Page 177 of 462

Black plate (5,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-5
Fog Lamps
For vehicles with fog lamps, the
button is located on the exterior
lamp control, on the outboard side
of the steering wheel.
To turn on the fog lamps, the ignition
and the headlamps or parking lamps
must be on.
If the fog lamps are turned on while
the exterior lamp switch is in the
AUTO position, the headlamps
come on automatically.
#:Press to turn on or off. An
indicator light on the instrument
panel cluster comes on when the
fog lamps are on.
Some localities have laws that
require the headlamps to be on
along with the fog lamps.
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel
Illumination Control
The brightness of the instrument
panel lighting and steering
wheel controls can be adjusted.
Use the thumbwheel located next
to the exterior lamps control on the
outboard side of the steering wheel.
D: Move the thumbwheel up or
down to brighten or dim the lights.
Dome Lamps
The interior lamps control located in
the overhead console controls both
the front and rear interior lamps.
To operate, press the following
buttons:
((Off): Turns the lamps off.
HDoor: Turns the lamps on
when any door is opened.
'ON: Keeps the lamps on all
the time.
Reading Lamps
There are front and rear reading
lamps.
The front reading lamps are located
in the overhead console.
# $: Press to turn each lamp on
or off.
The rear reading lamps are located
in the headliner.
Sun Visor Lamps
This lamp turns on when the cover
is opened.
Page 178 of 462

Black plate (6,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
6-6 Lighting
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
The headlamps, taillamps, license
plate lamps, back‐up lamps, dome
lamps, and most of the interior lights
turn on briefly, when the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE)
Kbutton is
pressed, or when the door handle is
pulled on a keyless access vehicle.
See Ignition Positions (Key Access)
on page 9‑17 orIgnition Positions
(Keyless Access) on page 9‑19.
After about 30 seconds the exterior
lamps turn off, and then the dome
lamps and remaining interior lights
will dim to off. Entry lighting can be
disabled manually by changing the
ignition out of the OFF position,
or by pressing the RKE
Qbutton.
This feature can be changed.
See Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑39.
Exit Lighting
The headlamps, taillamps, parking
lamps, back‐up lamps, and license
plate lamps come on at night, or in
areas with limited lighting, when the
key is removed from the ignition.
The dome lamps also come on
when the key is removed from the
ignition. The exterior lights and
dome lamps remain on after the
door is closed for a set amount of
time, then automatically turn off.
For a vehicle with keyless access,
the exterior lights and dome lamps
automatically turn on when a door
is opened after the ignition is turned
off. See Ignition Positions (Key
Access) on page 9‑17 orIgnition
Positions (Keyless Access) on
page 9‑19.
The exterior lights turn off
immediately by turning the
exterior lamps control to OFF.
This feature can be changed.
See Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑39.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.
When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the
voltage move up or down. This is
normal. If there is a problem, an
alert will be displayed.
Page 179 of 462

Black plate (7,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-7
The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning
fast enough at idle to produce
all the power needed for very
high electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on,
such as: headlamps, high beams,
fog lamps, rear window defogger,
climate control fan at high speed,
heated seats, engine cooling fans,
trailer loads, and loads plugged into
accessory power outlets.
EPM works to prevent excessive
discharge of the battery. It does this
by balancing the generator's output
and the vehicle's electrical needs.It can increase engine idle speed
to generate more power, whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce
the power demands of some
accessories.
Normally, these actions occur
in steps or levels, without being
noticeable. In rare cases at the
highest levels of corrective action,
this action may be noticeable to the
driver. If so, a Driver Information
Center (DIC) message might be
displayed, such as BATTERY
SAVER ACTIVE, BATTERY
VOLTAGE LOW, or LOW BATTERY.
If one of these messages displays,
it is recommended that the driver
reduce the electrical loads as much
as possible. See
Driver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑25.Battery Power Protection
The battery saver feature is
designed to protect the vehicle's
battery.
If the exterior lamps or any interior
light is left on and the ignition is
turned off, the battery rundown
protection system automatically
turns the lamp off after about
10 minutes.
Page 180 of 462
Black plate (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
6-8 Lighting
2NOTES
Page 181 of 462

Black plate (1,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-1
Infotainment
System
Introduction
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . 7-2
Overview (Radio with CD) . . . . . 7-3
Overview (Radio with CD/DVDand MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Radio
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Backglass Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Satellite Radio Antenna . . . . . . 7-20
Audio Players
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-20
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-23
Mass Storage Media (MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27
Auxiliary Devices
(Radio with CD) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
Auxiliary Devices (Radio with CD/DVD and MEM) . . . . . . . . 7-34
Rear Seat Infotainment
Rear Seat Entertainment(RSE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
Phone
Bluetooth (Overview) . . . . . . . . 7-46
Bluetooth (InfotainmentControls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-48
Bluetooth (Voice Recognition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-53
Introduction
Infotainment
Read the following pages to
become familiar with the audio
system's features.
{WARNING
Taking your eyes off the road
for extended periods could
cause a crash resulting in
injury or death to you or others.
Do not give extended attention to
entertainment tasks while driving.
This system provides access to
many audio and non‐audio listings.
Page 182 of 462

Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
7-2 Infotainment System
To minimize taking your eyes off the
road while driving, do the following
while the vehicle is parked:
.Become familiar with the
operation and controls of the
audio system.
.Set up the tone, speaker
adjustments, and preset
radio stations.
For more information, see Defensive
Driving on page 9‑2. Notice:
Contact your dealer
before adding any equipment.
Adding audio or communication
equipment could interfere with
the operation of the engine, radio,
or other systems, and could
damage them. Follow federal
rules covering mobile radio
and telephone equipment.
The vehicle has Retained
Accessory Power (RAP). With RAP,
the audio system can be played
even after the ignition is turned
off. See Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) on page 9‑24
for more information.
Navigation System
For vehicles with a navigation
system, see the separate Navigation
System Manual.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
The theft-deterrent feature works
by learning a portion of the Vehicle
Identification Number (VIN) to
the infotainment system. The
infotainment system does not
operate if it is stolen or moved
to a different vehicle.
Page 183 of 462
Black plate (3,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-3
Overview (Radio with CD)A. VOL/O
.Turns the system on or off
and adjusts the volume.
B. FAV
.Radio: Opens the
favorites list.
C. Buttons 1 to 6
.Radio: Saves and selects
favorite stations.
D. INFO
.Radio: Shows available
information about the
current station.
.CD: Shows available
information about the
current track.
E. TUNE
.Radio: Manually selects
radio stations.
.CD: Selects tracks.
Page 184 of 462
Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
7-4 Infotainment System
F. CD/AUX
.Selects the CD player or
an external audio source.
G.
g
.Radio: Seeks the previous
station.
.CD: Select the previous
track or rewinds within a
track.
H.
XCD Eject
.Removes a disc from the
CD slot.
I.
l
.Radio: Seeks the next
station.
.CD: Select the next track
or fast forwards within a
track. J. RADIO/BAND
.Changes the band while
listening to the radio.
.Selects the radio when
listening to a different
audio source.
K. Menu Knob
.Opens menus, highlights
menu items, or sets
numeric values while
in a menu.
L. SELECT
.Selects menu items.
M. CONFIG
.Opens the Settings menu. N.
0BACK
.Menu: Moves one
level back.
.Character Input: Deletes
the last character.
O.
H
.Opens the Clock menu.
P. TONE
.Opens the Tone menu.
Q.
5
.Opens the Phone
main menu.
.Mutes the audio system.