
Black plate (25,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
Instruments and Controls 5-25
Tire Pressure
The display will show a vehicle with
the approximate pressures of all
four tires. Tire pressure is displayed
in either kilopascal (kPa) or pounds
per square inch (psi). SeeTire
Pressure Monitor System on
page 10‑51 andTire Pressure
Monitor Operation on page 10‑52
for more information.
Remaining Oil Life
This display shows an estimate
of the oil's remaining useful life.
If REMAINING OIL LIFE 99% is
displayed, that means 99% of the
current oil life remains.
When the remaining oil life is low,
the CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
message will appear on the display.
See Engine Oil Messages on
page 5‑28. The oil should be
changed as soon as possible. See
Engine Oil on page 10‑9. 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 11‑2 for more
information.
Remember, the Remaining Oil Life
display must be reset after each
oil change. It will not reset itself.
Also, be careful not to reset the
Remaining Oil Life display
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, press SET/
CLR while the Remaining Oil Life
display is active. See Engine Oil
Life System on page 10‑13.
Compass
The vehicle has a compass display
in the DIC. See Compass on
page 5‑4 for more information.
Vehicle Messages
Messages displayed on the DIC
indicate the status of the vehicle or
some action that may be needed
to correct a condition. Multiple
messages may display one after
the other.
The messages that do not
require immediate action can be
acknowledged and cleared by
pressing SET/CLR. The messages
that require immediate action cannot
be cleared until that action is
performed. All messages should be
taken seriously and clearing the
messages does not correct the
problem.

Black plate (28,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
5-28 Instruments and Controls
HIGH COOLANT
TEMPERATURE
This message displays if the coolant
temperature is hot. SeeEngine
Overheating on page 10‑21.
Engine Oil Messages
CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON
This message displays when the
engine oil needs to be changed.
When you change the engine oil, be
sure to reset the Oil Life System.
See Engine Oil Life System on
page 10‑13 andDriver Information
Center (DIC) on page 5‑22 for
information on how to reset the
system. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑9 andScheduled
Maintenance on page 11‑2
for more information.
ENGINE OIL HOT, IDLE
ENGINE
This message displays when the
engine oil temperature is too hot.
Stop and allow the vehicle to idle
until it cools down.
ENGINE OIL LOW —ADD OIL
This message displays when the
engine oil level is too low. Check
the oil level. See Engine Oil on
page 10‑9.
OIL PRESSURE LOW —STOP
ENGINE
This message displays if low oil
pressure levels occur. Stop the
vehicle as soon as safely possible
and do not operate it until the cause
of the low oil pressure has been
corrected. Check the oil as soon
as possible and have the vehicle
serviced by your dealer.
Engine Power Messages
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 maximum 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.
Fuel System Messages
FUEL LEVEL LOW
This message displays when the
vehicle is low on fuel. Refuel as
soon as possible.

Black plate (30,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
5-30 Instruments and Controls
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 5‑19.
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 10‑42, Vehicle Load Limits
on page 9‑12, and Tire Pressure on
page 10‑49.
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 5‑22.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 10‑52 for more information.
TIRE LEARNING ACTIVE
This message displays when the
system is learning new tires. See
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation on
page 10‑52for 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 from
the vehicle 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 (32,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
5-32 Instruments and Controls
Climate and Air Quality
Select the Climate and Air Quality
menu and the following will be
displayed:
.Auto Fan Speed
.Air Conditioning Mode
.Auto Area Zone Temp
.Auto Defog
.Auto Rear Defog
Auto Fan Speed
This allows selection of the
automatic fan speed to run lower or
higher than normal.
Press the
Zknob when Auto
Fan Speed is highlighted to open
the menu. Turn the knob to highlight
High, Medium, or Low. Press the
knob to confirm the selection and
move back to the last menu. Air Conditioning Mode
This allows selection of automatic
start of the air conditioning upon
vehicle start. Selecting On indicates
the air conditioning will be on when
the vehicle is started. Selecting Off
turns the air conditioning off each
time the vehicle is started. Last
Setting will resume the last setting
when the vehicle was shut off.
Press the
Zknob when Air
Conditioning Mode is highlighted.
Turn the knob to highlight On, Off,
or Last Setting. Press the knob to
confirm the selection and go back to
the last menu.
Auto Area Zone Temp
This allows selection of the number
of zones of temperature control
upon vehicle start. Selecting Single
Zone automatically resets the
passenger temperature setting the
same as the driver's for every vehicle start. The air conditioning
system will operate using only the
driver's setting until the passenger
temperature setting is changed.
Selecting Dual Zone or Last Setting
will keep the passenger temperature
adjustment separate from the
driver's setting all the time.
Press the
Zknob when Auto
Area Zone Temp is highlighted. Turn
the knob to highlight Single Zone,
Dual Zone, or Last Setting. Press
the knob to confirm the selection
and go back to the last menu.
Auto Defog
This allows the auto defog to be
turned on or off on dual zone
climate control systems.
Press the
Zknob when Auto
Defog is highlighted to select On or
Off. Turn the knob to confirm the
selection and move back to the
last menu.

