[nuclear1986]

I noticed that while standing near my 2010 Equinox as my wife is pulling away, the transmission sounds a bit whiney, especially as it's shifting from first to second. My Nox is a V-6 with AWD. Is a louder transmission characteristic of this car or the AWD? Anyone else notice this? Thanks!

 

[Motorman]

Quick note........last time I heard that I was low 3 oz of power steering fluid! Yeah, that little. No such whine noticed on my AWD SRX or friends AWD I-4 Nox. Is there a tranny fluid dipstick anymore??

Don't tolerate it. GM trannys should be quiet! If continues, Dealer......

MM

 

[NoobNox]

I know the trannies are different, but I don't really notice anything like that with my 4cyl/6-speed. Of course I don't recall really being outside while someone else was driving away..

 

[gearhead]

I noticed that while standing near my 2010 Equinox as my wife is pulling away, the transmission sounds a bit whiney, especially as it's shifting from first to second. My Nox is a V-6 with AWD. Is a louder transmission characteristic of this car or the AWD? Anyone else notice this? Thanks!

I notice the same thing when the wife drives away in our AWD V6 Terrain as well.
I'd guess 99% it's the normal sound of the AWD gears.
Music to my ears, actually!
8)

 

[2010Nox]

I don't notice anything with our 4cyl/FWD Nox.

Maybe it's a common sound with the 6T70 used with the V6 and not the 6T45 used with the 4 cyl.

 

[FedorekC]

I have some kind of whine/chirp going on under my hood. Two different people at my dealer have said it's normal, but I am still not convinced. It's driving me nuts . I am thinking of checking the power steering fluid...but you think the service guy would have thought of that. Mine is also a V6 AWD.

 

[gearhead]

I have some kind of whine/chirp going on under my hood. Two different people at my dealer have said it's normal, but I am still not convinced. It's driving me nuts . I am thinking of checking the power steering fluid...but you think the service guy would have thought of that.[/color] Mine is also a V6 AWD.

These vehicles are still relatively new platforms.
It'd be prudent to presume that not too many Techs have even performed an oil change on one yet.
Keep your salesperson in the loop and make sure that all recalls/updates have been performed.

 

[FedorekC]

That is very true. That is why I am trusting what I read on these forums more than what my dealer has to say...

 

[nuclear1986]

Thanks for the comments, gentlemen. Seems like those with the V6 and AWD have similar experiences. Normal or not, I will make my dealer aware of this.

 

[Terrain]

^ you mean LADIES and gentlemen.

Having some experience with both AWD and FWD, I can definitely say there is more "noise" with the AWD. When you get on the gas you can hear the buzz of the driveshaft (or transfer case or whatever).

I am still struggling with my decision to go with FWD this time although I am loving the 'lightness' of the FWD. It's markedly quicker than the AWD for some reason... hard to believe losing 200 pounds would make that much of a difference. Ask me again in January.

 

[2010Nox]

I am still struggling with my decision to go with FWD this time although I am loving the 'lightness' of the FWD. It's markedly quicker than the AWD for some reason... hard to believe losing 200 pounds would make that much of a difference. Ask me again in January.

Up here on the prairies we get some nasty weather in the winter for up to 7 months. Everything from 1ft-2ft of snow at a time to freezing rain to windchills to -48° with blizzard conditions. I've been driving in it for almost 35 years and have had everything from older rear drive cars to 2WD rear drive SUV's and trucks to front wheel drive cars and vans.

While I will agree that AWD is a benefit, me and my wife have never been stuck or had a crash for all the years driving and we each go 15 miles in opposite directions on the hwy. 6 days a week.

We can't justify the extra cost, fuel consumption and possibly maintenance/repair costs of AWD so we once again bought the 2WD version. Driving habits and skill, driving for the conditions and tires are the most important factors IMO.

I will admit that traction improves with AWD and we don't have hilly/mountainous terrain here but AWD doesn't really help you stop better which is most important. Besides, it's not a true 4WD which we have on our ATV's where all four wheels can be locked up and used for power. But then again you shouldn't take your Nox where we take our ATV's.

JMO but consider those factors when you are trying to decide on a AWD vs FWD Nox.

 

[Terrain]

I'm worried about resale value as well.

In my 15 years of driving I've only owned four wheel drive vehicles (all part time except for the autotrac in my Sierra) and really only used 4x4 on a few winter days per year. I used to need a 4x4 to get around construction sites and to get to remote locations when I was a surveyor/inspector early on in my career.

These days I don't really have a need for four/all wheel drive but I do admit it was really fun last winter to floor it and just go....

I think I will get a set of winter tires and wheels... if anyone wants to sell a factory set of 17s let me know...

 

[nuclear1986]

^ you mean LADIES and gentlemen.

I stand corrected -- my apologies to Terrain.

 

[Terrain]

I stand corrected -- my apologies to Terrain.

No, not me lol. I have the little 'male' symbol next to my username. I was referring to FedorekC.

 

[nuclear1986]

No, not me lol. I have the little 'male' symbol next to my username. I was referring to FedorekC.

Oops! My bad again. Sorry FedorekC.

 

[NoobNox]

I'm worried about resale value as well.

In my 15 years of driving I've only owned four wheel drive vehicles (all part time except for the autotrac in my Sierra) and really only used 4x4 on a few winter days per year. I used to need a 4x4 to get around construction sites and to get to remote locations when I was a surveyor/inspector early on in my career.

These days I don't really have a need for four/all wheel drive but I do admit it was really fun last winter to floor it and just go....

I think I will get a set of winter tires and wheels... if anyone wants to sell a factory set of 17s let me know...

First of all I'll admit I live in Texas which isn't known for wild winter weather, but 2 weeks after I got my Nox we had a round of snow & ice. Even though I'm in Texas, Snow and ice on the road is still slippery and dangerous...maybe even moreso down here since it is never cleared by machinery and people aren't used to driving in it. My FWD Nox handled it beautifully and better than any vehicle I have ever owned. The FWD is naturally better than RWD in such conditions, but the combination of traction control, stability control and ABS truly made it very benign and easy to control. Resale value isn't affected as much down here since people either want 2WD or true 4X4 for offroading, and know that AWD will rarely come into play in normal driving.

 

[FedorekC]

Oops! My bad again. Sorry FedorekC.

That's ok, apology accepted haha.

 

[MACATOWA]

Based on 15,000 miles per year AWD at 2 mpg less only costs about $110 more per year in fuel cost or $2.50 per week.

 

[Terrain]

Based on 15,000 miles per year AWD at 2 mpg less only costs about $110 more per year in fuel cost or $2.50 per week.

Of course that number will fluctuate with the price of fuel.

I had almost 12,000 km on my AWD Terrain and got a very stable DIC average of 11.6 or 20.3 US MPG in 95% city driving. My new FWD is showing 11.0 which is 21.4 US MPG so if this one is as stable as the other one (only 450 km on new one) the difference will only be 1 MPG.

I just received my insurance update and there is almost $10 per month difference. The FWD, for me, is cheaper to insure which is a bonus. Great considering the value to insure (I am insured at full replacement value for the first 2 years) is $2,000 higher on this one than my AWD as well.