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Indeed, windows are all down after holding unlock button about two seconds on the third push, good catch! Very nice coming back to the car on a hot day.
Love this car! Smooth ride, good handling/accel in the V6, navigation system w/ turn-by-turn directions is nice, vehicle management system is easy to interface with, iPod connector, and Digital music HDD! Shame you can't watch movies on the front screen, only the rears. Only complaints are the cheap plastics on the dash and side door areas. Also tranny downshifting is a bit punchy at times (believe that's been voiced already).
Are you having the weird downshifting characteristics described throughout this thread and forum? In either case, would you mind emailing me (wallyuwl@yahoo.com) your VIN so I have a reference for the dealer of: 1) another "bad" one, or 2) one that is good?
Thanks.
Right now my radio is all messed up. It changes stations by itself, and the volume goes up down down by itself. I waited 3 weeks for new radio, and 10 minutes after getting it back from the deal, it started all over again. They finally tracked it down to a cracked circuit board in the radio control panel. There are no new circuit boards in North America, so I have to wait 4+ weeks for another one. At least GM could give me an iPod to listen to while I wait!
The last time the car was towed it had an excessive amount of what appeared to be water from the air conditioner on the ground. The tow truck driver commented on the amount because he thought I must have been in the car for a while but it was only 20 minutes. I don't know if this could be a link to the problem but I did have the air on when it started giving me problems both times.
Sometimes a bolt comes loose, or a sensor is faulty. It happens to every make and model of car.
Anyway, it seems the transmission symptoms are somewhat intended based on features to save fuel. However, based on what I said he thinks what I and others are experiencing is more harsh than what is intended. So he is having a member(s) of his engineering team contact me (don't know a timeline) to set up a time for them to come down and drive with me.
Also, back2front I think mentioned that his dealer told him they contacted GM and were told GM was aware of this problem and was working on it. The engineer said this is not true, that GM was not aware of the severity of these symptoms in some vehicles. So it seems the dealer was lied to by GM, or the dealer lied to back2front.
When I hear more I'll update more.
I'm sure GM didn't lie to the dealership, and it's not likely that the dealership just lied to back2front either. Maybe the information hasn't gotten up the chain yet or the person you talked to just hadn't heard about it yet.
Based on what the head engineer of the new Equinox said, it is gas saving features they implemented that they knew would hurt driving experience, but they are apparently hurting the driving experience more than intended. In other words, they took things too far. I'm still not sure if it is just a certain batch of vehicles or all of them, however, and some people just don't notice.
He also knew exactly what eneity the dealers go through to contact GM directly (he said the name and what they do but talked about it fast so I don't remember specifics), re: back2front's experience with his dealer, but didn't know anything about any dealers reporting this issue to that entity. So apparently either the dealer lied, or the entity the dealer talked to didn't pass along the information to the engineering dept. like they should have. This engineer said all recalls and bulletins go through him, even before they start working on the problem that will end up as an official bulletin or recall once they come up with a fix. So he'd know about everything with these vehicles that is being "fixed" or "worked on" at any given time that is a systemic problem with the new Equinox.
I'll keep everyone updated so those of you who own these and have said yours is doing the same thing know whats up.
My sales manager has a 4-cylinder for a demo and he notices the same characteristic, although it doesn't bother him. I haven't really noticed it on the test drives I've done, so I'll take his demo out and see if I notice it and let you know. I will also ask the service manager and our trans guy if they have heard anything about the "problem". I'll keep you updated.
As for my problems, it took a while but in the end things turned out well. I'll post separate messages and probably start a new thread as well with how things ended up.
It turns out to be a tranny programming issue as the dealers thought. The person who actually writes the tranny program for the Nox works under the engineer who came down. Everything I have described in this thread and others as symptoms it did, which was good. The driving characteristics were rather harsh to him compared to other Noxs he has driven, which are many. He was, however, able to explain why every symptom existed except for one (but the solution fixed that, explained below). He did say that although uniformity in parts and software is the goal, small differences happen during the manufacturing process (and GM largely buys parts from suppliers and doesn't make them themselves) that can make one vehicle a little different from another. This might be why some exhibit more symptoms than others.
Without going into specifics, all the symptoms were related to things designed to conserve fuel. Long story short, he put a new tranny program into my vehicle that influences the operation of various transmission and fuel conserving components. It actually was just officially approved yesterday, and will begin to be put into new Equinox production vehicles possibly as early as Tuesday (Sept. 22). My vehicle is the first one with this new program that is not a GM corporate vehicle, and only a few of those have it.
