2015 Equinox Owners Manual
Mike has been an automotive writer since 2007. He’s also the author of a 32,000+ word ebook on the inner workings of cars, suspensions, and engines, with 2 chapters on quick and easy performance enhancements. He’s been involved in the auto industry since the early 70s, doing everything from pumping gas and washing windows, to selling new and used cars and parts. He has NHRA and NASCAR (amateur level) track experience with Camaros, and has taught auto shop courses in high school.
In addition, he’s built-up cars from scratch. If you’ve ever had the need to tow your car, you know how much of a hassle it can be. This is true whether the car has an automatic or manual transmission, but let’s face it, vehicles with automatic transmissions present their own unique problem when being towed, unless they’re trailered with all four wheels on the trailer. When they came out with the 2010 made many RV owners very happy. In 2010 Chevy made many RV owners very happy by making it easy to tow the Equinox without a trailer. What Makes Towing a Vehicle with an Automatic So Much More Problematic?
In short, it’s the automatic transmission itself, how it works. Unless you disconnect the driveshaft(s), towing the vehicle with the drive wheels on the ground will, not can or may, will ruin the transmission. This is because the fluid isn’t allowed to circulate in an automatic when the engine isn’t running.
The pump is driven by the engine. Manual transmissions don’t have this problem because their lubrication system is what’s known as a bath-type lubricating system-the lower portion of the gears sit in the gear oil in the bottom of the transmission and as they rotate, they pick up and distribute the gear oil, lubricating the gears constantly. 2011 was the second year the Chevy Equinox was “dinghy-towing friendly.” The Chevy Equinox May Be Best Vehicle with an Automatic for RV Towing The engineers over at GM were the first to tackle this problem in a way that makes it quite easy for anyone to tow their car behind something like an RV, even if they can’t afford an expensive dolly or four-wheel vehicle trailer. They created a transmission system that allows you to disconnect the drive wheels from the transmission internals, making it so you can tow the car with just a tow bar and not worry about destroying the transmission.
It must be noted that this isn’t true for previous generations of was produced; just from 2010 to today’s – the current generation. The 2013 Chevy Equinox.
How They Did It I can’t really get into the in-depth technical aspects of how it works because I’m not a transmission specialist. However, I do know it works because my parents have one and that’s the main reason they bought it, they didn’t like having to pull a dolly or four-wheel trailer behind their RV. What they did was create the 6T-series of electronically-controlled transmissions that maintains lubrication within the case with the engine off which enables flat-towing.In order to prepare your 2010 or later Equinox for flat-towing, what’s known as toadie- or dinghy-towing, all you have to do is pull a fuse after you get the car hooked up to the tow bar and leave the key in the ACC position to keep the steering wheel unlocked. Getting Deeper into How to Tow an Equinox behind an RV Looking at the Owner’s Manual for the 2012 Equinox, one sees six short steps to prepare the vehicle for dinghy-towing behind and RV (or pickup). Step one is to hook it up to the vehicle that will be doing the pulling/towing. From there, steps two and three are to pull the transmission lever into Neutral from Park after turning the key to ON/RUN.
From there:. Turn the key back to ACC. Turn off the accessories like the stereo. To prevent the battery from running down on longer trips, pull fuse number 32, which is for the Discrete Logic Ignition Switch (See photo below.).
The fuse indicated needs to be pulled in order to safely tow your Equinox. Photo by author. There are a few provisos/cautions that you have to be aware of, especially when towing for extended periods. GM recommends that you run the engine for about five minutes before setting off on your trip.
Exceeding the legal limit of 65 miles per hour can damage your transmission. If you re driving for more than four to five hours, they recommend starting and running the engine for about five minutes. Make sure the transmission fluid level is at the proper level-not too high, not low. Never tow a vehicle with mismatched front tire sizes. This causes the transmission to want to turn at different speeds and can cause severe transmission damage.
It is not recommended to tow a Chevy Equinox of any production year equipped with all-wheel-drive. Trade organizations and GM recommend that you have a towed vehicle brake-assist system installed prior to towing any vehicle behind your RV. Most states require a secondary set of lights or trailer light wiring installed between the RV and the Equinox.
Most states require you to connect the RV’s lighting to towed vehicle’s lighting for safety. This kit is specific to the Chevy Equinox.
2015 Equinox Owners Manual
Image via etrailer.com What Some Equinox Owners Have Done to Make Towing Even Easier As you can see from the picture above, it’s not easy to get to the fuse that needs to be pulled. It’s even more difficult to pull that fuse.
