My car lost all heating function due to a faulty heater blend door and actuator which prevented hot air flow from coming into vehicle. This door was inside the dash console and required disassembling the entire dashboard. We were driving and unable to defrost our windshield as no heat was coming out of vents and ice/fog build up difficult to remove. The vehicle became a danger to other vehicles and pedestrians as windshield visibility was limited and blocked. Dealer and gm considered this a non-safety issue and requires auto owners to repair the faulty parts.
2006 Chevrolet Equinox visibility complaints
Page 6 of 10: complaints 131 to 160 of 280, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Yesterday I got in my vehicle, turned on the heat and defrosters. I only got very cold air, the car never warmed up, the windows never defrosted, they only became foggy inside. G.m. Says they have no records of this problem. The internet records over 500 incidents of the same thing happening to 2006 chevrolet equinox's. This car should be recalled and repaired, g.m. Knows the part (plastic) fails because on later models they began using a metal part.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that the heat blower malfunctioned; neither the heat nor defroster would work. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that the air blend door needed to be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 110,000.
2006 chevy equinox (49351 miles) just quit blowing hot air through vents or defroster. Dealer says a broken blend door cost $1500 to repair. Seems this make/model has the same problem at about 50000 miles. What is chevrolet doing to help the purchasers of this vehicle. Not a [xxx] thing. Great customer service, I will never purchase another chevy/gm product. Very dangerous situation in cool temps where windshield fogs up driving down the road. I guess it will take a fatality for chevy to admit fault and correct this. Highly disappointed!!! *tr information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
The "blend" door broke on my heater, causing no heat at all. During the winter months this causes ice and frost to build on my windshield, causing a serious safety hazard. After researching online, I found several hundred others in the same situation, this repair is ranging from $900 to $1200. With this cost I only wonder how many people are driving one of these vehicles franticly trying to wipe their window to prevent ice / frost while driving.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that only cold air would blow from the circulation vents when the heater was engaged. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for inspection where the contact was advised that the blender door had failed and would not allow heated air to blow through the vents properly. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not contacted to report the failure. The failure mileage was 50,000. Updated 3/21/11 *cn the consumer stated during the winter, the defroster/defogger stopped working. The next day, the heat stopped working and only cold air was blowing out of the vents. Updated 04/27/11
As with what I have discovered to be with hundreds of other equinox owners...with out warning or prior issues, my heater is no longer "heating" the air. It just blows out cold air. I have been told that it is the actuator/blend door (which is a plastic part) and that to correct it, requires the entire dash to be removed, 8+ hours of labor and upwards of $1000 in repair costs. I only have 44,000 miles on this car and should not be having this issue so early into the life/ownership of this car. I contacted gm and they are unwilling to recognize this as a problem and refused to offer any assistance to get it corrected. This is obviously a safety issue as it also prevents the defroster from working as well. Temperatures have been in the teens for several weeks now which makes it dangerous to drive in the cold and snowy conditions. I have discovered several owner forums across the internet and have found hundreds of the same complaint on this make/model. I have also since learned that gm recalled the 2010 model for the exact same reason but is ignoring the same issue on the earlier models. Gm needs to be made accountable for their faulty cost cutting ways and correct this problem via a recall.
Tl*the contact 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that heater actuator cracked and caused the heat to malfunction. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic who stated that the heater actuator needed to be replaced. The contact called the manufacturer and stated that there were no recalls and that the warranty had expired. The contact stated that the failure was a known issue with that year, make and model vehicle and should be addressed by the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 44,500.
I own a 2006 chevy equinox. My problem began when I had approximately 55,000 miles on my car. This past october (2010), I noticed my heater was not working. No warm or hot air comes out of any vent or defroster at any fan speed. My car has no heat. It is impossible to defrost windows to de-ice or remove/prevent fogged windows when driving. Also, I have two small children (ages 2 and 4 months) and I must have heat in the care for their care and safety. After doing research and reading 100's of complaints online about others with this same problem, I took my car to a mechanic at an authorized dealer, where they told me that the temperature door and temperature actuator were defected and would need to be replaced.. The estimated repair cost is approximately $1500. The inability to defrost and defog the windows of this 2006 equinox is a safety hazard for myself and other drivers, causing lack of visibility before and during vehicle operation. I recommend you look at the following links to forums where numerous equinox owners have complained about this same problem with their vehicles. Http://www.aboutautomobile.com/complaint/2006/chevrolet/equinox/window+defroster please investigate this problem and require gm to recall this factory defect.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that the heat suddenly stopped functioning and there was no air being blown out at all. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were approximately 68,000.
