
Black plate (1,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Section 4 Instrument Panel
Instrument Panel Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-3
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Tilt Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Power Tilt Wheel and Telescopic Steering Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Turn Signal/Multifunction Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Windshield Wipers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Windshield Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Exterior Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
Wiper Activated Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Headlamps on Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Cornering Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Exterior Lighting Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Instrument Panel Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Courtesy Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Delayed Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Theater Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13 Delayed Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Perimeter Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Front Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Electric Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Inadvertent Power Battery Saver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Battery Run-Down Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Accessory Power Outlet(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Ashtray(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Climate Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . 4-20
Outlet Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-25
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . .4-27
Instrument Panel Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-28
Speedometer and Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-29
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-30
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-31
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-32
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . 4-33
Traction Control System (TCS) Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-34
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Black plate (29,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Speedometer and Odometer
The speedometer shows the vehicle speed in both
miles per hour (mph) and kilometers per hour (km/h).
The odometer shows how far the vehicle has been
driven, in either miles or kilometers.
This vehicle has a tamper resistant odometer.
If the vehicle needs a new odometer installed, the new
one can be set to the mileage total of the old odometer.
If this is not possible, it is set to zero and a label must
be put on the driver's door to show the old mileage
reading when the new odometer was installed.
Trip Odometer
A trip odometer show how far the vehicle has been
driven since the odometer was last set to zero. See
Driver Information Center (DIC)
on page 4‑42for
information on resetting the trip odometer.
Tachometer
The tachometer displays the engine speed in
revolutions per minute (rpm).
Safety Belt Reminders
Driver Safety Belt Reminder Light
When the engine is started, a chime sounds for several
seconds to remind a driver to fasten the safety belt,
unless the driver safety belt is already buckled.
The safety belt light
comes on and stays on
for several seconds, then
flashes for several more.
This chime and light are repeated if the driver remains
unbuckled and the vehicle is in motion. If the driver
safety belt is already buckled, neither the chime nor the
light comes on.
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Black plate (42,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Here are some things that some owners ask about.
None of these show a problem with the fuel gauge:
.At the service station, the gas pump shuts off
before the gauge reads full.
.It takes more (or less) fuel to fill up than the gauge
indicated. For example, the gauge may have
indicated half full, but it took more (or less) than
half the tank's capacity to fill it.
.The gauge moves up a little while turning a corner,
speeding up or making a hard stop.
.The gauge does not go back to empty when the
ignition is turned off.
Driver Information Center (DIC)
Your vehicle has a Driver Information Center (DIC).
All messages will appear in the DIC display located
below the speedometer in the instrument panel cluster.
The DIC buttons are located on the instrument panel, to
the left of the instrument panel cluster.
The DIC comes on when the ignition is on. After a short
delay, the DIC will display the information that was last
displayed before the engine was turned off.The DIC displays trip, fuel, and vehicle system
information, and warning messages if a system
problem is detected. The bottom line of the DIC
shows the shift lever position indicator. See
Automatic
Transmission Operation
on page 3‑24for more
information.
If your vehicle's DIC has these features, the compass
direction and the outside air temperature may also
display on the DIC when viewing the trip and fuel
information. The compass direction appears on the
top right corner of the DIC display. The outside air
temperature automatically appears in the bottom right
corner of the DIC display. If there is a problem with
the system that controls the temperature display, the
numbers will be replaced with dashes. If this occurs,
have the vehicle serviced by your dealer.
The DIC also allows some features to be customized.
See DIC Vehicle Customization
on page 4‑58for more
information.
DIC Operation and Displays
The DIC has different displays which can be accessed
by pressing the DIC buttons located on the instrument
panel, to the left of the instrument panel cluster.
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Black plate (43,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
DIC Buttons
The buttons are the trip/fuel, vehicle information,
customization, and set/reset buttons. The button
functions are detailed in the following pages.
3(Trip/Fuel):Press this button to display the
odometer, trip odometers, fuel range, average economy,
instantaneous economy, and average speed.
T(Vehicle Information): Press this button to display
the oil life, units, park assist on vehicles with this
feature, side blind zone alert on vehicles with this
feature, tire pressure readings on vehicles with this
feature, and compass zone and compass calibration on
vehicles with this feature.
