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Chevy Equinox Stereo, iPod, CD, Bluetooth, Sat, AUX, USB, DVD

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Comments

  • kottosonkottoson Member Posts: 1
    edited May 2012
    I just puchased a used 2010 LTZ a couple of weeks ago and love the connectivity (bluetooth, Aux port, USB).

    I believe the bluetooth connection is for phone operation only. I did not have any problem pairing my phone to the system. Streaming music via blutooth from Pandora, Slacker, etc. is not possible.

    If you want to stream music, connect a device to the Aux port. I have confirmed that this works with a Verizon Motorola Bionic (Android) phone. When connecting the Aux port to the speaker port on the phone, music is streamed through the stereo whether from the music player or from streaming radio like Pandora or Slacker. I did not try to skip songs using the steering wheel controls but I don't think that works since the Aux plug only has connections for stereo (audio) output and not an extra connection for phone control. There may be Aux cables out there that have this extra 'control' ring in the plug but the one I used didn't.

    As for the USB connection. When used with my phone, the USB connects to my external SD card where all my music is and behaves like a hard drive. The music player on the phone is not used because the stereo is in control of the music. Seeing that, I have simply purchased a Sundisk USB flash drive which I loaded with all my music from my computer and plugged that into the port. It is always plugged in and returns to the song last being played when I turn the car on.

    An idiosyncrasy when the radio has a USB device connected is that it has no 'memory'. Every time the vehicle is turned off, the only thing that is remembered is the last song it was playing. Every time the vehicle is started, the radio has to 're-index' (scan) the USB device and recatalog all the music. For example, this takes about 1 minute for the 3GB of music I have on my USB flash drive. During that time, skipping to the next or previous track is not possible. Once the radio has re-indexed the USB device, the steering wheel controls work to play the next or previous song. This also means if you selected a particular genre or artist, these selections are 'forgotten' when the vehicle is turned off. This is also true of the shuffle function if it was turned on. The next time the car is started, it returns to the default setting of 'shuffle: off'. With shuffle off, the radio plays tracks in alphabetical order according to their titles regardless of genre or artist.

    By the way, does anyone out there know if the radio can be reprogrammed to remember the USB settings (catalog, genre, shuffle, etc) if the USB device is the same as it was when the vehicle was turned off?

    I hope this helps some of you and is purely based on my experiences so far.
  • mdp123mdp123 Member Posts: 4
    Hello,

    I have a 2011 Equinox LTZ with the entertainment package (HDD, etc). Our Equi seems to have a pervasive glitch that has been very difficult for the dealership to fix. By design when playing music from the HDD, when the car is turned off and then back on, it will resume where it left off. We periodically have the music start playing with the very first song in the "All songs" list. Usually this is something that starts with 01- song name. However normally it will stay in album mode, or what ever the mod and song it was last on. Additionally, at random intervals the stored "Favorites" will all be wiped out. While this is not a critical feature of the car it is annoying nonetheless. We have had the car at the dealership 3 times over this and they have replaced/swapped out the entire entertainment/radio/HDD unit. The latest time GM HQ instructed them to put in a slightly different model but still one for that year Equinox. This seems to have slowed down the instances of this happening but it is still happening. Has anybody else seen this occurring or have any advice. There possible could be a firmware or chip issue since this problem has been consistent across 3 different units. I suspect there is a short or some type of glitch that causes the unit to return to a default state (all song mode and start with the top/ whip out memory settings) Ironically when the favorites all disappear the saved RADIO stations are not lost. I would love some advice. I have a suspicion this goes on FAR more than GM is aware but most people probably dont realize it is doing this and think somebody else maybe have just change songs.

    Thanks in advance. Michael
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hello Michael,

    We're sorry that your efforts with the dealership have not resolved the concern you're having with your radio. If you would like for us to further document this through Customer Assistance and see if there are any avenues open that have not yet been explored, please email us at [email protected] (include your name, contact information, the last 8 digits of your VIN, and a summary of the situation).

    Sarah, GM Customer Service
  • mdp123mdp123 Member Posts: 4
    Hello Sarah,

    Yes I would very much love some help. The Dealership has searched through all bulletins and has not found anything of help to them. As an additional question are the HD systems designed to always play songs in alphabetical order? this is different than how the songs rip but no matter what we do they stay that way with no other sort option. Since I have posted this we have had the unit reset itself randomly going back to "all song mode" about 5 times, with no clear cause.

    I will write to the email with the info you suggested. Thanks.
  • megnav86megnav86 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2012 Chevy equinox and have also been having issues with my USB port. Starting in the middle of March, my USB port no longer recognize the music on my iPhone 4S. The iPhone will connect and sometimes show the song that should be playing but no music actually plays. When I select the artist or song menu, it tells me that the music is indexing. The am able to use the iPhone in a 2012 GMC terrain and can use the controls just fine. I took the vehicle to the dealership today and had them run a diagnostic test. They stated everything was running correctly. They suggested I try running the phone in airplane mode when playing music. This did not work. What else can I do. I have not had this car a year and I know it's not the phone since it previously worked in the car. Thanks for the help. Megan
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hi Megan,

    I'm sorry that you've been having trouble with your USB port on your vehicle. I know that can be frustrating, especially since you've tried it on another vehicle and it connected without a problem. Have you tried contacting the GM Infotainment department? They may be able to walk you through getting this issue resolved. I've provided their contact information below.

