
Black plate (6,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
11-6 Service and Maintenance
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
UsageFluid/Lubricant
Engine Oil The engine requires engine oil approved to the dexos™
specification.
Oils meeting this specification can be identified with the dexos™
certification mark. Look for and use only an engine oil that displays the
dexos™ certification mark of the proper viscosity grade. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑10.
Engine Coolant 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL Coolant.
See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑18.
Hydraulic Brake System DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 88862806, in
Canada 88862807).
Windshield Washer Optikleen
®Washer Solvent.
Hydraulic Power Steering System (V6 engines only) DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Automatic Transmission DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Transfer Case (All-Wheel Drive) Transfer Case Fluid (GM Part No. 88861950, in Canada 88861951).
Key Lock Cylinders Multi-Purpose Lubricant, Superlube (GM Part No. 12346241, in
Canada 10953474).

Black plate (13,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Customer Information 13-13
Managing the Vehicle Damage
Repair Process
In the event that the vehicle requires
damage repairs, GM recommends
that you take an active role in its
repair. If you have a pre-determined
repair facility of choice, take the
vehicle there, or have it towed there.
Specify to the facility that any
required replacement collision parts
be original equipment parts, either
new Genuine GM parts or recycled
original GM parts. Remember,
recycled parts will not be covered by
the GM vehicle warranty.
Insurance pays the bill for the repair,
but you must live with the repair.
Depending on your policy limits,
your insurance company may
initially value the repair using
aftermarket parts. Discuss this with
the repair professional, and insist on
Genuine GM parts. Remember,
if the vehicle is leased, you may be
obligated to have the vehicle
repaired with Genuine GM parts,
even if your insurance coverage
does not pay the full cost.If another party's insurance
company is paying for the repairs,
you are not obligated to accept a
repair valuation based on that
insurance company's collision policy
repair limits, as you have no
contractual limits with that company.
In such cases, you can have control
of the repair and parts choices as
long as the cost stays within
reasonable limits.
Service Publications
Ordering Information
Service Manuals
Service Manuals have the diagnosis
and repair information on the
engines, transmission, axle,
suspension, brakes, electrical,
steering, body, etc.
Service Bulletins
Service Bulletins give additional
technical service information
needed to knowledgeably service
General Motors cars and trucks.
Each bulletin contains instructions
to assist in the diagnosis and
service of the vehicle.
Owner Information
Owner publications are written
specifically for owners and intended
to provide basic operational
information about the vehicle.
The Owner Manual includes the
Maintenance Schedule for all
models.
In-Portfolio: Includes a Portfolio,
Owner Manual, and Warranty
Booklet.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$35.00 (U.S.) plus handling and
shipping fees.
Without Portfolio: Owner
Manual only.
RETAIL SELL PRICE:
$25.00 (U.S.) plus handling and
shipping fees.

Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
F
FeaturesMemory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Filter Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-3
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Flat Tire, Changing . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-15
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Fog Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . 10-36, 6-3
Front Fog Lamps Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Economy Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20 Fuel (cont.)
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-54
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-54
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-21
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-54
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Fuel Economy Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39 Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-43
G
GasolineSpecifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Gauges Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10 Gauges (cont.)
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
H
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35

Black plate (8,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
i-8 INDEX
N
NavigationVehicle Data Recordingand Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-14
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-43
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27 Operation, Infotainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overview, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3, 7-5
P
Park
Shifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Parking
Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Brake and P (Park)Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-30
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-34
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6 Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-35
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Personalization Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . 7-46, 7-47, 7-51
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-31
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Pregnancy, Using Safety
Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Privacy Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . 13-17
Program
Courtesy Transportation . . . . . . 13-9
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3

Black plate (10,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
i-10 INDEX
Safety Defects ReportingCanadian Government . . . . . . 13-15
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . . 11-2
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . 13-9
Seats Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-6
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-3
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58, 3-60
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12 Service
Accessories and
Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . . 11-9
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-9
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Servicing the Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . . . 3-40
Shift Lock Control Function
Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Sidemarker Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 Spare Tire
Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-77
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
StabiliTrak
®OFF Light . . . . . . . . . 5-18
StabiliTrak®System . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-29
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Stoplamps and Back-Up Lamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Storage Mass Media (MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
Storage Areas Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3