2010 Buick LaCrosse Owner ManualM
Keys, Doors and Windows. . . 1-1
Keys and Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Exterior Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Interior Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-16
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Roof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Seats and Restraints . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
Child Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-40
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Storage Compartments . . . . . . . . 3-1
Additional Storage Features . . . 3-2 Instruments and Controls
. . . . 4-1
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . 4-4
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Warning Lights, Gages, and
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Information Displays . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . . 4-38
OnStar System
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43
Universal Remote System . . . . 4-45
Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Exterior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Lighting Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-20
Rear Seat Infotainment . . . . . . . 6-34
Phone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-42 Climate Controls
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Climate Control Systems . . . . . . 7-1
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Driving and Operating . . . . . . . . 8-1
Driving Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Starting and Operating . . . . . . . 8-17
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . 8-27
Drive Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-30
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-31
Ride Control Systems . . . . . . . . 8-34
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-37
Object Detection Systems . . . . 8-40
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-49
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-54
Conversions and Add-Ons . . . 8-60
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Vehicle Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Introduction v
A circle with a slash through it is a
safety symbol which means“Do
Not,” “Do not do this” or“Do not let
this happen.”
Symbols
The vehicle has components and
labels that use symbols instead of
text. Symbols are shown along with
the text describing the operation or
information relating to a specific
component, control, message, gage,
or indicator.
M: This symbol is shown when
you need to see your owner manual
for additional instructions or
information.
*: This symbol is shown when
you need to see a service manual
for additional instructions or
information. Vehicle Symbol Chart
Here are some additional symbols
that may be found on the vehicle
and what they mean. For more
information on the symbol, refer to
the index.
9:
Airbag Readiness Light
#:Air Conditioning
!:Antilock Brake System (ABS)
g:Audio Steering Wheel Controls
or OnStar®
$: Brake System Warning Light
":Charging System
I:Cruise Control
B: Engine Coolant Temperature
O:Exterior Lamps
#:Fog Lamps
.: Fuel Gage
+:Fuses
i: Headlamp High/Low-Beam
Changer
j: LATCH System Child
Restraints
*: Malfunction Indicator Lamp
::Oil Pressure
}:Power
/:Remote Vehicle Start
>:Safety Belt Reminders
7:Tire Pressure Monitor
d:Traction Control
M:Windshield Washer Fluid
Instruments and Controls 4-1
Instruments and
Controls
Instrument Panel Overview
Instrument Panel Overview . . . . 4-4
Controls
Steering Wheel Adjustment . . . 4-6
Steering Wheel Controls . . . . . . 4-6
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . 4-7
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . 4-7
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Clock (Without DateDisplay) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Clock (With Date Display) . . . . . 4-9
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
Warning Lights, Gages, and
Indicators
Warning Lights, Gages, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Fuel Gage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Engine Coolant Temperature Gage . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . 4-15
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . 4-16
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Charging System Light . . . . . . 4-17
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20 Electric Parking Brake
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Electronic Stability Control
(ESC) Indicator Light . . . . . . . 4-22
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)/Traction Control
System (TCS) Indicator/
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . 4-23
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . 4-23
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . 4-24
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24
High-Beam on Light . . . . . . . . . 4-24
Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24
Taillamp Indicator Light . . . . . . 4-25
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . . . . 4-25
4-2 Instruments and Controls
Information Displays
Driver InformationCenter (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Head-Up Display (HUD) . . . . . 4-28
Vehicle Messages
Vehicle Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Battery Voltage and Charging Messages . . . . . . . . 4-33
Brake System Messages . . . . 4-33
Compass Messages . . . . . . . . . 4-33
Cruise Control Messages . . . . 4-34
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . 4-34
Engine Cooling System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . 4-35
Engine Power Messages . . . . 4-35
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . 4-36
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . 4-36
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36 Ride Control System
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-36
Anti-Theft Alarm System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-37
Tire Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-37
Transmission Messages . . . . . 4-37
Window Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 4-38
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . 4-38
OnStar System®
OnStar®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-43
Universal Remote System
Universal Remote
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-45
Universal Remote System Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-45
Universal Remote System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-48
Instruments and Controls 4-5
A.Air Vents on page 7‑8.
B. Head-Up Display (HUD)
on
page 4‑28(If Equipped).
C. Turn and Lane-Change Lever. See Turn and Lane-Change
Signals
on page 5‑4. Driver
Information Center Buttons. See
Driver Information Center (DIC)
on page 4‑25.
D. Instrument Cluster
on
page 4‑13. Driver Information
Center Display. See Driver
Information Center (DIC)
on
page 4‑25.
E. Windshield Wiper/Washer
on
page 4‑7.
