2008 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual Seats and Restraint Systems ........................... 1-1 Front Seats ............................................... 1-2 Rear Seats .............................................. 1-10 Safety Belts ............................................. 1-12 Child Restraints ....................................... 1-31 Airbag System ......................................... 1-56 Restraint System Check ............................ 1-72 Features and Controls ..................................... 2-1 Keys ........................................................ 2-3 Doors and Locks ...................................... 2-10 Windows ................................................. 2-15 Theft-Deterrent Systems ............................ 2-17 Starting and Operating Your Vehicle ........... 2-20 Mirrors .................................................... 2-37 OnStar® System ...................................... 2-39 Storage Areas ......................................... 2-42 Sunroof .................................................. 2-49 Instrument Panel ............................................. 3-1 Instrument Panel Overview .......................... 3-4 Climate Controls ...................................... 3-19 Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators ........ 3-24 Driver Information Center (DIC) .................. 3-42 Audio System(s) ....................................... 3-64 M Driving Your Vehicle ....................................... 4-1 Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle ..... 4-2 Towing ................................................... 4-28 Service and Appearance Care .......................... 5-1 Service ..................................................... 5-3 Fuel ......................................................... 5-5 Checking Things Under the Hood ............... 5-10 All-Wheel Drive ........................................ 5-42 Headlamp Aiming ..................................... 5-44 Bulb Replacement .................................... 5-44 Windshield Wiper Blade Replacement ......... 5-50 Tires ...................................................... 5-52 Appearance Care ..................................... 5-89 Vehicle Identification ................................. 5-99 Electrical System .................................... 5-100 Capacities and Specifications ................... 5-107 Maintenance Schedule ..................................... 6-1 Maintenance Schedule ................................ 6-2 Customer Assistance Information .................... 7-1 Customer Assistance and Information ........... 7-2 Reporting Safety Defects ........................... 7-14 Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy ........... 7-16 Index ................................................................ 1 Canadian Owners A French language copy of this manual can be obtained from your dealer/retailer or from: Helm, Incorporated P.O. Box 07130 Detroit, MI 48207 1-800-551-4123 www.helminc.com GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, CHEVROLET, the CHEVROLET Emblem, and the name EQUINOX are registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation. This manual includes the latest information at the time it was printed. We reserve the right to make changes after that time without notice. For vehicles first sold in Canada, substitute the name "General Motors of Canada Limited" for Chevrolet Motor Division whenever it appears in this manual. This manual describes features that may be available in this model, but your vehicle may not be have all of them. For example, more than one entertainment system may be offered or your vehicle may have been ordered without a front passenger or rear seats. Keep this manual in the vehicle for quick reference. Propriétaires Canadiens On peut obtenir un exemplaire de ce guide en français auprès de concessionnaire ou à l'adresse suivante: Helm Incorporated P.O. Box 07130 Detroit, MI 48207 1-800-551-4123 www.helminc.com Litho in U.S.A. Part No. 15860879 A First Printing ii © 2007 General Motors Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Using this Manual Many people read the owner manual from beginning to end when they first receive their new vehicle to learn about the vehicle's features and controls. Pictures and words work together to explain things. {CAUTION: These mean there is something that could hurt you or other people. We tell you what the hazard is and what to do to help avoid or reduce the hazard. Please read these cautions. If you do not, you or others could be hurt. A circle with a slash through it is a safety symbol which means "Do Not," "Do Not do this" or "Do Not let this happen." Index A good place to quickly locate information about the vehicle is the Index in the back of the manual. It is an alphabetical list of what is in the manual and the page number where it can be found. Safety Warnings and Symbols There are a number of safety cautions in this book. A box with the word CAUTION is used to tell about things that could hurt you or others if you were to ignore the warning. iii Vehicle Damage Warnings You will also find notices in this manual. Notice: These mean there is something that could damage your vehicle. A notice tells about something that can damage the vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be covered by your vehicle's warranty, and it could be costly. The notice tells what to do to help avoid the damage. When you read other manuals, you might see CAUTION and NOTICE warnings in different colors or in different words. There are also warning labels on the vehicle which use the same words, CAUTION or NOTICE. Vehicle Symbols The vehicle has components and labels that use symbols instead of text. Symbols are shown along with the text describing the operation or information relating to a specific component, control, message, gage, or indicator. iv Section 1 Seats and Restraint Systems Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) ..................................................1-42 Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat Position ....................................1-50 Securing a Child Restraint in the Right Front Seat Position ............................................1-52 Airbag System ...............................................1-56 Where Are the Airbags? ................................1-59 When Should an Airbag Inflate? .....................1-61 What Makes an Airbag Inflate? .......................1-63 How Does an Airbag