2010 Chevy Equinox: Family Tested
Update: I've altered the headline after many complaints from parents, including me, about the rear headrests being fixed.
We’ve written about the new Equinox’s Eco mode, Mike Hanley has posted his full review, and I’ve already detailed the iPod interface, but how does the redesigned crossover hold up for families? I tested it out with my growing brood and found it to be an amazing choice for small families.
I preface that this only applies to small families, because only two child seats will fit in the second row. There is no third row. However, the typical American family has 2.1 children, and I’d bet the backseat could fit that one-tenth-sized child easily…
With that in mind, I loaded up our two seats: a forward-facing Britax Marathon for Carter, 16 months, and a rear-facing Peg Perego Primo Viaggio infant seat for our 1-month-old, Evie. I would consider both to be on the larger side of the car-seat world.
I immediately ran into a problem: The backseat headrests wouldn’t come out. Actually, they didn’t move at all. This meant the Britax wouldn’t fit completely flush against the seatback. However, the Latch straps and anchor had the seat belted in quite firmly with the amount of contact it did allow. GM has confirmed the headrests are fixed, as this makes for a safer seat in rear collisions and will likely lead to higher crash-test ratings. Of course, other automakers have earned top safety awards with removable rear headrests.
Loading the kids was pretty easy. The Equinox is at a perfect hip height, so you’re really not lifting them up or down too much either way to get them into their seats. The one issue I had was with the slope of the pillar behind the rear doors. The angle was so severe — obviously for style, not utility — that I bumped Carter’s head once or twice when I shouldn’t have. I had to remind myself to watch out for it after that. It didn’t take a major adjustment to get him in sans head trauma, but it took enough to annoy me a little.
The second row slides forward or back on a track like a front seat would. This obviously impacts rear cargo space. The further back the seats, the less cargo room. The further forward, the more cargo space. This means parents can get their tots as close to the front seats as they want while not getting too close to encounter kicking.
I left the seats as far back as they would go the entire time I had the Equinox, and there was oodles of space for Carter to swing his legs and not hit my seat. (That’s not the case in our Subaru Outback, I can tell you.) Maybe one click further forward and I wouldn’t have hit his head on that pillar, too … didn’t think of that till now.
Anyway, slid all the way back the seat left enough cargo room in back to fit our Phil & Ted’s Dash stroller. It’s a rather large stroller that allows for tandem, inline seating for both kids. It fit fine with plenty of room to spare. You could stack stuff on top of it, as well. In fact, the cargo area is deeper than most I test, which makes it less than ideal for the family pet but fine for inanimate cargo.
The big surprise was the second row’s flat floor, which was ideal to fit things like a diaper bag. I thought it would also be great to store an umbrella stroller and went to get ours. Yep; it fit with plenty of room to spare.
Another area of improvement would be the 2LT trim's cloth seats which have a webbed-knit covering. Not only is this not entirely comfortable to sit on, but I would think it'll collect crumbs like nobody's business.
Clearly there’s a lot more to consider when car shopping, but I found myself really liking the Equinox. It was good-looking, fit the kids and cargo perfectly, and had a nice ride and good mileage. My wife liked it, but thought our next vehicle needed to be bigger for the dog and our routine family outings to see grandparents in the Chicago suburbs. But if you’re a family without a dog or a need to travel with both pet and cargo, the Equinox is a solid choice.
2010|Chevrolet|Equinox
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Very handy information and pics. This is the kind of stuff I need to know.
this is the kind of stuff i want to read when i read car reviews, how family oriented not who has the better hard plastics on the dash
incase you have a pet get one of these to be safe, just like kids-pets need to be safe:
Free Pet ID Card & First Responder Decal
The number of pets traveling in cars has increased by 300% since 2005. This presents a challenge to first responders at accident sites.
A pet safety identification card can provide crucial information about your pet, including emergency contacts who can provide care for your pet when you can’t. Bark Buckle UP an advocacy group promoting awareness for safety while traveling with pets, and they have something for you.
To benefit from this offer for a free First Responder Approved Pet Safety Kit from Bark Buckle UP, follow these simple steps:
▪ Go to BarkBuckleUP.com and register your pet’s information: owner, veterinarian, emergency contacts and notes.
▪ Upload your pet’s photo. (Bark Buckle UP will print and ship your custom pet safety card and first responder decal. Additional first responder decals available upon request.)
▪ Place the decal on your car window, and put the pet safety card in the glove box. The decal will alert first responders to the pet safety card in the glove box.
Remember, no pet safety kit can take the place of proper pet restraint while on the road. Restraining your pet inside a vehicle with a travel harness, carrier, crate, tether or dog/cat car seat can save your life and your pet’s life! Unrestrained pets can crash into human passengers with great force.
Captain Jim Doucette of the Sacramento Fire Department said:
“The firefighters of the Sacramento Fire Department respond to countless auto accidents. Unfortunately, many of these accidents also involve pets that become crash victims, because they are not secure inside the vehicle. Many of our firefighters are pet owners and we know firsthand that by securing your animal inside your vehicle properly, you may save their life in an accident.”
We are having the same problem putting in our Britax Marathon carseat. Were you able to get the headrest out at all, or did you just leave it in? I'm sure many others will have this same issue since the Equinox is such a family friendly car. Other than the headrest problem, we love the Equinox.
If you can't get the car seat completely flush against the seatback you shouldn't use it as it's unsafe. Either the Britax is too large (they are and my wife swears by them) or the Equinox has a built-in design quirk. I've owned enough Volvo's in my life to know that a fixed headrest is no more safe than a removable one - it's all in how it's designed. I bet GM designed the headrests to be fixed because it's cheaper. Sounds like you need to buy a different car seat, one that fits properly.
