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.
2006 Chevrolet Equinox visibility complaints
Page 3 of 10: complaints 41 to 70 of 280, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Loss heat,air temperature blend door failing to operate.
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.
Heater stopped blowing hot air. After diagnosis by certified technician I was informed that the actuator for the heater blend door is not working properly/damaged. After researching the issue it became clear that there have been several hundred safety complaints filed in regards to this issue. A resolution needs to be attained as the repair cost for this item is around $1000. A recall needs to be issued by gm since it becomes a safety issue when the inability to defrost your windshield is not there.
There is 241 safety complaints on the heater blend door! The blend door on the 2006 equinox is defective creating a serious safety hazard to the vehicle occupants and any one else one the road. The blend door actuator rotates to far causing the blend door to break. This does not happen over a short period but over a longer time frame. This is a very serious safety issues especially when it gets cold. The windshield will freeze up and with no heat the driver and passengers could get frost bite. The federal safety agency needs to issues a safety recall now before someone gets hurt or killed. What is the federal safety agency doing about this if anything?
Tl* 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.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The stated that while driving 30 MPH, the sun roof failed to close completely causing rain to enter the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was stated the sun roof retractor was defective. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.
I live in alaska where it does get cold during the winter time. My wife was driving from anchorage to our home about 45 miles away when she had no heat inside her car. I replaced the thermostat and sensor check the heater core all were fine. I could not figured out why no heat. No heat also meant I could not defrost the windshield ( safety hazard). I did some research on the internet and ask other equinox owners if they had the problem. I found out the blend door breaks. The reason it breaks is the blend door motor rotates to far, breaking the tabs on the door. I would like to know why there has not been a recall on this safety hazard? Look on the internet and you will find many owners who have the same problem and still the federal safety agency does nothing about the problem, why?
My heater quit blowing hot air and thus, the windows fog up. I took it to a mechanic and it is the blend door. Upon further reading of this problem, I have found that many 2006 equinox have the same problem. It is a 10 hour labor job and so 1000.00 to replace. Since this effects visibility, I feel it is a safety issue.
We had a cold front come through today causing my window to fog. I changed my air to heat but just got cold air. I took it to the dealership and found out its my blend door. He said it would cost about $45 for the part but $1200 in labor!!!!! He also said that this has happened to thousands of equinox's! This issue needs to be corrected and a recall issued! I could not see anything and came so close to wreaking I sat in the shoulder of the road and cried!
The power window control on the driver side no longer works, the power lock on that side quit working as well. Now I hear there is a recall of 2006 gm vehicles with the same issue, but not my car. Is this a coincidence or not enough complaints from equinox owners? The risk that caused the recall was the potential for a fire. Do I need to worry that my car will catch fire?
I have no heat or defrosters. Is there a recall because it is unsafe to drive when cold weather is present. Should I file a law suit? I understand this is something that is under investigation in other vehicles of same make and model. I can't afford to fix. My garage states $1100.00 to fix. What should I do and how can I get chevrolet to pay for this?
Heat just stopped blowing out , was told it could be temperature control door, $25 part and $800 in labor , this is a problem that should have a recall on it.
The vehicle has no heat and only blows cold air....does not allow the windows to defrost and is a safety hazard.
No hot air blows through vents, only cold air. Also, the car cranks, but doesn't turn over most of the time, you have to push on the gas pedal in order for it to turn over. Very frustrating for a mom.
I was driving my child to school one morning and the heater started blowing out cold air. Some time later, I took my chevy equinox to my mechanic. He said it would cost around $1,000 to repair. This was a shock because my mechanic is very reputable; I have used him for years. He never tries to cheat me or any of his other customers. When he quoted me that price, that's when I knew something was seriously wrong with my car. I don't have that kind of money - I'm a single mother of 2 kids and I was laid off from my job a few months ago. I called chevrolet 3 times and nobody would help me. In the meantime, I did some research to see if any other consumers have experienced this same problem. I found over 600 complaints from other drivers about this exact same issue. I took my car to a mechanic again and was advised that chevy/gm hasn't issued a recall for this problem (car heater blowing cold air) because it would not be cost-effective for chevy to fix it. This is a problem that chevy/gm has known about and, from what I've seen, the problem exists in chevy equinox's from all different model years. Not only will I never buy a chevy again, I am filing a class-action lawsuit against chevy/gm for failing to issue a recall to fix a known problem. Even if I did have the money, I should not have to pay out of pocket for something that this company knows is a problem.
A cheap plastic part (air temperature control door ) breaks and you lose all heat and cannot defrost or defog windows, and as such have virtually no visibilty, which in my opinion is a very serious safety concern.
Heater blows cold air and defrost does not work properly.
