I own a 2006 chevy equinox. A couple of months ago the heater and air conditioning stopped working. I began looking online to possibly see what might be wrong with it only to find that this was something many 2006 chevy equinox owners were experiencing. Apparently it is a problem with the plastic blend door part and actuator. The total cost of parts is around $150, however the total cost of repair is in excess of $1000! The reason being is they have to disassemble the entire dashboard in order to reach this particular area of the car. I realize when owning a vehicle that issues arise and must be dealt with, but the frustrating thing here is chevy will not issue a recall nor a technical service bulletin because they say it is not a safety related issue. I tend to disagree. Without being able to properly defrost and de-ice your windshield you are putting yourself in very dangerous driving conditions. It is my feeling that gm should stand behind their products better than this. One quick online search will reveal that this is a common issue for 2006 chevy equinox owners. They have sinced replaced the plastic part with what they originally used which is a metal piece. The plastic piece was choosen as a cost savings measure that in my opinion only saved gm money and not the end consumer. Thank you for allowing me to file this complaint. I hope something with be done to address this issue.
2006 Chevrolet Equinox visibility complaints
Page 7 of 10: complaints 161 to 190 of 280, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I took my 2006 chevrolet equinox in for repair when my windshield defroster didn't work effectively and I discovered my heat was blowing cold air. My local chevrolet dealership charged over $1100 to replace the temperature valve actuator and the HVAC door valve to correct the problem. My car had only 44,495 miles at the time of the malfunction, and when I went online, I found that many others complained of the identical problem with their 2006 equinox. I was dismayed at the cost, but was more dismayed to learn they replaced the broken plastic parts with identical plastic parts on which there is only a 12-month warranty. I learned that there has been a recall on the 2010 chevy equinox on which they replaced the plastic parts with metal parts. The 2006 equinox should also be recalled, since a defroster will not clear a windshield in winter with cold air, which is definitely a safety hazard! Gm should acknowledge this problem as a safety issue on the 2006 chevy equinox and issue a recall to replace the breakable plastic parts with metal.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. While driving approximately 35 MPH the contact attempted to turn on the heater but only cold air would blow from the vents. The failure recurred whenever he attempted to turn on the heat. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where he was informed a part within the dashboard fractured and was causing the heating system to fail. Various repairs were performed but the failure continued. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 65,000.
I own a 2006 chevrolet equinox. I had no symptoms or signs of the failure I had with my heater. No leaks or symptoms lead up to the issue- it simply stopped working. Because gm (starting roughly in 2005) started manufacturing vehicles with a plastic blend door for the actuator- the heat is malfunctioning and only blows extremely cool air. This is a definite safety issue that thousands of americans are experiencing. We are unable to defrost the windows and see visibly- the only response from gm that we are getting is to "roll a window down" and with 3 infants in the car, this is impossible. The estimates range from 900 to 1800 to fix this part (which requires dismantling the entire dash down to the firewall) which arguably causes a domino effect of other issues to the vehicle. With no visibility and now way to transport my infant children safely in the winter- this should definitely be a recall that is a safety and hazard issue on multiple levels. Gm refuses to recognize the problem. Americans can't afford to have the car fix, but also can't afford to have no heat. There's nothing we can do and we are suffering.
Heater was working fine yesterday, this morning the heater would only blow cold air, even after the car was fully warmed up. Called the local chevrolet dealership and they said it was a faulty air temp door that needed to be replaced and it would cost about $925. After much research I have noticed this is a continuing and constant problem for this vehicle year and make.
In november the heat on our 2006 chevy equinox went out-only cold air blows. Was informed by local chevy dealer that the heat blender door/valve frequently breaks and that they could repair it for 1500-1800$. If they frequently break why hasn't chevy issued a recall and stopped using s substandard product?
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that heater was blowing warm air. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the contact was informed that the temperature door and temperature actuator were defective. The contact called the manufacturer who took a complaint and advised her to take the vehicle to the dealer. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 67,000.
Nothing caused the failure. Just driving down the road and the heat quit blowing. Just blows cold air now. The consequences are I can not defrost my windows and I have to drive my 6 year old handicapped son shivering in the back seat. Gm knows about their defect but will not issue a recall. This is a huge safety concern for me and other drivers around me as my windows frost up driving. The part is a cheap plastic piece that gm used that is causing the temperature blend door and actuator to be faulty. To access this part the whole dash has to be removed, steering column and all. This should not be the owners responsibility when it is the manufactures problem.
