general problems of the 2006 Chevrolet Equinox - part 2

Ignition let's the key go while vehicle is started. Received a notice from Chevrolet stating a recall was issued for ignition cylinder. Took it to my local dealer on 7/14/15 and they said my ignition housing is bad also. Trying to charge me 230. 00 to fix the ignition. I feel a recall needs to be placed on the entire ignition not just the cylinder. My key sticks sometimes in the on position. My key is able to be pulled from the ignition while running. My key sometimes sticks in the off position so I can't start it.

Noticed that my car was not starting when cranked. \I thought it was the battery and changed it, but still having the problem. Researched the internet and found that the powertrain/engine control modules were the issues in numerous chevy Equinox which may be the reason for the car not starting.

I was driving down the road and the vehicle just shuts off and it takes along time to get it started again and this happens at least twice a day.

The heater blend door is broken. The cost of replacing the door is $1000 +. I cannot afford to get this problem fixed. This seems to be a very common problem in this model vehicle. I am so disappointed.

The fan is my car only blows out cold air. Not great when the weather is 25 degrees and snowing. Really gm, step up to the plate.

The heater is currently blowing out cold air. I have tried every setting to try to see if any of the settings help but always blows out cool/cold air. Another costly repair to add to this vehicle. Ave had numerous problems with this vehicle, the worst chevy model I have ever owned. Have had this vehicle for 16 months have had numerous problems with this vehicle.

The heating system suddenly failed and blows cold air affecting the vehicles windshield defrosting ability. This is a manufacturer's defect. The problem impacts the ability of the car to defrost. As noted in a letter from gm's director of product investigations and safety to the NHTSA on December 23, 2009, the 2010 Equinox was recalled since a manufacturer’s defect resulted in non-operational defrost systems that was a safety concern, could result in a crash, and violated federal motor vehicle safety standard 103. In other words, gm has admitted on another vehicle that manufacturer’s defects that cause in-operable defrost systems are their responsibility to replace. Chevrolet Equinox drivers are at stake. Not having the ability to defrost your windshield could lead to traffic accidents vehicle damage, injury and possible death. I am requesting the nhsta to investigate this and order gm to replace the defected part / parts and refund repair cost to those of us who have or will have to pay for these expensive repairs.

I started the car in the morning around 6:10 to take may daughter to the bus stop. I waited a few minutes for the car to get warm and before I went to pull off, I turned on the heat, the temp setting was set in the middle between hot and cold. I turned the knob all the way to heat and then turned the blower setting up. Nothing but cold air. We sat at the bus stop and even after it came there was still no heat. Later that morning I took my other children to school. I sit in a very long car pool line and drop them off at the front door. The entire trip was without heat. In the afternoon I repeat the morning by picking up the children without heat. The engine was heated up there was no reason that I knew of that the heater should not work. After taking the car to my mechanic I was informed that this is a very common problem and chevy has not done a recall. I was also informed of what this would cost me to repair and why. I can not believe this is due to a plastic part and requires the entire dashboard be taken apart.

06 chevy Equinox lt2, heat started blowing cold air. I didn't know the problem but fortunately I went into my onstar account to look for diagnosis but since service engine light did not come on it couldn't tell me. But while in my account it was showing active warranty. It showed me there was an active extended warranty from gm, covering actuator door default. All Equinox owners are covered to 120,000 miles or 1/1/2016. . . . . So if you have this issue with heat blowing cold take it to authorized chevy gm dealer because they have to take the whole dash out to fix a 10. 00 part, the labor charge is $2600 my dealer told me. Also if you paid for this issue out of pocket they will reimburse you. Google this issue , there is a special bulletin number for this. Get that number and call your dealer!!!!! they won't tell you it's covered and charge you because most of the service managers don't even know it exists. Now that's not rite. . . . . They should have been informed of this being covered, it's not fair to the consumer.

Tried to clear windshield of frost. Only cold air came out of vent. Same cold air on all hvac settings.

The temperature blend door is the problem on my vehicle. I do not have any heat, which mean I do not have defrosters. This is a dangerous situation, in which the internet is filled with complaints about this on this vehicle. . I don't know how it is not recalled. I was told my my local chevy dealership it could cost $4,000 to fix. I brought it to another mechanic that told me it is set up to fail, as it is cheaply made! is chevy waiting for someone to get killed when their defrosters suddenly fail. I used a plug in heater to defrost my windows this past winter because I don't have that kind of money to fix it. The problem with that is the heater kept blowing my fuses. This is a safety issue and should be addressed immediately!!.

