Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
10-2 Vehicle Care
Wheels and Tires
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . 10-48
Tire Designations . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50
Tire Terminology andDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-56
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68 Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-68
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Tire Sealant and
Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Storing the Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Tire Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . . 10-85
Jump Starting
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Towing
Towing the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Appearance Care
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-97
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-100
General Information
For service and parts needs,
visit your dealer. You will receive
genuine GM parts and GM-trained
and supported service people.
Genuine GM parts have one of
these marks:
Black plate (61,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-61
Tire Inspection
GM recommends that the tires,
including the spare tire, if the
vehicle has one, be inspected
for signs of wear or damage at
least once a month.
Replace the tire if:
.The indicators at three or
more places around the tire
can be seen.
.There is cord or fabric
showing through the tire's
rubber.
.The tread or sidewall is
cracked, cut, or snagged
deep enough to show cord
or fabric.
.The tire has a bump, bulge,
or split.
.The tire has a puncture, cut,
or other damage that cannot
be repaired well because of
the size or location of the
damage.
Tire Rotation
Tires should be rotated
every 12 000 km (7,500 mi).
SeeScheduled Maintenance on
page 11‑2.
The purpose of a regular tire
rotation is to achieve a uniform
wear for all tires on the vehicle.
This will ensure that the vehicle
continues to perform most like it
did when the tires were new. Any time you notice unusual
wear, rotate the tires as soon
as possible and check wheel
alignment. Also check for
damaged tires or wheels.
See
When It Is Time for New
Tires on page 10‑63 andWheel
Replacement on page 10‑68.
When rotating the vehicle's tires,
always use the correct rotation
pattern shown here.
Black plate (68,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
10-68 Vehicle Care
Temperature–A, B, C
The temperature grades
are A (the highest), B, and C,
representing the tire's resistance
to the generation of heat and
its ability to dissipate heat
when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified
indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can
cause the material of the tire
to degenerate and reduce tire
life, and excessive temperature
can lead to sudden tire failure.
The grade C corresponds to a
level of performance which all
passenger car tires must meet
under the Federal Motor Safety
Standard No. 109. Grades B
and A represent higher levels of
performance on the laboratory
test wheel than the minimum
required by law. Warning: The
temperature grade for this tire is established for a tire that is
properly inflated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed,
underinflation, or excessive
loading, either separately or in
combination, can cause heat
buildup and possible tire failure.
Wheel Alignment and Tire
Balance
The tires and wheels were
aligned and balanced at the
factory to provide the longest tire
life and best overall performance.
Adjustments to wheel alignment and
tire balancing will not be necessary
on a regular basis. However, check
the alignment if there is unusual tire
wear or if the vehicle is pulling to
one side or the other. If the vehicle
vibrates when driving on a smooth
road, the tires and wheels might
need to be rebalanced. See your
dealer for proper diagnosis.
Wheel Replacement
Replace any wheel that is bent,
cracked, or badly rusted or
corroded. If wheel nuts keep coming
loose, the wheel, wheel bolts, and
wheel nuts should be replaced.
If the wheel leaks air, replace it.
Some aluminum wheels can be
repaired. See your dealer if any
of these conditions exist.
Your dealer will know the kind of
wheel that is needed.
Each new wheel should have
the same load-carrying capacity,
diameter, width, offset, and be
mounted the same way as the
one it replaces.
Replace wheels, wheel bolts,
wheel nuts, or Tire Pressure Monitor
System (TPMS) sensors with new
GM original equipment parts.
Black plate (13,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-13
T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Taillamp Indicator Light . . . . . . . . 5-25
TaillampsBulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14, 2-15
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5, 5-6
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-85
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-50
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-57
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38 Tires (cont.)
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-56
Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Sealant and
Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Sealant and Compressor Kit, Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Terminology and
Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Wheel Alignment and Tire
Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-68
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-47
Towing Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-56
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-61
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-55 Towing (cont.)
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-89
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-89
Traction Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . 9-36
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . 9-38
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Selective Ride Control . . . . . . . . 9-38
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-28
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-11
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
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