
Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
2012 Buick LaCrosse Owner ManualM
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-99
Appearance Care . . . . . . . . . . 10-102
Service and Maintenance . . . 11-1
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Maintenance Schedule . . . . . . . 11-3
Special Application Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
Additional Maintenance and Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9
Recommended Fluids, Lubricants, and Parts . . . . . . 11-12
Maintenance Records . . . . . . . 11-15
Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Vehicle Identification . . . . . . . . . 12-1
Vehicle Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Customer Information . . . . . . . 13-1
Customer Information . . . . . . . . 13-1
Reporting Safety Defects . . . . 13-19
Vehicle Data Recording and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-20 OnStar
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
OnStar Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
OnStar Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
OnStar Additional
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i-1 

Black plate (1,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
Service and Maintenance 11-1
Service and
Maintenance
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Maintenance Schedule
Maintenance Schedule . . . . . . . 11-3
Special Application Services
Special ApplicationServices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
Additional Maintenance
and Care
Additional Maintenanceand Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9
Recommended Fluids,
Lubricants, and Parts
Recommended Fluids andLubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-12
Maintenance Replacement Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-14
Maintenance Records
Maintenance Records . . . . . . 11-15
General Information
Your vehicle is an important
investment. This section describes
the required maintenance for the
vehicle. Follow this schedule to help
protect against major repair
expenses resulting from neglect or
inadequate maintenance. It may
also help to maintain the value of
the vehicle if it is sold. It is the
responsibility of the owner to have
all required maintenance performed.
Your dealer has trained technicians
who can perform required
maintenance using genuine
replacement parts. They have
up‐to‐date tools and equipment for
fast and accurate diagnostics. Many
dealers have extended evening and
Saturday hours, courtesy
transportation, and online
scheduling to assist with service
needs.
Your dealer recognizes the
importance of providing
competitively priced maintenance
and repair services. With trained technicians, the dealer is the place
for routine maintenance such as oil
changes and tire rotations and
additional maintenance items like
tires, brakes, batteries, and wiper
blades.
Notice:
Damage caused by
improper maintenance can lead to
costly repairs and may not be
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Maintenance intervals, checks,
inspections, recommended fluids,
and lubricants are important to
keep the vehicle in good working
condition.
The Tire Rotation and Required
Services are the responsibility of the
vehicle owner. It is recommended to
have your dealer perform these
services every 12 000 km/7,500 mi.
Proper vehicle maintenance helps to
keep the vehicle in good working
condition, improves fuel economy,
and reduces vehicle emissions. 

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 (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