2011 CHEVROLET EQUINOX warning

Black plate (31,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-31
Safety Belt Messages
BUCKLE SEATBELT
This message displays as a
reminder when the safety belt is not
buckled.
Anti-Theft Alarm System
Messages
THEFT ATTEMPTED
This message displays if the vehicle
detects a tamper condition.
Service Vehicle Messages
SERVICE AC SYSTEM
This message is displayed if there is
a problem with the air conditioning
system. Take the vehicle to your
dealer for service.
SERVICE POWER STEERING
This message is displayed if there is
a problem with the power steering
system. Take the vehicle to your
dealer for service.
SERVICE VEHICLE SOON
This message is displayed if there is
a problem with the vehicle. Take the
vehicle to your dealer for service.
Tire Messages
SERVICE TIRE MONITOR
SYSTEM
This message displays if there is a
problem with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS). SeeTire
Pressure Monitor Operation on
page 10‑56 for more information.
TIRE LEARNING ACTIVE
This message displays when the
system is learning new tires. See
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation on
page 10‑56for more information.
TIRE LOW ADD AIR TO TIRE
On vehicles with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS), this
message displays when the
pressure in one or more of the
vehicle tires is low. This message also displays LEFT
FRONT, RIGHT FRONT, LEFT
REAR, or RIGHT REAR to indicate
the location of the low tire.
The low tire pressure warning light
will also come on. See
Tire
Pressure Light on page 5‑19.
If a tire pressure message appears
on the DIC, stop as soon as you
can. Inflate the tires by adding air
until the tire pressure is equal to the
values shown on the Tire and
Loading Information label. See Tires
on page 10‑46, Vehicle Load Limits
on page 9‑22, and Tire Pressure on
page 10‑53.
You can receive more than one tire
pressure message at a time. The
DIC also shows the tire pressure
values. See Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑22.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-1
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . 6-1
Headlamp High/Low-BeamChanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 6-3
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Battery Load Management . . . . 6-5
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The exterior lamp control is on the
turn signal/lane change lever.
O(Exterior Lamp Control):
Operates the exterior lamps. Turn to
one of the following positions:
O(Off): Turns the exterior
lamps off. AUTO (Automatic Headlamps):
Turns the exterior lamps on and off
automatically depending on the
exterior light.
;(Parking Lamps):
Turns on the
parking lamps together with the
following:
.Sidemarker Lamps
.Taillamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights
5(Headlamps): Turns on the
headlamps, together with the
previously listed lamps and lights.

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-3
Hazard Warning Flashers
|
(Hazard Warning Flasher):
Press this button, on the center of
the instrument panel, to make the
front and rear turn signal lamps
flash on and off. This warns others
that you are having trouble.
Press
|again to turn the
flashers off.
Turn and Lane-Change
Signals
An arrow on the instrument panel
cluster will flash in the direction of
the turn or lane change. Move the lever all the way up or
down to signal a turn.
Raise or lower the lever until the
arrow starts to flash to signal a lane
change. Hold it there until the lane
change is complete.
The lever returns to its starting
position when it is released.
If after signaling a turn or a lane
change the arrows flash rapidly or
do not come on, a signal bulb may
be burned out.
Have the bulbs replaced. If the bulb
is not burned out, check the fuse;
see
Fuses on page 10‑39 for more
information.
Fog Lamps
For vehicles with fog lamps, the
control is located on the turn
signal/lane change lever.
Use the fog lamps for better vision
in foggy or misty conditions.
#(Fog Lamps): Turn the fog lamp
band on the lever to
#and release
it, to turn the fog lamps on or off.
The band will return to its original
position.
The parking lamps or low‐beam
headlamps must be on to use the
fog lamps.
The fog lamps will go off whenever
the high-beam headlamps are
turned on. When the high‐beam
headlamps are turned off, the
fog lamps will come on again.
Some localities have laws that
require the headlamps to be on
along with the fog lamps.

Black plate (1,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-1
Infotainment
System
Introduction
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . 7-2
Overview (Radio with CD) . . . . . 7-3
Overview (Radio with CD/DVD/MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Radio
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-11
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Multi-Band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
Audio Players
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
Mass Storage Media (MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
Auxiliary Devices (Radio
with CD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
Auxiliary Devices (Radio with CD/DVD/MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Rear Seat Infotainment
Rear Seat Entertainment(RSE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33
Rear Seat Audio (RSA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-43
Phone
Bluetooth (Overview) . . . . . . . . 7-46
Bluetooth (InfotainmentControls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
Bluetooth (Voice Recognition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-51
Introduction
Read the following pages to
become familiar with the audio
system's features.
{WARNING
Taking your eyes off the road
for extended periods could cause
a crash resulting in injury or
death to you or others. Do not
give extended attention to
entertainment tasks while driving.
This system provides access to
many audio and non‐audio listings.

Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
9-2 Driving and Operating
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Gasoline Specifications(U.S. and Canada Only) . . . . 9-54
California Fuel
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 9-54
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Fuel E85 (85% Ethanol) . . . . . 9-56
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Towing
General TowingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Driving Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Towing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-67
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On ElectricalEquipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-68
Driving Information
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always
expect the unexpected.” The first
step in driving defensively is to wear
your safety belt. See Safety Belts on
page 3‑11.
{WARNING
Assume that other road users
(pedestrians, bicyclists, and other
drivers) are going to be careless
and make mistakes. Anticipate
what they might do and be ready.
In addition:
.Allow enough following
distance between you and
the driver in front of you.
.Focus on the task of driving.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
Driver distraction can cause
collisions resulting in injury or
possible death. These simple
defensive driving techniques
could save your life.
Drunk Driving
{WARNING
Drinking and then driving is
very dangerous. Your reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness, and
judgment can be affected by even
a small amount of alcohol. You
can have a serious —or even
fatal —collision if you drive after
drinking. Do not drink and drive
or ride with a driver who has
been drinking.
(Continued)

Black plate (3,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-3
WARNING (Continued)
Ride home in a cab; or if you are
with a group, designate a driver
who will not drink.
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a global
tragedy.
Alcohol affects four things that
anyone needs to drive a vehicle:
judgment, muscular coordination,
vision, and attentiveness.
Police records show that
almost 40 percent of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve
alcohol. In most cases, these
deaths are the result of someone
who was drinking and driving.
In recent years, more than
17,000 annual motor vehicle-related
deaths have been associated with
the use of alcohol, with about
250,000 people injured. For persons under 21, it is against
the law in every U.S. state to drink
alcohol. There are good medical,
psychological, and developmental
reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the
leading highway safety problem is
for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive.
Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person's system can
make crash injuries worse,
especially injuries to the brain,
spinal cord, or heart. This means
that when anyone who has been
drinking
—driver or passenger —is
in a crash, that person's chance of
being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not
been drinking.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems help to
control the vehicle while driving —
brakes, steering, and accelerator.
At times, as when driving on snow
or ice, it is easy to ask more of
those control systems than the tires
and road can provide. Meaning, you
can lose control of the vehicle. See
StabiliTrak
®System on page 9‑43.
Adding non‐dealer accessories can
affect vehicle performance. See
Accessories and Modifications on
page 10‑3.

Black plate (4,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
9-4 Driving and Operating
Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on
page 5‑16.
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. Deciding to
push the brake pedal is perception
time. Actually doing it is
reaction time.
Average reaction time is about
three‐fourths of a second. But that is
only an average. It might be less
with one driver and as long as two
or three seconds or more with
another. Age, physical condition,
alertness, coordination, and
eyesight all play a part. So do
alcohol, drugs, and frustration.
But even in three‐fourths of a
second, a vehicle moving at
100 km/h (60 mph) travels
20 m (66 ft). That could be a lot
of distance in an emergency, so
keeping enough space between the
vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the
surface of the road, whether it is
pavement or gravel; the condition of
the road, whether it is wet, dry,
or icy; tire tread; the condition of the
brakes; the weight of the vehicle;
and the amount of brake force
applied.
Avoid needless heavy braking.
Some people drive in
spurts
—heavy acceleration
followed by heavy braking —rather
than keeping pace with traffic.
This is a mistake. The brakes might
not have time to cool between hard
stops. The brakes will wear out
much faster with a lot of heavy
braking. Keeping pace with the
traffic and allowing realistic following
distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life. If the engine ever stops while the
vehicle is being driven, brake
normally but do not pump the
brakes. If the brakes are pumped,
the pedal could get harder to push
down. If the engine stops, there will
still be some power brake assist but
it will be used when the brake is
applied. Once the power assist is
used up, it can take longer to stop
and the brake pedal will be harder
to push.
Adding non‐dealer accessories can
affect vehicle performance. See
Accessories and Modifications on
page 10‑3.

Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-7
Turn the steering wheel 8 to 13 cm
(3 to 5 in), about one-eighth turn,
until the right front tire contacts the
pavement edge. Then turn the
steering wheel to go straight down
the roadway.
Loss of Control
Let us review what driving experts
say about what happens when the
three control systems—brakes,
steering, and acceleration —do not
have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what the driver
has asked.
In any emergency, do not give up.
Keep trying to steer and constantly
seek an escape route or area of
less danger.
Skidding
In a skid, a driver can lose control of
the vehicle. Defensive drivers avoid
most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions,
and by not overdriving those
conditions. But skids are always
possible.
The three types of skids correspond
to the vehicle's three control
systems. In the braking skid, the
wheels are not rolling. In the
steering or cornering skid, too much
speed or steering in a curve causes
tires to slip and lose cornering force.
And in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving
wheels to spin.
If the vehicle starts to slide, ease
your foot off the accelerator pedal
and quickly steer the way you want
the vehicle to go. If you start
steering quickly enough, the vehicle
may straighten out. Always be ready
for a second skid if it occurs. Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety,
slow down and adjust your driving to
these conditions. It is important to
slow down on slippery surfaces
because stopping distance is longer
and vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with
reduced traction, try to avoid
sudden steering, acceleration,
or braking, including reducing
vehicle speed by shifting to a lower
gear. Any sudden changes could
cause the tires to slide. You might
not realize the surface is slippery
until the vehicle is skidding. Learn to
recognize warning clues
—such as
enough water, ice, or packed snow
on the road to make a mirrored
surface —and slow down when you
have any doubt.
Remember: Antilock brakes help
avoid only the braking skid.