Black plate (66,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
10-66 Vehicle Care
use spare tires, tires with
nominal rim diameters of
10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm),
or to some limited-production
tires.
While the tires available on
General Motors passenger cars
and light trucks may vary with
respect to these grades, they
must also conform to federal
safety requirements and
additional General Motors Tire
Performance Criteria (TPC)
standards.
All Passenger Car Tires Must
Conform to Federal Safety
Requirements In Addition To
These Grades.Treadwear
The treadwear grade is a
comparative rating based on the
wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a
specified government test
course. For example, a tire
graded 150 would wear one and
a half (1½) times as well on the
government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative
performance of tires depends
upon the actual conditions of
their use, however, and may
depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving
habits, service practices and
differences in road
characteristics and climate.Traction
–AA, A, B, C
The traction grades, from
highest to lowest, are AA, A, B,
and C. Those grades represent
the tire's ability to stop on wet
pavement as measured under
controlled conditions on
specified government test
surfaces of asphalt and
concrete. A tire marked C may
have poor traction performance.
Warning: The traction grade
assigned to this tire is based on
straight-ahead braking traction
tests, and does not include
acceleration, cornering,
hydroplaning, or peak traction
characteristics.
Black plate (68,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
10-68 Vehicle Care
Replace wheels, wheel bolts, wheel
nuts, or Tire Pressure Monitor
System (TPMS) sensors with new
GM original equipment parts.
{WARNING
Using the wrong replacement
wheels, wheel bolts, or wheel
nuts can be dangerous. It could
affect the braking and handling of
the vehicle. Tires can lose air,
and cause loss of control, causing
a crash. Always use the correct
wheel, wheel bolts, and wheel
nuts for replacement.
Notice: The wrong wheel can
also cause problems with bearing
life, brake cooling, speedometer
or odometer calibration,
headlamp aim, bumper height,
vehicle ground clearance, and tire
or tire chain clearance to the
body and chassis.
See If a Tire Goes Flat on
page 10‑69 for more information.
Used Replacement Wheels
{WARNING
Replacing a wheel with a used
one is dangerous. How it has
been used or how far it has been
driven may be unknown. It could
fail suddenly and cause a crash.
When replacing wheels, use a
new GM original equipment
wheel.
Tire Chains
{WARNING
Do not use tire chains. There is
not enough clearance. Tire chains
used on a vehicle without the
proper amount of clearance can
cause damage to the brakes,
suspension, or other vehicle
parts. The area damaged by the
tire chains could cause loss of
control and a crash.
Use another type of traction
device only if its manufacturer
recommends it for the vehicle's
tire size combination and road
conditions. Follow that
manufacturer's instructions. To
avoid vehicle damage, drive slow
and readjust or remove the
traction device if it contacts the
vehicle. Do not spin the wheels.
If traction devices are used, install
them on the front tires.
Black plate (7,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-7
J
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . .10-94, 10-95
K
Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-39
Keyless EntryRemote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-4
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L
Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-48
Lamps Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-2
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps OffReminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Headlamps, Front Turn Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33 Lamps (cont'd)
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Sun Visor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
LATCH System Replacing Parts after aCrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
LATCH, Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Lighting
Adaptive Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Lights Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Antilock Brake System(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-20 Lights (cont'd)
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . 5-21
Engine Coolant
Temperature Warning . . . . . . . 5-24
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-2
Low Fuel Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-15
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26
StabiliTrak
®OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
®. . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Traction Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . . 9-41
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 (13,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
INDEX i-13
Tires (cont'd)Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
Sealant and
Compressor Kit . . . . 10-71, 10-78
Sealant and Compressor Kit, Storing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Terminology and Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-51
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-67
When It Is Time for New
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-48
Towing
Driving Characteristics . . . . . . . . 9-57
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-62
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Recreational Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-99
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-61, 9-62
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-99 Traction
Control System (TCS) . . . . . . . . 9-38
Control System (TCS)/
StabiliTrak
®Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Limited-Slip Differential . . . . . . . 9-41
Off Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Selective Ride Control . . . . . . . . 9-41
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-61, 9-62
Transmission Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Fluid, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Transportation Program, Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-14
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Turn and Lane-Change
Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Turn Signal Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
U
Ultrasonic Parking Assist . . . . . . 9-44
Uniform Tire QualityGrading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-65
Universal Remote System . . . . . 5-49 Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-52
Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-49
Using This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
V
Vehicle Canadian Owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
IdentificationNumber (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Personalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-43
Remote Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-99