Black plate (1,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
Lighting 6-1
Lighting
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamp High/Low-Beam Changer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Hazard Warning Flashers . . . . . 6-3
Turn and Lane-Change Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Battery Power Protection . . . . . . 6-6
Exterior Lighting
Exterior Lamp Controls
The exterior lamp control is located
on the instrument panel on the
outboard side of the steering wheel.
Turn the control to the following
positions:
O(Off): Turns off the exterior
lamps. The knob returns to the
AUTO position after it is released.
Turn to
Oagain to reactivate the
AUTO mode. In Canada, the headlamps will
automatically reactivate once the
vehicle is shifted out of P (Park) and
manual transmission vehicles when
the parking brake is released.
AUTO (Automatic):
Automatically
turns the exterior lamps on and off,
depending on outside lighting.
The current status of the AUTO
system is displayed in the Driver
Information Center (DIC) display.
See Driver Information Center (DIC)
on page 5‑22.
;(Parking Lamps): Turns on the
parking lamps together with the
following:
.Sidemarker Lamps
.Taillamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights

Black plate (2,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
6-2 Lighting
2(Headlamps):Turns on the
headlamps together with the
following:
.Sidemarker Lamps
.Taillamps
.License Plate Lamps
.Instrument Panel Lights
.Parking Lamps
Exterior Lamps Off
Reminder
A warning chime sounds if the driver
door is opened while the ignition is
off and the exterior lamps are on.
Headlamp High/
Low-Beam Changer
2 3
Headlamp High/Low‐Beam
Changer: Push the turn signal/lane
change lever away from you and
release, to turn the high beams on.
To return to low beams, push the
lever again or pull it toward you and
release.
This indicator light turns on in the
instrument panel cluster when the
high‐beam headlamps are on.
Flash-to-Pass
To flash the high beams, pull the
turn signal/lane change lever toward
you, and release.
Daytime Running
Lamps (DRL)
Daytime Running Lamps (DRL) can
make it easier for others to see the
front of your vehicle during the day.
Fully functional daytime running
lamps are required on all vehicles
first sold in Canada. The DRL system turns on the
low-beam headlamps at a reduced
brightness. For vehicles with High
Intensity Discharge (HID)
headlamps, the dedicated DRL will
come on when all of the following
conditions are met:
.The engine is running.
.The exterior lamp band is
in AUTO.
.The light sensor determines it is
daytime.
When the DRL are on, the
low-beam headlamps will be on.
The taillamps, sidemarker lamps,
instrument panel lights, and other
lamps will not be on.
The DRL turn off when the
headlamps are turned to
Oor the
ignition is off.

Black plate (4,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
6-4 Lighting
The turn and lane‐change signal
can be turned off manually by
moving the lever back to its original
position.
If after signaling a turn or lane
change, the arrow flashes rapidly or
does not come on, a signal bulb
might be burned out.
Have the bulbs replaced. If the bulb
is not burned out, check the fuse.
SeeFuses and Circuit Breakers on
page 10‑36.Fog Lamps
To turn on the fog lamps, the ignition
and the headlamps or parking lamps
must be on.
If the fog lamps are turned on while
the exterior lamp switch is in the
AUTO position, the headlamps
come on automatically.
#: Press to turn on or off. An
indicator light on the instrument
panel cluster comes on when the
fog lamps are on.
Some localities have laws that
require the headlamps to be on
along with the fog lamps.
Interior Lighting
Instrument Panel
Illumination Control
The brightness of the instrument
panel lighting and steering wheel
controls can be adjusted.
D: Move and hold the
thumbwheel up or down to brighten
or dim the lights.

Black plate (6,1)Buick Regal Owner Manual - 2011
6-6 Lighting
Lighting Features
Entry Lighting
The headlamps, taillamps, license
plate lamps, back‐up lamps, dome
lamps, and most of the interior lights
turn on briefly when the Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE)
Kis pressed.
See Remote Keyless Entry (RKE)
System Operation on page 2‑3.
When the driver door is opened, all
control lights, Driver Information
Center (DIC) lights and door
pocket lights turn on. After about
30 seconds the exterior lamps
turn off, and then the dome and
remaining interior lights will dim to
off. Entry lighting can be disabled
manually by changing the ignition
out of the OFF position, or by
pressing the RKE
Qbutton.
This feature can be activated or
deactivated in the Configuration
Settings menu in the Info Display. Press CONFIG on the audio system
to call up the menu. See
Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑31.
Exit Lighting
The headlamps, taillamps, parking
lamps, back‐up lamps, and license
plate lamps come on at night, or in
areas with limited lighting, when the
key is removed from the ignition.
The dome lamps also come on
when the key is removed from the
ignition. The exterior lamps and
dome lamps remain on after the
door is closed for a set amount of
time, then automatically turn off.
The exterior lamps turn off
immediately by turning the exterior
lamps control off.
The exit lighting feature can be
changed. See Vehicle
Personalization on page 5‑31.
Battery Power Protection
The battery saver feature is
designed to protect the vehicle's
battery.
To prevent battery discharge while
driving, the following systems are
reduced automatically in two stages
and then turned off:
.Heated rear window and mirrors
.Heated seats
.Fan
In the second stage, a Driver
Information Center (DIC) message
is displayed confirming the
activation of the battery discharge
protection. See Battery Voltage and
Charging Messages on page 5‑26.
If the exterior lamps or any interior
lights are left on and the ignition is
turned off, the battery power
protection system automatically
turns the lamp off after about
10 minutes.