Failure of the hvac blend door [1] has made defrosting the forward windshield in cold temperatures impossible. This is a safety issue because of the limiting of visibility and in violation of standard 103 [2] from the u. S. Department of transportation. Gm has admitted a design flaw in the hvac blend door actuator in that a dealer replacement uses an updated hvac blend door actuator which more accurately limits the rotational travel. The failure of the hvac blend door occurs because the original faultily designed hvac blend door actuator travels too far causing structural stress on the blend door which eventually leads to premature failure of the blend door. This results in vent air not passing over the heat core, therefore making defrosting of the windshield not possible in cold conditions.

Heater blend door- temperature door is broken. This repair is estimated at $1000. 00. After reading several thousand reviews, this is a problem occurring in all of the 06 chevy Equinox's. Chevy needs to acknowledge this defect and issue a recall. This is a very costly repair that most can not afford and something that needs replaced in a couple of years.

The abs and t/c lights come on after driving. If the car has been turned off, and you turn the car back on, the lights will not come on while driving around or under 10mph, but the symptoms are that the brakes will grind and be very hard to push, very dangerous when braking behind somebody waiting to pull out of a driveway into a busy intersection. After accelerating to 20mph or faster, the brake issue might go away, but the abs/traction control lights will coem on. The problem is known for the 2006 chev Equinox to be an issue with the pigtail wiring harness. . Read more...

I am a owner of a 2006 Equinox, I have noticed the change in shifts when I am driving. It's like the transmission is shifting and jerks the car this has been an on going problem for a few weeks now. It stalled out on me one while I was in traffic and the key was stuck in the ignition hard for me to turn key to restart. I took it to a local dealership numerous times and they said nothing was wrong. Finally this past weekend I almost wrecked someone in front of me because of the jerking and I took it to the dealership once again, they finally gave me a diagnosis said I need to get my ignition switch replaced which is a large amount to fix. This is very unsafe for families and I can see accidents happening. This vehicle should definitely be recalled as well ! I have contacted gm but no replies.

On 2 different occasions a few weeks apart the car went dead while in operation. The 1st time I was going around a curve, the 2nd time had just reached 55mph on the hwy and set the cruise. For the past few weeks started fine in the mornings but has trouble starting on next tries, and gets harder each time. Now I have a dead battery from trying to start the vehicle!.

Engine light came on and the car is hard to start. I took the car back to the dealership and had it tested. They said it is on because of the gas cap. I was told to replace the gas cap and that woudl solve the issue with the starting. They reset the light. I bought a new gas cap. Light came back on. It is till on and having problems starting. No more Chevrolets for me.

All interior and exterior lights will flicker when started and will sometimes do it when breaks are applied. Does not start on first try sometimes. Sounds like it is starting but just stops.

Heater stopped working on vehicle making it impossible to defrost my front window. This creates a driving hazard due to foggy window. This can happen in cold or humid weather so it is an issue that needs to be addressed by gm, especially since they are aware of the problem.

No heat from heater . . . Blows cold air this is a safety issue for my 7 year old disable son who cannot regulate his body temp very well.

I have an 06 chevy Equinox. Over the past month it has been randomly shutting off as you are driving. The first time I was at a stop light and it shut off. After a few tries to start it back up I called my husband he came to get me and it started back up. We took it to our mechanic that day. He saw nothing wrong. There was no code that came up to identify a problem. Since then it has shut off multiple time while in motion. The engine will shut down and the tc light will come. I found this forum and read other comments of this happening. I live in florida and have to go over a bridge every day to go to work. I am scared this might happen while on the bridge or highway. Gm should really look in to this problem if it is happening to more than a few people. I don't have money to give away if no problem can be seen by a mechanic nor can I afford a new car. Some one please help or give me an answer.

Heater stopped blowing hot air. After diagnosis by certified technician I was informed that the actuator for the heater blend door is not working properly/damaged. After researching the issue it became clear that there have been several hundred safety complaints filed in regards to this issue. A resolution needs to be attained as the repair cost for this item is around $1000. A recall needs to be issued by gm since it becomes a safety issue when the inability to defrost your windshield is not there.

