2019 Chevy equinox towable??

[buster33]

Anyone know why the 2019 equinox with the 1.5 L engine is not towable but yet the 2020 Chevy equinox with the exact same engine and transmission is towable?

 

[Contributor]

According to the owners manual the 2019 with the 1.5 is towable.

 

[buster33]

If you read that closely, you will notice for the all wheel drive only with the 2.0 can you dinghy toe not the ones that are equipped with the 1.5. If you have a 1.5 and our front wheel drive then you can. But if you go to the 2020 owners manual you will notice then you can dinghy tow the all wheel drive with the 1.5 and the same transmission. I just don’t understand that.

 

[Contributor]

I was going by your original question

why the 2019 equinox with the 1.5 L engine is not towable

But now that you clarify that you are asking about the All-Wheel drive 1.5 L Gas, then I se what you are asking.

There was probably a change to the transaxle for the 2020 model year with the 1.5 vs the 2019.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

At a guess, there have been enough warranty claims for failures related to towing that engineering has decided to be more cautious. That's not all that unusual a change because car makers don't test dinghy or dolly towing, at least not to any extent that would detect longer term problems. Nor is it terribly unusual to find that the recreational towing info in an owner manual is wrong or incomplete.

 

[Contributor]

I'm more inclined to the opposite view on the changes for the 2020 being allowed to be Dinghy towed. If the 2019s were indeed having issues, then most likely corporate would have made the changes for 2019 and forward to include 2020.

The fact that they allowed the 2020 to be Dinghy towed with less data available vs the 2019, tells me that it was probably bad info on the 2019 manual or a real change to the HW.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You may well be right, Pedro. But recreational towability is a very low priority goal for the big car makers and not something they do much, if anything, to verify. I've worked as a consultant to the auto industry and have some notion of how things get done (or not done). I know of one case where a junior engineer was assigned to do some cost reduction on a transmission and he unwittingly cost-reduced 4-down towing right out of it. And his lead engineer signed off on the changes, either by mistake or by priority, and nobody told the guys who make the owner manuals or the marketing people.

 

[buster33]

I have also researched everything that I can as far the differences between the 2019 and the 2020 and I am be told the only difference is a few safety features and color choices. So again, why would you be able to dingy tow a 2020 but not the 2019.

 

[phil-t]

Because the car maker does not want to warranty issues for a towed vehicle!

 

[buster33]

I understand what you’re saying but then why say in 2020 that it is ok to tow the AWD with the 1.5 L?

 

[Old_Crow]

I understand what you’re saying but then why say in 2020 that it is ok to tow the AWD with the 1.5 L?

None of us are going to have a definite answer to this. You need to ask Chevrolet, and I'm not talking at the dealership level, you'll have to find a way to contact an engineer. I worked as a dealership service tech for over 20 years and I don't believe anyone at the dealership level would have any idea about changes like that.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I understand what you’re saying but then why say in 2020 that it is ok to tow the AWD with the 1.5 L?

We can't answer that except to say that Chevrolet engineers have re-evaluated and changed their opinion & rating. It may be additional owner experience (as indicated by warranty records), or some small change in the design, or simply a more thorough review than was done in the previous year. As Old Crow says, only the engineer(s) involved can answer the question and getting directly in touch with them to ask is unlikely.

 

[CharlesinGA]

They may have decided it was OK, but automakers rarely if ever issue revisions to previous year owners manuals unless it is mandated by the NHTSA. Find the VIN of a identically equipped 2020 model and go to the parts department when they are not busy, and ask if the part numbers for the transaxle, or transmission/transfer case, whatever it has, is the same. If the numbers are different you can assume they made changes that made flat towing possible. If the part numbers are the same, you can feel better about flat towing the car, against the manual's advise.

However, also consider that it may not be the transmission and AWD mechanism at all, but the rear differential being different, changes made in the steering system that prevent death wobble, you never know.

Charles

 

[Contributor]

Bottom line, if under warranty do as the owners manual says. If out of warranty, try it and take your chances.

Myself, I wouldn't do it if there is any doubt. My brain will not allow me to do things like that. Even if no damage occurs, I'd be worried about it. The last thing I would want on a trip is a repair to a toad.

 

[buster33]

They may have decided it was OK, but automakers rarely if ever issue revisions to previous year owners manuals unless it is mandated by the NHTSA. Find the VIN of a identically equipped 2020 model and go to the parts department when they are not busy, and ask if the part numbers for the transaxle, or transmission/transfer case, whatever it has, is the same. If the numbers are different you can assume they made changes that made flat towing possible. If the part numbers are the same, you can feel better about flat towing the car, against the manual's advise.

However, also consider that it may not be the transmission and AWD mechanism at all, but the rear differential being different, changes made in the steering system that prevent death wobble, you never know.

Charles

Got a hold of a Chevrolet representative they researched it said all drivetrain was carried over from 2019 to 2020. Nothing changed so according to them I should be good to go. Going to find out shortly in about three days.