2013 BUICK LACROSSE check engine light

Black plate (9,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 9/7/12
Service and Maintenance 11-9
Additional
Maintenance and Care
Your vehicle is an important
investment and caring for it properly
may help to avoid future costly
repairs. To maintain vehicle
performance, additional
maintenance services may be
required. It is recommended that
your dealer perform these services
—their trained dealer technicians
know your vehicle best. Your dealer
can also perform a thorough
assessment with a multi-point
inspection to recommend when your
vehicle may need attention. The
following list is intended to explain
the services and conditions to look
for that may indicate services are
required. Battery
The battery supplies power to start
the engine and operate any
additional electrical accessories.
.To avoid break-down or failure to
start the vehicle, maintain a
battery with full cranking power.
.Trained dealer technicians have
the diagnostic equipment to test
the battery and ensure that the
connections and cables are
corrosion-free.
Belts
.Belts may need replacing if they
squeak or show signs of
cracking or splitting.
.Trained dealer technicians have
access to tools and equipment
to inspect the belts and
recommend adjustment or
replacement when necessary. Brakes
Brakes stop the vehicle and are
crucial to safe driving.
.Signs of brake wear may include
chirping, grinding, or squealing
noises, or difficulty stopping.
.Trained dealer technicians have
access to tools and equipment
to inspect the brakes and
recommend quality parts
engineered for the vehicle.
Fluids
Proper fluid levels and approved
fluids protect the vehicle’s systems
and components. See
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants on page 11‑12 for GM
approved fluids.
.Engine oil and windshield
washer fluid levels should be
checked at every fuel fill.
.Instrument cluster lights may
come on to indicate that fluids
may be low and need to be
filled.

Black plate (1,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 9/7/12
INDEX i-1
A
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Accessory Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Add-On Electrical
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Additional Information OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
Adjustments
Lumbar, Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Air Cleaner/Filter, Engine . . . . . 10-15
Air Filter, Passenger Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7
Air Intake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7
Air Vents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Airbag System
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
How Does an AirbagRestrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Passenger Sensing System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 Airbag System (cont'd)
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
When Should an Airbag Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . . 3-21
Airbags
Adding Equipment to theVehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Passenger Status Indicator . . . 5-15
Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Servicing Airbag-Equipped Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19
Alarm Vehicle Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . 10-28, 9-30
AM-FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Antenna Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Antilock Brake
System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19 Appearance Care
Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-95
Assistance Program, Roadside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-7, 13-9
Audio Players . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14 CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16
Audio System Backglass Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
Radio Reception . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Theft-Deterrent Feature . . . . . . . . 7-2
Automatic Headlamp System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-27
Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Automatic Transmission Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-29
Shift Lock ControlFunction Check . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Auxiliary
Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-18

Black plate (2,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 9/7/12
i-2 INDEX
B
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-87
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Voltage and ChargingMessages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-29
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . 7-20, 7-22, 7-25
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . 5-18
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25 Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-33
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-14
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34 Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31 Bulb Replacement (cont'd)
Headlamps, Front Turn
Signal, and Parking
Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-33
Taillamps, Turn Signal, Stoplamps, and
Back-up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . 10-33
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-57
C
Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
California Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2 Carbon Monoxide
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Cautions, Danger, and Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-2
Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62
Charging System Light . . . . . . . . 5-15
Check
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
IgnitionTransmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-29
Child Restraints Infants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47, 3-49
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Cleaning Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-92
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-95

Black plate (4,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 9/7/12
i-4 INDEX
Driving (cont'd)Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-10
Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-8
Dual Automatic Climate Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . 5-19
Electrical Equipment,Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-57
Electrical System Engine Compartment
Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Instrument Panel Fuse
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-35
Emergency OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2 Engine
Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Check and Service Engine
Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Coolant Temperature Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-17
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-34
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-4
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-26
Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-13
Oil Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-27
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Entry Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-56 Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-19
Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-2
F
Features
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Filter, Engine Air Cleaner . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Flashers, Hazard Warning . . . . . . 6-4
Flat Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-62 Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-98
Fluid Automatic Transmission . . . . 10-14
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Power Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Fog Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Folding Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Front Fog Lamp Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-24

Black plate (8,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 9/7/12
i-8 INDEX
N
NavigationOnStar®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Net, Convenience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-14
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-36
Object Detection, Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-13
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-32
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-6
OnStar
®
System, In Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
OnStar®Additional
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
OnStar
®Connections . . . . . . . . . . 14-3 OnStar
®Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . 14-5
OnStar®Emergency . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
OnStar®Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
OnStar®Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-1
OnStar®Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Operation, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Ordering Service Publications . . . . . . . . 13-16
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-21
Overview, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
P
ParkShifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25
Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16 Parking
Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-40
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-29
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-26
Passenger Airbag Status
Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Passenger Compartment Air Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-26
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Personalization Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Phone
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . 7-20, 7-22, 7-25
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Retained Accessory (RAP) . . . 9-24
Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Steering Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17

Black plate (10,1)Buick LaCrosse Owner Manual - 2013 - crc - 9/7/12
i-10 INDEX
Safety Belts (cont'd)Reminders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Replacing after a Crash . . . . . . 3-19
Use During Pregnancy . . . . . . . . 3-17
Safety Defects Reporting Canadian Government . . . . . . 13-18
General Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-18
U.S. Government . . . . . . . . . . . 13-17
Safety Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
Satellite Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-10
Scheduling Appointments . . . . . 13-12
Sealant Kit, Tire . . . . . . .10-64, 10-71
Seats
Adjustment, Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Heated and Ventilated Front . . . 3-8
Lumbar Adjustment, Front . . . . . 3-4
Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Power Adjustment, Front . . . . . . 3-4
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Securing Child
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47, 3-49 Security
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
OnStar
®. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-2
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Vehicle Alarm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
Selective Ride Control . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7
Accessories andModifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Doing Your Own Work . . . . . . . . 10-4
Engine Soon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Maintenance Records . . . . . . .11-15
Maintenance, General
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
Parts Identification Label . . . . . 12-1
Publications Ordering
Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-16
Scheduling Appointments . . . 13-12
Servicing the Airbag . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Shift Lock Control Function Check, Automatic
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24
Out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-25 Side Blind Zone Alert . . . . . . . . . . 9-41
Signals, Turn and
Lane-Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Spare Tire Compact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86
Specifications and Capacities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Start Assist, Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-34
Start Vehicle, Remote . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . . . 10-28
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Starting the Vehicle Messsages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4 Fluid, Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-23
Heated Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Wheel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Stoplamps and Back-up Lamps Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-33