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.
Just bought the car a month ago and two days after I bought it the air temperature blend door broke and it cost me $1200 to fix and now again the door has broken and I can't afford to fix it a second time. There is no heat and this happened all of a sudden. The windows immediately fogged up and I couldn't see. There was air blowing but it was cold air. There is no heat at all.
Complainant owns a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox where the heat and defroster suddenly stopped working on March 1, 2011. Took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the air temp actuator over actuated and broke the air temp door. The air temp door and actuator are now faulty and need to be replaced. Estimate of $1200 of which most of the cost is labor due to need to disassemble all of the dashboard to replace part. This is a known defect of the vehicle make, model and year and manufacturer has yet to issue a recall. Vehicle was not repaired.
The contact owns a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox. The contact stated that there was no heat function in the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the heater blend door was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unavailable. The current and failure mileage was approximately 59,000. Updated 03/24/11
Heat in 2006 Equinox Chevy quit due to heater blend door failure. Cost to fix was $944 + tax. This is obviously a design flaw, and should be corrected at GMC expense, not the consumer. Also caregard warranty services Inc. Didn't cover the repair even though the air and heating system is covered in their policy. Due to small print and a play on words they can claim that any part that is not specifically called out by name is not covered, even though the heating system is covered. Stay away from both Chevrolet and caregard warranty services Inc.
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.
- Joliet, IL, USA
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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!!! 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.
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 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
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.
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.
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 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!
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 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.
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 MINIplug 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!
2006 Chevrolet Equinox. Letter from the office of senator collins on behalf constituent re the Chevy Equinox recall 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.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Greenfield, IN, USA