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CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2006 Equinox is plagued by a heating problem, as in the heater only blows cold air.

The reported cause of this problem is a small door, known as the air temperature blend door, which allows air to flow past the heater core. This door has a plastic connecting shaft to an electric motor and the shaft is prone to breaking after a few years. The problem has a typical repair cost of over $800.

The 2006 Equinox also has a number of reported problems ranging from the key getting stuck in the ignition, to failing speed sensors, and trouble starting the engine. All in all, this car sounds like one worth avoiding.

2.4

hardly worth mentioning
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
63,694 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2006 Chevrolet Equinox windows / windshield problems

windows / windshield problem

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2006 Chevrolet Equinox Owner Comments (Page 1 of 8)

problem #150

Sep 092015

Equinox

  • 117,500 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the defroster was activated, but failed to defrost the windshield. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the temperature control door fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 117,500.

- Athens, GA, USA

problem #149

Apr 052015

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 100,586 miles
I have no heat, yesterday, I did. This morning my heat will not work recirculation works fan controls work A/C works, after all of my hours of research, I know what the problem is, along with thousands of other Equinox owners. Its the vent door and actuator, I narrowed all down at first coolant thermostat etc. I found my result for a cheap piece of plastic on the vent door that breaks so often sure its a 70$ part but as a single father, I cannot afford a 1500.00$ shop fee for that, this is something Chevy knows is wrong, and can be a very liable hazard to accidents ! I live in North Dakota where it gets pretty darn cold, you lose your heat on a way to a kids hockey game 100 miles away on a Friday night when snowing and 30 below zero yes could cause fatalities !! its widely spread across the board there are thousands of people with same problem, Chevrolet knows this, they need to make it right before someone gets killed from it !

- Dickinson, ND, USA

problem #148

Mar 202014

Equinox 6-cyl

  • miles
The heater is blowing out cold air, it's is definitely a safety issue. I have to drive to work with a blanket on my lap, heavy jacket and gloves. The blanket on the lap is not the smartest choice but I can not afford to pay somewhere between $800 - $1000 to get this fixed. I also have to have my children bring blankets so they stay warm. We live in a southern state but we still get cold here. I can't imagine living up North and dealing with this problem. Needs to be fixed.

- Orlando , FL, USA

problem #147

Dec 142014

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 158,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The heater blend door is broken. The cost of replacing the door is $1000 +. I cannot afford to get this problem fixed. This seems to be a very common problem in this model vehicle. I am so disappointed.

- Ramseur, NC, USA

problem #146

Nov 242014

Equinox

  • 118,000 miles
The heater is currently blowing out cold air. I have tried every setting to try to see if any of the settings help but always blows out cool/cold air. Another costly repair to add to this vehicle. Ave had numerous problems with this vehicle, the worst Chevy model I have ever owned. Have had this vehicle for 16 months have had numerous problems with this vehicle.

- Denver, CO, USA

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problem #145

Oct 012014

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 123,000 miles
A little over a month ago, I began experiencing an issue with my 2006 Chevy Equinox. The heat stopped working. The fan would work and blow air - but no heat. I took my vehicle to a GM dealership to have them look at the issue. Immediately upon telling them the symptoms, they diagnosed my vehicle without even looking at it. The service rep told me that it was "known issue" with the Equinox, that almost 4 out of 5 vehicles of that make/model/year have the same problem. He told me the good news was that the part to fix it was only $65, but the bad news was that the labor was $1000. I was told that the hinge on the temperature blend door" was broken at the actuator and that the entire dash assembly would have to be removed to get to the broken part. I took my vehicle to another dealership and had almost the same answer - although, to their credit, they did actually look at the vehicle before diagnosing it. Both of these GM/Chevy dealerships shook their heads and almost laughed at me - saying that it was a "known issue". I decided that I shouldn't have to pay $1000 to fix a "known issue", so I called Chevy customer service. Keep in mind that my vehicle is sitting at the dealership during all this. After more than a week, Chevy tells me that my warranty expired (I was 20K miles over the warranty) and that there is nothing they can do about it. They convince the dealership to knock 10% off my bill. Gee... thanks.

- Lebanon, OH, USA

problem #144

Nov 032014

Equinox

  • 112,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

06 Chevy Equinox LT2, heat started blowing cold air. I didn't know the problem but fortunately I went into my onstar account to look for diagnosis but since service engine light did not come on it couldn't tell me. But while in my account it was showing active warranty. It showed me there was an active extended warranty from GM, covering actuator door default. All Equinox owners are covered to 120,000 miles or 1/1/2016.....so if you have this issue with heat blowing cold take it to authorized Chevy GM dealer because they have to take the whole dash out to fix a $10 part, the labor charge is $2600 my dealer told me. Also if you paid for this issue out of pocket they will reimburse you. Google this issue, there is a special bulletin number for this. Get that number and call your dealer!!!!! they won't tell you it's covered and charge you because most of the service managers don't even know it exists. Now that's not rite.....they should have been informed of this being covered, it's not fair to the consumer.

