2012 BUICK LACROSSE Fuel system

Black plate (20,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
13-20 Customer Information
Reporting Safety Defects
to General Motors
In addition to notifying NHTSA
(or Transport Canada) in a situation
like this, please notify General
Motors.
Call 1-800-521-7300, or write:
Buick Customer Assistance Center
P.O. Box 33136
Detroit, MI 48232-5136
In Canada, call 1-800-263-3777
(English) or 1-800-263-7854
(French), or write:
General Motors of Canada Limited
Customer Care Centre, Mail Code:
CA1-163-005
1908 Colonel Sam Drive
Oshawa, Ontario L1H 8P7
Vehicle Data
Recording and
Privacy
This GM vehicle has a number of
sophisticated computers that record
information about the vehicle’s
performance and how it is driven.
For example, the vehicle uses
computer modules to monitor and
control engine and transmission
performance, to monitor the
conditions for airbag deployment
and deploy airbags in a crash, and,
if so equipped, to provide antilock
braking to help the driver control the
vehicle. These modules may store
data to help your dealer technician
service the vehicle. Some modules
may also store data about how you
operate the vehicle, such as rate of
fuel consumption or average speed.
These modules may also retain the
owner’s personal preferences, such
as radio presets, seat positions, and
temperature settings.
Event Data Recorders
This vehicle has an Event Data
Recorder (EDR). The main purpose
of an EDR is to record, in certain
crash or near crash-like situations,
such as an airbag deployment or
hitting a road obstacle, data that will
assist in understanding how a
vehicle's systems performed. The
EDR is designed to record data
related to vehicle dynamics and
safety systems for a short period of
time, typically 30 seconds or less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed
to record such data as:
.How various systems in the
vehicle were operating.
.Whether or not the driver and
passenger safety belts were
buckled/fastened.
.How far, if at all, the driver was
pressing the accelerator and/or
brake pedal.
.How fast the vehicle was
traveling.

Black plate (5,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
OnStar 14-5
OnStar Mobile App
With an iPhone®or
Android™-based mobile device, an
OnStar mobile app can be
downloaded. The vehicle can be
remote started, if equipped, or the
doors can be unlocked from
anywhere there is cell phone
service. It can also check the fuel
level, tire pressure, and oil life.
It can connect to an OnStar Advisor
anytime. For OnStar mobile app
compatibility or further information,
see www.onstar.com.
Diagnostics
OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics will
perform a vehicle check every
month. It will check the engine,
transmission, antilock brakes, and
major vehicle systems. It also
checks the tire pressures, if the
vehicle is equipped with the Tire
Pressure Monitoring System. If a
diagnostics check is needed
between e-mails, push
Q, and an
Advisor can run a check.
OnStar Additional
Information
Transferring Service
PushQto request account transfer
eligibility information. The Advisor
can assist in canceling or removing
account information. If OnStar
receives information that vehicle
ownership has changed, OnStar
may send a voice message to the
vehicle, requesting updated account
information.
Reactivation for Subsequent
Owners
PushQand follow the prompts to
speak to an Advisor as soon as
possible after acquiring the vehicle.
The Advisor will update vehicle
records and will explain the OnStar
service offers and options available.
How OnStar Service Works
Automatic Crash Response,
Emergency Services, Crisis Assist,
Stolen Vehicle Assistance, Vehicle
Diagnostics, Remote Door Unlock,
Roadside Assistance, Turn-by-Turn
Navigation, and Hands-Free Calling
are available on most vehicles. Not
all OnStar services are available
everywhere or on all vehicles. For
more information, a full description
of OnStar services, system
limitations, and OnStar terms and
conditions, see www.onstar.com
(U.S.) or www.onstar.ca (Canada);
contact OnStar at 1-888-4-ONSTAR
(1‐888‐466‐7827) or
TTY 1‐877‐248‐2080; or push
Qto speak with an Advisor. OnStar
services require a vehicle electrical
system, wireless service, and GPS
satellite technologies to be available
and operating for features to
function properly. These systems
may not operate if the battery is
discharged or disconnected.

Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
i-2 INDEX
AutomaticClimate Control System . . . . . . . . 8-1
Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33
Shift Lock Control
Function Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-39
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . 10-94, 10-95
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-29
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . 7-57, 7-59, 7-63, 7-69Brake
System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-20
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-17
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Headlamps, Front TurnSignal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-36
Taillamps, Turn Signal,
Stoplamps, and
Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
California
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-53
Perchlorate MaterialsRequirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-17

Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
i-4 INDEX
Differential, Limited-Slip . . . . . . . 9-41
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Dome Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
DoorAjar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Ajar Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Power Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Drive Belt Routing, Engine . . . . . 12-4
Drive Systems All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Driver Efficiency Gauge . . . . . . . 5-13
Driver Information Center (DIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-27
Driving
Characteristics andTowing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
For Better Fuel Economy . . . . . 1-27
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-8
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-11
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6 Driving (cont'd)
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-9
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
DVD Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-47
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-30
E
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . 5-21
Electrical Equipment, Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-63
Electrical System
Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-42 Electrical System (cont'd)
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Rear Compartment Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44
Emergency, OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Coolant Temperature
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-37
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38

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 (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 (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
i-8 INDEX
LocksDelayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-25
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
M
MaintenanceRecords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15
Maintenance Schedule Recommended Fluids
and Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-12
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-17
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-33 Mass Storage Media (MEM) . . . 7-36
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Messages
Anti-theft Alarm System . . . . . . . 5-41
Battery Voltage andCharging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-37
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-39
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Starting the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-41
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-42 Mirrors
Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Folding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Manual Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-56
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-33
N
Navigation OnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-21
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-17

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