The difference is amazing! It drives like a different vehicle. Although the symptoms we experienced while driving the vehicle were either new to him or more harsh than he's experienced before (i.e.: they didn't specifically make this new program to solve the symptoms I've described), this new program makes a world of difference and solves most all of the problems I've described.
For those thinking about not buying the Nox because of the tranny issues described - don't be hesitant any longer. I no longer discourage people to buy this vehicle because of transmission behavior. If GM if full of people like this guy they will do great so long as people put their biases aside and actually give the vehicles a chance.
For those of you experiencing the symptoms who already purchased one, email me (wallyuwl@yahoo.com) and I'll tell you how I understand to get the fix. They may not release it as a full-blown bulletin (there are what I consider good reasons for that based on what this engineer said), so it might not be obvious to your dealer that there is a fix out there, but they should be able to get and do the fix (though I'm not sure on the timeline) with a little prodding. The fix is literally a 5 minute thing to actually perform.
The 6-speed is an amazingly good transmission, I have nothing but good things to say about it. It's a shame it wasn't programmed properly, I guess there are always bugs with a new model.
I went and started the car and the Radio is locked, I can not change channel or volume. More importantly, there are no indicator lights in the climate control section, and it is in Defrost mode only at a cold temp, with the fan at maybe a 5.
The menu controls, the door lock and Emergency Flashers work fine.
None of the other buttons on the panel work
ANY SUGGESTIONS, except bringing it in?
The previous generation of Equinox has a Chinese made 3.4L. Long gone.
It sounds as if it needs the "tappets" adjusted. I changed the oil at about 4000 miles and still the irritating tapping. I thought tappets were all hydraulic and thus didn't need adjusting.
Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice?
The 3.6 liter DI in the Cadillac CTS had the same complaint of tapping/knocking noise. This how GM gets good horsepower and fuel mileage and cleaner burning .
The fuel pump is very expensive to replace too.
great car i have liked it more every time i drive it...
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
What did you have to get done to fix it? Thanks.
I only put on 400 miles in 3 weeks but I've had no problems thus far. Still. I would like to know when it was built. Thanks...Jim
I was reading the posts this morning regarding the stalling 2010 Equinox on the Edmund site and have recently become a victim of this type of symptom. The car was purchased on 9/9/09 and has 970 mi. It is equipped with the 4 cyl and is fwd LT1.
Brought it to the dealer this morning (Oct 29) and they determined that there is a bulletin out covering this symptom. What I have been told is "after the engine is cast some of the engine castings were not properly cleaned out and so the fine metal screens installed in the engine designed to protect the engine are clogged affecting the variable valves and their operation" I assume GM is using some type of sand casting method although the "sand" is not really good old beach sand. Anyway, the repair will take most of the day but have no idea what all is involved in the repair as I did not discuss that with the service writer.
My 2010 Equinox has been back four times in as many weeks for the engine castings causing stalling issue (I think it's GM bulletin #PIP4469E). So far they've cleaned it several times, replaced solenoids, and still the problem persists. The dealership assures me that "this will be the last time" but I've heard that 3 times before :-(
I have to say that I love the car, and I'd rave about it to friends if it wasn't for this issue. Low speed stalling and having to go back to the dealership on a weekly basis does not make for a happy customer.
Hopefully GM fixes the quality control issues that caused this problem in the first place as I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone.
So, when it is going slow (20 mph range) and slowing down, it does downshift and there is a slight decelleration. I find this very good for me. It is using a small fraction of engine braking as I approach a red light. I assume my brakes will last for a few years longer this way.
Betsy will be flat-bedded to the dealer tomorrow morning.
I will keep you posted.
Yobot
The dealer gave me a loaner malibu to drive until they fix the nox. Now I'm wondering if GM will pick up the tow cost, since it is their problem. I'll cross that bridge next week.
Hope this was helpful.
One negative - The low beam headlights are insufficient. High beams are very good. I talked to the service manager at my dealer. Since i'm only the second equinox that they delivered, he had not heard the complaint. He checked with the factory and they were apparently aware of the problem and a fix is in the works ( computer reprogram to increase voltage ).
So far I could not be happier with my dealer - thru sales negotiations and keeping me informed on manufacturing progress and delivery - and now on service response. I don't know if it is proper to mention a dealers name or not in this venue, but if someone will let me know i'll post it.
I'll post an update on the low beams and on the vehicle overall after i've driven more.