
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
10446639) - 2018 - CRC - 8/18/17
164 Lighting
The exterior lamps turn off
immediately by turning the exterior
lamp control off.
This feature can be changed. See
Vehicle Personalization0145.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.
When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the
voltage move up or down. This is
normal. If there is a problem, an
alert will be displayed. The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning fast
enough at idle to produce all of the
power needed for very high
electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on, such
as: headlamps, high beams, rear
window defogger, climate control fan
at high speed, heated seats, engine
cooling fans, trailer loads, and loads
plugged into accessory power
outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessive
discharge of the battery. It does this
by balancing the generator's output
and the vehicle's electrical needs.
It can increase engine idle speed to
generate more power whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce
the power demands of some
accessories.
Normally, these actions occur in
steps or levels, without being
noticeable. In rare cases at the
highest levels of corrective action,this action may be noticeable to the
driver. If so, a DIC message might
be displayed and it is recommended
that the driver reduce the electrical
loads as much as possible.
Battery Power Protection
This feature shuts off the interior
lamps if they are left on for more
than 10 minutes when the ignition is
off. This helps to prevent the battery
from running down.
Exterior Lighting Battery
Saver
The exterior lamps turn off about
10 minutes after the ignition is
turned off, if the parking lamps or
headlamps have been manually left
on. This protects against draining
the battery. To restart the 10-minute
timer, turn the exterior lamp control
to the off position and then back to
the parking lamp or headlamp
position.
To keep the lamps on for more than
10 minutes, the ignition must be on
or in ACC/ACCESSORY.

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Driving and Operating 249
FCA can be disabled with the FCA
steering wheel control, or if
equipped, through vehicle
personalization. See“Collision/
Detection Systems” underVehicle
Personalization 0145.
Detecting the Vehicle Ahead
FCA warnings will not occur unless
the FCA system detects a vehicle
ahead. When a vehicle is detected,
the vehicle ahead indicator will
display green. Vehicles may not be
detected on curves, highway exit
ramps, or hills, due to poor visibility;
or if a vehicle ahead is partially
blocked by pedestrians or other
objects. FCA will not detect another
vehicle ahead until it is completely
in the driving lane.
{Warning
FCA does not provide a warning
to help avoid a crash, unless it
detects a vehicle. FCA may not
detect a vehicle ahead if the FCA
sensor is blocked by dirt, snow,
or ice, or if the windshield is
damaged. It may also not detect a
vehicle on winding or hilly roads,
or in conditions that can limit
visibility such as fog, rain,
or snow, or if the headlamps or
windshield are not cleaned or in
proper condition. Keep the
windshield, headlamps, and FCA
sensors clean and in good repair.
Collision Alert
When your vehicle approaches
another detected vehicle too rapidly,
the red FCA display will flash on the
windshield. Also, eight rapid
high-pitched beeps will sound from
the front, or both sides of the Safety
Alert Seat will pulse five times.
When this Collision Alert occurs, the
brake system may prepare for driver
braking to occur more rapidly which
can cause a brief, mild deceleration.
Continue to apply the brake pedal
as needed. Cruise control may be
disengaged when the Collision Alert
occurs.
Tailgating Alert
The vehicle ahead indicator will
display amber when you are
following a vehicle ahead much too
closely.

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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278 Vehicle Care
Vehicle Care
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 279
California Proposition65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . . 280
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your OwnService Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . 292
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . 293
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . . . 299
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
Brake Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Battery - North America . . . . . . 303
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 304
Automatic Transmission Shift
Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Park Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . . . 304
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 305
Windshield Replacement . . . . . 306
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Headlamp Aiming
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Bulb Replacement
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Front Turn Signal and Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . 311
Electrical System
Electrical System Overload . . . 311
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 312
Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 Instrument Panel Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Wheels and Tires
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Summer Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . 321
Tire Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
Tire Terminology andDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 338

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Vehicle Care 309
Headlamps
Bi-halogen headlamp shown.
Driver Side Shown, PassengerSide Similar
1. Headlamp
To replace one of the headlamp
bulbs:
1. Open the hood. See Hood
0 281.
2. For the driver side bulb, remove the battery cover.
Remove the windshield washer bottle filler neck by firmly
pulling it straight up and out of
the bottle.
For the passenger side,
remove the air cleaner cover.
3. Remove the cover from the back of the headlamp
assembly by turning it
counterclockwise.
4. Disconnect the electrical connector.
5. Remove the bulb from the lamp assembly by turning
counterclockwise.
6. Install a new bulb in the lamp assembly.
7. Connect the electrical connector.
8. Replace the cover from the back of the headlamp
assembly by turning it
clockwise.
9. For the driver side, reinstall the battery cover. Reinstall the
windshield washer bottle filler
neck by firmly pushing it
straight into the bottle. Make sure that the filler neck clip
engages into the bracket on
the upper tie-bar.
For the passenger side,
reinstall the air cleaner cover.
Front Turn Signal and
Fog Lamps
Driver Side Shown, Passenger
Side Similar
To replace one of these lamps: 1. Remove the fastener to remove the access panel.