The heater in my equinox went out at about 45,000-50,000 miles. I was unable to defrost my window and driving conditions were dangerous not only to me but also to other drivers. I was able to get the part fixed after about 1 year of driving with no heat. It cost me $1,035 and of course happened not too long after my warranty had expired.
2006 equinox suddenly began blowing only cold air, regardless of the heat/cold settings, 100% of the time. There were no noticeable events leading up to the failure. Because of this failure, the defrost function is inoperative leading to reduced visibility. Out of the factory warranty period, the quotes for repair range from $800 to $1800. This is not affordable at this time, and given all the other identical complaints found on the internet, I believe this to be a recall issue due to the safety hazard resulting from decreased visibility. For reference, please see these forums for additional complaints: http://www.web2carz.com/797/2006/chevrolet/equinox/reviews/overview http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-equinox/tnmhvcte76u9hgth4/p18 after brief browsing of these forums, you can see that this problem is nowhere near unique to mine!
My 2006 chevy equinox starting blowing cold air in 2009. I took the car to my mechanic and discovered a plastic piece known as the blend door assembly is stuck or broken and it will cost over $1000 to repair. Without heat my windows will not defrost and it is a safety issue. I went to a site (http://www.topix.com/forum/autos/chevrolet-equinox/tnmhvcte76u9hgth4/p5) and found hundreds of gm owners are having the same problem. Please forced gm to recall this item.
The heating control on my vehicle has malfunctioned. The problem is permanent. There is no internal heat. As I live in a winter climate, the lack of heat with my blower has made defrosting my vehicle difficult to impossible. Upon further research, this exact problem has been diagnosed with at least several hundred vehicles of my make and model. The problem is a heating door mechanism that controls hot and cold. A local mechanic stated that chevrolet would not provide a non-dealership the part to fix it. Chevrolet fails to acknowledge this as any safety concern. The dealership is offering to repair it for $1000.
Heater quit working, now no defrost.
It is now the end of october in pennsylvania. It is very cold at 32 degrees. I turned my heat on in my equinox and it is blowing cold air. I did some research online, and found out many other owners of the 2006 equinox are having the same problem. It is due to the plastic piece braking on the heater blend door. It will cost $1,200 to fix. I called gm to see if their was a recall on theis part. I was told by gm that it has not been recalled because it "is not a safety issue". Not a safety issue? I am unable to defrost my windows so I may see the road, putting my life, my children's lives and the lives of everyone on the road in danger. I would say this is a big problem!
In may we purchased a certified 2006 chevy equinox. We are retired and do not put miles on the car. We also live in northeast ohio. The first cold day we put the heat and defroster on. Neither worked. We found that the heater door was broken. Neither the dealer nor gm would help. We have had it fixed. However, the heater door nor actuator have not been redesigned to elevated this problem. We found hundreds of complaints on the internet for the same problem- no heat or defroster. This is a major job since the entire dash board must be removed. However, it is a safety hazard. Defrosters are necessary, especially in cold climates. It appears that gm and dealers are denying the problem exists because of the cost involved. These cars need to be recalled.
My heater only blows out cold air! I've read over 500 complaints on other sires how gm decided to replace a metal door arm to the heater component with a plastic one which almost certainly will break at one point. Usually 3-4 years of owning the vehicle! Apparently their is a huge amount of labor involved to replace a $60-200 part which is only available thru the dealer and a min. Of $1000 labor to fix because it requires removing the entire dash and other vital components of the vehicle! It is common knowledge this is going to happen and chevy is now going to start using metal arms?! Gm will not recall this item even though dealers all over the country agree this is a set up.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. When the contact turned the heat on, it only blew warm air. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the actuator blend door was the cause of the failure; the dealer also stated that the instrument panel would have to be removed to replace the door. The failure mileage was 77,352 and the current mileage was 77,600.
I have a 2006 chevrolet equinox lt 3.4l awd and everything worked fine, I did not use my heater allsummer long. I turned it on as of 10/10/2010 and there was no heat at all. It was only cold air. I heard this is a very common issue and in some areas can be considered a safety risk. I live in the midwest where during winter, there is always frost on windows. If I do not have heat to defrost windows or get ice and snow off, this causes a risk. And putting hot or warm water on the window risks cracking the window. Thanks for hearing me and this safety risk, it would be very nice to have this recalled as it is a common issue and is over $1000 to fix.