F. Info-Display.
G. AM-FM Radio on page 6‑12.
H. Exterior Lamp Controls
on
page 5‑1. Fog Lampson
page 5‑5(If Equipped).
Instrument Panel Illumination
Control on page 5‑5. I.
Front Storage on page 3‑1.
J. Cruise Control
on page 8‑37.
Heated Steering Wheelon
page 4‑7.
K. Steering Wheel Adjustment
on
page 4‑6.
L. Horn on page 4‑7.
M. Steering Wheel Controls
on
page 4‑6.
N. Ignition Positions (Key Access)
on page 8‑18orIgnition
Positions (Keyless Access)on
page 8‑19.
O. Heated and Ventilated Front
Seats on page 2‑8.
P. Automatic Climate Control
System
on page 7‑1orDual
Automatic Climate Control
System on page 7‑4.
Q. Power Door Locks
on
page 1‑10. Hazard Warning
Flasherson page 5‑4.
Passenger Sensing Systemon
page 2‑32. R.
Parking Brake on page 8‑32.
S. PRNDL. See Automatic
Transmission on page 8‑27.
T. Shift Lever. See Shifting Into
Park on page 8‑23.
U. Traction Control System (TCS)
on page 8‑34.Electronic
Stability Control (ESC)on
page 8‑35. Ultrasonic Parking
Assiston page 8‑40. Power
Rear Sunshade.
V. Glove Box on page 3‑1.
Instruments and Controls 4-25
The light goes out when the fog
lamps are turned off. SeeFog
Lamps
on page 5‑5for more
information.
Taillamp Indicator Light
This light comes on when the
taillamps are on.
Cruise Control Light
This light is white whenever the
cruise control is set and turns green
when the cruise control is active.
The light goes out when the cruise
control is turned off. See Cruise
Control
on page 8‑37for more
information.
For vehicles with the uplevel cluster
this telltale will be shown in the
Driver Information Center (DIC)
screen.
Information Displays
Driver Information
Center (DIC)
The Driver Information Center (DIC)
displays information about the
vehicle. It also displays warning
messages if a system problem is
detected. See Vehicle Messages
on
page 4‑32for more information. All
messages appear in the DIC display
located in the center of the
instrument panel cluster.
On some models, the DIC may have
some warning lights or indicators
shown in the top portion of the
display. See Warning Lights, Gages,
and Indicators
on page 4‑12for
more information.
The vehicle may also have features
that can be customized through the
controls on the radio. See Vehicle
Personalization
on page 4‑38for
more information.
4-34 Instruments and Controls
Cruise Control Messages
Apply Brakes Before Cruise
If this message displays when
attempting to activate cruise control,
apply the brake and then try again.
Cruise Set to XXX
This message will display when the
cruise control is set and it will show
the speed it was set to. SeeCruise
Control
on page 8‑37for more
information.
Door Ajar Messages
Driver Door Open
This message will display when the
driver door is open. Close the door
completely.
Hood Open
This message will display when the
hood is open. Close the hood
completely.
Left Rear Door Open
This message will display when the
driver side rear passenger door is
open. Close the door completely.
Passenger Door Open
This message will display when the
passenger door is open. Close the
door completely.
Right Rear Door Open
This message will display when the
passenger side rear passenger door
is open. Close the door completely.
Trunk Open
This message will display when the
trunk is open. Close the trunk
completely.
Engine Cooling System
Messages
A/C Off Due to High
Engine Temp
This message displays when the
engine coolant becomes hotter than
the normal operating temperature.
To avoid added strain on a hot
engine, the air conditioning
compressor automatically turns off.
When the coolant temperature
returns to normal, the air
conditioning compressor turns back
on. You can continue to drive your
vehicle.
If this message continues to appear,
have the system repaired by your
dealer/retailer as soon as possible
to avoid damage to the engine.
Coolant Level Low Add
Coolant
This message will display if the
coolant is low, see Engine Coolant
on page 9‑18.
Driving and Operating 8-1
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Driving for Better FuelEconomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Drunk Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 8-9
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . 8-11
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . 8-12
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . 8-17
Ignition Positions (Key Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-18
Ignition Positions (Keyless Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-19 Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-20
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . 8-20
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-22
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-23
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . 8-25
Parking Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-25
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26
Running the Vehicle WhileParked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-26
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . 8-27
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-29
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-30
Brakes
Antilock BrakeSystem (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-31
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-32
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-34
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-35
Selective Ride Control . . . . . . . 8-36
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-37
Object Detection Systems
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . 8-40
Side Blind Zone
Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-43
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-46
Fuel
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-49
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . 8-50
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . 8-50
California FuelRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-51
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . 8-51
Fuel Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-51
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-52
Filling a Portable Fuel Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-53