
No Forward Gears at AllĪ surprisingly common problem with the AF33 is the loss of all forward gears at one time. You hit the gas and the rpm rises, even though the transmission isn’t downshifting. If you ever drove an older American car with an automatic transmission, you’ll know the feeling. The vehicle will also travel down the highway at a higher RPM. When the torque converter refuses to lock up gas mileage suffers. It is well known that the clutch is a little to small for many applications. The locking clutch on the torque converter is a known area of weakness with this transmission. Here is a list of some of the most common problems with the AF33 transmission that is equipped in the 05 Equinox. Find these codes on the tag to tell you which one that you have. You’ll either have the FWD or AWD version of this transmission. You’ll want to check out the RPO codes in the glove compartment.

If you’d like to confirm that the transmission in your Equinox is the AF33, go ahead and pop open the glove compartment. The necessary fuel economy is achieved through a very modest 2.65 final drive ratio. It’s final gear ratio is a 1:1 direct drive ratio. The AF33 equipped in the 05 Equinox has is not a true overdrive transmission. That means that as long as it is operated under normal conditions, it will not require any transmission fluid change. It is considered to be a fill for life transmission. It was made in China and found it’s way into not only General Motors vehicles, but also Volvos, Suzukis, Renaults, and Nissans. The 05 Equinox was equipped with the Aisin AF33 transmission. 2005 Equinox Transmission Problems + Info As a fifteen year old vehicle, it may be worth checking the A/C before buying one. The 2005 Equinox is prone to A/C failure. This will lead to the motor not starting. It is very common for the battery connection to corrode. If there’s no record of the Equinox that you are considering buying being brought in for this service, consider that a red flag. That is to say the head gasket will blow without overheating occurring. For a lot of people, it seems to strike without warning. One of the most common 05 Chevy Equinox problems is the blown head gasket. Far and away the biggest area of concern for this engine is with the head gasket. It’s power output was 185 hp at the rear wheels and it put out 210 foot pounds of torque, see directly above for more info regarding the engine. The 2005 Equinox was available with one engine. It can also become difficult to fill the gas tank. It’ll usually read one of the Evaporative Emissions system trouble codes. This will result in the service engine soon light coming on.

That’s why if you are using this guide to ascertain whether or not to buy an 05 Equinox, we’d recommend you pass for a 07+ model year. Since it will fail without overheating, there’s no warning.


Blown head gasket– The head gasket on these engines (and the 2006) are well known the head gasket failing without overheating.