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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314 Vehicle Care
FusesUsage
F10 Canister vent F11 Fuel system
F12 Front heated seats
F13 Afterboil pump
F14 –
F15 Lambda sensor 2
F16 Fuel injectors –odd
F17 Fuel injectors –even
F18 –/Selective catalytic
reduction module
(diesel only)
F19 –/NOx soot sensor
(diesel only)
F20 DC DC converter 2
F21 Shift control
F22 Antilock brake pump
F23 Front washer
F24 –
F25 –/Diesel fuel heater
(diesel only)
F26 – Fuses
Usage
F27 Antilock brake VAL
F28 LD trailer
F29 Rear window defogger
F30 Mirror defroster
F31 –
F32 Variable functions
F33 –
F34 Horn
F35 Vacuum pump
F36 Right high-beam headlamp
F37 Left high-beam headlamp
F38 Automatic headlamp leveling
F39 Fog lamps
F40 –
F41 Transmission range control module
F42 Motorized headlamp Fuses
Usage
F43 Fuel pump
F44 Interior rearview mirror
F45 Canister vent solenoid
F46 Driver side Ventilated Seat
F47 Steering column lock assembly
F48 Rear wiper
F49 –
F50 Heated steering wheel
F51 Right headlamp
F52 Engine control module/
Transmission control
F53 –
F54 Front wiper
F55 Front wiper speed/ Control
F56 –

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Vehicle Care 315
FusesUsage
F57 Left headlamp
Relays Usage
K01 Starter solenoid
K02 Air conditioning control
K03 –
K04 Wiper control
K05 Starter Solenoid
K06 –/Fuel
heater (diesel only)
K07 –
K08 –
K09 Wiper speed
K10 –
K11 –
K12 High-beam headlamps
K13 Headlamps/Daytime running lamps
K14 Run/Crank Relays
Usage
K15 Rear window defogger
*K16 Horn
*K17 Selective catalytic reduction
*K18 Fog lamps
*K19 Coolant pump
*K20 –
*K21 Rear washer
*K22 Front washer
*K23 Wiper control
* PCB relays are not serviceable.Instrument Panel Fuse
Block
The instrument panel fuse block is
under the instrument panel on the
driver side.
To access the fuses, press and
release the latch near the top center
square.

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
10446639) - 2018 - CRC - 8/18/17
416 Index
Apple CarPlay andAndroid Auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Assistance Systems for
Parking and Backing . . . . . . . . . . 245
Audio Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . 166
Automatic
Dimming Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Forward Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Shift Lock Control FunctionCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Avoiding Untrusted Media Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173B
Battery
Exterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Battery - North America . . . . 303, 354
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . . . 305
Bluetooth Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180, 181
Brake Parking, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 132
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Automatic Forward . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 215
Bulb Replacement Front Turn Signal and FogLamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308, 309 Bulb Replacement (cont'd)
High Intensity Discharge
(HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . . . .311
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
California
Proposition
65 Warning . . . . . . . . . .279, 303, 354, Back Cover
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . 2
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Tie-Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110
Caution, Danger, and Warning . . . . 3

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Index 419
Filter,Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 160
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369
Fluid
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 293
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Diesel Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Forward Automatic Braking . . . . . 250
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Frequency Statement Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . . . 66
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Biodiesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Cold Weather Operation . . . . . . 262 Fuel (cont'd)
Diesel Engines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . 266, 268
Filter Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 137
Requirements, California . . . . . 257
Running out of Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Water in Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
What to Use in Canada and Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
What to Use in the U.S. . . . . . . 259
Fuel for Diesel Engines . . . . . . . . . 258
Fuses Engine Compartment FuseBlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . 312
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Garage Door Opener (cont'd)
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Gauges Engine CoolantTemperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
General Information
Service and Maintenance . . . . . 371
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
GM Mobility Reimbursement
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Hands-Free Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 160
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308