
Black plate (41,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-41
Mini Fuses Usage10 Engine Control
Module
11 Post Catalytic
Converter Oxygen
Sensor Heater
13 Trans Ignition/Fuel
System Control
Module
16 MAF
17 Airbag Module
18 SBZ Ignition
23 Variable Effort
Steering
29 Power Lumbar, Left
32 Body Control
Module
33 Heated Seat
34 Antilock Brake
System Valves
35 Amplifier Mini Fuses Usage
36 AFL Ignition
37 Right High Beam
38 Left High Beam
46 Cooling Fan Relay
47 Pre Catalytic
Converter Oxygen
Sensor Heater
48 Fog Lamps
49 Right High Intensity
Discharge
Headlamp
50 Left High Intensity
Discharge
Headlamp
51 Horn
52 Cluster Ignition
53 Inside Rearview
Mirror, Rear
Vision Camera,
Vacuum Pump Mini Fuses Usage
54 Heating, Ventilation
and Air Conditioning
55 Outside Rearview
Mirror, Universal
Garage Door
Opener, Window
Switch
56 Windshield Washer
60 Heated Mirror
62 Canister Vent
64 AFL Battery
65 Theft‐Deterrent Horn
67 Fuel System Control
Module
69 Regulated Voltage
Control Sensor
70 Ultrasonic Parking
Assist/Side
Blind Zone

Black plate (71,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-71
{WARNING
Changing a tire can be
dangerous. The vehicle can
slip off the jack and roll over
or fall causing injury or death.
Find a level place to change the
tire. To help prevent the vehicle
from moving:1. Set the parking brake firmly.
2. Put an automatic transmission shift lever in
P (Park), or shift a manual
transmission to 1 (First) or
R (Reverse).
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
3. Turn off the engine and donot restart while the vehicle
is raised.
4. Do not allow passengers to remain in the vehicle.
5. Place wheel blocks on both sides of the tire at the
opposite corner of the tire
being changed.
This vehicle may come with a jack
and spare tire or a tire sealant and
compressor kit. To use the jacking
equipment to change a spare
tire safely, follow the instructions
below. Then see Tire Changing on
page 10‑79. To use the tire sealant
and compressor kit, see Tire
Sealant and Compressor Kit on
page 10‑72. When the vehicle has a flat tire (B),
use the following example as a
guide to assist you in the placement
of wheel blocks (A).
A. Wheel Block
B. Flat Tire
The following information explains
how to repair or change a tire.

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 (7,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-7
Heated and Ventilated FrontSeats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heater Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Heating and Air Conditioning . . . 8-1
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17I
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . 9-17, 9-19
Ignition Transmission LockCheck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Infants and Young Children, Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-36
Keyless Entry Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-4
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-48
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Lamps Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-3
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Sun Visor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22

Black plate (9,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-9
Messages (cont.)Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-37
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Mirrors
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-56
N
NavigationVehicle Data Recording
and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-16
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Object Detection, Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-13
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-44
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
Operation, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Overview, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3, 7-5
P
ParkShifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Parking Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-42
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-29
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-27
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-37
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Personalization Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . 7-46, 7-48, 7-53

Black plate (11,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-11
Replacing Safety BeltSystem Parts After a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-17
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Ride Control Systems . . . . . . . . . 9-37 Electronic Stability (ESC) . . . . . 9-37
Enhanced TractionSystem (ETS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Selective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Roads Driving, Wet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Roadside Assistance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-8, 13-10 Roof
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Rotation, Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Routing, Engine Drive Belt . . . . . 12-4
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
S
Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Extender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
How to Wear Safety BeltsProperly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Replacing After a Crash . . . . . . 3-28
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-27
Safety Defects Reporting
Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-17
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16 Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-15
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . . 11-2
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-11
Sealant Kit, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated and VentilatedFront . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-7
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-5
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Securing Child
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-61, 3-63
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Selective Ride Control . . . . . . . . . 9-38

Black plate (12,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
i-12 INDEX
ServiceAccessories and
Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-10
Maintenance, General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15
Scheduling Appointments . . . .13-11
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26 Side Blind Zone Alert . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Signals, Turn and
Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Spare Tire Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-85
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Heated Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Stoplamps and Back-Up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35 Storage
Mass Media (MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . 7-27
Storage Areas Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Storing the Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Sun Visor Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v
System Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Black plate (14,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
i-14 INDEX
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-42
Uniform Tire QualityGrading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-45 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Using this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .iv
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89 Vehicle Care
Storing the Tire Sealant
and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . 10-79
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
Vehicle Identification Service Parts IdentificationLabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Ventilation, Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20W
Warning Brake System Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v Cautions and Danger . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Hazard Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24 Wheels
Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Where to Put the Restraint . . . . 3-51
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18 Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Windshield Wiper/Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . 10-29