tow BUICK LACROSSE 2007 Owner's Manual

Seats and Restraint Systems
....................... 7
Front Seats
.............................................. 9
Rear Seats
............................................. 14
Safety Belts
............................................ 16
Child Restraints
...................................... 39
Airbag System
........................................ 66
Restraint System Check
......................... 82
Features and Controls
................................ 85
Keys
....................................................... 87
Doors and Locks
.................................... 96
Windows
............................................... 102
Theft-Deterrent Systems
....................... 104
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle
..... 109
Mirrors
.................................................. 124
OnStar
®System
................................... 126
Universal Home Remote System
.......... 130
Storage Areas
...................................... 141
Sunroof
................................................ 143Instrument Panel
....................................... 145
Instrument Panel Overview
................... 148
Climate Controls
................................... 168
Warning Lights, Gages, and
Indicators
.......................................... 179
Driver Information Center (DIC)
............ 199
Audio System(s)
................................... 238
Driving Your Vehicle
................................. 285
Your Driving, the Road, and
Your Vehicle
..................................... 286
Towing
................................................. 325
Service and Appearance Care
.................. 337
Service
................................................. 340
Fuel
...................................................... 343
Checking Things Under
the Hood
........................................... 348
Headlamp Aiming
................................. 391
Bulb Replacement
................................ 394
2007 Buick LaCrosse Owner ManualM
1

Center Seat
Your vehicle may have a front center seat. There
are cupholders on the underside of the seat
cushion. To use them, raise the seat cushion. This
seat can also be converted to a storage area by
lowering the armrest. SeeCenter Console Storage
Area on page 142.
For information on safety belts for this position,
seeCenter Front Passenger Position on page 31.
Rear Seats
Split Folding Rear Seat
If your vehicle has this feature, both sides of the
rear seatback can be folded down. This gives
direct access to the trunk. Make sure the
front seats are not reclined. If they are, the rear
seatback(s) may not fold down all the way.
Notice:Folding a rear seat with the safety
belts still fastened may cause damage to the
seat or the safety belts. Always unbuckle
the safety belts and return them to their normal
stowed position before folding a rear seat.
14

{CAUTION:
Never do this.
Here two children are wearing the same
belt. The belt can not properly spread the
impact forces. In a crash, the two children
can be crushed together and seriously
injured. A belt must be used by only one
person at a time.
Q:What if a child is wearing a lap-shoulder
belt, but the child is so small that the
shoulder belt is very close to the child’s
face or neck?
A:If the child is sitting in a seat next to a window,
move the child toward the center of the vehicle.
Also seeRear Safety Belt Comfort Guides on
page 35. If the child is sitting in the center rear
seat passenger position, move the child toward
the safety belt buckle. In either case, be sure
that the shoulder belt still is on the child’s
shoulder, so that in a crash the child’s upper
body would have the restraint that belts
provide.
40

{CAUTION:
The body structure of a young child is
quite unlike that of an adult or older child,
for whom the safety belts are designed. A
young child’s hip bones are still so small
that the vehicle’s regular safety belt may
not remain low on the hip bones, as it
should. Instead, it may settle up around
the child’s abdomen. In a crash, the belt
would apply force on a body area that is
unprotected by any bony structure. This
alone could cause serious or fatal injuries.
Young children always should be secured
in appropriate child restraints.
Child Restraint Systems
An infant car bed (A), a special bed made for use
in a motor vehicle, is an infant restraint system
designed to restrain or position a child on a
continuous at surface. Make sure that the infant’s
head rests toward the center of the vehicle.
45

{CAUTION:
Children can be seriously injured or
strangled if a shoulder belt is wrapped
around their neck and the safety belt
continues to tighten. Secure any unused
safety belts behind the child restraint
so children cannot reach them. Pull the
shoulder belt all the way out of the
retractor to set the lock, if your vehicle
has one, after the child restraint has been
installed. Be sure to follow the instructions
of the child restraint manufacturer.
Notice:Contact between the child restraint or
the LATCH attachment parts and the vehicle’s
safety belt assembly may cause damage to
these parts. Make sure when securing unused
safety belts behind the child restraint that
there is no contact between the child restraint
or the LATCH attachment parts and the
vehicle’s safety belt assembly.Folding an empty rear seat with the safety belts
secured may cause damage to the safety belt or
the seat. When removing the child restraint,
always remember to return the safety belts to
their normal, stowed position before folding the
rear seat.
1. Attach and tighten the lower attachments to
the lower anchors. If the child restraint does
not have lower attachments or the desired
seating position does not have lower anchors,
secure the child restraint with the top tether
and the safety belts. Refer to your child
restraint manufacturer instructions and the
instructions in this manual.
1.1. Find the lower anchors for the desired
seating position.
1.2. Put the child restraint on the seat.
1.3. Attach and tighten the lower
attachments on the child restraint to the
lower anchors.
56