Faulty temperature blend door. No heat resulting in no defrost or defogger. Major problem when living in the midwest in the cold and wet season. You (gm) should be responsible for the plastic piece being replaced, not the consumer. This should also be a recall issue due to the safety issues that result from this problem.
I have a 2006 chevy equinox that the heater does not work. The blower fan and all the switches are fine. When I turn the temp knob to hot air, only get cold come out. Does not matter what setting the mode door is in. Vehicle no longer blows hot air when heat is on therefore the defroster will not blow hot air as well. This is a safety hazard! If windows are fogged or iced during inclement weather you can not see and could cause an accident resulting in fatalities. I found over 500 complaints about the same problem on the internet. Problem seems to be with a plastic temperature door valve (temperature blend door) that is broken.the cost is over 1,000 and I am being told gm will not fix the problem. I have two small children and we are freezing in my car that I bought to be a "family" vehicle. This is just one more problem to the list of things I have already had fixed in this car since I bought it.
No warm air from defroster heater. Thermostat replaced, problem not solved. Mechanic told me heater door blend door broken. No recalls, even though common problem. 2010 equinox reported same problem and has recall. Approx $ 1000 repair and definite safety issue. Gm should recall 2006 equinox also.
The heater core was replaced on my 2006 chevy equinox in april of 2009 at 29,000 miles. It now needs replaced again in october 2012 at 57,500 miles. The first time it was under warranty and was no cost to me. But now it needs replaced, again at $1100+ (dealer estimate). After a weeklong battle with gm, they offered me a 50% cost share. This should not be happening at 29,000 and again at 57,500!! It has got to be some sort of design flaw. It is obviously a known defect (due to all of the complaints), but they refuse to recall!!
Starting in december 2011, our heater blend door broke on our 2006 chevrolet equinox. It is a wide-spead issue with the exact make/model of this vehicle, effecting several hundred, if not thousands. Chevrolet has released a technical service bulletin may of 2012) with the exact issue, as well as re-designed the door for future fixes, but refuses to help repair the vehicle for me. Even know the problem started before the mileage factor in the warranty for the part, and is over the mileage now, gm refuses to help. My car has no heat at all, windshield does not de-frost, does not de-fog. My wife has to use this car to drop our autistic son at his school as well as to go to work, we can't have no heat.
While driving on a cold and rainy day, my windows began to get foggy. I turned on my defrost and my windows continued to get worse. I then notice it was blowing cold air I turned the knobs to see if I had it on air conditioning instead of defrost but it was on the correct setting. I became very afraid because I couldn't see out of my windshield! I had to keep wiping off the windshield with a towel just to get to work. I then I had to repeat the same process returning home. I researched the problem and found that this common in 2006 chevy equinox there is a plastic piece that breaks after constant use(heater blend door) and it will cause the defrost to only blow either cold or hot air. I was told it would cost 800-1000 to fix or more depending who fixes it. I am so afraid to drive this car in rainy weather and soon winter will arrive. Gm should really replace this part before someone dies from a faulty piece of plastic.
There has been no actual incident. I am writing to inform you of the safety issue that the lack of heat and defrosting capabilities of the 2006 chevy equinox may cause. If the issue of the problem is not resolved there is a chance that a window will not be defrosted and the drivers view will be obstructed. There is also the health issue for not only the driver but any passengers in the vehicle. Not being warm or able to see and cause rising costs of both care and health care costs. Help push the issue to gmc and get the problems fixed at their cost.
My wife and I purchased our 2006 chevrolet equinox in january of 2011, 10 1/2 months after owning it (out of warranty of course), the heater blend door/actuator problem occurred on our chevrolet as well. It seems to be a common issue with this year/make/model, and it's effecting visibility in the cooler months. We live in western washington, and during the fall/winter, you can't see anything through the windshield (only have cold air available through vents).
I recently purchased a used 2006 chevy equinox (130,000 miles), when I tried to defrost my windshield only cold air blew causing the windshield to fog up. I could not see and almost went off the road. After an hour long white-knuckle ride the defrost still only blew cold air. I live in the extreme north-east where we have an exceptionally long winter which hasn't even started. I am afraid that this problem (and I am not anywhere near the only one) will result in a situation where I and the drivers around me could be put in a very dangerous situation. *tr
The heater stopped producing warm air. Diagnosed it as a heater blend door problem. Gm sent us a letter asking to fix and then denied the claim.
The defrost and heating system would not work. Only cold air blows from the vents. This allows the windows to fog and causes concern. It has been diagnosed as a common problem with the equinox. The flap to control the flow of outside air is controlled by a stepper motor. The motor short circuits, causing the flap to break. Thus the flap is ineffective and allows for freezing or hot temperatures to flood the car.
My heater stopped working it blows out cold air. As I have researched this problem it seems to common with all 2006 equinox.
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