Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 5/21/12
9-2 Driving and Operating
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Towing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Trailer SwayControl (TSC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On ElectricalEquipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Driving Information
Distracted Driving
Distraction comes in many forms
and can take your focus from the
task of driving. Exercise good
judgment and do not let other
activities divert your attention away
from the road. Many local
governments have enacted laws
regarding driver distraction. Become
familiar with the local laws in
your area.
To avoid distracted driving, always
keep your eyes on the road, hands
on the wheel, and mind on the drive.
.Do not use a phone in
demanding driving situations.
Use a hands-free method to
place or receive necessary
phone calls.
.Watch the road. Do not read,
take notes, or look up
information on phones or other
electronic devices.
.Designate a front seat
passenger to handle potential
distractions.
.Become familiar with vehicle
features before driving, such as
programming favorite radio
stations and adjusting climate
control and seat settings.
Program all trip information into
any navigation device prior to
driving.
.Wait until the vehicle is parked
to retrieve items that have fallen
to the floor.
.Stop or park the vehicle to tend
to children.
.Keep pets in an appropriate
carrier or restraint.
.Avoid stressful conversations
while driving, whether with a
passenger or on a cell phone.
Black plate (18,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 5/21/12
9-18 Driving and Operating
If the vehicle is carrying a heavy
load, it should be spread out.
See“Steps for Determining
Correct Load Limit” earlier in this
section.
{WARNING
Do not load the vehicle any
heavier than the Gross
Vehicle Weight Rating
(GVWR), or either the
maximum front or rear Gross
Axle Weight Rating (GAWR).
This can cause systems to
break and change the way the
vehicle handles. This could
cause loss of control and a
crash. Overloading can also
shorten the life of the vehicle.
Your warranty does not cover
parts or components that fail
because of overloading. The label will help you decide
how much cargo and installed
equipment your vehicle can
carry.
Using heavier suspension
components to get added
durability might not change your
weight ratings. Ask your dealer
to help you load your vehicle the
right way.
If you put things inside your
vehicle
–like suitcases, tools,
packages, or anything else –
they will go as fast as the
vehicle goes. If you have to stop
or turn quickly, or if there is a
crash, they will keep going.
{WARNING
Things inside the vehicle can
strike and injure people in a
sudden stop or turn, or in a
crash.
(Continued)
WARNING (CONTINUED)
.Put things in the cargo
area of the vehicle. In the
cargo area, put them as
far forward as possible.
Try to spread the weight
evenly.
.Never stack heavier
things, like suitcases,
inside the vehicle so that
some of them are above
the tops of the seats.
.Do not leave an
unsecured child restraint
in the vehicle.
.Secure loose items in the
vehicle.
.Do not leave a seat folded
down unless needed.
Black plate (2,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 5/21/12
i-2 INDEX
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-25
Blind Spot Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . 7-21, 7-23, 7-27
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-15
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-20 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28, 6-4
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27 Bulb Replacement (cont'd)
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-29
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Sidemarker, Stoplamps,
and Backup Lamps . . . . . . . . 10-28
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
California
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12 Cargo
Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Tie-Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-1
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-55
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-13
Check Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Ignition
Transmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-24
Child Restraints Infants and YoungChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46, 3-49
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-71
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-74
Black plate (5,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 5/21/12
INDEX i-5
Fuel (cont'd)Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-47
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-20
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-47
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Fuel Economy Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Fuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30 Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-37Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Gauges
Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9 Gauges (cont'd)
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Warning Lights and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5
H
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
HeadlampsAiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Daytime RunningLamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, Sidemarker, and
Parking Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27 Headlamps (cont'd)
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-1
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Heated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Heater Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Heating and Air
Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1, 8-3
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-11
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Ignition Transmission Lock
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Black plate (7,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 5/21/12
INDEX i-7
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluidsand Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-13
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Messages
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-26
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-28
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Service Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30 Messages (cont'd)
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Mirrors Automatic DimmingRearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Blind Spot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Multi-band Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
N
Navigation OnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-28
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . .10-11
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-32
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-4
OnStar
®
System, In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
OnStar®Additional
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
OnStar
®Connections . . . . . . . . . . 14-4
OnStar®Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
OnStar®Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
OnStar®Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
OnStar®Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
OnStar®Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Operation, Infotainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Black plate (9,1)Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual - 2013 - CRC - 5/21/12
INDEX i-9
Remote Keyless Entry(RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2, 2-3
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Replacement Parts Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-13
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-32
Replacing LATCH System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
Replacing Safety Belt
System Parts after a Crash . . . 3-18
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-13
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-12
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Ride Control Systems
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Roads Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Roadside Assistance
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-5 Roof
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-49
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-4
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-18
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-16
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-13
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-13
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-12
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . 13-7 Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-5
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-4
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46, 3-49
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Vehicle Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Service Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-3
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-15
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1