CHEVROLET EQUINOX 2006 1.G Repair Manual

To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the vehicle’s
safety belt and let it go back all the way. The safety belt
will move freely again and be ready to work for an adult or
larger child passenger. When the safety belt is not in use,
slide the latch plate up the safety belt webbing. The latch
plate should rest on the stitching on the safety belt, near
the guide loop on the side wall.
Airbag System
Your vehicle has a frontal airbag for the driver and a
frontal airbag for the right front passenger. Your vehicle
may also have roof-mounted side impact airbags.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are available for the
driver and the passenger seated directly behind the
driver and for the right front passenger and the
passenger seated directly behind that passenger.
If your vehicle has roof-mounted side impact airbags,
the word AIRBAG will appear on the airbag covering on
the ceiling near the driver’s and right front passenger’s
window.Even if you do not have a right front passenger seat in
your vehicle there is still an active frontal airbag in the
right side of the instrument panel. Do not place cargo in
front of this airbag.
{CAUTION:
Be sure that cargo is not near an airbag. In
a crash, an inating airbag might force that
object toward a person. This could cause
severe injury or even death. Secure objects
away from the area in which an airbag would
inate. For more information, seeWhere Are
the Airbags? on page 1-58andLoading Your
Vehicle on page 4-31.
Frontal airbags are designed to help reduce the risk of
injury from the force of an inating frontal airbag. But
these airbags must inate very quickly to do their job
and comply with federal regulations.
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Here are the most important things to know about the
airbag system:
{CAUTION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash
if you are not wearing your safety belt — even if
you have airbags. Wearing your safety belt
during a crash helps reduce your chance of
hitting things inside the vehicle or being ejected
from it. Airbags are “supplemental restraints” to
the safety belts. All airbags are designed to
work with safety belts but do not replace them.
Frontal airbags for the driver and right front
passenger are designed to deploy in moderate
to severe frontal and near frontal crashes. They
are not designed to inate in rollover, rear
crashes, or in many side crashes.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
And, for some unrestrained occupants, frontal
airbags may provide less protection in frontal
crashes than more forceful airbags have
provided in the past.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are
designed to inate in moderate to severe
crashes where something hits the side of your
vehicle. They are not designed to inate in
frontal, in rollover or in rear crashes. Everyone
in your vehicle should wear a safety belt
properly — whether or not there is an airbag
for that person.
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{CAUTION:
Both frontal and side impact airbags inate
with great force, faster than the blink of an
eye. If you are too close to an inating airbag,
as you would be if you were leaning forward, it
could seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position for airbag ination before
and during a crash. Always wear your safety
belt even with frontal airbags. The driver
should sit as far back as possible while still
maintaining control of the vehicle. Occupants
should not lean on or sleep against the door.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults, but
not for young children and infants. Neither the
vehicle’s safety belt system nor its airbag
system is designed for them. Young children
and infants need the protection that a child
restraint system can provide. Always secure
children properly in your vehicle. To read how,
seeOlder Children on page 1-30orInfants and
Young Children on page 1-33.
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There is an airbag
readiness light on the
instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag
symbol.
The system checks the airbag electrical system for
malfunctions. The light tells you if there is an electrical
problem. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on page 3-26
for more information.Where Are the Airbags?
The driver’s frontal airbag is in the middle of the
steering wheel.
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The right front passenger’s frontal airbag is in the
instrument panel on the passenger’s side.If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the driver and the person seated directly behind the
driver, it is in the ceiling above the side windows.
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If your vehicle has a roof-mounted side impact airbag
for the right front passenger and the person seated
directly behind that passenger, it is in the ceiling above
the side windows.
{CAUTION:
If something is between an occupant and an
airbag, the bag might not inate properly or it
might force the object into that person causing
severe injury or even death. The path of an
inating airbag must be kept clear. Do not put
anything between an occupant and an airbag,
and do not attach or put anything on the
steering wheel hub or on or near any other
airbag covering. And, if your vehicle has
roof-mounted side impact airbags, never secure
anything to the roof of your vehicle by routing
the rope or tiedown through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an inating side
impact airbag will be blocked. The path of an
inating airbag must be kept clear.
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When Should an Airbag Inate?
The driver’s and right front passenger’s frontal airbags
are designed to inate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes. But they are designed to inate
only if the impact exceeds a predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds take into account
a variety of desired deployment and non-deployment
events and are used to predict how severe a crash
is likely to be in time for the airbags to inate and help
restrain the occupants. Whether your frontal airbags
will or should deploy is not based on how fast your
vehicle is traveling. It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact and how quickly your
vehicle slows down.
In addition, your vehicle has “dual-stage” frontal airbags,
which adjust the restraint according to crash severity.
Your vehicle has electronic frontal sensors which help the
sensing system distinguish between a moderate frontal
impact and a more severe frontal impact. For moderate
frontal impacts, these airbags inate at a level less than
full deployment. For more severe frontal impacts, full
deployment occurs.If the front of your vehicle goes straight into a wall
that does not move or deform, the threshold level for
the reduced deployment is about 11 to 16 mph
(17 to 26 km/h), and the threshold level for a full
deployment is about 20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h).
The threshold level can vary, however, with specic
vehicle design, so that it can be somewhat above or
below this range.
Frontal airbags may inate at different crash speeds.
For example:
If the vehicle hits a stationary object, the airbags
could inate at a different crash speed than if the
vehicle hits a moving object.
If the vehicle hits an object that deforms, the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed than
if the vehicle hits an object that does not deform.
If the vehicle hits a narrow object (like a pole) the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle hits a wide object (like a wall).
If the vehicle goes into an object at an angle the
airbags could inate at a different crash speed
than if the vehicle goes straight into the object.
The frontal airbags (driver and right front passenger) are
not intended to inate during vehicle rollovers, rear
impacts, or in many side impacts.
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Your vehicle may or may not have roof-mounted side
impact airbags. SeeAirbag System on page 1-55.
Roof-mounted side impact airbags are intended to inate
in moderate to severe side crashes. A roof-mounted side
impact airbag will inate if the crash severity is above the
system’s designed “threshold level.” The threshold level
can vary with specic vehicle design. Roof-mounted side
impact airbags are not intended to inate in frontal or
near-frontal impacts, rollovers or rear impacts.
In any particular crash, no one can say whether an
airbag should have inated simply because of the
damage to a vehicle or because of what the repair costs
were. For frontal airbags, ination is determined by
what the vehicle hits, the angle of the impact, and how
quickly the vehicle slows down. For roof-mounted
side impact airbags, ination is determined by the
location and severity of the impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag sensing
system detects that the vehicle is in a crash. The
sensing system triggers a release of gas from the
inator, which inates the airbag. The inator, airbag,
and related hardware are all part of the airbag modules
inside the steering wheel and in the instrument panel
in front of the right front passenger. For vehicles
with roof-mounted side impact airbags, there are also
airbag modules in the ceiling of the vehicle, near
the side windows.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal collisions,
even belted occupants can contact the steering wheel
or the instrument panel. In moderate to severe side
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the inside
of the vehicle. The airbag supplements the protection
provided by safety belts. Airbags distribute the force of
the impact more evenly over the occupant’s upper
body, stopping the occupant more gradually. But the
frontal airbags would not help you in many types
of collisions, including rollovers, rear impacts, and many
side impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion
is not toward the airbag. Side impact airbags would not
help you in many types of collisions, including many
frontal or near frontal collisions, rollovers, and rear
impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is
not toward those airbags. Airbags should never
be regarded as anything more than a supplement to
safety belts, and then only in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal collisions for the driver’s and right front
passenger’s frontal airbags, and only in moderate
to severe side collisions for side impact airbags.
1-62