I own a 2006 chevrolet equinox. Last week the heater stopped blowing any warm or hot air. I put it in for repair and almost $1000 later I was told that one of the plastic tabs of the heater blend door had been cracked off by the over torquing of the heater actuator motor. I live in a cold climate and must have warm/hot air to keep my windows clear. This is a significant safety issue.
2006 chevrolet equinox. Heater actuator door broke. This leads to unsafe driving conditions. Windshield can't be defrosted due to lack of heat control. 3 cold seasons use should present a recall. Completely failed construction of makeup parts. This presents unsafe lack of visibility while driving in cold weather.
I have a 2006 chevy equinox and the heater has stopped working. The defroster does not work and according to the dealer it will cost atleast $1000 to repair a blend door that seems to be defective in alot of these vehicles. Seems to me that gmc should pay the price since so many are having this same problem.
Heat does not work, heater temperature valve has broken. Can not turn heat to hot or cold. The windshield fogs up and freezes when below 32, it was a 15 hour project that will happen again in 40,000 miles if the problem is not corrected by gm.
I cannot unfog my windshield because a heater flap has broken. My car blows out only cold air because of this broken piece (as diagnosed by a gm repair station). Bright sunlight shining on the fogged (and frosted because of the cold air blowing on a wet, cold windshield) windshield results in zero visibility.
Tl*the contact owns a 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that the heating system in the vehicle stopped functioning. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the actuator in the blend door was defective, causing the failure. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact called the dealer who offered no assistance as there were no related recalls. The manufacturer had not been notified. The current mileage was approximately 53,000. The failure mileage was approximately 52,500.
The heater/defroster on my 2006 chevrolet equinox failed to produce heat. As a result, I could not defrost my windshield while driving. I took the vehicle to a local gm dealership to diagnose the problem. The failure was due to a plastic air blend door (part# ch19130554) that is controlled by an electric actuator (part# ch15781467). The actuator is not calibrated appropriately and places excessive stress on the plastic air blend door connection. Over time, the plastic breaks, disabling the door and not allowing heat to be directed into the cabin. The repair requires the removal of the dashboard, driving control consoles and steering column to access the blend door. It cost me $1,145.08 to replace and required my car to be in the repair shop for 2 days. I live in pennsylvania and needed the repair completed so I could safely drive the vehicle. I strongly believe this is a design flaw that needs to be corrected by gm before someone gets into an accident. I was lucky to discover the problem in the early fall months. I could only imagine what would have happened if it broke in the winter. Since gm has yet to address the design issues, I am concerned that I will experience the same problem again. From my internet research, I have identified many others who experienced this same problem and have the same concern. Some cannot afford to make the repair and are operating the vehicle without heat/defrost. I am writing in the hopes that the federal safety agency can influence gm to improve the design, to extend vehicle warranties to cover the repair and to assist those whom already paid for this repair.
The heat setting blows out only cold air. Gm repair service said that the plastic air temperature blend door was broken and needs replacement. Gm rep said that gm does not acknowledge that such a problem exists. The defective part is situated within the dashboard requiring the dash to be completely removed. Gm repair was familiar with the problem and how to repair it yet gm rep from corporate says gm is unaware of such a problem.
The blend door for the heater system does not work they crack.$ 1200.00 to repair the item as they remove the entire dashboard. We called gm and they would not offer us a penny. This is a life safety issue and the cars should be recalled. The point being how do you drive in the northeast or any cold climate and see out the windshield this went out as we were driving in snow conditions and the windshield fogged up we had to pull over off the highway as we would have had a serious accident.
I have a 2006 chevrolet equinox that is blowing ice cold air through the heater as well as the defrosters I think along with the other 329 people who I read about has the same problem.and they all estimate the cost of repairs is 1,000 dollars we need help I tried replacing the thermostat but no help still cold air.
Tl* the contact owns 2006 chevrolet equinox. The contact stated that the vehicle heater failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the blend door would close and the heat will not come through to the interior of the vehicle. The manufacturer was contacted who advised the contact that the warranty had expired and they would not offer any further assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 86,000.
2006 chevy equinox heater blows cold air.
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