Perusing the recreational vehicle forums, one finds that what many people have done, and what the (FMCA) an industry trade group, recommends is to install a cut-off switch in the circuit supplied by the fuse that needs to be pulled. This way you don’t have to have teeny but strong fingers to pull the fuse and you don’t run the risk of losing the fuse. Wiring schematics that will help you locate and identify the wire that needs to have the switch spliced in can be obtained at your GM dealer. You can also have your local RV shop perform this upgrade for you while they’re installing the tow bar accessories. Shop around for the tow bar you like the most, there are literally dozens out there.
Many of the better ones allow you to remove most of the visible tow bar components when they aren’t in use so you don’t mar or ruin the look of your Equinox from the front. H onorable Mention in the Dinghy-Towing Category Goes to the Honda CR-V Honda’s CR-V is another vehicle that many RV owners like because it can be flat-towed behind another vehicle. Except, mechanics don’t care for it because even the six-cylinder engine has a timing belt that isn’t as strong as the timing chain the Equinox V6 has. The procedure for preparing the CR-V for being towed flat is also more convoluted and skipping one of the dozen or so steps involved will damage your transmission seriously. In all, as far as automatic transmission-equipped vehicles go, the Equinox is the hands-down winner for dinghy- or flat-towing behind an RV or heavy duty truck.
IN MY PAST MANY YEARS AS A MECHANIC AND OWNING MY OWN SHOP AND BEING SERVICE MANAGER FOR A CHEVROLET AND PONTIAC DEALERSHIP, I HAVE NEVER SEENA A VEHICLE THAT DID NOT ADD MILAGE WHENEVER THE DRIVE WHEELS ARE TURNING. THEY TURN THE DRIVE SHAFTS WHICH IN TURN TURN THE TRANSMISSIONS INTERNAL PARTS INCLUDING THE GEARS THET DRIVE THE SPEEDOMETER. LATER MODEL NEW CARS SHOULD DO THE SAME THAIN EVEN IF ELECTRONIC DASH BECAUSE THE SIGNALS ARE STILL SENT TO THE ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS BY MANUALLY OPERATED GEARS. Please pardon me while I pick this whole thing apart, it’s just what I love to do. I am in the process of getting ready to order my RETIREMENT SUPER RV a Provost H3 45 with QUAD Slides. And have been researching 4 wheels on the ground tow vehicles, every article I have read contradicts the other ones.
I spent my teen years in the 50s and 60s so growing up cars and having an uncanny ability to redesign or rebuild or even design and invent just about anything mechanical, like most of us from that era. I seem to remember that at one time JC Whitney sold a coupling that was installed in between the drive shaft and the transmission and controlled by a manual cable to be able to let the drive shaft free wheel from the transmission. I haven’t been able to find this anymore and the help desk at JC don’t seem to be old enough to remember something like this. It would be the easy way to go although it did involve cutting the drive shaft.
A question I have is, is the transmission on the Equinox ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLED? AND IF SO WOULDN’T IT BASSICALLY FREE WHEEL IF THE FUSE IS REMOVED?
My past understanding is that when the drivetrain IE: Wheel turn making the Differential (rear end gears) turn, making the Drive Shaft turn, 2which in turn would make the internal parts of the Transmission turn. Which is the reason to periodically stop Start the car and run the engine for aprox. 5 minutes in order to cool and lubricate the Transmissions parts. NO LOGICALLY UNLESS YOU REINSTALL THE FUSE so you can put the transmission in gear IE: Drive and Reverse (WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED WHILE PREFORMING THIS PROCEDURE), (AND HAVING A VERY LARGE NOTE ATTACHED TO THE STEERING WHEEL OF THE CAR AND RV TO REMIND YOU TO RELEASE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE AND REMOVE THE FUSE AND PUT THE CAR BACK IN NEUTRAL AND THE KEY TO ACC), I don’t see how the Internal parts would be able to function in order to get lubricated. I have owned a 2010 and 2011 Ford Escape AWD as my RV toad.
The 2010 was lemon lawed as the tranny burned up while towing. I was told that the 2011 tranny had modifications and could now be flat towed. The 2011 tranny just burned up and I’m fighting with Ford over this issue. Therefore, I’m researching an AWD Equinox for flat towing. I’m seeing mixed comments about whether it can be flat towed or not, so I’m concerned. I won’t buy until I get it in writing from the dealer or GM that an AWD Equinox can safely be flat towed. If anyone reading this knows more than I do please email me.
