Oh, you should see how buried everything is in new cars.Why would Autozone sell a Mini Cooper thermostat that is identical in every way except the wiring plugs? My only guess is that this is a BMW standard part, and they misclassified the BMW version as Mini compatible. Also, why the hell is the thermostat molded into its housing, requiring me to replace a $140 part instead of a $30 thermostat?
I don't think you can get at anything in the Chevy Equinox with tearing apart the dashboard, except for the little switch that dims the lights.