Problem with new Chevy Equinox

[JackieW]

Hi all!
While traveling to our next destination, towing our 2024 Chevy Equinox, DH and I noticed a strong smell of hot brakes. We were at a high elevation on hwy 120 in CA, a narrow and curvy part of the road. Fortunately, we pulled over. DH got out and found the brakes to be fine on our RV but hot on the car. This is our first trip with this car but it had been performing flawlessly since leaving our home in WA and we’re on our way back home now. Currently in Redding, CA. Anyway, started to pull out again and DH notices the car’s wheels aren’t turning! We unhooked the car and I followed him the remainder of the way from Yosemite area to Redding. DH thinks it’s a problem with the air brakes connection from RV to our car. The setup was installed by our RV dealer as was our previous car. For reference, Tiffin Phaeton, Blue Ox, 2024 Chevy Equinox. The Equinox has been great and we really love it. Previously, we had a Buick Enclave that had the mechanical brake connection. This setup is new to us. Hubby wants to leave the air brake connection off tomorrow when we travel. Please advise if you can. Thanks!!
Jackie

[NXR]

Are you disconnecting the car battery after configuring it inside for towing?

Chevy revised the towing procedure for the 2023 and 2024 model year Equinox due to braking problems.

There are several threads about that problem in this forum.

Ray

[Ozzsp250]

Read this, taken from another post; no sure what applicable but worth discussing as installer may have have known this info:


Reference Number: GCUS-9-15364


Dinghy Towing information is incorrect in Owner’s Manual 2023 – 2024 – Chevrolet Equinox (non-EV)
​

GM CUSTOMER CARE & AFTERSALES

URGENT - DISTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY

DATE
11-16-2023
SUBJECT
Dinghy Towing information is incorrect in Owner’s Manual
MODELS
2023 – 2024 – Chevrolet Equinox (non-EV)
TO
All Chevrolet Dealers
ATTN
Service Manager, Service Advisor, Service Technician, Customer Relations Manager, General Sales Manager, Sales Management,


All,
The printing of the Owner’s Manual for the 2023 and 2024 Chevrolet Equinox contains an error in the Dinghy Towing instructions.

The incorrect instructions say to leave the car powered on in accessory mode and the battery connected, which is what the 2018-2022 model years require. Leaving the battery connected and in accessory mode can cause tire squeal and steering wheel shake while being dinghy towed on long, cloverleaf type entrance/exit ramps.

The directions should have been updated because of the change in the braking system.

The new instructions are:

To dinghy tow:
1. Position the front of the vehicle being towed—with all four wheels on the ground—behind the towing vehicle.
2. Secure it to the towing vehicle.
3. Put the vehicle in N (Neutral).
4. Shut engine off (vehicle will remain in accessory mode).
5. Release the Electric Parking Brake (EPB), if applied.
6. Disconnect the negative (-) terminal connector from the 12-volt battery.
7. Close the hood of the vehicle.

Once the destination is reached:
Shift the vehicle to P (Park).
Reconnect the negative (-) terminal connector to the 12-volt battery.
Start the engine and let it idle for more than three minutes before driving the vehicle.
Caution
For AWD vehicles only, a lubrication cycle is recommended after 2700 km (1,700 miles) of recreational dinghy towing. Drive the vehicle in AWD up to 40 km/h (25 mph) for a minimum of 30 seconds to distribute lubrication throughout the rear drive module and protect the system for additional dinghy towing.


Updated owner’s manual pages were being included at the vehicle assembly plants in early November. However, the updated pages erroneously excluded the all-wheel drive (AWD) from being dinghy towed. The pages will be updated again, but some vehicles will reach dealers with the incorrect information.

A mailout will go to customers who have purchased a 2023 or 2024 Equinox, and to dealers who have inventory of cars that do not have the correctly updated pages, once the revision is available.

If customers ask for clarification due to the discrepancies, please share that both the FWD and AWD versions are able to be dinghy towed, following the newly revised procedure.

Thank you for your cooperation.
END OF MESSAGE GM CUSTOMER CARE & AFTERSALES

Also see attachment.

[B52Rnav]

We tow a 2024 Equinox RS. No issues, but we did install disconnect on positive side of battery. Our pre-departure checks include brake lights, turn signals, and make sure tires are turning when RV moves.

[JackieW]

Originally Posted by NXR

Are you disconnecting the car battery after configuring it inside for towing?

Chevy revised the towing procedure for the 2023 and 2024 model year Equinox due to braking problems.

There are several threads about that problem in this forum.

Ray

Yes, we are disconnecting the battery, putting the transmission in neutral, disengaging the parking brake, leaving it in accessory. I think this happened because of the extreme driving conditions. Hwy 120 was through the mountains so was very windy with lots of increasing/decreasing elevations. DH thinks the electronic parking brake engaged.

[JackieW]

Originally Posted by B52Rnav

We tow a 2024 Equinox RS. No issues, but we did install disconnect on positive side of battery. Our pre-departure checks include brake lights, turn signals, and make sure tires are turning when RV moves.

That’s our procedure as well when leaving. The wheels were turning and the car has performed well up to that point.

