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.
Black plate (1,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Keys, Doors and Windows 2-1
Keys, Doors and
Windows
Keys and Locks
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Doors
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Vehicle Security
Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . 2-14
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Immobilizer Operation (Key Access) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Immobilizer Operation (Keyless Access) . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Exterior Mirrors
Power Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Interior Mirrors
Manual Rearview Mirror . . . . . . 2-18
Windows
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Power Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Rear Window Sunshade . . . . . 2-20
Roof
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
2-4 Keys, Doors and Windows
Remote Keyless Entry
(RKE) System Operation
The transmitter functions will work
up to 20 m (65 ft) away from the
vehicle. On vehicles with remote
start the distance will be greater.
Keep in mind that other conditions,
such as those previously stated,
can impact the performance of the
transmitter.
RKE without Remote Start Shown
Q(Lock):Press to lock all doors.
The turn signal indicators may
flash and/or the horn may sound
to indicate locking, see “Locking
Feedback” underVehicle
Personalization on page 5‑39.
If the driver door is open when
Qis
pressed, all doors lock except the
driver door, if enabled through the
vehicle personalization.
If the passenger door is open
when
Qis pressed, all doors lock.
Pressing
Qmay also arm
the theft-deterrent system.
See Anti-Theft Alarm System on
page 2‑14.
K(Unlock): Press to unlock the
driver door or all doors. See “Door
Unlock Options” underVehicle
Personalization on page 5‑39.
The turn signal indicators may
flash and/or the horn may
sound to indicate unlocking. See
“Unlock Feedback” under
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑39.
Pressing
Kwill disarm
the theft-deterrent system.
See Anti-Theft Alarm System on
page 2‑14.
Memory seat positions may be
recalled when unlocking the vehicle.
See “Memory Seats” underPower
Seat Adjustment on page 3‑5 and
“Remote Recall” underVehicle
Personalization on page 5‑39
for more information.
V (Remote Trunk Release):
Press and hold to unlock the trunk.
7(Vehicle Locator/Panic
Alarm): Press and release
one time to locate the vehicle.
The exterior lamps flash and
the horn chirps.
Press and hold
7for at least
two seconds to sound the panic
alarm. The horn sounds and the
turn signals flash until
7is pressed
again or the vehicle is started.
Black plate (14,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
2-14 Keys, Doors and Windows
Vehicle Security
This vehicle has theft-deterrent
features; however, they do not make
it impossible to steal.
Anti-Theft Alarm System
This vehicle has an anti-theft alarm
system.
Arming the System
To arm the system, pressQon the
RKE transmitter.
The alarm automatically arms after
about 30 seconds. The security
light, located on the instrument
panel, flashes.
Press
Von the RKE transmitter to
open the trunk without setting off the
alarm. The system rearms when the
trunk is closed.
Disarming the System
To disarm the system, do one of the
following:
.PressKon the RKE transmitter.
.Approach the vehicle with
the RKE transmitter (keyless
access).
.Start the engine.
The alarm automatically disarms.
How to Detect a Tamper
Condition
IfKis pressed and the horn
sounds, an attempted break-in
has occurred while the system
was armed.
If the alarm has been activated, the
THEFT ATTEMPTED message will
appear on the DIC. See Key and
Lock Messages on page 5‑36 for
additional information.
Immobilizer
See Radio Frequency Statement on
page 13‑20 for information
regarding Part 15 of the Federal
Communications Commission
(FCC) rules and Industry Canada
Standards RSS-210/220/310.
Immobilizer Operation
(Key Access)
This vehicle has a passive
theft-deterrent system.
The system does not have to be
manually armed or disarmed.
The vehicle is automatically
immobilized when the key is
removed from the ignition.
The system is automatically
disarmed when the vehicle is
started with the correct key.
Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
5-2 Instruments and Controls
Engine Oil Messages . . . . . . . . 5-35
Engine Power Messages . . . . 5-36
Fuel System Messages . . . . . . 5-36
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . 5-36
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Object Detection SystemMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Ride Control System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Anti-Theft Alarm System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Tire Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Transmission Messages . . . . . 5-38
Window Messages . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Vehicle Personalization
Vehicle Personalization . . . . . . 5-39
Universal Remote System
Universal Remote System . . . 5-45
Universal Remote System Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-45
Universal Remote System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-48
Controls
Steering Wheel
Adjustment
To adjust the steering wheel:
1. Pull the lever (A) down.
2. Move the steering wheel up
or down.
3. Pull or push the steering wheel closer or away from you.
4. Pull the lever (A) up to lock the steering wheel in place.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while driving.
Steering Wheel Controls
For vehicles with audio steering
wheel controls, some audio controls
can be adjusted at the steering
wheel.
b g(Push to Talk): For vehicles
with a Bluetooth®, OnStar®,
or navigation system, press
to interact with those systems.
Black plate (38,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
5-38 Instruments and Controls
Anti-Theft Alarm System
Messages
THEFT ATTEMPTED
This message displays if the vehicle
detects a tamper condition.
Tire Messages
TIRE PRESSURE LOW ADD
AIR TO TIRE
On vehicles with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS), this
message displays when the
pressure in one or more of
the vehicle's tires is low.
The low tire pressure warning
light will also come on. SeeTire
Pressure Light on page 5‑23.
If a tire pressure message appears
on the DIC, stop as soon as you
can. Inflate the tires by adding air
until the tire pressure is equal to
the values shown on the Tire
and Loading Information label. See
Tires on page 10‑46, Vehicle
Load Limits on page 9‑12, and Tire
Pressure on page 10‑54.
You can receive more than one
tire pressure message at a time.
To read the other messages that
may have been sent at the same
time, press the SET/CLR button.
The DIC also shows the tire
pressure values. See Driver
Information Center (DIC) on
page 5‑25.SERVICE TIRE MONITOR
SYSTEM
This message displays if there is
a problem with the Tire Pressure
Monitor System (TPMS). See Tire
Pressure Monitor Operation on
page 10‑57 for more information.
TIRE LEARNING ACTIVE
This message displays when
the system is learning new tires.
SeeTire Pressure Monitor
Operation on page 10‑57 for
more information.
Transmission Messages
SERVICE TRANSMISSION
This message displays if there is
a problem with the transmission.
See your dealer.
SHIFT TO PARK
This message displays when the
transmission needs to be shifted to
P (Park). This may appear when
attempting to remove the key if the
vehicle is not in P (Park).
TRANSMISSION HOT —IDLE
ENGINE
This message displays and a chime
sounds if the transmission fluid in
the vehicle gets hot. Driving with the
transmission fluid temperature high
can cause damage to the vehicle.
Stop the vehicle and let it idle to
allow the transmission to cool.
This message clears when the fluid
temperature reaches a safe level.
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 (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