I’d appreciate it. This is right out of my 2014 LTZ AWD Equinox Owners Manual: YES YOU CAN FLAT TOW AWD ALL 4 DOWN Dinghy Towing Front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles may be dinghy towed from the front. These vehicles can also be towed by placing them on a platform trailer with all four wheels off of the ground. For other towing options, see “Dolly Towing” following in this section. For vehicles being dinghy towed, the vehicle should be run at the beginning of each day and at each RV fuel stop for about five minutes. This will ensure proper lubrication of transmission components. To tow the vehicle from the front with all four wheels on the ground: 1.
Position the vehicle to be towed and secure it to the towing vehicle. Turn the ignition key to ON/RUN.
Shift the transmission to N (Neutral). Turn the ignition key to ACC/ ACCESSORY. Turn all accessories off. To prevent the battery from draining while the vehicle is being towed, remove fuse 32, the Discrete Logic Ignition Switch fuse, from the instrument panel fuse block and store it in a safe location. See Instrument Panel Fuse Block on: Chevrolet Equinox Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada- Black plate (70,1) 6081479) – 2014 – crc – 6/4/13 10-70 Vehicle Care.
Your manual says: “To avoid damage, the DISABLED VEHICLE should be towed with all four wheels off the ground. Care must be taken with vehicles that have low ground clearance and/or special equipment. Always flatbed on a car carrier To tow the vehicle behind another vehicle FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES, SUCH AS BEHIND A MOTOR HOME, see “Recreational Vehicle Towing” in this section” and this is correct for DISABLED VEHICLES for ALL electronic transmissions without manual transfer case 4WD HI/LO/ 2WD gearboxes, (because if the vehicle is “disabled” how can you guarantee the electronic transmission is in neutral? Depends on what disabled the vehicle.) Your manual then says: “RECREATIONAL VEHICLE TOWING Dinghy towing is towing the vehicle with all four wheels on the ground Front-wheel‐drive and all-wheel-drive vehicles may be dinghy towed from the front. These vehicles can also be towed by placing them on a platform trailer with all four wheels off of the ground.” This is the section that applies here.
2010+ Equinox are fantastic toads. We just purchased a 2016 equinox LT specifically to tow behind our rv using a master tow dolly.
Well we went to load it today and realized that the front bumper on the car is low profile and once the front tires slip into the tire wells of the dolly, the bumper hangs well over the front of the dolly. There is NO way we would be able to back the car off the dolly without ripping the front bumper off.
No where in our research did we see this problem and now were out $1000’s if we cant figure out a fix. What can you recommend, thanks. Ok as I have a tendency of trying to redesign just about anything I see.
I’ll give this problem a shot. I don’t have a tow dolly and car available to try my fix, however I will be stoping by a trailer sales location today and check my theory out. As the front wheels of the vehicle sit down in a sleight valley on the tow dolly, and the wheels are what is tied down to secure the vehicle, I would try adding a piece of 2X6 long enough to fit in the drop down wheel area, then try putting the car on it, my theory is adding the wood will raise the front end of the car up Hi enough to solve the front end clearance problem. If this works you can have a welding shop make a more permanent solution be welding some pieces of angle iron in place of the Wood 2X6, please e mail me to let me know if this helps solve your problem. I have researched this 4 down till I was blue I face and the equinox LT is OK if you are not planning to go over 65. The Jeep in other hand even contacting jeep headquarters said the only jeeps are wrangler different models or jeep Cherokee Trail hawk 4×4 which is higher end in price.
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Didn’t think that was appropriate for Rick’s and stones chipping away while in tow on a $ 30,000 SUV. That’s the choices, there are some cars best bet go on motorhome.com link dingy and it tells you choices, weights, auto or stick and speed. Cyndee Kane i am in total agreement with you on all of this the jeep i was refering to is the jeep Cherokee Trail hawk 4×4.
I dont think that towing a vehicle at 65 mph or faster or slower will make any significant difference as the heating up of the Transmission Oil it will heat up either way, and if you choose to do that I would stop every couple of hours to run the vehicle and circulate the fluid or check into some of the auxilary Transmission pumps I believe I have read about. I on the other hand am inherintlyt lazy and always seem to look for the easyiest way out, I don’t mind paying the extra for the Jeep Cherokee Trail hawk 4×4 because I am planning to hopefully be a full time RV Traveler, which is why I am looking at the Provost Custom Built Motor Coach.
I am presently 74 years old and want all of the luxuary I can get and am planning on spending my childrens inheritance. And at some point I will be in an area where the four wheel drive will come in handy. While making side trips and shopping while leaving the Coach in a park or secured storage facility somewhere.