Temperature heater door broken. Defroster does not work in winter.
I have a 2006 chevy equinox and the heat doesn't work in it. I've had it about 4.5 month and it' going to cost me $1350.00 to have it fixed. The problem is heater valve door actuator motor. Gm knows this is a problem and refuse to fix it. It's not a safety hazard to them. I think it's a safety hazard if your driving down the street with heat you can't defrost your window so you can see were your going and think alot people that is having this problem will agree with me.I feel if stand behind your product and vehicle you should stand up and do the right thing recall this vehicle and fix 2006 equinox!
Heat began blowing only cold air, could not defrost windshield. Was on a trip with two small children. It became very cold and difficult to see; dangerous. Dealership diagnosis is a broken temperature control door actuator. Gm is so far unwilling to aid in repair cost.
Our car 2006 equinox VIN [xxx] heater failed and defroster then did not work. December 5 my heater on this car failed to work causing dangerous conditions in my car as it was cold and defrost would not function. Window kept fogging over. Noted that there are multiple complaints on line about this. Reported this to chevy. Part that determines heat vs cool fails, part costs about $38.22, chevy charged over $1317 to repair as this part is in the dashboard and supposedly difficult to reach!! Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
At 46,000 miles heater blowing out cold air. Can't defrost windows. Problem started december 23, 2010. I have researched the problem and numerous equinox owners are having the same issue. Problem comes from the manufacture. Dealership is charging between $800-$1200. Entire dash board needs to be removed to switch out a plastic part that was placed instead of a metal one.
In oct 2010 the heat stopped working on my 2006 chevy equinox. At first I thought the problem might have been caused by air getting into the cooling system lines, because the coolant level in the reservoir had gotten a bit low. But adding coolant and trying to "burp" the system didn't fix the problem. Upon searching the web, I discovered that quite a few people had the same no-heat problem with the chevy equinox and pontiac torrent (which is the same vehicle platform). It turns out the problem is caused by a small "door" that allows air to flow past the heater core. Apparently this "air temperature blend door" has a plastic connecting shaft to an electric motor, and the shaft is prone to breaking after a few years. The trouble is... Replacing this little part is not easy. It involves removing much of the dashboard, which takes a long time. Consequently, the cost to repair this problem at a gm dealer is around $1,000, give or take a few hundred bucks.
2006 equinox...heat blows out cold air..cannot defrost windshield which is a safety feature..HVAC fails to blow warm air..HVAC temperature door failed..this is only happening in 2006 equinox..many complaints on the 2006 equinox.
I have a 2006 chevrolet equinox and the heater blows cold air causing the windshield to frost up. Took to a chevrolet dealer and they said that it is a broken heater blend door and it cost me $1598.00 to fix. Chevrolet does not say that this is a safety hazard therefore will no issue a recall. I have been reading about this on other sites and there are some cases of people having to replace the part 4 times in 4 years.
The heat started to take longer to warm up then after a month of this the heat totally stop working. I can't defrost the windows. This occurs everytime. I have research this and there are numerous complaint about having this issue. Gm needs to recall this because they charge anywhere from $900-1200 to fix the problem. I found that the air blend door on the actuator that controls the temp of the airflow. I have found this problem going on since 2008 on the 2006 chevy equinox and pontiac torrent.
Defroster/ heater inoperable car can't be driven in winter. Updated ivoq 03/14/11
In october of 2010 my 2006 chevy equinox heater began blowing cold air. I did research and found a lot of equinox owners are having the same issue. I went and received a diagnostics at the dealership and they said it is the temperature door and the repair cost is $1300. This is a safety issue because I am unable to defrost the windows if there is a snow storm or just being too cold. This happens whenever I turn on the heat and my concern is being able to see out the windshield if it fogs up or freezes. Gmc has yet to issue a recall on the defective part. I have googled this problem and there is a website with over 400 complaints of consumers with the same issue and their vehicle being diagnosed with the same defective part.
2006 chevy equinox heater stopped working at 75k+ miles. I am told by dealer and numerous complaints online by same exact vehicle owners that this is a faulty and defective blender door arm. It was replaced with plastic versus metal for 2006 in effort to cut corners. They all consistently break at 3 years or more! Very common complaint. It is a safety issue when you are driving in 20degree weather and constantly get sick! Also unable to defrost ice and haze from wind shield since only cold air blows out! This diminishes the visibility significantly! If I can't see from my windshield and have to a) drive with window open and freeze, b) use hand to wipe off while driving or c) pull over constantly and clean off windshield or use the mini plug in heater I had to purchase to help defrost my iced wind shield in the morning! Over $1000 to fix. It is a defect. Please google this year and "heater" you will find many many websites with exact complaints. Gm needs to acknowledge this and fix at no charge!
