Photo: Chevrolet
Quality has never been the Equinox’s forte ever since this crossover arrived as a 2005 model. The biggest of the Big Three bears a part of the blame, but as it’s often the case with General Motors, the Detroit-based automaker has a thing for suppliers with quality issues of their own.
General Motors opened a formal investigation into Mexico-based Lear Corporation on November 4th after the seat assembly supplier identified ventilated passenger seats with spacer foam missing in the seat vent assembly. The incomplete seats had been shipped to the San Luis Potosi assembly plant where the 2023 model year Equinox and Terrain are built.
Investigators met with representatives of the Lear Corporation and an unnamed tier-2 vent supplier, as well as the automaker’s technical experts, to evaluate the potential effect of missing spacers on the performance of the front passenger airbag’s occupant classification system. Lo and behold, the sensing system fails to detect a small child or a child restraint.
The OCS does not detect a small child or a child restraint because of the missing foam spacers. In other words, the front passenger airbag will deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury or death to the child seated there. The document attached below puts the blame solely on the tier-2 vent supplier for shipping assemblies without the foam spacers.
Thankfully for all parties involved, the Safety Field Action Decision Authority within General Motors isn’t aware of any field incidents related to this concern. The front passenger seat vent assembly is referred to as part number 84382695 as per the Detroit-based automaker’s parts catalog.
As expected, dealers have been informed to replace the passenger presence system – including the ventilation assembly – to correct this issue. Only vehicles equipped with ventilated front passenger seats are called back, namely nine vehicles manufactured for the 2023 model year.
The recalled population of Equinox and Terrain vehicles was produced in the period between October 22nd and October 25th, split between four examples of the Equinox and five units of the GMC-branded cousin. Owners will be informed of this condition on January 30th by first-class mail. Also worthy of note, Lear Corporation revised its process to inspect for spacer foam and the tier-2 supplier instituted a vision detection system.
Prospective customers who don’t know better can pick up a brand-new Equinox for $26,600 sans the $1,395 destination charge, $500 customer cash, and $500 Chevy Red Tag bonus cash. Be it front- or all-wheel drive, Chevrolet offers a 1.5-liter turbo four-cylinder mill connected to a six-speed automatic even though eight forward ratios are the norm in FWD-based vehicles. The GMC Terrain is $29,900 as per the online configurator for the base grade that features little in the way of standard kit.
Investigators met with representatives of the Lear Corporation and an unnamed tier-2 vent supplier, as well as the automaker’s technical experts, to evaluate the potential effect of missing spacers on the performance of the front passenger airbag’s occupant classification system. Lo and behold, the sensing system fails to detect a small child or a child restraint.
The OCS does not detect a small child or a child restraint because of the missing foam spacers. In other words, the front passenger airbag will deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of injury or death to the child seated there. The document attached below puts the blame solely on the tier-2 vent supplier for shipping assemblies without the foam spacers.
Thankfully for all parties involved, the Safety Field Action Decision Authority within General Motors isn’t aware of any field incidents related to this concern. The front passenger seat vent assembly is referred to as part number 84382695 as per the Detroit-based automaker’s parts catalog.
As expected, dealers have been informed to replace the passenger presence system – including the ventilation assembly – to correct this issue. Only vehicles equipped with ventilated front passenger seats are called back, namely nine vehicles manufactured for the 2023 model year.
The recalled population of Equinox and Terrain vehicles was produced in the period between October 22nd and October 25th, split between four examples of the Equinox and five units of the GMC-branded cousin. Owners will be informed of this condition on January 30th by first-class mail. Also worthy of note, Lear Corporation revised its process to inspect for spacer foam and the tier-2 supplier instituted a vision detection system.
Prospective customers who don’t know better can pick up a brand-new Equinox for $26,600 sans the $1,395 destination charge, $500 customer cash, and $500 Chevy Red Tag bonus cash. Be it front- or all-wheel drive, Chevrolet offers a 1.5-liter turbo four-cylinder mill connected to a six-speed automatic even though eight forward ratios are the norm in FWD-based vehicles. The GMC Terrain is $29,900 as per the online configurator for the base grade that features little in the way of standard kit.
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