating side
impact airbag will be blocked. The path of an
in ating airbag must be kept clear.
1-60