Can't find the GM Update. You indicate or imply that FWD is no longer flat towable and I don't believe that is correct. I am looking at buying 2024 Equinox Premier and trying to verify that FWD is flat towable. Owners manual seems to indicate it is. It also appears the car engine is running the whole time while being towed, that cannot be correct can it?
Update on flat tow procedure for 2023 - 2024 Equinox - new guidance from GM
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bagbyjw
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Here is the GM update, I think this is what you were referring to, just click anywhere in the gray box
2023 Equinox tires screech in cloverleaf onramp/offramp - Page 23 - iRV2 Forums
I read about a TSP dated on or about Sept 15, 2023 regarding this .....Neither Chev Cust Service nor I can find it....Can some one help shed light on this. Have opened a case with Chevy...need to go
www.irv2.com
Hi, Here is the link to the updated owners manual and the pages they added. The update is right at the beginning. https://www.chevrolet.com/bypass/pc...ox_OM_en_US_U_85150510B_2023JUL27_2P_INS1.pdf
greenmountain1132
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We have a 2024 Equinox AWD that we are going to flat tow. I got the updated procedure from the dealer we got it from, that includes to disconnect negative battery lead. But the one question I cannot get answered is what position must the AWD/2WD switch be in when getting it ready to tow? I sure don't want to find out that I had it in the wrong one after I leave a trail of drivetrain parts going down the road!
Second question is, GM wants the negative disconnected but as many have stated there will still be a need for power to the supplementary braking system as well as the battery tender. So if a disconnect is put into the negative line from the battery to the car, and the power for the brake and tender is drawn from the battery side of the disconnect, will that work, satisfying GM's requirement for disconnecting the negative line as well as providing power to the brake and tender? Thank you!
Second question is, GM wants the negative disconnected but as many have stated there will still be a need for power to the supplementary braking system as well as the battery tender. So if a disconnect is put into the negative line from the battery to the car, and the power for the brake and tender is drawn from the battery side of the disconnect, will that work, satisfying GM's requirement for disconnecting the negative line as well as providing power to the brake and tender? Thank you!
GM cares nothing about things they do not sell or install. Disconnecting the negative cable is the safest way for potentially inexperienced people.
That being said, it is 100% acceptable to put a disconnect switch on the positive post. As long as all wires are removed from one post or the other the result is the same. Many people with the 2023 and 2024 have put the disconnect on the positive post for exactly the reason you mention.
As for the AWD thing, I wish GM had specifically addressed it rather than obliquely addressed it. Feel free to ask your dealer to get a clarification. GM has screwed that bulletin up once already and it sounds like they have an intern writing it.
Technically, if GM does not say you need AWD on or off than either position is acceptable.
Another question to ask would be if it is acceptable to flat tow with AWD turned OFF and a donut spare on the REAR.
When the donut spare is installed it automatically disables AWD. So on our 2020 AWD, which must have AWD turned on, I don't think I can flat tow if I use the donut spare. You may be able to if you have two full-sized tires on the front. (If you get a front flat you would need to put the donut spare on the rear and move the full-sized tire to the front.)
That being said, it is 100% acceptable to put a disconnect switch on the positive post. As long as all wires are removed from one post or the other the result is the same. Many people with the 2023 and 2024 have put the disconnect on the positive post for exactly the reason you mention.
As for the AWD thing, I wish GM had specifically addressed it rather than obliquely addressed it. Feel free to ask your dealer to get a clarification. GM has screwed that bulletin up once already and it sounds like they have an intern writing it.
Technically, if GM does not say you need AWD on or off than either position is acceptable.
Another question to ask would be if it is acceptable to flat tow with AWD turned OFF and a donut spare on the REAR.
