2018 Equinox flat tow?????

[taoshum]

Wondering if I can flat tow a 2018 AWD Chevy Equinox with the 2L turbo engine which has a 9 spd AT????  Any special things to do?

 

[RVRAC1]

Have you checked the manual that came with it?  It should have the answer.

 

[docj]

According to RemcoTowing, http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php it doesn't appear as if any of the models with the 9 speed automatic are flat towable

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Agree that it is probably not towable (without modification) but the Equinox owner manual will have the official GM answer. Find it under Recreational Towing. GM owner manuals are available online, or ask a dealer to show you one.

I found this statement in the 2018 Dinghy Tow Guide from Motorhome Magazine re the 2018 Equinox:

Front-wheel-drive (1.5L gas FWD/1.6L diesel) and AWD (1.6L diesel only) vehicles can be towed.

 

[taoshum]

thanks for the replies!!!  We are still "looking/considering" at this point and read that the 9 speed AT is an issue but wondered if someone has found a solution.  I'll try to find a "manual"...  The field of "compact SUVs" that are tow-able seems kinda small, except for the Wrangler of course. 

The reviews say that the 1.5 L engine is kinda sluggish compared to the 2.0 L engine.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You should test drive one to see if it feels adequate or not. One man's "sluggish" is another man's racer.  There will always be something that is faster (less sluggish?).

 

[Tom]

We ran into this with several Chevrolet models while shopping for a replacement for our Suburban. The GM flat tow guide makes it clear that only the 1.5FDW and 1.6FWD & AWD models of the 2018 Equinox are flat towable. All 2010 through 2017 models of the Equinox are flat towable.

 

[ChasA]

Taoshum, 
Are you a GM bigot? I have never had any brand preference.
In looking for a new toad, I found that Ford has more flat towable SUVs than GM, so I focused my search on Ford.
My old toad was a 2007 Saturn Vue which was about the same size as the Equinox. But it was powered by a 3.5L Honda V6. There is no way we would ever go back to a 4 banger. So we looked at the Fords. They have the Escape which is about the same size as the Equinox.  But we wanted a little bigger car. Chevy doesn't have something that's  "a little bigger ".
So went with the Edge because it is the size we wanted and Chevy doesn't have something that's about the same size.
Of course,  there are some Jeep 4WD 4-down towable. But we didn't like any of them.
I am just suggesting that you expand your search.  There are other towables out there.

 

[taoshum]

Taoshum, 
Are you a GM bigot? I have never had any brand preference.
In looking for a new toad, I found that Ford has more flat towable SUVs than GM, so I focused my search on Ford.
My old toad was a 2007 Saturn Vue which was about the same size as the Equinox. But it was powered by a 3.5L Honda V6. There is no way we would ever go back to a 4 banger. So we looked at the Fords. They have the Escape which is about the same size as the Equinox.  But we wanted a little bigger car. Chevy doesn't have something that's  "a little bigger ".
So went with the Edge because it is the size we wanted and Chevy doesn't have something that's about the same size.
Of course,  there are some Jeep 4WD 4-down towable. But we didn't like any of them.
I am just suggesting that you expand your search.  There are other towables out there.

LOL, the main reason to look at Chev lies in the local dealer... we only have one, all the other brands are at least 70 miles away.  Actually, we've owned more Fords than any other brand and our last GM product was a disaster.  Things change though.  The Escape can not be towed 4 down.  The Edge probably can.

I guess we'll keep looking and use the Jeep for now.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

ChasA: You should drive a recent model 4-cylinder. I think you would be surprised at how well they perform. I know I am!

 

[JtC-5TH]

thanks for the replies!!!  We are still "looking/considering" at this point and read that the 9 speed AT is an issue but wondered if someone has found a solution.  I'll try to find a "manual"...  The field of "compact SUVs" that are tow-able seems kinda small, except for the Wrangler of course. 

The reviews say that the 1.5 L engine is kinda sluggish compared to the 2.0 L engine.

My 2018 Beetle has a 2 L turbo (it's actually a smaller motor than is on my motorcycle!), but it has great power for such a small engine.  The transmission is one of those you can select "normal", "Sport" (kind of like tow-haul), or manual shift.  It isn't a Dodge Demon, but it has plenty of grunt.  That said, the Beetle probably is one of the lighter vehicles with the 2 L turbo -the whole power to weight ratio thing comes into play with any SUV.  Like Gary suggested -test drive it and don't be shy.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

My daughter has a Kia Rio with a 1.6L 4 cylinder and it's plenty snappy in both town and highway driving. Probably a little lighter in weight than an Equinox, though.  I also owned a Buick Verano sedan for two years and that had a GM 2.0L. That sucker was FAST and could spin the tires easily if you jabbed the throttle.  3267 lb curb weight, so about the same as an Equinox.

Gotta agree, though, that GM has pretty much abandoned the 4-down towable feature since around 2010.  When they revamped their transmissions for lighter weight and more gears, the towable capability was sacrificed.

 

[taoshum]

My daughter has a Kia Rio with a 1.6L 4 cylinder and it's plenty snappy in both town and highway driving. Probably a little lighter in weight than an Equinox, though.  I also owned a Buick Verano sedan for two years and that had a GM 2.0L. That sucker was FAST and could spin the tires easily if you jabbed the throttle.  3267 lb curb weight, so about the same as an Equinox.

Gotta agree, though, that GM has pretty much abandoned the 4-down towable feature since around 2010.  When they revamped their transmissions for lighter weight and more gears, the towable capability was sacrificed.

We're gonna test drive the Equinox tomorrow.. maybe?

 

[taoshum]

test drive today... really, really nice vehicle.  The dealer says that the 9 spd AT will overheat if towed 4 down.  It does make the wonder if a tranny cooler would fix it though.  Might buy it anyway.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A tranny cooler helps only if the tranny fluid is circulating through it, e.g. engine running of the tranny itself has a pump driven by the output shaft, so that the pump turns with the wheels. Few modern automatics have that sort of pump. And if the tranny had it, you wouldn't have o add the cooler to begin with...
Did you test drive the 1.6L or the 2.0L version? Curious...

 

[taoshum]

A tranny cooler helps only if the tranny fluid is circulating through it, e.g. engine running of the tranny itself has a pump driven by the output shaft, so that the pump turns with the wheels. Few modern automatics have that sort of pump. And if the tranny had it, you wouldn't have o add the cooler to begin with...
Did you test drive the 1.6L or the 2.0L version? Curious...

drove both the 1.5 & 2.0 gas turbos, but not the diesel.  We live at almost 7500' so an engine that does fine at sea level or so will be about 20-30% less.  Turbo helps a ton.  The 2.0T has about 250 Hp if you need it.
Plus a 9 spd AT.  The bump in Hp is readily noticeable. 

 

[John Stephens]

No, you cannot tow the 9 speed tranny. I just bought a 1.5L 2018 Equinox Premier. The choice of engines was made for me because the 2.0L cannot be towed and I didn't want a diesel.