2012 BUICK LACROSSE power steering

Black plate (51,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-51
Tire Designations
Tire Size
The following is an example of a
typical passenger vehicle
tire size.
(A) Passenger (P‐Metric) Tire:
The United States version of a
metric tire sizing system. The
letter P as the first character in
the tire size means a passenger
vehicle tire engineered to
standards set by the U.S. Tire
and Rim Association.
(B) Tire Width
:The three‐digit
number indicates the tire section
width in millimeters from
sidewall to sidewall. (C) Aspect Ratio
:A two‐digit
number that indicates the tire
height‐to‐width measurements.
For example, if the tire size
aspect ratio is 60, as shown in
item C of the illustration, it would
mean that the tire's sidewall is
60 percent as high as it is wide.
(D) Construction Code
:A
letter code is used to indicate
the type of ply construction in
the tire. The letter R means
radial ply construction; the
letter D means diagonal or bias
ply construction; and the letter B
means belted‐bias ply
construction.
(E) Rim Diameter
:Diameter of
the wheel in inches.
(F) Service Description
:These
characters represent the load
index and speed rating of the
tire. The load index represents
the load carrying capacity a tire is certified to carry. The speed
rating is the maximum speed a
tire is certified to carry a load.
Tire Terminology and
Definitions
Air Pressure:The amount of
air inside the tire pressing
outward on each square inch of
the tire. Air pressure is
expressed in kPa (kilopascal)
or psi (pounds per square inch).
Accessory Weight
:The
combined weight of optional
accessories. Some examples of
optional accessories are
automatic transmission, power
steering, power brakes, power
windows, power seats, and air
conditioning.
Aspect Ratio
:The relationship
of a tire's height to its width.

Black plate (104,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
10-104 Vehicle Care
Keep the wheels clean using a soft,
clean cloth with mild soap and
water. Rinse with clean water. After
rinsing thoroughly, dry with a soft,
clean towel. A wax may then be
applied.
Notice:Chrome wheels and other
chrome trim may be damaged if
the vehicle is not washed after
driving on roads that have been
sprayed with magnesium,
calcium, or sodium chloride.
These chlorides are used on
roads for conditions such as ice
and dust. Always wash the
chrome with soap and water after
exposure.
Notice: To avoid surface damage,
do not use strong soaps,
chemicals, abrasive polishes,
cleaners, brushes, or cleaners
that contain acid on aluminum or
chrome-plated wheels. Use only
approved cleaners. Also, never
drive a vehicle with aluminum or
chrome-plated wheels through an
automatic car wash that uses
silicone carbide tire cleaning brushes. Damage could occur
and the repairs would not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Steering, Suspension, and
Chassis Components
Visually inspect front and rear
suspension and steering system for
damaged, loose, or missing parts or
signs of wear. Inspect power
steering lines and hoses for proper
hook-up, binding, leaks, cracks,
chafing, etc. Visually check constant
velocity joints, rubber boots, and
axle seals for leaks.
Body Component Lubrication
Lubricate all key lock cylinders,
hood hinges, liftgate hinges, and the
steel fuel door hinge unless the
components are plastic. Applying
silicone grease on weatherstrips
with a clean cloth will make them
last longer, seal better, and not stick
or squeak.
Underbody Maintenance
Use plain water to flush dirt and
debris from the vehicle's underbody.
Your dealer or an underbody car
washing system can do this. If not
removed, rust and corrosion can
develop.
Sheet Metal Damage
If the vehicle is damaged and
requires sheet metal repair or
replacement, make sure the body
repair shop applies anti-corrosion
material to parts repaired or
replaced to restore corrosion
protection.
Original manufacturer replacement
parts will provide the corrosion
protection while maintaining the
vehicle warranty.

Black plate (12,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
11-12 Service and Maintenance
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids and Lubricants
UsageFluid/Lubricant
Engine Oil Use only engine oil licensed to the dexos1 specfication, or equivalent, of
the proper SAE viscosity grade. ACDelco dexos1 Synthetic Blend is
recommended. See
Engine Oil on page 10‑9.
Engine Coolant (3.6L V6 Engine) 50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable water and use only DEX-COOL Coolant.
See
Engine Coolant on page 10‑16.
Engine Coolant (2.4L L4 Engine) Always use the pre‐mixed 50/50 mixture of deionized water and
DEX-COOL Coolant available at your dealer.
Hydraulic Brake System DOT 3 Hydraulic Brake Fluid (GM Part No. 88862806, in
Canada 88862807).
Windshield Washer Optikleen
®Washer Solvent.
Hydraulic Power Steering System DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.
Automatic Transmission DEXRON
®-VI Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Black plate (5,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-5
Engine (cont'd)Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-19
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-30
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-20
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2
F
Features
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Filter,
Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4 Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-107
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-13
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Front Fog Lamp
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Front Seats Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Heated and Ventilated . . . . . . . . 3-10
Front Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52 Additives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Economy Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Filling a Portable FuelContainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56 Fuel (cont'd)
Filling the Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-55
Foreign Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . 9-53
Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . 5-25
Recommended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Requirements, California . . . . . 9-53
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Fuses Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42
Rear Compartment Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
G
Garage Door Opener . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Gasoline Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53

Black plate (10,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
i-10 INDEX
Power (cont'd)Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Pregnancy, Using Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Privacy Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . 13-22
Program Courtesy Transportation . . . . 13-14
Proposition 65 Warning, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
R
Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) . . . . . . . . 13-22
Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-22
Radios AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18, 7-21
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26
Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-24 Reading Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Rear Seat Entertainment
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Rear Vision Camera (RVC) . . . . 9-49
Rearview Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18 Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Recommended Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
Records Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-99
Reimbursement Program, GM Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3, 2-4
Remote Vehicle Start . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36 Replacement Parts
Airbags . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-14
Replacing Airbag System . . . . . . 3-35
Replacing LATCH System Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
Replacing Safety Belt
System Parts after a Crash . . . 3-21
Reporting Safety Defects Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-19
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
Restraints Where to Put . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Ride Control Systems Enhanced TractionSystem (ETS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Selective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41

Black plate (12,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
i-12 INDEX
ShiftingInto Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Side Blind Zone Alert . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
Signals, Turn and Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Spare Tire
Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
StabiliTrak
OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Starting the Vehicle Messsages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Steering (cont'd)
Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Heated Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Storage Mass Media (MEM) . . . . . . . . . . . 7-36
Storage Areas Center Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Convenience Net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Glove Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Storing the Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Stuck Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Sun Visor Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Sun Visors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Sunroof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
System Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1T
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Taillamps
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Text Telephone (TTY) Users . . . 13-6
Theft-Deterrent Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15, 2-16
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Tires Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Compact Spare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Different Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-69
Inflation Monitor System . . . . 10-57
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-60
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Pressure Monitor System . . . 10-56