
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13555863) - 2020 - CRC - 8/2/19
Lighting 151
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior
lamps turn on briefly at night, or in
areas with limited lighting, when
K
is pressed on the Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) transmitter. When a
door is opened, the interior lamps
come on. They stay on for about
20 seconds. When all of the doors
have been closed or the ignition is
turned on, they gradually fade out.
This feature can be changed. See
“Vehicle Locator Lights”under
Vehicle Personalization 0134.
Exit Lighting
Some exterior lamps and interior
lamps come on at night, or in areas
with limited lighting, when the driver
door is opened after the ignition is
turned off. The dome lamp comes
on after the ignition is turned off.
The exterior lamps and dome lamp
remain on for a set amount of time,
then automatically turn off. The exterior lamps turn off
immediately by turning the exterior
lamp control off.
This feature can be changed. See
Vehicle Personalization
0134.
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,

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13555863) - 2020 - CRC - 8/2/19
158 Climate Controls
Auto Defog :The climate control
system may have a sensor to
automatically detect high humidity
inside the vehicle. When high
humidity is detected, the climate
control system may adjust to
outside air supply and turn on the
air conditioner. The fan speed may
slightly increase to help prevent
fogging. If the climate control
system does not detect possible
window fogging, it returns to normal
operation.
To turn Auto Defog off or on, see
“Climate and Air Quality” under
Vehicle Personalization 0134.
Rear Window Defogger
K:Press to turn the rear window
defogger on or off. An indicator light
on the button comes on to show that
the rear window defogger is on. The
defogger only works when the
ignition is on.
The defogger can be turned off by
turning the ignition to off or ACC/
ACCESSORY. The rear window defogger can be
set to automatic operation. See
“Climate and Air Quality”
under
Vehicle Personalization 0134.
When auto rear defog is selected,
the rear window defogger turns on
automatically when the interior
temperature is cold and the outside
temperature is about 7 °C (44 °F)
and below. The Auto Rear Defogger
turns off automatically.
If the vehicle is equipped with
heated outside mirrors, they turn on
when the rear window defogger
button is on and help to clear fog or
frost from the surface of the mirror.
See Heated Mirrors 029.Caution
Do not try to clear frost or other
material from the inside of the
front windshield and rear window
with a razor blade or anything
else that is sharp. This may
damage the rear window
defogger grid and affect the
(Continued)
Caution (Continued)
radio's ability to pick up stations
clearly. The repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Driver and Passenger Heated and
Ventilated Front Seats :
If equipped, press
LorMto heat
the driver or passenger seat.
If equipped, press
{orCto
ventilate the driver or passenger
seat. See Heated and Ventilated
Front Seats 043.
Remote Start Climate Control
Operation (If Equipped) : If the
vehicle is equipped with the remote
start feature, the climate control
system may run when the vehicle is
started remotely. The system uses
the driver ’s previous settings to heat
or cool the inside of the vehicle. The
rear defog may come on during
remote start based on cold ambient
conditions. If the vehicle has heated
or ventilated seats, they may come

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13555863) - 2020 - CRC - 8/2/19
Climate Controls 159
on during a remote start. See
Remote Vehicle Start015 and
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats
0 43.
Sensor
The solar sensor on top of the
instrument panel near the
windshield monitors the solar heat.
The climate control system uses the
sensor information to adjust the
temperature, fan speed,
recirculation, and air delivery mode
for best comfort.
Do not cover the sensor; otherwise
the automatic climate control system
may not work properly.
Air Vents
Use the louvers located on the air
vents to change the direction of the
airflow.
To open or close off the airflow:
.
On the center air vents, move
the slider knobs up or down.
. On the outer and rear air vents,
move the slider knobs right
or left.
Operation Tips
. Clear away any ice, snow,
or leaves from air inlets at the
base of the windshield that could
block the flow of air into the
vehicle.
. Clear snow off the hood to
improve visibility and help
decrease moisture drawn into
the vehicle, which may improve
long term system performance.
. Keep the path under the front
seats clear of objects to help
circulate the air inside of the
vehicle more effectively. .
Use of non-GM approved hood
deflectors can adversely affect
the performance of the system.
Check with your dealer before
adding equipment to the outside
of the vehicle.
. Do not attach any devices to the
air vent slats. This restricts
airflow and may cause damage
to the air vents.

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13555863) - 2020 - CRC - 8/2/19
Index 407
Headlamps (cont'd)Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Front Turn Signal and Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 122
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . 146
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . 123
Heated Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Heater
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154, 156
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 173
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . . 207
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
How to Wear Seat Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 HVAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154, 156
I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Indicator
Pedestrian Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Vehicle Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Information Publication Ordering . . . . . . . . . . 386
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . 102, 106
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . . . . 5
Interior Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . 30
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
J
Jump Starting - North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
K
Keyless Entry
Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . 8
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . . . 308 Lamps
Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . 146
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Exterior Lighting BatterySaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Malfunction Indicator (Check Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . . 236
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . 238
Lane Keep Assist Light . . . . . . . . . 118
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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Index 411
Service (cont'd)Climate Control System . . . . . . . 154
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 267
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . . 372
Maintenance, General
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Parts Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 383
Service Electric Parking
Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Services Special Application . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . 236
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Spare Tire
Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Special Application Services . . . . 366
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 StabiliTrak
OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Start Assist, Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Heated Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Storage Areas
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Rear Compartment/StoragePanel Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Sunglasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Storage Compartments . . . . . . . . . . 88
Storing the Tire Sealant and
Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Struts Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Sunglass Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
System
Forward CollisionAlert (FCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153, 390
Roof Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Systems Driver Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . 380
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . 27Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
All-Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13555863) - 2020 - CRC - 8/2/19
412 Index
Tires (cont'd)Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Pressure Monitor Operation . . 316
Pressure Monitor System . . . . . 315
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Sealant and
Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Sealant and Compressor Kit, Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Terminology and Definitions . . .311
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
Wheel Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 326
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Tow/Haul Mode Light . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 254
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 254
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . 346
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Towing (cont'd)
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak Light . . . . . . 120
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119
Traction Control/Electronic Stability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Trailer
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Transportation Program,
Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
U
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . 324
Universal Remote System . . . . . . 140
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
V
Vehicle Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Vehicle (cont'd)
Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Identification Number (VIN) . . . 373
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Speed Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . 118
Vehicle Care Storing the Tire Sealantand Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . 335
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Vehicle Data Recording and
Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
W
Wait to Start Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . .116