Page 9 of 462

Black plate (3,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
In Brief 1-3
A.Air Vents on page 8‑8.
B. Head-Up Display (HUD) on
page 5‑29 (If Equipped).
C. Turn and Lane‐Change Lever. See Turn and Lane-Change
Signals on page 6‑4.
Driver Information Center
Buttons. See Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑25.
D. Instrument Cluster on
page 5‑10.
Driver Information Center
Display. See Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑25.
E. Windshield Wiper/Washer on
page 5‑3.
F. Infotainment Display Screen.
G. Infotainment on page 7‑1.
H. Exterior Lamp Controls on
page 6‑1.
Fog Lamps on page 6‑5
(If Equipped).
Instrument Panel Illumination
Control on page 6‑5. I.
Front Storage on page 4‑1.
J. Data Link Connector (DLC) (Out of View). See Malfunction
Indicator Lamp on page 5‑17.
K. Cruise Control on page 9‑39.
L. Steering Wheel Adjustment on
page 5‑2.
M. Horn on page 5‑3.
N. Steering Wheel Controls on
page 5‑2 (If Equipped).
O. Ignition Positions (Key Access)
on page 9‑17 orIgnition
Positions (Keyless Access) on
page 9‑19.
P. Heated and Ventilated Front
Seats on page 3‑10.
Q. Automatic Climate Control
System on page 8‑1
(If Equipped).
Dual Automatic Climate
Control System on page 8‑4
(If Equipped). R.
Power Door Locks on
page 2‑11.
Hazard Warning Flashers on
page 6‑4.
Passenger Sensing System on
page 3‑37.
S. Parking Brake on page 9‑33.
T. Shift Lever Position Indicator. See Automatic Transmission on
page 9‑28.
U. Shift Lever. See Shifting Into
Park on page 9‑25.
V. Traction Control System (TCS)
on page 9‑36.
Electronic Stability Control
(ESC) on page 9‑37.
Ultrasonic Parking Assist on
page 9‑42.
Rear Window Sunshade
(If Equipped). See Rear
Window Sunshade on
page 2‑20.
W. Glove Box on page 4‑1.
Page 10 of 462

Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
1-4 In Brief
Initial Drive
Information
This section provides a brief
overview about some of the
important features that may
or may not be on your specific
vehicle.
For more detailed information, refer
to each of the features which can be
found later in this owner manual.
Remote Keyless
Entry (RKE) System
The Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter will work up to 20 m
(65 ft) away from the vehicle.
On vehicles with remote start
the distance will be greater.
Press the button to extend the
key. The key can be used for all
locks. This key is also used for the
ignition, if the vehicle does not have
push-button start
K:Press to unlock the driver door
or all doors.
Q: Press to lock all doors.
Lock and unlock feedback can be
personalized.
V: Press and hold to open the
trunk.
7: Press and release to locate
the vehicle. Press and hold for
more than two seconds to sound
the panic alarm. Press again to
cancel the panic alarm.
See Keys on page 2‑2 andRemote
Keyless Entry (RKE) System
Operation on page 2‑4.
Remote Vehicle Start
For vehicles with this feature, the
engine can be started from outside
of the vehicle.
Starting the Vehicle
1. Aim the Remote Keyless Entry transmitter at the vehicle.
2. Press
Q.
3. Immediately after completing Step 2, press and hold
/until
the turn signal lamps flash, or for
about 2 seconds if the vehicle is
not in view.
Page 11 of 462

Black plate (5,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
In Brief 1-5
When the vehicle starts, the parking
lamps will turn on and remain on
as long as the engine is running.
The doors will be locked and
the climate control system may
come on.
The engine will continue to run for
10 minutes. Repeat the steps for a
10-minute time extension. Remote
start can be extended only once.
Canceling a Remote Start
To cancel a remote start:
.Aim the RKE transmitter at
the vehicle and press and
hold
/until the parking
lamps turn off.
.Turn on the hazard warning
flashers.
.Turn the vehicle on and then off.
See Remote Vehicle Start on
page 2‑8.
Door Locks
To lock or unlock the doors:
.From inside the vehicle, use
the door lock knob or the power
door lock controls, pull once on
the door handle to unlock it, and
a second time to open it.
.From outside, use the key,
or press
QorKon the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter.
See Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) System Operation on
page 2‑4.
See Door Locks on page 2‑10.
Power Door Locks
On vehicles with power door locks,
the controls are located on the
center of the instrument panel.
K:Press to unlock the doors.
Q:Press to lock the doors.
See Power Door Locks on
page 2‑11.
Trunk Release
The trunk may be opened by
pressing
Von the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter or
the touchpad located on the rear of
the trunk above the license plate.
See Trunk on page 2‑12 for more
information.
Windows
On vehicles with power windows,
the switches are on the driver door
armrest. Each passenger door has
a switch that controls only that
window.
Press the switch to lower the
window. Pull the switch up to
raise it.
For more information, see Power
Windows on page 2‑19.
Page 12 of 462

Black plate (6,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
1-6 In Brief
Seat Adjustment
Manual Seats
A. Seatback Recline Lever
B. Height Adjustment Switch
C. Seat Position HandleTo adjust the seat position:
1. Pull the handle (C) under the
front of the seat cushion.
2. Slide the seat to the desired position and release the handle.
3. Try to move the seat back and forth to be sure it is locked in
place.
Press and hold the top or bottom of
the switch (B) to raise or lower the
seat. Release the switch when the
desired height is reached.
To raise or recline the seatback, use
the lever (A) on the outboard side of
the seat.
See Seat Adjustment on page 3‑4
and Reclining Seatbacks on
page 3‑8 for more information.
Power Seats
To adjust the seat:
.Move the seat forward or
rearward by moving the
horizontal control forward
or rearward.
.Raise or lower the front or
rear part of the seat cushion by
moving the front or rear of the
horizontal control up or down.
.Raise or lower the entire seat by
moving the control up or down.
See Power Seat Adjustment on
page 3‑5.
Page 13 of 462
Black plate (7,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
In Brief 1-7
Power Reclining Seatbacks
To raise or recline the seatback,
tilt the top of the vertical control
forward or rearward. SeeReclining
Seatbacks on page 3‑8. Lumbar AdjustmentTo adjust the lumbar support:
.Press and hold the front or rear
of the control to increase or
decrease lumbar support.
.Press and hold the top or bottom
of the control to raise or lower
lumbar support.
See Lumbar Adjustment on
page 3‑7.
Memory Features
On vehicles with the memory
feature, the “1”and “2”buttons
on the outboard side of the driver
seat are used to manually save
and recall the driver seat and
outside mirror positions. These
manually stored positions are
referred to as Button Memory
positions.
Page 14 of 462

Black plate (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
1-8 In Brief
The vehicle will also automatically
save driver seat and outside
mirror positions to the current
driver Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
transmitter when the ignition is
placed in OFF. These automatically
stored positions are referred to as
RKE Memory positions.
Storing Button Memory Positions
To save positions into Button
Memory:
1. Adjust the driver seat, seatbackrecliner, and both outside mirrors
to the desired driving positions.
2. Press and release the MEM (Memory) button.
3. Press “1”until a beep sounds.
4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 for a second driver using “2.”To recall the manually saved
Button Memory positions, press
and hold
“1”or“2.” The driver seat
and outside mirrors move to the
positions stored to those buttons
when pressed. Releasing “1”or“2”
before the stored positions are
reached stops the recall.
To automatically recall RKE Memory
positions, unlock the driver door
with the RKE transmitter, and open
the driver door. On vehicles with
Keyless Access, opening the driver
door when an RKE transmitter
is present will activate the RKE
Memory recall. If the driver door
is already open, pressing the RKE
transmitter Kbutton will also
activate the RKE Memory recall.
The driver seat and outside mirrors
will move to the previously saved
RKE Memory positions.
See “Memory Seats” underPower
Seat Adjustment on page 3‑5 for
more information. Easy Exit Driver Seat
This feature moves the seat
rearward allowing the driver
more room to exit the vehicle.
To activate, place the ignition in
OFF and open the driver door. If the
driver door is already open, placing
the ignition in OFF will activate the
easy exit driver seat.
This feature is turned on or off
using the vehicle personalization
menu. See
“Driver Seat Easy Exit”
under Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑39 for more information.
Page 15 of 462

Black plate (9,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
In Brief 1-9
Heated and Ventilated
Seats
Heated and VentilatedSeat Buttons Shown,
Heated Seat Buttons Similar
If available, the buttons are on the
climate control panel. To operate,
the ignition must be on. Press
Lto heat the seat cushion
and seatback or
{, if equipped,
to ventilate the seat.
Press the button once for the
highest setting. With each press
of the button, the seat will change
to the next lower setting, and then
to the off setting. The lights indicate
three for the highest setting and one
for the lowest.
For more information, see Heated
and Ventilated Front Seats on
page 3‑10.
Head Restraint
Adjustment
Do not drive until the head restraints
for all occupants are installed and
adjusted properly.
To achieve a comfortable seating
position, change the seatback
recline angle as little as necessary
while keeping the seat and the
head restraint height in the proper
position.
For more information see Head
Restraints on page 3‑2 and
Seat Adjustment on page 3‑4.
Page 16 of 462

Black plate (10,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
1-10 In Brief
Safety Belts
Refer to the following sections for
important information on how to use
safety belts properly.
.Safety Belts on page 3‑13.
.How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly on page 3‑17.
.Lap-Shoulder Belt on page 3‑22.
.Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH System) on
page 3‑52.
Sensing System for
Passenger Airbag
The passenger sensing system will
turn off the right front passenger
frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver airbags,
seat‐mounted side impact airbags,
and roof‐rail airbags are not affected
by the passenger sensing system.
The passenger airbag status
indicator will be visible on the
instrument panel when the vehicle
is started. SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 3‑37 for more
information.
Mirror Adjustment
Exterior
To adjust the mirrors:
1. Turn the control knob to the L (left) or R (right) selecting the
driver or passenger mirror.
2. Push the control knob to the left, right, up, or down to adjust the
mirror.