    (855) 428-3669

    Best Wishes

    Amber N.
    GM Customer Care
  • janet63janet63 Member Posts: 2
    I have been having the very same issue with my iPhone 4S and 2012 Equinox. I know it's the Nox because it does the same things to my husband's iPhone. I paid good money for this vehicle, & I pay good money for my music. I have a two hour round trip commute to work five days a week. It would be nice if GM would get this fixed. I took their buyout five years ago, and it appears that they are determined to keep making the same mistakes..

    Janet
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hi Janet

    Have you had an opportunity to take your 12' Equinox into a GM dealership for diagnosis. I will also be contacting our Infotainment department to speak with them about this issue. Would you mind emailing me your full name, address, VIN and mileage to [email protected] ATTN: Amber. Once I've spoken to our Infotainment division I will contact you with their response. I look forward to hearing from you.

    Regards

    Amber N.
    GM Customer Care
  • janet63janet63 Member Posts: 2
    Hello, Amber,

    Yes, I asked the dealership to take a look at it when they changed the oil a couple of weeks ago. They said it was the iPhone because the Nox's software was up to date. Well, so is the iPhone. In the meantime, I had an idea. Last night when I got home I turned off the stereo (which I don't normally do) & disconnected the battery. I also turned off the iPhone for a while. I turned the iPhone back on before I went to bed. When I started the Nox this morning, everything was fine. I will be in touch if it goes out on me again in the near future.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    janet63,

    Great to hear that your connection is working fine now! Hopefully everything operates properly from here on out. Keep me updated!

    Amber N.
    GM Customer Care
  • laharblaharb Member Posts: 1
    My mom (82 yrs old), has been having a problem with a crackling noise coming from the rear passenger speaker. The dealer replaced the wiring harness to the amplifier. The car was fine for about 2 weeks, then the noise started again. Even if the stereo is shut off, the speaker still emits a loud crackling noise. I cannot find other owners with this same problem.
  • cameronbycameronby Member Posts: 1
    I am having this same issue in my brand new 2013 Equiox LTZ. It often does not recognize my iPod and often I have to unplug, restart iPod, and plug back in, or as you mentioned, it freezes and starts on "all songs" and not what playlist it left of at. The song that comes first alphabetically has begun to drive me mad?! I called my dealership but they are 2 hours away and told me to stop by another dealership. I have yet to make time. It is soooo annoying!
  • mdp123mdp123 Member Posts: 4
    I posted about this back in January and wanted to give an update. To rehash quickly. We purchased brand new 2011 equinox ltz with full nav/entertainment/HDD package. We have the nav/dvd/Hard drive package with the full screen in the front. We are the original owner. The system will let you use the 6 favorite buttons in the HDD mode to assign favorite artist, favorite albums, and favorite playlist to each of those 6 keys, from the songs stored on the disk drive. Ever since the beginning when we use the save favorites they will randomly disappear and reset to nothing saved. There is no consistent amount of time for this too occur, it has kept the saved setting for up to 10 days and has lost them in as short as 1 day. Since the beginning we have had in the dealership 5 times now over this issues. Chev has replaced the entire radio package (it is a unit so the hard disk drive, the radio, screen, nav system, etc) three times now. The last time they did change do a slightly different model. Nothing has helped. I have it sitting in the shop again right now for some other reason and have them looking at it again. They have been in touch with GM HQ and nobody can answer what is going on. GM has given up and at this point doesnt seem to even believe me because the dealership can never "make" it happen. The last time they suggested I document when it happens. I have been doing this. It is mywifes car so I check it periodically when I drive it.

    Each instance documented is a case where I check and see that it is blank and i will assign some more saved favorites again. I have 36 instances of finding it blank since 01/01/13. Short of leaving it with the dealership for possibly 2 weeks just so they can see it go blank there isn't anything else that can be done. They dont see any error codes. They have as of late (both the dealership and GM HQ) now trying to blame me for introducing a virus ???. Good grief it is not a Windows or apple system (i happen to work in the tech industry) so the idea that it is a virus designed to work on a a bizarre niche OS that is powering the GM (non windows) media system and that I would happen to have discovered it on my windows platforms when ripping CD's is rather bizarre odds...but not impossible.

    Since according to them I am the only person in the entire country reporting or seeing this I am hoping somebody on here has come across this as well?
  • bvgroverbvgrover Member Posts: 1
    My USB has never worked and my Chevy garage is no help. My Equinox is a 2011. So I am trying to figure out how to play ipod touch with bluetooth. Can you help?
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    Hi bvgrover,

    We're sorry to hear that your USB port hasn't worked on your Equinox. If you would like for us to connect you with another dealership and look more into your situation, we would be happy to do so. if you are interested, please send us your VIN, mileage, contact info, and current dealership. We can be reached by email at [email protected] [attn Amber].

