2007 CHEVROLET EQUINOX window

Seats and Restraint Systems
....................... 7
Front Seats
.............................................. 8
Rear Seats
............................................. 17
Safety Belts
............................................ 19
Child Restraints
...................................... 43
Airbag System
........................................ 72
Restraint System Check
......................... 90
Features and Controls
................................ 93
Keys
....................................................... 95
Doors and Locks
.................................. 104
Windows
............................................... 109
Theft-Deterrent Systems
....................... 111
Starting and Operating
Your Vehicle
..................................... 114
Mirrors
.................................................. 129
OnStar
®System
................................... 133
Storage Areas
...................................... 137
Sunroof
................................................ 144Instrument Panel
....................................... 145
Instrument Panel Overview
................... 148
Climate Controls
................................... 165
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators
.... 171
Driver Information Center (DIC)
............ 192
Audio System(s)
................................... 215
Driving Your Vehicle
................................. 283
Your Driving, the Road, and Your
Vehicle
.............................................. 284
Towing
................................................. 320
Service and Appearance Care
.................. 331
Service
................................................. 333
Fuel
...................................................... 335
Checking Things Under the Hood
......... 340
All-Wheel Drive
..................................... 374
Bulb Replacement
................................ 375
Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement
... 380
2007 Chevrolet Equinox Owner ManualM
1

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The belt can not properly spread the
impact forces. In a crash, the two children
can be crushed together and seriously
injured. A belt must be used by only
one person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder
belt, but the child is so small that the
shoulder belt is very close to the child’s
face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
Also seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides on
page 39. If the child is sitting in the center rear
seat passenger position, move the child toward
the safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure
that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts
provide.
44

A booster seat (F-G) is a child restraint designed
to improve the t of the vehicle’s safety belt
system. Some booster seats have a shoulder belt
positioner, and some high-back booster seats
have a ve-point harness. A booster seat can
also help a child to see out the window.
Q:How Should I Use a Child Restraint?
A:A child restraint system is any device designed
for use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat,
or position children. A built-in child restraint
system is a permanent part of the motor
vehicle. An add-on child restraint system
is a portable one, which is purchased by the
vehicle’s owner. To help reduce injuries, an
add-on child restraint must be secured in the
vehicle. With built-in or add-on child restraints,
the child has to be secured within the child
restraint.
When choosing an add-on child restraint, be
sure the child restraint is designed to be
used in a vehicle. If it is, it will have a label
saying that it meets federal motor vehicle
safety standards. Then follow the instructions
for the restraint. You may nd these
instructions on the restraint itself or in
a booklet, or both.
51

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 designed for either side impact or
rollover deployment. 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 headliner near the
driver’s and right front passenger’s window.
Even if you have no 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, see
Where Are the Airbags? on page 75and
Loading Your Vehicle on page 315.
Airbags are designed to supplement the protection
provided by safety belts. Even though today’s
airbags are also designed to help reduce the risk
of injury from the force of an inating bag, all
airbags must inate very quickly to do their job.
72

The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted airbag for the
driver and the person seated directly behind
the driver, it is located in the ceiling above the
side windows.
76

If your vehicle has a roof-mounted airbag for the
right front passenger and the person directly
behind that passenger, it is located in the ceiling
above the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and
an airbag, the bag might not inate
properly or it might force the object into
that person causing severe injury or even
death. The path of an inating 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 tie down through any
door or window opening. If you do, the path
of an inating side impact airbag will be
blocked. The path of an inating airbag
must be kept clear.
77

Frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger)
are not intended to inate during vehicle
rollovers, rear impacts, or in many side impacts.
Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted
airbags and a rollover sensor. SeeAirbag System
on page 72. These “rollover capable” airbags are
intended to inate in moderate to severe side
crashes or during a rollover. 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 rear impacts. Both
roof-mounted rollover airbags will deploy when
either side of the vehicle is struck or during a
rollover.
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. Additionally, in the case of a “rollover
capable” roof-mounted side impact airbag, the
sensing system detects that the vehicle is about to
roll over. The sensing system triggers a release
of gas from the inator, which inates the airbag.
For the frontal airbags, 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 rollover airbags,
the airbag modules, the inator, and the airbags
are located in the ceiling of the vehicle, near
the side windows.
79

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. Airbags
supplement 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. Roof-mounted rollover
airbags would not help you in many types of
collisions, including many frontal or near frontal
collisions, and rear impacts.
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 or rollovers for vehicles
with roof-mounted rollover airbags.
What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?
After a frontal airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize an
airbag inated. Roof-mounted rollover airbags may
still be at least partially inated minutes after the
vehicle comes to rest. Some components of the
airbag module — the steering wheel hub for the
driver’s airbag, the instrument panel for the right
front passenger’s airbag, and the area along the
ceiling of the vehicle near the side windows for
vehicles with roof–mounted side impact
airbags — may be hot for a short time. The parts
of the airbag that come into contact with you may
be warm, but not too hot to touch. There may be
some smoke and dust coming from the vents in the
deated airbags. Airbag ination does not prevent
the driver from seeing out of the windshield or being
able to steer the vehicle, nor does it prevent people
from leaving the vehicle.
80