The ignition gets stuck.

I had been having issues with the car starting properly and the key getting stuck in the ignition. The dealer couldnt find anything wrong. Then one evening, I drove to a store and turned my car off. Came back and it wouldnt start. Called roadside assistance and they thougth it was the battery, but it wasnt. Had it towed to the dealer and was told it had a bad starter. I had to by a new starter.

We had a cold front come through today causing my window to fog. I changed my air to heat but just got cold air. I took it to the dealership and found out its my blend door. He said it would cost about $45 for the part but $1200 in labor!!!!! he also said that this has happened to thousands of Equinox's! this issue needs to be corrected and a recall issued! I could not see anything and came so close to wreaking I sat in the shoulder of the road and cried!.

I have a 2006 chevy Equinox that the heater will only blow cold air , no heat , to fix the problem and this could cost me $1200, or $800, , I alredy replaced once and now have the same issue.

2006 Chevrolet Equinox. Key will not rotate from off position to on position, thus the car can not be started. The problem is with the ignition cylinder presumedly, as the factory key is incapable of even being rotated to the on position. A second factory issued key that has been sparingly used since purchased was substituted for the original (problem key). This second key appeared to have resolved the problem, for the first two weeks of use, however now this new key will not work at all either. Based on my research via the web, this appears to be a known problem with several Chevrolet vehicles utilizing the same ignition cylinder; however Chevrolet has failed to address this known problem.

I have no heat or defrosters. Is there a recall because it is unsafe to drive when cold weather is present. Should I file a law suit? I understand this is something that is under investigation in other vehicles of same make and model. I can't afford to fix. My garage states $1100. 00 to fix. What should I do and how can I get Chevrolet to pay for this?.

My heater quit blowing hot air and thus, the windows fog up. I took it to a mechanic and it is the blend door. Upon further reading of this problem, I have found that many 2006 Equinox have the same problem. It is a 10 hour labor job and so 1000. 00 to replace. Since this effects visability, I feel it is a safety issue.

There is 241 safety complaints on the heater blend door! the blend door on the 2006 Equinox is defective creating a serious safety hazard to the vehicle occupants and any one else one the road. The blend door actuator rotates to far causing the blend door to break. This does not happen over a short period but over a longer time frame. This is a very serious safety issues especially when it gets cold. The windshield will freeze up and with no heat the driver and passengers could get frost bite. The NHTSA needs to issues a safety recall now before someone gets hurt or killed. What is the NHTSA doing about this if anything?.

I live in alaska where it does get cold during the winter time. My wife was driving from anchorage to our home about 45 miles away when she had no heat inside her car. I replaced the thermostat and sensor check the heater core all were fine. I could not figured out why no heat. No heat also meant I could not defrost the windshield ( safety hazard). I did some research on the internet and ask other Equinox owners if they had the problem. I found out the blend door breaks. The reason it breaks is the blend door motor rotates to far, breaking the tabs on the door. I would like to know why there has not been a recall on this safety hazard? look on the internet and you will find many owners who have the same problem and still the NHTSA does nothing about the problem, why?.

Heater blows cold air in winter.

A cheap plastic part (air temperature control door ) breaks and you lose all heat and cannot defrost or defog windows, and as such have virtually no visibilty, which in my opinion is a very serious safety concern.

This vehicle has been difficult to crank, you have to manipulate the steering column, and repeatedly try to crank it. Key is difficult to remove. On sept 29, 2014, the key came out of ignition while in drive. I reported to gm at 18002221020 at 8am on sept 30, to , who took details, and said a sr. Service advisor would call me in 24-48 hours. No one did. I called gm back today and spoke to a hispanic man, who said rachel is the sr. Advisor assigned but she is not available at this time. I left a voice mail for her. I also contacted riverside Chevrolet in wetumpka alabama, and was told a service person would call me back.

Ever since I got this vehicle I have always heard what sounds like water in the dash, ive been reading that it is a known problem and it contributes to the antifreeze which in some cases leaked out of the air vents into the vehicle. Ive also had my heater blend door go bad and got that replaced. My check engine light comes on all the time because of the gas cap. Leaking antifreeze some where and from what I read it goes into the engine heads and causes damage there. This is my daily drive and I drive about 50 miles a day 6 or 7 days a week. All I do is put money into it on parts since I got it.