
Black plate (11,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
In Brief 1-11
Interior
Adjust this mirror for a clear view of
the area behind the vehicle. Hold
the mirror in the center to move it
up, down, or side to side. To reduce
headlamp glare from behind, push
the tab forward for daytime and pull
it for nighttime use.
Vehicles with OnStar
®have three
control buttons at the bottom of the
mirror. See your dealer for more
information on the system and how
to subscribe to OnStar. See OnStar
Overview on page 14‑1.
See Manual Rearview Mirror on
page 2‑18.
Steering Wheel
Adjustment
To adjust the steering wheel:
1. Pull the lever (A) down.
2. Move the steering wheel up or down.
3. Pull or push the steering wheel closer or away from you.
4. Pull the lever (A) up to lock the steering wheel in place.
Do not adjust the steering wheel
while driving.
Interior Lighting
Dome Lamps
The interior lamps control located in
the overhead console controls both
the front and rear interior lamps.
(: Turns the lamps off.
H:Turns the lamps on when any
door is opened.
': Keeps the lamps on all
the time.

Black plate (16,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
2-16 Keys, Doors, and Windows
If the engine still does not start with
the other key, the vehicle needs
service. If the vehicle does start, the
first key may be damaged. See your
dealer who can service the
theft-deterrent system and have a
new key made.
Do not leave the key or device that
disarms or deactivates the
theft-deterrent system in the vehicle.
Immobilizer Operation
(Keyless Access)
This vehicle has a passive
theft-deterrent system.
The system does not have to be
manually armed or disarmed.
The vehicle is automatically
immobilized when the transmitter
leaves the vehicle.
The immobilization system is
disarmed when the ignition button is
pushed in and a valid transmitter is
found in the vehicle.
The security light, located in the
instrument panel cluster, comes on
if there is a problem with arming or
disarming the theft-deterrent
system.
The system has one or more
transmitters matched to an
immobilizer control unit in your
vehicle. Only a correctly matched
transmitter will start the vehicle.
If the transmitter is ever damaged,
you may not be able to start your
vehicle.
When trying to start the vehicle, the
security light comes on briefly when
the ignition is turned on.If the engine does not start and the
security light stays on, there is a
problem with the system. Turn the
ignition off and try again.
If the RKE transmitter appears to be
undamaged, try another transmitter.
Or, you may try placing the
transmitter in the transmitter pocket
located in the center console. See
“No Remote Detected”
underKey
and Lock Messages on page 5‑39.
If the engine does not start with the
other transmitter or when the
transmitter is in the pocket in the
center console, your vehicle needs
service. See your dealer who can
service the theft-deterrent system
and have a new transmitter
programmed to the vehicle.
Do not leave the key or device that
disarms or deactivates the
theft-deterrent system in the vehicle.

Black plate (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
5-8 Instruments and Controls
Certain electrical accessories may
not be compatible with the
accessory power outlet and could
overload vehicle or adapter fuses.
If there is a problem, see your
dealer.
When adding electrical equipment,
be sure to follow the installation
instructions included with the
equipment. SeeAdd-On Electrical
Equipment on page 9‑63.
Notice: Hanging heavy
equipment from the power outlet
can cause damage not covered
by the vehicle warranty. The
power outlets are designed for
accessory power plugs only, such
as cell phone charge cords. Power Outlet 110 Volt Alternating
Current
The vehicle may have a power
outlet that can be used to plug in
electrical equipment with a
maximum limit of 150 watts.
The power outlet is located on the
rear of the center console.An indicator light on the outlet
comes on when in use. The light
comes on when the ignition is in
ON/RUN, equipment requiring less
than 150 watts is plugged into the
outlet, and no system fault is
detected.
The indicator light on the outlet will
not turn on if the plug is not fully
seated.
If you try to connect equipment
using more than 150 watts or a
system fault is detected, the
equipment may operate for a short
period and turn itself off.
A protection circuit shuts off the
power supply and the indicator light
turns off. To reset the circuit, unplug
the item and plug it back in or turn
the Remote Accessory Power (RAP)
off and then back on. See
Retained
Accessory Power (RAP) on
page 9‑27. Prolonged usage of the
power outlet at the maximum load of
150 watts may cause the outlet to
overheat and automatically shut
down. The power restarts when

Black plate (36,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2012
9-36 Driving and Operating
Parking Brake
The vehicle has an Electric Parking
Brake (EPB). The switch for the
EPB is in the center console. The
EPB can always be activated, even
if the ignition is off. To prevent
draining the battery, avoid repeated
cycles of the EPB system when the
engine is not running.
The system has a parking brake
status light and a parking brake
warning light. SeeElectric Parking
Brake Light on page 5‑21. There are
also three Driver Information Center (DIC) messages. See
Brake System
Messages on page 5‑36 for more
information. In case of insufficient
electrical power, the EPB cannot be
applied or released.
Before leaving the vehicle, check
the parking brake status light to
ensure that the parking brake is
applied.
EPB Apply
The EPB can be applied any time
the vehicle is stopped. The EPB is
applied by momentarily lifting up on
the EPB switch. Once fully applied,
the parking brake status light will be
on. While the brake is being applied,
the status light will flash until full
apply is reached. If the light does
not come on, or remains flashing,
have the vehicle serviced. Do not
drive the vehicle if the parking brake
status light is flashing. See your
dealer. See Electric Parking Brake
Light on page 5‑21 for more
information. If the EPB is applied while the
vehicle is in motion, a chime will
sound, and a DIC message will be
displayed. See
Brake System
Messages on page 5‑36. The
vehicle will decelerate as long as
the switch is held in the up position.
Releasing the EPB switch during
deceleration will release the parking
brake. If the switch is held in the up
position until the vehicle comes to a
stop, the EPB will remain applied.
If the parking brake status light
flashes continuously, the EPB is
only partially applied or released,
or there is a problem with the EPB.
A DIC message will be displayed.
See Brake System Messages on
page 5‑36. If this light flashes
continuously, release the EPB, and
attempt to apply it again. If this light
continues to flash, do not drive the
vehicle. See your dealer.

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 (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