- Poplar Grove, IL, USA

problem #143

Sep 222014

Equinox

  • 80,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that the heater failed to defrost the windows. The failure occurred on numerous occasions. The dealer stated that the blend door needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.

- Fairfield, OH, USA

problem #142

Aug 252011

Equinox

  • 60,000 miles
Same as reported below, ABS issues, ignition switch, over heating, water sound in dash, blend door issues. Only have 80K on car but problems surpass value. Why are there no recalls for Equinox?

- Littleton, CO, USA

problem #141

May 282014

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
The blend door on the heated is broken. I see there have been numerous complaints concerning this. Is there a recall on this" if not why isn't there" I see you issued a recall on the 2010 Equinox for this problem. My daughter who is a college students drives this car and can't afford the $1000+ to repair it.

- Rustburg , VA, USA

problem #140

Mar 172014

Equinox

  • 85,576 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Heater stopped working on vehicle making it impossible to defrost my front window. This creates a driving hazard due to foggy window. This can happen in cold or humid weather so it is an issue that needs to be addressed by GM, especially since they are aware of the problem.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

problem #139

Jan 082014

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 100,000 miles
Vehicle has no heat or defrost. Took to shop. Shop stated blend door is broken and actuator needs replaced. Shop has to dissemble the entire vehicle dash to access and replace the 2 parts to the cost of $1030. Majority of costs $750 is labor to dissemble and reassemble the entire dash to replace 2 simple parts that total about $280 for GM. As I am finding out this is a recurring event with a substantial number of Equinox vehicle owners.

- Greenfield, IN, USA

problem #138

Jan 082013

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
I live in Florida, so I don't need the heater that often. Last year when it got cold, I turned on the heater and got nothing but cold air blowing out. I took my vehicle to get it looked at and was told it would probably cost around $1000 - $1500 to fix. They would probably have to pull out the whole dash and it was very labor intensive. When I look on the internet, I see numerous people with the same problem. I would think Chevrolet would do a recall. I guess if they ignore it, that is a lot of money they will be saving.

- Fruitland Park, FL, USA

problem #137

Jan 032014

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 130,000 miles
Heater is blowing cold air and defroster is not working. Went on-line and saw that hundreds of others are having this same issue. When it rains this poses as a safety issue due to the defroster not working. Can you please recall since there are so many with the same issue.

- Mesquite, TX, USA

problem #136

Oct 012013

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 200,000 miles
Heater is blowing cold air and defroster is also not working. Went on-line and see that hundreds of others have this costly but more importantly safety issue (can't see out of window because defroster doesn't work). I've been cutoff because I have no warranty but this seems to be a bigger problem such as a total recall.

- Southbridge, MA, USA

problem #135

Sep 262013

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 143,000 miles
Blender door broke no heat to defrost windows.

- Copperopolis, CA, USA

problem #134

Nov 082013

Equinox

  • 144,000 miles
The heat in the vehicle has quit and after investigating, we believe that the heater door in the dash could be broken. My 16 year old new driver was operating the vehicle and the windows fogged up and would not defrost. I saw that tsb 11135 was released for equipment replacement but only for limited age and mileage. It is a $35 part that requires the entire dash to be disassembled resulting in over $1000 in labor costs. This should be replaced regardless of mileage on vehicle because of the safety hazards if operating the vehicle at normal speeds and the windows fog up or frost over.

- Jasper, IN, USA

problem #133

Sep 102013

Equinox 6-cyl

  • 115,000 miles
Loss heat, air temperature blend door failing to operate.

- Camillus, NY, USA

problem #132

Oct 022013

Equinox 6-cyl

  • miles
2006 Equinox: My heater blows cold air. Upon research, I've learned that I am among hundreds, if not thousands, who had have had the same problem which stems from a broken blend door. I strongly believe that this is a serious safety issue. My front windows do not defrost on cold mornings, creating a significant driving hazard on the roads. I am aware that a service bulletin was released in June of 2012 to address the issue and offer repair at no charge. However, the bulletin only covers vehicles 'within 10 years of the date your vehicle was originally placed in service or 120,000 miles, whichever occurs first'. that said, I would like to address my concern for vehicle owners such as myself whose mileage/years have exceeded those specified in the paragraph. Please help me understand why Chevrolet would be willing to repair some vehicles with this issue, but not all. Especially if the company knows that their product is at an extremely high risk of putting the lives of its drivers in danger.

- Manassas, VA, USA

problem #131

Feb 052013

Equinox

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, he attempted to activate the heater but to no avail. The contact mentioned that all of the windows in the vehicle became icy, in which the contact was unable to view the roadway. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the A/C heater blend door actuator needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 130,000 and the current failure was 160,000.

- Wasilla, AK, USA

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