Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/12/20
242 Driving and Operating
Trailer Towing
General Towing Information
Only use towing equipment that has been
designed for the vehicle. Contact your dealer
or trailering dealer for assistance with
preparing the vehicle to tow a trailer. Read
the entire section before towing a trailer.
To tow a disabled vehicle, seeTowing the
Vehicle 0310. To tow the vehicle behind
another vehicle such as a motor home, see
Recreational Vehicle Towing 0312.
Driving Characteristics and
Towing Tips
{Warning
You can lose control when towing a
trailer if the correct equipment is not
used or the vehicle is not driven properly.
For example, if the trailer is too heavy or
the trailer brakes are inadequate for the
load, the vehicle may not stop as
expected. You and others could be
seriously injured. The vehicle may also be
damaged, and the repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty. Pull a
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
trailer only if all the steps in this section
have been followed. Ask your dealer for
advice and information about towing a
trailer with the vehicle.
Driving with a Trailer
Trailering is different than just driving the
vehicle by itself. Trailering means changes in
handling, acceleration, braking, durability,
and fuel economy. Successful, safe trailering
takes correct equipment, and it has to be
used properly.
The following information has many
time-tested, important trailering tips and
safety rules. Many of these are important
for your safety and that of your passengers.
Read this section carefully before pulling a
trailer.
When towing a trailer:
.Become familiar with and follow all state
and local laws that apply to trailer
towing. These requirements vary from
state to state.
.State laws may require the use of
extended side view mirrors. Even if not
required, you should install extended side
view mirrors if your visibility is limited or
restricted while towing.
.Do not tow a trailer during the first
800 km (500 mi) of vehicle use to prevent
damage to the engine, axle, or other
parts.
.It is recommended to perform the first oil
change before heavy towing.
.During the first 800 km (500 mi) of trailer
towing, do not drive over 80 km/h
(50 mph) and do not make starts at full
throttle.
.Vehicles can tow in D (Drive). If the
transmission downshifts too often, a
lower gear may be selected using Manual
Mode SeeManual Mode 0208.
If equipped, the following driver assistance
features should be turned off when towing
a trailer:
.Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
.Super Cruise Control
.Lane Keep Assist (LKA)
.Park Assist
.Automatic Parking Assist (APA)
.Reverse Automatic Braking (RAB)
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/10/20
Index 357
IndexA
About Driving the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Adaptive Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Add-On Electrical Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Additional InformationOnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Additional Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . 328
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Agreements Trademarks and License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177, 179
Air Filter
Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . .182
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
How Does an Airbag Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . 50
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . 50
What Will You See after an AirbagInflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . 49
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Airbags
Adding Equipment to the Vehicle . . . . . . . 55
Passenger Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . 55
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Alarm
Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Alert Lane Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Side Blind Zone (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
All-Season Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209, 266
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Antenna Multi-band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto . . . . . . . . . .158
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . .341
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . 230
Assistance Systems for Parking and Backing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Audio Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/10/20
Index 359
Climate Control Systems (cont'd)Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85, 88
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Compartments Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Compressor Kit, Tire Sealant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Connected Services Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Connections Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Control Traction and Electronic Stability . . . . . . . . 211
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187
Controls
Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Convex Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Coolant Engine Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Cooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177, 179 Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Courtesy Transportation Program . . . . . . . . 343
Cover
Cargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Coverage Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Covers Rear Compartment/Storage Panel . . . . . . . 75
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Cruise Control, Adaptive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Cupholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Customer Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 Offices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Customer Information Publications Ordering Information . . . . . 345
Customer Satisfaction Procedure . . . . . . . . . 338
Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Danger, Warning, and Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Data Collection Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
OnStar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 Database Coverage Explanations . . . . . . . . . 149
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Diagnostics
Connected Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Door Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Drive Systems All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209, 266
Driver Teen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Driver Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . 101, 105
Driving Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Characteristics and Towing Tips . . . . . . . . 242
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/10/20
362 Index
InformationPublication Ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85, 88
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Interior Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1, 123
J
Jump Starting - North America . . . . . . . . . . . 308
K
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Lamps Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . 122
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Malfunction Indicator (CheckEngine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Lamps (cont'd)
Taillamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Lane Keep Assist Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
LATCH System Replacing Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 68
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Lighting Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Antilock Brake System (ABS)Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Check Engine (Malfunction Indicator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Lights (cont'd)
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Lane Keep Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Service Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . 96
StabiliTrak OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Traction Control System
(TCS)/StabiliTrak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Locks Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62