U(Customization): Press this button to customize the
feature settings on your vehicle. See DIC Vehicle
Customization
on page 4‑58for more information.
V(Set/Reset): Press this button to set or reset certain
functions and to turn off or acknowledge messages on
the DIC.
Trip/Fuel Menu Items
3
(Trip/Fuel): Press this button to scroll through the
following menu items:
Odometer
Press the trip/fuel button until ODOMETER displays.
This display shows the distance the vehicle has been
driven in either kilometers (km) or miles (mi).
Trip A and Trip B
Press the trip/fuel button until TRIP A or TRIP B
displays. This display shows the current distance
traveled in either kilometers (km) or miles (mi) since the
last reset for each trip odometer. Both trip odometers
can be used at the same time.
Each trip odometer can be reset to zero separately by
pressing the set/reset button while the desired trip
odometer is displayed.
The trip odometer has a feature called the retro-active
reset. This can be used to set the trip odometer to the
number of kilometers (miles) driven since the ignition
was last turned on. This can be used if the trip
odometer is not reset at the beginning of the trip.
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Black plate (44,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
To use the retro-active reset feature, press and hold
the set/reset button for at least four seconds. The trip
odometer will display the number of kilometers (km) or
miles (mi) driven since the ignition was last turned on
and the vehicle was moving. Once the vehicle begins
moving, the trip odometer will accumulate mileage. For
example, if the vehicle was driven 8 km (5 miles) before
it is started again, and then the retro-active reset feature
is activated, the display will show 8 km (5 miles). As the
vehicle begins moving, the display will then increase to
8.2 km (5.1 miles), 8.4 km (5.2 miles), etc.
If the retro-active reset feature is activated after the
vehicle is started, but before it begins moving, the
display will show the number of kilometers (km) or
miles (mi) that were driven during the last ignition cycle.
Fuel Range
Press the trip/fuel button until FUEL RANGE displays.
This display shows the approximate number of
remaining kilometers (km) or miles (mi) the vehicle can
be driven without refueling.
The fuel range estimate is based on an average of the
vehicle's fuel economy over recent driving history and
the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank. This
estimate will change if driving conditions change. For
example, if driving in traffic and making frequent stops,
this display may read one number, but if the vehicle is
driven on a freeway, the number may change even
though the same amount of fuel is in the fuel tank.This is because different driving conditions produce
different fuel economies. Generally, freeway driving
produces better fuel economy than city driving.
If your vehicle is low on fuel, the FUEL LEVEL LOW
message will be displayed. See
“FUEL LEVEL LOW”
under DIC Warnings and Messages
on page 4‑49for
more information.
Average Economy
Press the trip/fuel button until AVG ECONOMY
displays. This display shows the approximate average
liters per 100 kilometers (L/100 km) or miles per gallon
(mpg). This number is calculated based on the number
of L/100 km (mpg) recorded since the last time this
menu item was reset. To reset AVG ECONOMY, press
and hold the set/reset button. The display will return
to zero.
Instantaneous Economy
Press the trip/fuel button until INST ECONOMY
displays. This display shows the current fuel economy
at a particular moment and will change frequently as
driving conditions change. This display shows the
instantaneous fuel economy in liters per 100 kilometers
(L/100 km) or miles per gallon (mpg). Unlike average
economy, this screen cannot be reset.
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Black plate (45,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
Average Speed
Press the trip/fuel button until AVERAGE SPEED
displays. This display shows the average speed of
the vehicle in kilometers per hour (km/h) or miles per
hour (mph). This average is calculated based on the
various vehicle speeds recorded since the last reset
of this value. To reset the value, press and hold the
set/reset button. The display will return to zero.
Blank Display
This display shows no information.
Vehicle Information Menu Items
T
(Vehicle Information):Press this button to scroll
through the following menu items:
Oil Life
Press the vehicle information button until OIL LIFE
REMAINING displays. This display shows an estimate
of the oil's remaining useful life. If you see 99% OIL
LIFE REMAINING on the display, that means 99% of
the current oil life remains. The engine oil life system
will alert you to change the oil on a schedule consistent
with your driving conditions. When the remaining oil life is low, the CHANGE
ENGINE OIL SOON message will appear on the
display. See
“CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON” underDIC
Warnings and Messages
on page 4‑49. You should
change the oil as soon as possible. See Engine Oilon
page 6‑18. In addition to the engine oil life system
monitoring the oil life, additional maintenance is
recommended in the Maintenance Schedule in this
manual. See Scheduled Maintenance
on page 7‑3for
more information.
