Is this a misprint in the manual?

[tizeye]

Did Chevrolet mess up in their manual which I viewed on-line?

While the Jeep Cherokee 4x4 is my first choice, am considering the lighter Equinox (FWD is OK). While I had always heard the 9sp transmission is not OK for dingy towing 4 down, am afraid to ask the dealer as they want to sell the car but haven't seen any posts addressing the issue on this or other sites. Page 355 of the manual clearly states "Dinghy Towing - Front-wheel-drive (1.5 L gas, 2.0L gas, and 1.6L diesel engine) and all-wheel-drive (2.0L gas and 1.6L diesel engine) vehicles may be dinghy towed from the front" It later partially contradicts itself with a nonsense sentence to platform tow all other engine/transmission combination as there are no other combinations based on what they listed - and while they never discuss transmissions anywhere, the 2.0 only comes with the 9 sp. They also give instructions on how to hook up an AWD if equipped.

By contrast, the sister/twin GMC Terrain manual takes the legal liability limiting approach stating none of theirs are 4 down dingy towable. While the 2 gas engines also use the 9 sp, (Chevy's 1.5L version uses either the 6 sp or 9 sp depending on trim) it would also include prohibiting the 1.6L diesel which is 6sp only. Strongly suspect GMC is misrepresenting the capability of their vehicle to limit the liability.


Buick Envision - which is a totally different car but competing in this SUV Class, is even worse. While noting that FWD is 4 down towable, it fails to discuss any engine or trim, and it does use the 2.0L engine with 9sp in the upper trim.

[Rkesselus]

I would stick with the 4 wheel drive Jeep it has the same tranny as the Dodge Dakota and Durango. The system allows for everything to be switched to neutral disconnecting the drive line including the speedometer. We have towed our Dakota over 120,000 miles with absolutely no trouble. If the other manufactures are him hauling around I think there must be a liability question. So I always try to stay with what is tried and true.

[tizeye]

Thanks. Glad to hear on the Dakota. Currently dolly tow a Mini Countryman which I love except for it's bad habit of spontaneously opening the rear, usually at home in the garage, but also in parking lots and once when driving - exposing up to $10,000 of camera gear. Per service, that auto lift/sensor can't be disabled to make it manual, and the design of the key fob in my pocket is probably the trigger. Plus warranty with included 100% maintenance will be up in 6 months so is probably a good time. Get 4 down this time - and don't want used because so many times the 4 down capability was for those models with certain options that you have no idea, short of VIN number research, if it has. Just like today, not all Jeep Cherokee 4x4 qualify, only those equipped with two of the three 4x4 options. All Trailblazer 4x4 qualify but stuck with noisy knobby tires in a daily driver. That leaves all other models, but the 4x4 comes standard with Active 1 - nonqualifying for 4 down, requiring Active II which is an option. Also spoiled by the performance of the Mini S model, and very hesitant for lowest powered base engine of Jeep and GM products (1.5L especially) preferring 2.0L which is the standard engine in the Trailblazer model. The other issue is Florida where 4x4 is usually 10% or less of new inventory. A Jeep Cherokee Limited trim 4x4 2.0L within a 150 inventory search returned 2 identically equipped at one dealer, (zero Overland, and 6 Laredo Plus.) For Jeep, my best bet would be internet shopping the DC area with the larger 4x4 inventory, Then a cheap early AM non-stop from Orlando, purchase the car and stay overnight somewhere in North or South Carolina. That is why GM entered the the picture (Ford and foreign models don't have an eligible 4 down model in the small/mid SUV Class) and FWD is a viable option. Moving up a SUV class - Grand Cherokee (would love), Edge, Tahoe/Acadia etc - begind oushing needless weight issues on the RV. The other nice thing on internet shopping the Jeep (and all Fiat/Chrysler sites) includes a pdf of the actual Moroney window sticker so you can see the actual options on that specific VIN car, where GM doesn't, and Ford, it is there, but hidden obscure link.

[CountryB]

Originally Posted by tizeye

Did Chevrolet mess up in their manual which I viewed on-line?

While the Jeep Cherokee 4x4 is my first choice, am considering the lighter Equinox (FWD is OK). While I had always heard the 9sp transmission is not OK for dingy towing 4 down, am afraid to ask the dealer as they want to sell the car but haven't seen any posts addressing the issue on this or other sites.

Ask the Dealer, and have them put it in writing - if they say it is okay to flat tow. Then if there is ever a problem, you have it writing. If they won't put "what they tell you" in writing then don't buy it, and find a new Dealer.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by tizeye

Did Chevrolet mess up in their manual which I viewed on-line?

