
Black plate (1,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Section 3 Features and Controls
Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Doors and Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Programmable Automatic Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Rear Door Security Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Power Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-16
Content Theft-Deterrent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
PASS-Key
®III+ Electronic Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . 3-17
PASS-Key®III+ Electronic Immobilizer
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17 Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
. . . . . . . . . . . .3-19
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Engine Coolant Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Automatic Transmission Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Shifting Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Parking Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
Automatic Dimming Rearview Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Outside Power Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Outside Automatic Dimming Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Outside Convex Mirror . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Outside Heated Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
3-1

Black plate (3,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Keys
{WARNING:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the ignition key
is dangerous for many reasons. Children or others
could be badly injured or even killed. They could
operate the power windows or other controls or
even make the vehicle move. The windows will
function with the keys in the ignition and children
could be seriously injured or killed if caught in the
path of a closing window. Do not leave the keys in
a vehicle with children.
The key can be used for the ignition, the driver's door,
and the glovebox lock.
The key has a bar-coded key tag that the dealer or
qualified locksmith can use to make new keys. Store
this information in a safe place, not in your vehicle.
3-3

Black plate (5,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Q(Lock):Press to lock all the doors. If enabled
through the Driver Information Center (DIC), the parking
lamps flash once to indicate locking has occurred.
If enabled through the DIC, the horn chirps when
Qis
pressed again within five seconds. See DIC Vehicle
Customization
on page 4‑58for additional information.
Pressing
Qmay arm the content theft‐deterrent system.
See Content Theft-Deterrent on page 3‑16.
"(Unlock): Press once to unlock the driver door. If"is
pressed again within five seconds, all remaining doors
unlock. The interior lamps come on and stay on for
20 seconds or until the ignition is turned on. If enabled
through the DIC, the parking lamps flash twice to
indicate unlocking has occurred. See DIC Vehicle
Customization
on page 4‑58.
Pressing
"on the RKE transmitter disarms the content
theft‐deterrent system. See Content Theft-Deterrent
on
page 3‑16.
V(Remote Trunk Release): Press and hold for
about one second to unlock the trunk. The transmission
must be in P (Park).
L(Vehicle Locator/Panic Alarm): Press and release
to locate the vehicle. The turn signal lamps flash and
the horn sounds three times.
Press and hold
Lfor more than two seconds to
activate the panic alarm. The turn signal lamps flash
and the horn sounds repeatedly for 30 seconds.
The alarm turns off when the ignition is moved to
ON/RUN or
Lis pressed again. The ignition must be
in LOCK/OFF for the panic alarm to work.
The vehicle comes with two transmitters. Each
transmitter will have a number on it, "1" or "2". These
numbers correspond to the driver of the vehicle. For
example, the memory seat position for driver 1 will
be recalled when using the transmitter labeled "1",
if enabled through the DIC. See Memory Seat and
Mirrors
on page 2‑7and DIC Vehicle Customizationon page 4‑58for more information.
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Black plate (8,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
To manually shut off a remote start:
.Aim the RKE transmitter at the vehicle and press
the remote start button until the parking lamps
turn off.
.Turn on the hazard warning flashers.
.Turn the ignition switch on and then off.
The vehicle can be started remotely two separate times
between driving sequences. The engine will run for
10 minutes after each remote start.
Or, you can extend the engine run time by another
10 minutes within the first 10 minute remote start time
frame, and before the engine stops.
For example, if the lock button and then the remote start
buttons are pressed again after the vehicle has been
running for five minutes, 10 minutes are added, allowing
the engine to run for 15 minutes.
The additional 10 minutes are considered a second
remote vehicle start. Once two remote starts, or a single remote start with
one time extension have been done, the vehicle must
be started with the key.
After the key is removed from the ignition, another
remote start can be performed.
The vehicle cannot be started remotely if the key is in
the ignition, the hood is not closed, or if there is an
emission control system malfunction.
Remote Start Ready
If your vehicle does not have the remote vehicle start
feature, it may have the remote start ready feature. This
feature allows your dealer to add the manufacturer's
remote vehicle start feature.
See your dealer if you would like to add the
manufacturer's remote vehicle start feature to
your vehicle.
3-8

