Johnston

Folks, I'm John Johnston, associate editor for Family Motor Coaching magazine. GM informed me this week that GM service bulletin #17-NA-348 has been released. It outlines the revised flat-towing procedure for the 4-cylinder 2010-2017 Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain. The link to this bulletin is at the bottom of this post. The service bulletin corrects something in GM's original bulletin (which I posted on the Forums on November 3 using the testcommercial account). That is, in the 2010 Equinox/Terrain, fuse 15 must be removed from the engine compartment fuse block. Everything else in the bulletin remains the same. For 2011-2017 Equinox/Terrain, fuse 16 must be removed, just as the original bulletin said. If you encounter any difficulties while using the revised Equinox/Terrain flat-towing procedure, let me know so that I can forward that information to GM. My email is jjohnston@fmca.com. Equinox Terrain revised flat towing.pdf

According to GM, the reason some 2018 Equinox models cannot be flat towed is NOT due to switchable all wheel drive, but because of the final drive ratios of the rear axle. It’s important to note that the owners manual specifies that only these three 2018 Equinox vehicles can be recreationally towed four wheels down: Front-wheel-drive, 1.5-liter gas-powered. Front-wheel-drive, 1.6-liter diesel-powered. All-wheel-drive, 1.6-liter diesel-powered. GM officials say that because the electrical architecture in the 2018 Equinox differs from 2010-2017 models, it is not necessary to pull any fuses in the 2018 Equinox. However, just as with 2010-2017 models, a charger will be necessary to keep the towed vehicle’s battery charged. The current owners manual for the 2018 Equinox will be revised to reflect the need for a charger. Also, I'm told there is no lockout on the steering wheel for 2018 Equinox models that can be flat towed.