What Will You See After an
Airbag Inates?
After a frontal airbag inates, it quickly deates, so
quickly that some people may not even realize the airbag
inated. Roof-mounted side impact airbags deate more
slowly and may still be at least partially inated minutes
after the vehicle comes to rest. Some components of the
airbag module may be hot for a short time. These
components include the steering wheel hub for the
driver’s frontal airbag and the instrument panel for the
right front passenger’s frontal airbag. For vehicles with
roof-mounted side impact airbags, the ceiling of your
vehicle near the side windows, and the vehicle metal near
the rear windows and tailgate may be warm. The parts of
the airbag that come into contact with you may be warm,
but not too hot to touch. There will be some smoke and
dust coming from the vents in the deated airbags. Airbag
ination does not prevent the driver from seeing out of the
windshield or being able to steer the vehicle, nor does it
stop people from leaving the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there is dust in the
air. This dust could cause breathing problems
for people with a history of asthma or other
breathing trouble. To avoid this, everyone in
the vehicle should get out as soon as it is safe
to do so. If you have breathing problems but
cannot get out of the vehicle after an airbag
inates, then get fresh air by opening a
window or a door. If you experience breathing
problems following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
In many crashes severe enough to inate an airbag,
windshields are broken by vehicle deformation.
Additional windshield breakage may also occur from
the right front passenger airbag.
1-63

Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically unlock
the doors and turn the interior dome lamp on and ash
the parking lamps on and off when the airbags inate.
You can lock the doors again and turn the interior lamps
off by using the door lock and interior lamp controls.
Airbags are designed to inate only once. After an
airbag inates, you will need some new parts for your
airbag system. If you do not get them, the airbag
system will not be there to help protect you in another
crash. A new system will include airbag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual for your
vehicle covers the need to replace other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and diagnostic
module which records information after a crash. See
Vehicle Data Collection and Event Data Recorders
on page 7-9.
Let only qualied technicians work on your airbag
system. Improper service can mean that your airbag
system will not work properly. See your dealer for
service.
Servicing Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle
Airbags affect how your vehicle should be serviced.
There are parts of the airbag system in several places
around your vehicle. You do not want the system to
inate while someone is working on your vehicle. Your
dealer and the service manual have information about
servicing your vehicle and the airbag system. To
purchase a service manual, seeService Publications
Ordering Information on page 7-14.
{CAUTION:
For up to 10 seconds after the ignition key is
turned off and the battery is disconnected, an
airbag can still inate during improper service.
You can be injured if you are close to an airbag
when it inates. Avoid yellow connectors. They
are probably part of the airbag system. Be sure
to follow proper service procedures, and make
sure the person performing work for you is
qualied to do so.
The airbag system does not need regular maintenance.
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