Remember, you must reset the OIL LIFE yourself after
each oil change. It will not reset itself. Also, be careful
not to reset the OIL LIFE accidentally at any time other
than when the oil has just been changed. It cannot be
reset accurately until the next oil change. To reset the
engine oil life system, see Engine Oil Life System
on
page 6‑22.
Units
Press the vehicle information button until UNITS
displays. This display allows you to select between
Metric or English units of measurement. Once in this
display, press the set/reset button to select between
ENGLISH or METRIC units.
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Black plate (51,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED
This message displays when the vehicle's engine
power is reduced. Reduced engine power can affect the
vehicle's ability to accelerate. If this message is on, but
there is no reduction in performance, proceed to your
destination. The performance may be reduced the next
time the vehicle is driven. The vehicle may be driven
at a reduced speed while this message is on, but
acceleration and speed may be reduced. Anytime this
message stays on, the vehicle should be taken to your
dealer for service as soon as possible.
ERROR
This message displays while viewing the odometer or
trip odometers if there is a problem with the instrument
panel cluster. See your dealer for service.
FUEL LEVEL LOW
This message displays when your vehicle is low on
fuel. Refill the fuel tank as soon as possible. See
Fuel Gauge
on page 4‑41andFilling the Tankon
page 6‑9for more information.
HOOD OPEN
If your vehicle has the remote start feature, this
message displays when the hood is not closed properly.
Make sure that the hood is closed completely. See
Hood Release on page 6‑13.
ICE POSSIBLE DRIVE WITH CARE
This message displays when the outside air
temperature is cold enough to create icy road
conditions. Adjust your driving accordingly.
LANE DEPARTURE SYSTEM
UNAVAILABLE
If your vehicle has the Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
system, this message may display if the LDW system
does not activate due to a temporary condition. See
Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
on page 3‑40for more
information.
LEFT REAR DOOR OPEN
This message displays when the driver side rear door is
not closed properly. Make sure that the door is closed
completely.
OIL LEVEL LOW ADD OIL
On some vehicles, this message displays when the
vehicle's engine oil is low. Fill the oil to the proper
level as soon as possible. See Engine Compartment
Overview
on page 6‑14for the engine oil fill location.
Also, see Engine Oilon page 6‑18for information on
the kind of oil to use and the proper oil level.
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Black plate (8,1)Buick Lucerne Owner Manual - 2011
.Emergency Tow From a Public Road or
Highway:Tow to the nearest Buick dealer for
warranty service, or if the vehicle was in a crash
and cannot be driven. Assistance is also given
when the vehicle is stuck in sand, mud, or snow.
.Flat Tire Change: Service to change a flat tire
with the spare tire. The spare tire, if equipped,
must be in good condition and properly inflated.
It is the owner's responsibility for the repair or
replacement of the tire if it is not covered by the
warranty.
.Battery Jump Start: Service to jump start a dead
battery.
Services Not Included in Roadside
Assistance
.Impound towing caused by violation of any laws.
.Legal fines.
.Mounting, dismounting, or changing of snow tires,
chains, or other traction devices.
.Towing or services for vehicles driven on a
non-public road or highway.
Services Specific to
Canadian‐Purchased Vehicles
.Fuel delivery: Reimbursement is approximately
$5 Canadian. Diesel fuel delivery may be
restricted. Propane and other fuels are not
provided through this service.
.Lock-Out Service: Vehicle registration is
required.
.Trip Routing Service: Detailed maps of North
America are provided when requested either with
the most direct route or the most scenic route.
There is a six request limit per year. Additional
travel information is also available. Allow three
weeks for delivery.
.Trip Interruption Benefits and Assistance: Must
be over 250 kilometers from where your trip was
started to qualify. General Motors of Canada
Limited requires pre-authorization, original
detailed receipts, and a copy of the repair orders.
Once authorization has been received, the
Roadside Assistance advisor will help you make
arrangements and explain how to receive payment.
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