2011 BUICK LACROSSE parking brake

Black plate (87,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-87
3. Set the parking brake firmly andput the shift lever in P (Park).
See Shifting Into Park on
page 9‑25.
Notice: If the radio or other
accessories are left on during
the jump starting procedure, they
could be damaged. The repairs
would not be covered by the
warranty. Always turn off the
radio and other accessories
when jump starting the vehicle.
4. Turn the ignition to LOCK/OFF
and switch off all lights and
accessories in both vehicles,
except the hazard warning
flashers if needed.
{WARNING
An electric fan can start up even
when the engine is not running
and can injure you. Keep hands,
clothing and tools away from any
underhood electric fan.
{WARNING
Using a match near a battery can
cause battery gas to explode.
People have been hurt doing
this, and some have been
blinded. Use a flashlight if you
need more light.
Be sure the battery has enough
water. You do not need to add
water to the battery installed in
your new vehicle. But if a battery
has filler caps, be sure the right
amount of fluid is there. If it is low,
add water to take care of that
first. If you don't, explosive gas
could be present.
Battery fluid contains acid that
can burn you. Do not get it on
you. If you accidentally get it in
your eyes or on your skin, flush
the place with water and get
medical help immediately.
{WARNING
Fans or other moving engine
parts can injure you badly. Keep
your hands away from moving
parts once the engine is running.
5. Connect one end of the redpositive (+) cable to the jump
start positive (+) post (A). Use a
remote positive (+) terminal if the
vehicle has one.

Black plate (90,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
10-90 Vehicle Care
.What is the distance that will be
travelled? Some vehicles have
restrictions on how far and how
long they can tow.
.Is the proper towing equipment
going to be used? See your
dealer or trailering professional
for additional advice and
equipment recommendations.
.Is the vehicle ready to be
towed? Just as preparing the
vehicle for a long trip, make
sure the vehicle is prepared
to be towed.
Dinghy Towing from the Front
When dinghy towing, the vehicle
should be run at the beginning of
each day and at each RV fuel stop
for about five minutes. This will
ensure proper lubrication of
transmission components.
Use the following procedure to
dinghy tow the vehicle from the front
with all four wheels on the ground:
1. Position the vehicle being towedbehind the tow vehicle and shift
the transmission to P (Park).
2. Turn the engine off and firmly set the parking brake. 3. Following the manufacturer's
instructions, securely attach the
vehicle being towed to the tow
vehicle.
4. Turn the ignition to ACC/ ACCESSORY and shift the
transmission to N (Neutral).
5. Release the parking brake only after the vehicle being towed is
firmly attached to the towing
vehicle.
When towing the vehicle for
extended periods of time, start
the vehicle as often as possible to
prevent battery drain. This should
be done when the tow vehicle is
parked.

Black plate (91,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-91
Dinghy Towing from the Rear
The vehicle was not designed to be
towed from the rear with all four
wheels on the ground.
Dolly Towing from the Front
(Front-Wheel Drive)
Vehicles with front-wheel drive can
be dolly towed from the front.
Use the following procedure to dolly
tow the vehicle from the front:
1. Attach the dolly to the towvehicle following the dolly
manufacturer's instructions. 2. Drive the front wheels onto the
dolly.
3. Shift the transmission to P (Park).
4. Firmly set the parking brake.
5. Use an adequate clamping device designed for towing to
ensure that the front wheels are
locked into the straight-ahead
position.
6. Secure the vehicle to the dolly following the manufacturer's
instructions.
7. Release the parking brake only after the vehicle being towed is
firmly attached to the towing
vehicle.
8. Turn the ignition to LOCK/OFF.

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 (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

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 (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