Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/12/20
208 Driving and Operating
Manual Mode
Electronic Range Select (ERS) Mode
ERS or manual mode allows for the selection
of the range of gear positions. Use this
mode when driving downhill or towing a
trailer to limit the top gear and vehicle
speed. The shift position indicator within the
Driver Information Center (DIC) will display a
number next to the L indicating the highest
available gear under manual mode and the
driving conditions when manual mode was
selected.
To use this feature:1. Move the shift lever to L (Manual Mode).
2. Press the plus/minus button on the shift lever, to increase or decrease the gear
range available.
When shifting to L (Manual Mode), the
transmission will shift to a preset lower gear
range. For this preset range, the highest
gear available is displayed next to the L in
the DIC. See Driver Information Center (DIC)
(Base and Midlevel) 0101 or
Driver Information Center (DIC) (Uplevel)
0 105 for more information. All gears below
that number are available to use. For
example, when 4 (Fourth) is shown next to
the L, 1 (First) through 4 (Fourth) gears are
shifted automatically. To shift to 5 (Fifth)
gear, press the + (Plus) button or shift into
D (Drive).
L (Manual Mode) will prevent shifting to a
lower gear range if the engine speed is too
high. If vehicle speed is not reduced within
the time allowed, the lower gear range shift
will not be completed. Slow the vehicle,
then press the −(Minus) button to the
desired lower gear range.
While using the ERS, cruise control can
be used.Tow/Haul Mode
This feature can assist when towing or
hauling a heavy load.
_: Select Tow/Haul Mode by pressing
the button on the center console. Mode
availability is dependent upon vehicle trim
level, region, and optional features.
When Tow/Haul is activated, the Tow/Haul
symbol will come on in the instrument
cluster. A Tow/Haul ON message will also
appear in the DIC. For vehicles equipped
with All Wheel Drive (AWD), the AWD
indicator will come on. Tow/Haul will
remain active until the next key cycle. See
Driving Characteristics and Towing Tips
0 242.
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/12/20
Driving and Operating 209
Automatic Engine Grade Braking
Automatic Engine Grade Braking assists
when driving downhill. It maintains vehicle
speed by automatically implementing a shift
pattern that uses the engine and the
transmission to slow the vehicle. The system
will automatically command downshifts to
reduce vehicle speed. The normal shift
pattern will return once the vehicle is on a
low grade or when the accelerator pedal is
pressed.
While in the Electronic Range Select (ERS)
mode, grade braking is deactivated, allowing
the driver to select a range and limiting the
highest gear available. Grade braking is
available for normal driving and in Tow/
Haul Mode.
SeeAutomatic Transmission 0206.
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive
Vehicles with this feature can operate in
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) Mode.
The AWD system delivers power to all four
wheels and the system adjusts as needed to
improve traction. Press the AWD switch on the center console
to activate the system. The AWD light will
flash briefly while the system is engaging
and stay lit to indicate AWD is active. Press
the switch again to disable the system. The
light will flash briefly while the system
disables and then stay off.
The AWD Mode will stay selected until the
mode is changed.
When operated in two-wheel drive, the
vehicle will deliver power to the front
wheels only and may provide better fuel
economy.
A system off message displays when there
is a temporary condition making the AWD
system unavailable. The vehicle will run in
two-wheel drive.
This could be caused by:
.A compact spare tire on the vehicle.
.AWD system overheat.
.Loss of wheel or vehicle speed.
.Certain other vehicle electrical conditions.
The message turns off when the compact
spare tire is replaced by a full-size tire, the
differential fluid cools, or the above
conditions are no longer present and the
warning message is reset. To reset the warning message manually,
turn the ignition off and then back on again
after 30 seconds. If the message stays on,
see your dealer.
Brakes
Antilock Brake System (ABS)
The Antilock Brake System (ABS) helps
prevent a braking skid and maintain steering
while braking hard.
ABS performs a system check when the
vehicle is first driven. A momentary motor
or clicking noise may be heard while this
test is going on, and the brake pedal may
move slightly. This is normal.
If there is a problem with ABS, this warning
light stays on. See
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light 096.
ABS does not change the time needed to
get a foot on the brake pedal and does not
always decrease stopping distance. If you
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/10/20
358 Index
Auto StopStop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Automatic Dimming Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Emergency Braking (AEB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Shift Lock Control Function Check . . . . . . 267
Avoiding Untrusted Media Devices . . . . . . . . 132
B
Battery Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . 122
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Battery - North America . . . . . . . . . . . . 266, 308
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Bluetooth Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154, 155
Bluetooth Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Brake Parking, Electric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Brakes (cont'd)
Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 Automatic Emergency (AEB) . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Braking System
Front Pedestrian (FPB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Bulb Replacement Front Turn Signal and Fog Lamps . . . . . . . 271
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
High Intensity Discharge (HID)Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . 251
California Proposition 65 Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251, 266, 308,
Back Cover
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Carbon Monoxide
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Tie-Downs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Caution, Danger, and Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Charging Wireless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Check Engine Light (Malfunction Indicator) . . . . 94
Child Restraints Infants and Young Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Lower Anchors and Tethers forChildren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 70
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/10/20
Index 365
RoofSunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Roof Rack System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . 206
S
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Sealant Kit, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Seat Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
How to Wear Seat Belts Properly . . . . . . . 40
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Seats (cont'd)
Heated and Ventilated Front . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Heated, Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Securing Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69, 70
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Vehicle Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183 Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . 252
Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . 322
Parts Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Service Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . 96
Services Special Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Servicing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Shift Lock Control Function Check,
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Software Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Spare Tire Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Special Application Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
StabiliTrak
OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Start Assist, Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187 Heated Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Storage Areas Cargo Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75