Christi,
No, the headrests do not come out at all. That is how they are designed. You'd really need to get another seat for it to fit completely flush. While one of the more popular models out there, the Marathon is also one of the biggest, so would this happen to everyone who bought an Equinox? No.
But as easily evidenced here, there are at least two examples of people not happy about it. Other owners with car seats having issues please leave a comment.
Dave W.
Yes, there are a number of top safety picks that have removable rear headrests. When I talked to GM I do not think this crossed their mind, either they didn't test with a seat this big or it wasn't thought of at all (which I can't really imagine since they usually test the LATCH and fixed anchors etc.)
But looking again, I wonder if my backup Graco Sport would fit right either. Will have to check if we have one in again.
The headrest can be removed via the small hole in the base and a paper clip. If they ever need replacement this is how it is done.
Thank you for this post. We just bought an Equinox in the hopes of having a family in the future. Very valuable information!
Thanks for the tip.
I just removed the headrest. I was having trouble until I realized there is a pinhole at the bottom of both stalks of the headrest and one of them is on the inside so it is hard to see. You need to release both stalks but not necessarily at the same. You may want somebody to hold up the cushion so you can get your fingers and the clip in there easier.
Regarding the car seat installation: After looking at the photos above and reading the post above, I called Britax about my Advocate CS. The bench is too upright to get the seat in there "flush against the seatback." I have it installed in more of a reclined position with a blanket underneath to support the back of the base.
The Britax rep said the base of the carseat should be level with the seat of the car. The back of the Britax does not necessarily need to be flush with the seatback. She said that was not possible many times. I put all of my 200 lbs into the seat with my knee and it won't budge...
I would still verify for yourself...
The Britax installation instructions online show two positions: one "Upright" and one "Reclined."
With two carseats installed, is there space for a passenger between?
Joanna,
Not a regular sized person no. Maybe a very very petite person.
I also have a marathon, and a jeep commander suv.
The back seats headrests are also non removable.
I took it to the dealer and they said they have to cut them of. right now I have the seat in the middle where there is no headrest. However its a problem getting to the middle of the suv everyday.
I just got a GMC Terrain as a rental from Enterprise and am having a hard time installing my Sunshine Kids Radian 80 carseat as the tether strap has to go over the headrest. What a stupid move on GM's part to have the headrest fixed. makes for carseat installation to be harder - and statistics show that most carseats are poorly installed to begin with. I will try the paper clip technique to remove the headrests.
Thanks for the advice and info.
Solange,
Thanks for your comment. I have changed the headline of the post because of so many complaints about headrests not being adjustable and the issue with a variety of car seat brands. If it was just my huge Britax I could let it slide, but the Radian is a lot smaller I believe and quite popular.
I tried the paperclip trick on my 2010 Chevy Equinox and still had no luck. Does anyone have more details on how they got the rear headrest removed.
I'm pretty good with tools, etc. but after putting two paperclips into the appropriate holes nothing is releasing to allow me to pull up on the headrest.
When I insert the paperclip I don't feel anything being pushed in by the clip. I've used thin and sturdy paperclips with no success. Any more suggestions?
I am having the same issue with the installation of my 2 Briatx Marathons in my new GMC terrain. First I used a rolled up towel to install withthe back of the car seat flush against the back of the seat using the towesl to level the base....but the seat was too up right and my toddlers head was flopping forward when he would fall asleep in the car. I thought I had fixed the problem....I got the base completely level on the bench, but the seat back was not flush against the seat, but now my 3 1/2 yr old is complaining that she is too reclined! I am now going to reinstall for the 4th time. I am really good and installing these car seats athis is a huge pain, all becasue the headresta re not adjustable on my $28K car.
On my 2010 Equinox, I was able to take a screwdriver and pop-up the plastic disc around the base of each rear headrest. Once popped-up, there is a clip thing with a spring that you can push in (both sides) which frees the headrest. The paperclip through the hole of the plastic disc should have done the same thing, but I couldn't get it to push the clip thing with the spring to free the headrest. Once you take out the headrest, it does allow the back see to lay flat and allow more cargo room without having to move up the front seats.
Another trick to remove the rear headrests in a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox without having to remove the plastic discs/rings around the base... You can purchase a small screwdriver set (I saw them in the dollar store), and use the smallest screwdriver to push through the small opening into the side of each plastic disc/ring until you hear a click. Do it on both sides, and the headrest comes off so you can fold the seat flat with no problems. The headrests reinstall very quickly & easily. Just push down until you hear the click again.
After reading this website I walked out to my Equinox and tried the screwdriver to pop off the plastic disc and was successful! I am so happy I was able to find a solution, with a baby on the way I was upset I wasn't going to be able to use a Britax carseat in my Equinox. Thank you Patrick you are a lifesaver.
Wonder how many times of off/on of those headrests before the latching mechanism fails.I'm sure GM wouldnt warranty that if they didnt design them to be regularly removable.Guess thats why they are "professional grade",or "an American revolution" (which they stole from 1984/85 Dodge ads).
Thanks for the family review.
The AAP as of 2011 has just updated their car safety information and now says that a child should now be in a rear facing car seat until 2 years of age, if not longer.
Thanks everyone for their help getting the head rest off. I found the paper lip was difficult to apply enough force to release them at the same time so I just popped the discs. I think this is the right move as long as you are careful. They came off with ease and I was able to get the headrest off by myself. Also, the discs just snapped back in, no damage to the mechanism. Thanks again. Made for an easy solution to a frustrating situation.