Heater not working on 2006 chevy equinox causing safety and visibility problems. One day the AC and heat were working fine, the next day the heater would only blow cold air...no heat as well as a non-working window defroster. This began in early november. The dealership says the actuator needs to be replaced as well as the temperature door (blend door). Cost is $100 for the analysis and about $1,000 for parts and labor. I have a securenet extended warranty but they say this is not covered. Car is at dealership now awaiting my approval to do the work. I am in limbo and looking for another shop who can maybe fix it cheaper. Considering the hundreds if not thousands of complaints I have seen online about this, and the fact the parts were cheap and should not be breaking so soon, this needs to be recalled!
2006 chevrolet equinox. Letter from the office of senator collins on behalf constituent re the chevy equinox recall *tgw the consumer stated his daughter purchased the vehicle last year and occasionally the heat would not work. During the summer, the problem became worse when his daughter was unable to change the heating and air condition mode. The consumer discovered it was an inherent problem with the 2005-2010 models and a recall had also been issued for the 2010 model. The consumer stated the problem was with the door blend, which was connected to the temp control and by the door moving between the heat and AC, the temperature could be adjusted. The door used to have a metal tab that connected to the blend door actuator. Starting with the 2005 models, gm used a plastic tab. The tab was not strong enough and snapped off causing the door to stay in the AC position.
All of a sudden the heat in my car stopped working, but the fan works. A chevy dealership diagnosed the issue as a failed heater door, which costs $900-$1300 to fix as they have to take the dash board apart. I found out this is happening on a lot of 2006 chevy equinox. Chevy should recall this and fix it as it's a faulty part. I have no choice but to fix it now as I need heat in my car and need a defroster. Chevy should recall and pay to fix this issue and should reimburse anyone that has already paid.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that the heating system malfunctioned causing the front windshield to fog and impair her vision. The dealer was notified, but offered no assistance. The manufacturer was aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was unavailable. The current mileage was approximately 57,000. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
Like hundreds, maybe thousands, of other 2006 chevy equinox owners, the heater will only blow cold air out because of a faulty part that wears out and breaks after approximately 2-3 years. I have been told by the dealership that gm is refusing to issue a recall because it is not considered a safety issue, however when I am driving my kids to school in the morning and cannot see where I am driving because I can't defrost my windows, it seems to be quite a safety issue to me, not to mention the fact that my children are freezing. Any length of time in the during a michigan winter we will risk hypothermia & frostbite. I have been told it is $900 to fix, which like many others I don't just have that amount of money sitting around and now have to wait awhile to get the repair made. I understand that things go wrong with cars and cars require maintenance and repairs, but this is obviously an issue with gm's design and decision to use cheap parts that wouldn't last and they should be held responsible for their poor decision.
2006 chevy equinox bought brand new and now has 31t miles on it and the heater does not work. Therefore, my windshields freeze up and cannot be defrosted. I am pregnant with my first child and am not going to be able to use this vehicle as it is safety hazard. The dealership sited it would cost me $1,076.00+tax to fix the air director door.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that the air acuator would overextend and break. This failure caused the vehicle to lose heat and the defroster failed. The dealer stated that the failure was common and would occur again even after repair if the heat was on full. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileages were 53,622.
I have a 2006 chevy equinox, I have been driving this vehicle for 19 months I had bought it used from a gm dealer. I was driving to thanksgiving and notice it no longer blew hot air. The SUV only has 56,000 miles on it so I began doing research online, apparently this is not an unknown problem, the chevy equinox from 2005 to 2010 has a defective temperature valve aculator as well as the HVAC door valve, gm decided to make these parts plastic and from other blogs I have read that as an equinox owner you where not to ever use your heat on its highest setting this will destroy the valves. Then upon talking to a gm dealer I was told the replacement of these valves will cost 1500 dollars and they replace it with another plastic part and give you a 12 month warranty. This is a danger since a defroster will not clear a windshield in winter with cold air. Gm had the decency to recall the 2010 equinox part, but refuses to hear out any of the owners of prior year models. I turn to you in hopes some one will help.
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