2011 BUICK LACROSSE warning

Black plate (100,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
10-100 Vehicle Care
Floor Mats
{WARNING
If a floor mat is the wrong size
or is not properly installed, it can
interfere with the accelerator
pedal and/or brake pedal.
Interference with the pedals can
cause unintended acceleration
and/or increased stopping
distance which can cause a crash
and injury. Make sure the floor
mat does not interfere with the
accelerator or brake pedal.Use the following guidelines for
proper floor mat usage:
.The original equipment floor
mats were designed for your
vehicle. If the floor mats need
replacing, it is recommended
that GM certified floor mats be
purchased. Non-GM floor mats
may not fit properly and may
interfere with the accelerator or
brake pedal. Always check that
the floor mats do not interfere
with the pedals.
.Use the floor mat with the
correct side up. Do not turn
it over.
.Do not place anything on top of
the driver side floor mat.
.Use only a single floor mat on
the driver side.
.Do not place one floor mat on
top of another.
Removing and Replacing the
Floor Mats
Pull up on the rear of the floor mat
to unlock each retainer and remove.
Reinstall by lining up the floor mat
retainer openings over the carpet
retainers and snap into position.
Make sure the floor mat is properly
secured in place.
Verify the floor mat does not
interfere with the accelerator or the
brake pedal.

Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
11-2 Service and Maintenance
{WARNING
Performing maintenance work can
be dangerous. Some jobs can
cause serious injury. Perform
maintenance work only if you
have the required know-how and
the proper tools and equipment.
If in doubt, see your dealer to
have a qualified technician do
the work. SeeDoing Your Own
Service Work on page 10‑4.
At your dealer, you can be
certain that you will receive the
highest level of service available.
Your dealer has specially trained
service technicians, uses genuine replacement parts, as well as,
up‐to‐date tools and equipment
to ensure fast and accurate
diagnostics.
The proper replacement parts,
fluids, and lubricants to use are
listed in
Recommended Fluids
and Lubricants on page 11‑7 and
Maintenance Replacement Parts on
page 11‑9. We recommend the use
of genuine parts from your dealer.
Rotation of New Tires
To maintain ride, handling,
and performance of the vehicle,
it is important that the first rotation
service for new tires be performed.
Tires should be rotated every
12 000 km/7,500 miles. See Tire
Rotation on page 10‑61.
Scheduled
Maintenance
When the Change Engine Oil
Soon Message Displays
Change engine oil and filter.
See Engine Oil on page 10‑9.
An Emission Control Service.
When the CHANGE ENGINE
OIL SOON message displays,
service is required for the vehicle
as soon as possible, within the next
1 000 km/600 miles. If driving under
the best conditions, the engine oil
life system might not indicate the
need for vehicle service for more
than a year. The engine oil and filter
must be changed at least once a
year and the oil life system must
be reset. Your dealer has trained
service technicians who will perform
this work and reset the system.

Black plate (1,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Add-On Electrical
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Adjustments Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-15
Air Conditioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Air Filter, Passenger
Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Air Intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
What Makes an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34 Airbag System (cont.)
What Will You See After
an Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-31
Airbags Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-15
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Alarm System Anti-Theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Antenna Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Alarm System Messages . . . . . 5-38 Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Appearance Care Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-97
Assistance Program,
Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20 CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
CD/DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Audio System Backglass Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic
Climate Control System . . . . . . . . 8-1
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . 9-28 Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . 7-31, 7-34

Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-29
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . 7-46, 7-48, 7-53
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-19
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3 Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-16
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Headlamps, Front TurnSignal and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-36
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps, and
Back-Up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
California
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iv
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v

Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
D
Damage Repair, Collision . . . . . 13-13
Danger, Warnings, andCautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
Data Recorders, Event . . . . . . . 13-18
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Devices, Auxiliary . . . . . . . 7-31, 7-34
Differential, Limited-Slip . . . . . . . 9-38
Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Door Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Rear Seat Pass-Through . . . . . 3-13
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25 Driving
Characteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-8
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Dual Automatic Climate
Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
DVD Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
E
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . 5-20
Electrical Equipment,
Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Electronic Stability Control . . . . . 9-37
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)/Traction Control
System (TCS) Indicator
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22

Black plate (5,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-5
Electronic Stability ControlIndicator Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Coolant Temperature
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-35
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-28
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20 Engine Oil
Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-61
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-18
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2
F
Features Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Filter, Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-100 Fluid
Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-15
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Front Fog Lamps Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Front Seats
Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . 3-10
Front Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Filling a Portable Fuel
Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-54
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Fuels in Foreign Countries . . . . 9-52
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-51

Black plate (6,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
i-6 INDEX
Fuel (cont.)Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-24
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-51
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Fuel Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Fuses
Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Instrument Panel Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-45Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-51
Gauges Engine Coolant
Temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Warning Lights and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
General Information Service and Maintenance . . . . . 11-1
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Vehicle Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
GM Mobility Reimbursement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8
H
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . 6-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Head Up Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-29
HeadlampsAdaptive Forward
Lighting (AFL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Black plate (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
i-8 INDEX
LATCH SystemReplacing Parts After a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
Light Electronic Stability Control
(ESC)/Traction Control
System (TCS) Indicator
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Lighting
Adaptive Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-19
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 5-20
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-23 Lights (cont.)
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Front Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-14
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Taillamp Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . . 9-38
Locks Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-24
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children
(LATCH System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-10
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . 11-2
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-17
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Mass Storage Media (MEM) . . . 7-27
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Messages Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . 5-38
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-35
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36