Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/12/20
184 Driving and Operating
Driving and Operating
Driving Information
Driver Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Vehicle Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . 186
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Impaired Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Winter Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . 204
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Parking over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . 205
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . 206
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Brakes
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . 209
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Adaptive Cruise Control (Camera) . . . . . . 217
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Assistance Systems for Parking orBacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . 230
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) . . . 232
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Fuel
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Recommended Fuel (LYX - 1.5L L4 Turbo Engine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . 241
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/12/20
240 Driving and Operating
Fuels in Foreign Countries
The U.S., Canada, and Mexico post fuel
octane ratings in anti-knock index (AKI). For
fuel not to use in a foreign country, see
Prohibited Fuels0239.
Fuel Additives
TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is highly
recommended for use with your vehicle.
If your country does not have TOP TIER
Detergent Gasoline, add ACDelco Fuel
System Treatment Plus−Gasoline to the
vehicle’s gasoline fuel tank at every oil
change or 15 000 km (9,000 mi), whichever
occurs first. TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline and
ACDelco Fuel System Treatment Plus
−Gasoline will help keep your vehicle’s
engine fuel deposit free and performing
optimally.
Filling the Tank
An arrow on the fuel gauge indicates which
side of the vehicle the fuel door is on. See
Fuel Gauge 090.
{Warning
Fuel vapors and fuel fires burn violently
and can cause injury or death.
Follow these guidelines to help avoid
injuries to you and others:
.Read and follow all the instructions on
the fuel pump island.
.Turn off the engine when refueling.
.Keep sparks, flames, and smoking
materials away from fuel.
.Do not leave the fuel pump
unattended.
.Avoid using electronic devices while
refueling.
.Do not re-enter the vehicle while
pumping fuel.
.Keep children away from the fuel
pump and never let children
pump fuel.
.Before touching the fill nozzle, touch a
metallic object to discharge static
electricity from your body.
(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
.Fuel can spray out if the fill nozzle is
inserted too quickly. This spray can
happen if the tank is nearly full, and is
more likely in hot weather. Insert the
fill nozzle slowly and wait for any hiss
noise to stop before beginning to
flow fuel.
To open the fuel door, push and release the
rearward center edge of the door.
The capless refueling system does not have
a fuel cap. Fully insert and latch the fill
nozzle, begin fueling.
Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
14420010) - 2021 - CRC - 11/10/20
Index 361
FuelAdditives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Economy, Driving for Better . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . 241
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Prohibited Fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Top Tier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Fuses Engine Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . 274
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . 278
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Gas Strut(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Gauges
Engine Coolant Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Gauges (cont'd)
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . 85
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Global Positioning System (GPS) . . . . . . . . . .147
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
GM Mobility Reimbursement
Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341
Guidance Problems with the Route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
HD Radio Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . 118
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Front Turn Signal and Fog Lamps . . . . . . . 271
High Intensity Discharge (HID)Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Headlamps (cont'd)
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Heated Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats . . . . . . . .35
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Heater
Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177, 179
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
How to Wear Seat Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . 40
HVAC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177, 179
I
If the System Needs Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Indicator Pedestrian Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Vehicle Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . 58