Restrain? .......................1-63 What Will You See After an Airbag Inflates? .........................................1-64 Passenger Sensing System ............................1-65 Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle ...........1-70 Adding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped Vehicle ....................................................1-70 Restraint System Check ..................................1-72 Checking the Restraint Systems ......................1-72 Replacing Restraint System Parts After a Crash ...................................................1-73 Front Seats ......................................................1-2 Manual Seats ................................................1-2 Seat Height Adjuster .......................................1-3 Power Seat ...................................................1-3 Manual Lumbar ..............................................1-4 Heated Seats .................................................1-4 Manual Reclining Seatbacks .............................1-5 Head Restraints .............................................1-7 Passenger Folding Seatback ............................1-8 Rear Seats .....................................................1-10 Split Folding Rear Seat .................................1-10 Safety Belts ...................................................1-12 Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone ................1-12 How to Wear Safety Belts Properly .................1-17 Lap-Shoulder Belt .........................................1-25 Safety Belt Use During Pregnancy ..................1-30 Safety Belt Extender .....................................1-30 Child Restraints .............................................1-31 Older Children ..............................................1-31 Infants and Young Children ............................1-34 Child Restraint Systems .................................1-37 Where to Put the Restraint .............................1-40 1-1 Front Seats Manual Seats {CAUTION: You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to adjust a manual driver's seat while the vehicle is moving. The sudden movement could startle and confuse you, or make you push a pedal when you do not want to. Adjust the driver's seat only when the vehicle is not moving. Lift the bar located under the front of the seat to unlock it. Slide the seat to where you want it and release the bar. Try to move the seat with your body to be sure the seat is locked in place. 1-2 Seat Height Adjuster Power Seat If your vehicle has a manual driver seat height adjuster, it is located on the outboard side of the seat near the front of the seat cushion. To raise the seat, move the lever upward repeatedly until the seat is at the desired height. To lower the seat, move the lever downward repeatedly until the seat is at the desired height. If the vehicle has a power seat, the control used to operate it is located on the outboard side of the driver's seat. To adjust the seat do any of the following: · Move the seat forward or rearward by sliding the · · control forward or rearward. Raise or lower the front part of the seat cushion by moving the front of the control up or down. Raise or lower the rear part of the seat cushion by moving the rear of the control up or down. 1-3 Manual Lumbar If your vehicle has this feature, the knob is located on the front of the driver seat lower cushion on the inboard side. The ignition must be on for the heated seats to operate. Press the switch, nearest to the seat, once to turn the heated seat on to the high setting. Both indicator lights will be lit. Press the switch a second time to turn the heated seat to the low setting. One indicator light will be lit. Press the switch a third time to turn the heated seat off. If your vehicle has remote vehicle start and is started using the remote keyless entry transmitter, the heated seats may automatically turn on if it is cold outside. See Remote Vehicle Start under Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System Operation on page 2-5. When the key is inserted into the ignition and the ignition is turned to RUN, the heated seat feature will turn off. To turn the heated seats back on, press the desired button. Turn the knob clockwise or counterclockwise to increase or decrease the lumbar support. Heated Seats If your vehicle has heated seats, the switches are located on the instrument panel near the climate controls. 1-4 Manual Reclining Seatbacks {CAUTION: You can lose control of the vehicle if you try to adjust a manual driver's seat while the vehicle is moving. The sudden movement could startle and confuse you, or make you push a pedal when you do not want to. Adjust the driver's seat only when the vehicle is not moving. Driver's Seat shown, Passenger Seat similar {CAUTION: If the seatback is not locked, it could move forward in a sudden stop or crash. That could cause injury to the person sitting there. Always push and pull on the seatback to be sure it is locked. To adjust the seatback, lift the lever on the outboard side of the seat and move the seatback to the desired position. Then release the lever to lock the seatback in place. If your front passenger's seat is a flat folding seat, you must fully raise the lever to disengage the seatback. 1-5 {CAUTION: Sitting in a reclined position when your vehicle is in motion can be dangerous. Even if you buckle up, your safety belts cannot do their job when you are reclined like this. The shoulder belt cannot do its job because it will not be against your body. Instead, it will be in front of you. In a crash, you could go into it, receiving neck or other injuries. The lap belt cannot do its job either. In a crash, the belt could go up over your abdomen. The belt forces would be there, not at your pelvic bones. This could cause serious internal injuries. For proper protection when the vehicle is in motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit well back in the seat and wear your safety belt properly. Do not have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is moving. 1-6 Head Restraints Pull the head restraint up to raise it. To lower the head restraint, press the button, located on the top of the seatback, and push the restraint down. Adjust the head restraint so that the top of the restraint is at the same height as the top of the occupant's head. This position reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash. 1-7 Passenger Folding Seatback The front passenger's seatback may fold flat. To fold the seatback, do the following: 1. Lower the he ...