While the Jeep Cherokee 4x4 is my first choice, am considering the lighter Equinox (FWD is OK). While I had always heard the 9sp transmission is not OK for dingy towing 4 down, am afraid to ask the dealer as they want to sell the car but haven't seen any posts addressing the issue on this or other sites. Page 355 of the manual clearly states "Dinghy Towing - Front-wheel-drive (1.5 L gas, 2.0L gas, and 1.6L diesel engine) and all-wheel-drive (2.0L gas and 1.6L diesel engine) vehicles may be dinghy towed from the front" It later partially contradicts itself with a nonsense sentence to platform tow all other engine/transmission combination as there are no other combinations based on what they listed - and while they never discuss transmissions anywhere, the 2.0 only comes with the 9 sp. They also give instructions on how to hook up an AWD if equipped.

By contrast, the sister/twin GMC Terrain manual takes the legal liability limiting approach stating none of theirs are 4 down dingy towable. While the 2 gas engines also use the 9 sp, (Chevy's 1.5L version uses either the 6 sp or 9 sp depending on trim) it would also include prohibiting the 1.6L diesel which is 6sp only. Strongly suspect GMC is misrepresenting the capability of their vehicle to limit the liability.


Buick Envision - which is a totally different car but competing in this SUV Class, is even worse. While noting that FWD is 4 down towable, it fails to discuss any engine or trim, and it does use the 2.0L engine with 9sp in the upper trim.

The dealer should have a technical text book for each model vehicle they sell. We were looking at a Ford a few years ago and got similar conflicting information from owners manuals and sales people. We finally asked our local Ford dealer to let us to see the technical specs on the car. As it turned out the model we were considering was not towable, regardless of what the sales people and owners manuals said.

In many cases there is confusion because previous years of the same model were towable. Also as you mentioned there are sometimes errors in the owners manuals. In most cases the manuals are only updated as changes to a particular model occur. There are instances where some systems change, but the documentation either isn't ready at the time the manuals are sent to press, or the changes just plain get missed.

Over the years we have received several owners manual updates in the mail from the manufacturers. Also if you look at the manufacturers websites most offer online versions of the owners manuals. If you look closely you will often see a revision number on the last page. This is to correct errors in previously published versions.

Over the years I have found a number of mistakes in both owners and technical manuals. One that comes to mind is the drive pulley on a late 80's Ford truck water pump. The Ford repair manual went to great lengths to make sure the technicians understood this pulley was held in place with a left hand threaded bolt. It was further secured using high strength Loctite that needed to be heated to be removed.

After struggling with heat and various length wrenches I found the text hadn't been updated from the previous year. In previous years the belt was routed differently and required the left hand bolt to keep the pulley secure when turning counter clockwise. The belt routing had been changed for the model year I was working on and the left hand bolt and Loctite were no longer necessary. The bolt was now the more standard right hand thread and didn't require any type of Loctite.

[Bikinjim]

We bought and tow a 2018 1.5 FWD Equinox with the 6 speed and have been very happy with the car so far. For 2018, the owner’s manual only specified the 1.5 FWD and the diesel models as towable. As you saw the manual was changed for 2019 to approve the 2.0 model with the 9 speed transmission and people have started towing it and I haven’t seen any issues reported yet. We find that the 1.5 has a surprising amount of power and find that it performs very acceptably. I drove a 2.0 and it did perform with greater pep and less noise, but you should drive both and see if either would meet your needs. The fuel economy on the 1.5 is excellent and we have consistently gotten 30 gpm or better. Our dealer said that the 2.0 model really needed premium fuel which would be a significant additional cost. I had suspected that the 2018 2.0 model wasn’t fully tested for towing which was why it was wasn’t approved for towing and later the 2019 was. But if the 9 speed has previously been approved in other Chevy models that might not be the case.

We previously towed a 2015 Cherokee Trailhawk and, so far, we have been happier with the Equinox. The Cherokee had reliability and death wobble issues and we rarely used its off road capabilities. In our opinion, the Equinox performs better on the road, gets better fuel economy, is roomier, is quieter at highway speeds, and I can definitely tell it is significantly lighter by the performance of the coach. I understand your concern if the manual is correct for the 9 speed models. However, the 6 speed has a proven track record if it would meet your needs.

[ThePowells]

At the Ag show last week and there was 2 Equinoxes there with stickers on the windshield proclaiming them as "Flat Towable".