[JackieW]

Originally Posted by Ozzsp250

Read this, taken from another post; no sure what applicable but worth discussing as installer may have have known this info:


Reference Number: GCUS-9-15364


Dinghy Towing information is incorrect in Owner’s Manual 2023 – 2024 – Chevrolet Equinox (non-EV)
​

GM CUSTOMER CARE & AFTERSALES

URGENT - DISTRIBUTE IMMEDIATELY

DATE
11-16-2023
SUBJECT
Dinghy Towing information is incorrect in Owner’s Manual
MODELS
2023 – 2024 – Chevrolet Equinox (non-EV)
TO
All Chevrolet Dealers
ATTN
Service Manager, Service Advisor, Service Technician, Customer Relations Manager, General Sales Manager, Sales Management,


All,
The printing of the Owner’s Manual for the 2023 and 2024 Chevrolet Equinox contains an error in the Dinghy Towing instructions.

The incorrect instructions say to leave the car powered on in accessory mode and the battery connected, which is what the 2018-2022 model years require. Leaving the battery connected and in accessory mode can cause tire squeal and steering wheel shake while being dinghy towed on long, cloverleaf type entrance/exit ramps.

The directions should have been updated because of the change in the braking system.

The new instructions are:

To dinghy tow:
1. Position the front of the vehicle being towed—with all four wheels on the ground—behind the towing vehicle.
2. Secure it to the towing vehicle.
3. Put the vehicle in N (Neutral).
4. Shut engine off (vehicle will remain in accessory mode).
5. Release the Electric Parking Brake (EPB), if applied.
6. Disconnect the negative (-) terminal connector from the 12-volt battery.
7. Close the hood of the vehicle.

Once the destination is reached:
Shift the vehicle to P (Park).
Reconnect the negative (-) terminal connector to the 12-volt battery.
Start the engine and let it idle for more than three minutes before driving the vehicle.
Caution
For AWD vehicles only, a lubrication cycle is recommended after 2700 km (1,700 miles) of recreational dinghy towing. Drive the vehicle in AWD up to 40 km/h (25 mph) for a minimum of 30 seconds to distribute lubrication throughout the rear drive module and protect the system for additional dinghy towing.


Updated owner’s manual pages were being included at the vehicle assembly plants in early November. However, the updated pages erroneously excluded the all-wheel drive (AWD) from being dinghy towed. The pages will be updated again, but some vehicles will reach dealers with the incorrect information.

A mailout will go to customers who have purchased a 2023 or 2024 Equinox, and to dealers who have inventory of cars that do not have the correctly updated pages, once the revision is available.

If customers ask for clarification due to the discrepancies, please share that both the FWD and AWD versions are able to be dinghy towed, following the newly revised procedure.

Thank you for your cooperation.
END OF MESSAGE GM CUSTOMER CARE & AFTERSALES

Also see attachment.

We always disconnect the battery and follow the instructions printed here exactly.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by JackieW

DH thinks the electronic parking brake engaged.

The electronic parking brake cannot apply if the battery is disconnected. Did you disconnect all wires on the battery post?

Please explain how the battery is getting disconnected. Manually, with a switch, or what?

What make and model of supplemental braking system did you have installed? It sounds like that is the problem.

A Phaeton likely has a boatload of spare OCCC so the motorhome brakes should be adequate to stop the car as well. I'd think the breakaway system would still work but that depends on what supplemental braking system you have, how you are disconnecting the battery, and whether it was installed correctly.

If you're disconnecting the car battery with a switch please post a picture of that switch.

Ray

[JackieW]

Originally Posted by NXR

The electronic parking brake cannot apply if the battery is disconnected. Did you disconnect all wires on the battery post?

Please explain how the battery is getting disconnected. Manually, with a switch, or what?

What make and model of supplemental braking system did you have installed? It sounds like that is the problem.

A Phaeton likely has a boatload of spare OCCC so the motorhome brakes should be adequate to stop the car as well. I'd think the breakaway system would still work but that depends on what supplemental braking system you have, how you are disconnecting the battery, and whether it was installed correctly.

If you're disconnecting the car battery with a switch please post a picture of that switch.

Ray

Hi Ray,
We manually disconnect the negative battery post and we use an Air Force One supplemental braking system, which is brand new but I don’t know the model number. The whole car towing system was installed by our RV dealer like on our previous car. We drove yesterday from Redding, CA to Eugene, OR, more than 300 miles through some mountains and the car was fine. Maybe the wheels locking up was an anomaly?

[NXR]

In your first post you noted that the car's wheels were not turning as you pulled away. That's not a minor problem.

Do you have TPMS sensors on the Equinox so you will know if the brakes lock up and a tire blows? You almost certainly will not be able to tell from the motorhome. Many a person has suffered heavy damage from a toad tire failure as they happily motored along.

Since you are disconnecting the battery negative cable have you tested the breakaway system with the car disconnected from the motorhome and the battery disconnected?

I just looked at the installation manual and I think you may be disabling the breakaway system. Remember, GM does not supply a supplemental braking system so they won't care whether their procedure disables that system. That's why some people disconnect the positive cable using a switch and wire the supplemental brake system directly to the car battery.

Ray