Black plate (9,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Doors and Locks
Door Locks
{WARNING:
Unlocked doors can be dangerous.
.Passengers, especially children, can easily
open the doors and fall out of a moving
vehicle. When a door is locked, the handle will
not open it. The chance of being thrown out of
the vehicle in a crash is increased if the doors
are not locked. So, all passengers should
wear safety belts properly and the doors
should be locked whenever the vehicle is
driven.
.Young children who get into unlocked vehicles
may be unable to get out. A child can be
overcome by extreme heat and can suffer
permanent injuries or even death from heat
stroke. Always lock the vehicle whenever
leaving it.(Continued)
WARNING: (Continued)
.Outsiders can easily enter through an
unlocked door when you slow down or stop
the vehicle. Locking the doors can help
prevent this from happening.
There are several ways to lock and unlock your vehicle.
From the outside, use either the key or the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter.
From the inside, use the power door lock switches or
manual lock knobs. The manual lock knobs are located
at the top of the door panel near the window.
Push the manual lock knob down to lock the door. To
unlock the door, pull up on the knob.
Power Door Locks
With power door locks, the switches on the front doors
can be used to lock and unlock the vehicle.
K(Unlock): Press to unlock the doors.
Q(Lock):Remove the key from the ignition and press
to lock the doors.
3-9

Black plate (10,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Delayed Locking
This feature allows the driver to delay the actual locking
of the doors. When the driver power door lock switch
is pressed with the key removed from the ignition, and
the driver door open, a chime will sound three times
to signal that the delayed locking system is active.
When all doors have been closed, the doors will lock
automatically after several seconds. If any door is
opened before this, the timer will reset itself once all
the doors have been closed again.
Pressing the driver or passenger power door lock switch
again or the RKE transmitter button will override this
feature.
Personal Choice Programming
The delayed locking feature can be turned on or off,
using the Driver Information Center (DIC) to program
this feature. See“DELAY DOOR LOCK” underDIC
Vehicle Customization on page 4‑58.
Programmable Automatic Door
Locks
Your vehicle is programmed so that, when the doors are
closed, the ignition is on, and the shift lever is moved
out of P (Park), all the doors will lock. The doors will
unlock every time you stop the vehicle and move the
shift lever into P (Park).
If someone needs to get out while your vehicle is not in
P (Park), have the person use the manual lock knob or
power door lock switch. When the door is closed again,
it will not lock automatically. Use the manual lock knob
or power door lock switch to lock the door.
If your vehicle has a Driver Information Center (DIC),
you can choose various lock and unlock settings.
For programming information, see DIC Vehicle
Customization on page 4‑58.
3-10

Black plate (11,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Rear Door Security Locks
Rear door security locks prevent passengers from
opening the rear doors from the inside.
The rear door security
locks are located on
the inside edge of
each rear door. The
rear doors must be
opened to access them.
To use the lock: 1. Insert the key into the security lock slot and turn it so the slot is in the horizontal position.
2. Close the door.
3. Do the same for the other rear door. To open a rear door when the security lock is on, do the
following:
1. Unlock the door using the Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter, if the vehicle has one, the
power door lock switch, or by lifting the rear door
manual lock.
2. Open the door from the outside.
To cancel the rear door security lock: 1. Unlock the door and open it from the outside.
2. Insert the key into the security lock slot and turn it so the slot is in the vertical position.
3. Do the same for the other rear door.
Lockout Protection
If the key is in the ignition and the power door lock
switch is used to lock the doors, all doors will lock
and then the driver door will unlock. It is always
recommended that the ignition key is removed from
the vehicle when locking the doors.
The lockout protection feature can be overridden by
holding the power door lock switch for three seconds or
longer.
3-11

Black plate (15,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Power Windows
{WARNING:
Leaving children in a vehicle with the keys is
dangerous for many reasons. Children or others
could be badly injured or even killed. They could
operate the power windows or other controls or
even make the vehicle move. The windows will
function and they could be seriously injured or
killed if caught in the path of a closing window. Do
not leave keys in a vehicle with children.
When there are children in the rear seat use the
window lockout button to prevent unintentional
operation of the windows.
Driver's Side shownThe power window
switches are located on
the driver's door armrest.
In addition, each door
has a switch for its own
window.
The front power window switches operate with one
position for up and two positions for down movement
and the rear power window switches operate with
one position for up and one for down movement.
Your vehicle has Retained Accessory Power (RAP) that
allows you to use the power windows once the ignition
has been turned off. For more information, see Retained
Accessory Power (RAP) on page 3‑21.
3-15