
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9918169) - 2017 - CRC - 3/23/16
194 Driving and Operating
Warning (Continued)
When towing a trailer:. Do not drive with the
liftgate, trunk/hatch,
or rear-most window open.
. Fully open the air outlets on
or under the instrument
panel.
. Also adjust the climate
control system to a setting
that brings in only outside
air. See “Climate Control
Systems” in the Index.
For information about carbon
monoxide, see Engine
Exhaust 0169.
Towing a trailer requires a certain
amount of experience. The
combination you are driving is
longer and not as responsive as the
vehicle itself. Get acquainted with
the handling and braking of the rig
before setting out for the open road. Before starting, check all trailer hitch
parts and attachments, safety
chains, electrical connectors, lamps,
tires and mirrors. If the trailer has
electric brakes, start the
combination moving and then apply
the trailer brake controller by hand
to be sure the brakes work.
During the trip, check occasionally
to be sure that the load is secure
and the lamps and any trailer
brakes still work.
Towing with a Stability Control
System
When towing, the sound of the
stability control system might be
heard. The system is reacting to the
vehicle movement caused by the
trailer, which mainly occurs during
cornering. This is normal when
towing heavier trailers.
Following Distance
Stay at least twice as far behind the
vehicle ahead as you would when
driving the vehicle without a trailer.
This can help to avoid situations
that require heavy braking and
sudden turns.
Passing
More passing distance is needed
when towing a trailer. Because the
rig is longer, it is necessary to go
farther beyond the passed vehicle
before returning to the lane.
Backing Up
Hold the bottom of the steering
wheel with one hand. To move the
trailer to the left, move your hand to
the left. To move the trailer to the
right, move your hand to the right.
Always back up slowly and,
if possible, have someone
guide you.
Making Turns
Caution
Making very sharp turns while
trailering could cause the trailer to
come in contact with the vehicle.
The vehicle could be damaged.
Avoid making very sharp turns
while trailering.

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9918169) - 2017 - CRC - 3/23/16
Vehicle Care 249
Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), which grades tires by
treadwear, traction, and
temperature performance. This
applies only to vehicles sold in
the United States. The grades
are molded on the sidewalls of
most passenger car tires. The
Uniform Tire Quality Grading
(UTQG) system does not apply
to deep tread, winter tires,
compact spare tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production
tires.
While the tires available on
General Motors passenger cars
and light trucks may vary with
respect to these grades, they
must also conform to federal
safety requirements and
additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC)
standards.Quality grades can be found
where applicable on the tire
sidewall between tread shoulder
and maximum section width. For
example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA
Temperature A
All Passenger Car Tires Must
Conform to Federal Safety
Requirements In Addition To
These Grades.
Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a
comparative rating based on the
wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a
specified government test
course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and
one-half (1½) times as well on
the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative
performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of
their use, however, and may
depart significantly from thenorm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and
differences in road
characteristics and climate.
Traction
The traction grades, from
highest to lowest, are AA, A, B,
and C. Those grades represent
the tire's ability to stop on wet
pavement as measured under
controlled conditions on
specified government test
surfaces of asphalt and
concrete. A tire marked C may
have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade
assigned to this tire is based on
straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include
acceleration, cornering,
hydroplaning, or peak traction
characteristics.
Temperature
The temperature grades are A
(the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire's resistance

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
9918169) - 2017 - CRC - 3/23/16
316 Index
IndexA
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . 199
Additional Information OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311
Additional Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Adjustments
Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . . . 211
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Passenger Sensing System . . . . 66
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . . 62 Airbags
Adding Equipment to the
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 104
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Alert
Side Blind Zone (SBZA) . . . . . . 185
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . 173, 222
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . 173 Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . 142
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . .211

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Index 317
Automatic TransmissionManual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Shift Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
B
BatteryExterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Voltage and Charging Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Battery - North America . . . . 221, 260
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . . . 223
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 108
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 163
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Bulb Replacement (cont'd)
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . . . 226
Taillamps, Turn Signal,
Stoplamps, and Back-up
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
California Proposition
65 Warning . . . . . . . . . .201, 221, 260
Camera Rear Vision (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . 2
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Tie-Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Caution, Danger, and Warning . . . . 3
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . . 91
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . 105
Check
Ignition Transmission Lock . . . 223
Malfunction IndicatorEngine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Child Restraints Infants and Young Children . . . . . 74
Lower Anchors and Tethersfor Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85, 87
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . 140 Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . . 299
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Compartments Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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324 Index
Securing Child Restraints . . . . 85, 87
SecurityLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Vehicle Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Service Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Climate Control System . . . . . . . 140
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 202
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . . 287
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 288
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 298
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Services Special Application . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Shifting
Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . 185
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Spare Tire
Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Special Application Services . . . . 282
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Start Assist, Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Storage Areas
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Storage Areas (cont'd)
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Storage Compartments . . . . . . . . . . 91
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Summer Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
System
Forward CollisionAlert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139, 305
Roof Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Taillamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . 295
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . 38 Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 All-Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259