When the donut spare is installed it automatically disables AWD. So on our 2020 AWD, which must have AWD turned on, I don't think I can flat tow if I use the donut spare. You may be able to if you have two full-sized tires on the front. (If you get a front flat you would need to put the donut spare on the rear and move the full-sized tire to the front.)
greenmountain1132
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Wow......................never even thought about a flat tire scenario. Thanks! Will have to look into that. I did just find an article written in the March '23 RV magazine about dingy towing, and it says to have the AWD switch on in the 23 cars. I also found an excerpt from a '22 Owners manual that also says to have the AWD switch on, but neither the RV article nor the owners manual say to disconnect the battery. My friends family owns the dealership where I got the car, and he has not been able to find anything from GM, with a lot of calls made, regarding the AWD switch. Yup, GM sure has everyone's head spinning on the Equinox flat towing procedures.......including their own!
Both of those articles are from before the revised procedure. The 2023 and 2024 Equinox have a new always-on electrically assisted braking system, unlike the 2022 and older. That caused the front tires to screech and move erratically and occasionally smoke on long, extended turns, cloverleafs specifically.
The revised procedure to disconnect the battery was developed to stop that problem.
The manual says you cannot flat tow with the donut spare on the front.
Reading between the lines, it feels like disconnecting the battery did something to no longer require that AWD be engaged. Me, I'd still engage it before disconnecting the battery because Chevy does not say one way or the other so it should not matter.
The revised procedure to disconnect the battery was developed to stop that problem.
The manual says you cannot flat tow with the donut spare on the front.
Reading between the lines, it feels like disconnecting the battery did something to no longer require that AWD be engaged. Me, I'd still engage it before disconnecting the battery because Chevy does not say one way or the other so it should not matter.
greenmountain1132
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Sounds good to me!
greenmountain1132
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My dealer just got back to me and said that with the updated 2024 instructions, the battery disconnect no longer requires the AWD switch to be on or off, as the power disconnect puts it where GM wants it to be. GM certainly is vague when it comes to this! Thank you for the help!
I am having the battery disconnect installed as part of preparing my 2024 Equinox Premiere for flat towing. I understand from this post, that the Roadmaster Disconnect should be installed on the postiive terminal. The positive terminal has an odd connection that helps it make a right turn. there is also a small wire with a fuse attached. Would you remove and discard this small connector and just connect the Disconnect in its place, routing the small wire to the place where it connects?
That should work fine. I just had my 2020's battery changed yesterday so I am very familiar with how all of that looks and is wired. 
The key is that there must be NO wires on the battery post where the disconnect switch goes except the disconnect wiring itself.
BTW, everything on my 2020 worked fine after the battery change but disconnecting the battery does indeed turn AWD off. Also, my TPMS readings were gone but came back one at a time within a mile or so.
I would not discard that short jumper or any connector because you may need to remove the disconnect when you sell the car and put everything back to original.
The key is that there must be NO wires on the battery post where the disconnect switch goes except the disconnect wiring itself.
BTW, everything on my 2020 worked fine after the battery change but disconnecting the battery does indeed turn AWD off. Also, my TPMS readings were gone but came back one at a time within a mile or so.
I would not discard that short jumper or any connector because you may need to remove the disconnect when you sell the car and put everything back to original.
Thanks! Should make a great towed vehicle.That should work fine. I just had my 2020's battery changed yesterday so I am very familiar with how all of that looks and is wired.
The key is that there must be NO wires on the battery post where the disconnect switch goes except the disconnect wiring itself.
BTW, everything on my 2020 worked fine after the battery change but disconnecting the battery does indeed turn AWD off. Also, my TPMS readings were gone but came back one at a time within a mile or so.
I would not discard that short jumper or any connector because you may need to remove the disconnect when you sell the car and put everything back to original.
Since the 2025 Equinox Owners manual (gas) says it cannot be flat towed you have the last of a kind.
True! I was ready to get the 2025 until I researched the manual and saw it was no longer flat towable. Very sad.Since the 2025 Equinox Owners manual (gas) says it cannot be flat towed you have the last of a kind.
I did the same and changed to get a 2024 instead.
Good work, folks. I read a thread from someone with a pre-2018 Terrain who traded it in for a new one without checking the Owners Manual first. The 2018 and later Terrain got a new electronic shifter that made it not flat towable. He tried everything he could think of but no avail.
That was a very expensive mistake for them.