    Thank you

    Amber N.
    GM Customer Care
  • genemo3genemo3 Member Posts: 11
    I have a 2012 LTZ with this system and the navigation voice guidance stopped working. The GPS part works fine but with no voice. The nav voice is "on." Anybody offer any suggestions on how to correct this? It has worked fine for nearly two years.
  • genemo3genemo3 Member Posts: 11
    My thread should have read...Equinox instead of Terrain navigation system. I took the vehicle back to the dealer and the service manager said it was a radio problem so they are installing a new radio. The voice for the nav systen is generated from the radio. I pick the vehicle up this afternoon. If there are any problems I'll post.
  • noxmannoxman Member Posts: 1
    Purchased this vehicle with the understanding that blue-tooth hands free calling would be compatible with Motorola Droid Razer Model 912-AXT. Vehicle will not recognize any voice calling other than the 30 number slots available through the ON-Star system that will cost an additional $19.95 per month at the end of the ON-Star promotional perioD sold with the vehicle. GM Total connect support site shows that the Motorola 912 AXT is compatible with the Chevrolet Equinox and that it supports voice recognition. What goes here? This system is practically un-usable after the 6 months of on-star... This appears to be false advertising and extremely poor customer relations issues. Dealership tech was nice, but unable to do anything. 4 seperate phones including I-phone were unable to use system for voice, but they did "Pair" to the vehicle device.....ANY IDEAS?
  • miecmiec Member Posts: 1
    Did you ever find out what was causing the problem as I am having the same issue.
  • mdp123mdp123 Member Posts: 4
    Laharb was your question to me about my Hard drive settings loosing favortie memory settings often and randomly or one of the other issues? I am hoping it was me. If you are having that PLEASE PLEASE report it to GM. I have this now escalated way up in GM, a regional specialist is looking into but they really have no idea what to do next, it has been punted around from the "Infortainment" group, to the electrical team, back down to dealership, back up to regional specialist again. Officially I am the only person in the country to report this issue, yet two whole replacement units later it still exists. So I would be thrilled to find somebody else having the same issue. I suspect a lot more people have it, but its a niche corner case. Of all the equinoxs sold in 2011, smaller set have the HDD setup, a smaller set probably actually store music on it and a smaller set use the Fav settings.
  • beefer2beefer2 Member Posts: 1
    I bought a 2013 Equinox in February 2013 and have been unable to connect to pandora using the app in the Equinox since I've owned it. I can, however, listen to Pandora using the Bluetooth mode. I have looked up how to connect my phone's pandora to the equinox app but nothing works. Any suggestions?
  • sattoyssattoys Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2011 Chevy Equinox LTZ loaded with all the good option Except The nice MyLink radio. I have the generic radio But I want to upgrade it to the MyLink Radio. Is this possible.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454

    A reporter is looking to speak with someone who recently bought a fully-loaded 2014 vehicle with all the bells and whistles, including navigation and infotainment features. If you can assist, please reach out to [email protected] with your contact info by 4/13/14.

  • john989john989 Member Posts: 1

    I have a 2012 Equinox LTZ and very often, perhaps 50% of the time, when the radio had been turned off it will come on automatically to the USB device when the car is started. I have a flash drive in the USB port. It doesn't matter what source the radio had been tuned to - AM, FM, or Satellite. The dealer claims to have never heard of this happening, so is of no help. This is not a serious problem, just an annoyance.

  • jl62393jl62393 Member Posts: 1

    I have a 2011 Equinox that we have had issue with the Radio volume going up and down in the front speaker when you hit a bump in the road, not off or max volume, it just makes a noticeable change. Has done this since we got it in the spring 2012. Recently we stopped at the store, ran inside to get something, left the car running, came back out to find the entire cab filled with smoke coming from the dash area. Shut the car off, popped the hood and looked the car over and couldn't find anything that looked like the origin.
    We got back in drove to where we had to go, left the windows down and let it air out for awhile then drove it back home. Radio does not work.
    Took it in to the dealership and they looke at it.
    Scan test showed -No Radio Codes- they did some more testing for the amplifier and got as far as step 13 where it said the radio is bad and needed to be replaced. Ordered a new radio and installed that one, still had an issue with the amplifier then so had to order a new amp and installed that. The report says the radio had some sticky material in it tha may have caused the amplifier to fail- unknown for sure. With the new radio and new amplifier installed everything is now running.
    Total parts, labor was over $1000. With no warranty on this, that was out of my pocket.
    Question that really bothers me with Chevy not covering this is how can you have 5 years and 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain and paint, but the radio doesn't even last 4 years and that can't be covered?
    For $1000 I could've put in alot better sound system than the factory version, not that I'd spent my money on that, if I was going to add accessories to this car, I think I'd put my money in move valuable things than a radio.
    My wife drives this car to work, not even 10 miles a day and pretty sure she's not putting any strain on the radio in that trip.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited June 2014

    You always have to wonder if it wasn't something simpler, like some bad wiring, that a good stereo shop could have found. I remember buying a compact car in '82 that had no radio - I got a pretty nice unit on sale for $100 and installed it myself. No issues with it for the 17 years I drove that car.

    Times have changed. :'(

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