Page 177 of 512
Black plate (5,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
Lighting 6-5
Fog Lamps
For vehicles with fog lamps, the
button is located on the exterior
lamp control, left of the steering
wheel.
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(Instrument Panel
Illumination): Move and hold the
thumbwheel up or down to brighten
or dim the lights.
Page 178 of 512
Black plate (6,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
6-6 Lighting
Dome Lamps
The interior lamps control located in
the overhead console controls both
the front and rear interior lamps.
To operate:
((Off):Turns the lamps off.
H(Door): Turns the lamps on
when any door is opened.
'(On): Keeps the lamps on all
the time.
The interior lamps turn on
automatically if the airbags are
deployed.
Reading Lamps
There are front and rear reading
lamps.
The front reading lamps are located
in the overhead console.
The rear reading lamps are located
in the headliner.
#or$: Press to turn each lamp
on or off.
Sun Visor Lamps
This lamp turns on when the cover
is opened.
Page 179 of 512

Black plate (7,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
Lighting 6-7
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)
Kbutton is
pressed, or when the door handle is
pulled on a keyless access vehicle.
See Ignition Positions (Key Access)
on page 9‑18 orIgnition Positions
(Keyless Access) on page 9‑20.
After about 30 seconds the exterior
lamps turn off, then the dome lamps
and remaining interior lights 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 changed. See
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑43.
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 lights and
dome lamps remain on after the
door is closed for a set amount of
time, then automatically turn off.
For vehicles with keyless access,
the exterior lights and dome lamps
automatically turn on when a door is
opened after the ignition is turned
off. See Ignition Positions (Key
Access) on page 9‑18 orIgnition
Positions (Keyless Access) on
page 9‑20.
The exterior lights turn off
immediately by turning the exterior
lamps control off.
This feature can be changed. See
Vehicle Personalization on
page 5‑43.
Battery Load
Management
The vehicle has Electric Power
Management (EPM) that estimates
the battery's temperature and state
of charge. It then adjusts the voltage
for best performance and extended
life of the battery.
When the battery's state of charge
is low, the voltage is raised slightly
to quickly bring the charge back up.
When the state of charge is high,
the voltage is lowered slightly to
prevent overcharging. If the vehicle
has a voltmeter gauge or a voltage
display on the Driver Information
Center (DIC), you may see the
voltage move up or down. This is
normal. If there is a problem, an
alert will be displayed.
Page 180 of 512

Black plate (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
6-8 Lighting
The battery can be discharged at
idle if the electrical loads are very
high. This is true for all vehicles.
This is because the generator
(alternator) may not be spinning fast
enough at idle to produce all of the
power needed for very high
electrical loads.
A high electrical load occurs when
several of the following are on, such
as: headlamps, high beams, fog
lamps, rear window defogger,
climate control fan at high speed,
heated seats, engine cooling fans,
trailer loads, and loads plugged into
accessory power outlets.EPM works to prevent excessive
discharge of the battery. It does this
by balancing the generator's output
and the vehicle's electrical needs.
It can increase engine idle speed to
generate more power whenever
needed. It can temporarily reduce
the power demands of some
accessories.
Normally, these actions occur in
steps or levels, without being
noticeable. In rare cases at the
highest levels of corrective action,
this action may be noticeable to the
driver. If so, a DIC message might
be displayed and it is recommended
that the driver reduce the electrical
loads as much as possible. See
Battery Voltage and Charging
Messages on page 5‑35.Battery Power Protection
The battery saver feature is
designed to protect the vehicle's
battery.
If the exterior lamps or any interior
light is left on and the ignition is
turned off, the battery rundown
protection system automatically
turns the lamp off after about
10 minutes.
Page 181 of 512

Black plate (1,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-1
Infotainment
System
Introduction
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . 7-2
Overview (Radio with CD) . . . . . 7-3
Overview (Radio with CD/DVDand MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
Overview (Radio with CD and Touchscreen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Radio
AM-FM Radio (Radio with CD/ DVD/MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18
AM-FM Radio (Radio with CD and Touchscreen) . . . . . . . . . . 7-21
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26
Backglass Antenna . . . . . . . . . . 7-27
Satellite Radio Antenna . . . . . . 7-27
Audio Players
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33
Mass Storage Media (MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
Auxiliary Devices (Radio with CD and Touchscreen) . . . . . . 7-39
Rear Seat Infotainment
Rear Seat Entertainment(RSE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
Phone
Bluetooth (Overview) . . . . . . . . 7-57
Bluetooth (InfotainmentControls) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-59
Bluetooth (Voice Recognition) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-63
Bluetooth (UHP Mexico Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-69
Trademarks and License
Agreements
Trademarks and LicenseAgreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-80
Introduction
Infotainment
Read the following pages to
become familiar with the audio
system's features.
{WARNING
Taking your eyes off the road for
extended periods could cause a
crash resulting in injury or death
to you or others. Do not give
extended attention to
entertainment tasks while driving.
This system provides access to
many audio and non‐audio listings.
Page 182 of 512

Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
7-2 Infotainment System
To minimize taking your eyes off the
road while driving, do the following
while the vehicle is parked:
.Become familiar with the
operation and controls of the
audio system.
.Set up the tone, speaker
adjustments, and preset radio
stations.
For more information, see Defensive
Driving on page 9‑3.
Notice: Contact your dealer
before adding any equipment.
Adding audio or communication
equipment could interfere with
the operation of the engine, radio,
or other systems, and could
damage them. Follow federal
rules covering mobile radio and
telephone equipment. The vehicle has Retained
Accessory Power (RAP). With RAP,
the audio system can be played
even after the ignition is turned off.
See
Retained Accessory Power
(RAP) on page 9‑27 for more
information.Navigation System
For vehicles with a navigation
system, see the separate navigation
manual.
Theft-Deterrent Feature
The theft-deterrent feature works by
learning a portion of the Vehicle
Identification Number (VIN) to the
infotainment system. The
infotainment system does not
operate if it is stolen or moved to a
different vehicle.
Page 183 of 512
Black plate (3,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
Infotainment System 7-3
Overview (Radio with CD)A. VOL/O
.Turns the system on or off
and adjusts the volume.
B. FAV
.Opens the favorites list.
C. Buttons 1 to 6
.Saves and selects favorite
stations.
D. INFO
.Radio: Shows available
information about the
current station.
.CD: Shows available
information about the
current track.
E. TUNE
.Radio: Manually selects
radio stations.
.CD: Selects tracks.
F. CD/AUX
.Selects the CD player or
an external audio source.
Page 184 of 512
Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
7-4 Infotainment System
G.g
.Radio: Seeks the previous
station.
.CD: Select the previous
track or rewinds within a
track.
H.
X
.Removes a disc from the
CD slot.
I.
l
.Radio: Seeks the next
station.
.CD: Select the next track
or fast forwards within a
track. J. RADIO/BAND
.Changes the band while
listening to the radio.
.Selects the radio when
listening to a different
audio source.
K. Menu Knob
.Opens menus, highlights
menu items, or sets
numeric values while in
a menu.
L. SELECT
.Selects menu items.
M. CONFIG
.Opens the Settings menu. N.
/BACK
.Menu: Moves one
level back.
.Character Input: Deletes
the last character.
O.
H
.Opens the Clock menu.
P. TONE
.Opens the Tone menu.
Q.
5
.Opens the Phone
main menu.
.Mutes the audio system.