In any particular crash, no one can say whether
an airbag should have inated simply because
of the damage to a vehicle or because of what the
repair costs were. For frontal airbags, ination is
determined by what the vehicle hits, the angle
of the impact, and how quickly the vehicle slows
down. For roof-mounted side impact airbags,
ination is determined by the location and severity
of the impact.
What Makes an Airbag Inate?
In an impact of sufficient severity, the airbag
sensing system detects that the vehicle is in a
crash. The sensing system triggers a release of
gas from the inator, which inates the airbag. The
inator, airbag, and related hardware are all part of
the airbag modules inside the steering wheel and in
the instrument panel in front of the right front
passenger. For vehicles with roof-mounted side
impact airbags, there are also airbag modules in
the ceiling of the vehicle, near the side windows.
How Does an Airbag Restrain?
In moderate to severe frontal or near frontal
collisions, even belted occupants can contact the
steering wheel or the instrument panel. In moderate
to severe side collisions, even belted occupants
can contact the inside of the vehicle. Airbags
supplement the protection provided by safety belts.
Airbags distribute the force of the impact more
evenly over the occupant’s upper body, stopping
the occupant more gradually. But the frontal airbags
would not help you in many types of collisions,
including rollovers, rear impacts, and many side
impacts, primarily because an occupant’s motion is
not toward the airbag. Side impact airbags would
not help you in many types of collisions, including
many frontal or near frontal collisions, rollovers,
and rear impacts.
Airbags should never be regarded as anything
more than a supplement to safety belts, and then
only in moderate to severe frontal or near-frontal
collisions for the driver’s and right front passenger’s
frontal airbags, and only in moderate to severe side
collisions for vehicles with side impact airbags.
73

{CAUTION:
If the airbag readiness light in the
instrument panel cluster ever comes on
and stays on, it means that something may
be wrong with the airbag system. If this
ever happens, have the vehicle serviced
promptly, because an adult-size person
sitting in the right front passenger’s seat
may not have the protection of the frontal
airbag. SeeAirbag Readiness Light on
page 182for more on this, including
important safety information.
A thick layer of additional material such as a
blanket, or aftermarket equipment such as seat
covers, seat heaters, and seat massagers, can
affect how well the passenger sensing system
operates. Remove any additional material from
the seat cushion before reinstalling or securing
the child restraint and before a small occupant,
including a small adult, sits in the right front
passenger’s seat. You may want to consider notusing seat covers or other aftermarket equipment if
your vehicle has the passenger sensing system.
SeeAdding Equipment to Your Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle on page 81for more information about
modications that can affect how the system
operates.
The passenger sensing system may suppress the
airbag deployment when liquid is soaked into the
seat. If this happens, the off indicator in the
passenger airbag status indicator and the airbag
readiness light on the instrument panel will be lit.
The system should resume normal operation after
the seat is allowed to dry. If the system operates
incorrectly after the seat has dried, have your
dealer check the system.
{CAUTION:
Stowing of articles under the passenger’s
seat or between the passenger’s seat
cushion and seatback may interfere with
the proper operation of the passenger
sensing system.
79

Sun Visors
To block out glare, swing down the sun visors.
They can be detached from the center retainer and
slid along the rod to cover different areas of the
front window and turned to cover the side
windows.
Visor Vanity Mirror
Swing down the sun visors and lift the cover to
expose the vanity mirror. Do not drive with
the cover lifted due to possible glare impeding
other drivers behind or to the side of the vehicle.
Theft-Deterrent Systems
Vehicle theft is big business, especially in some
cities. Although your vehicle has a number of
theft-deterrent features, we know that nothing we
put on it can make it impossible to steal.
Content Theft-Deterrent
Your vehicle may have a content theft-deterrent
alarm system.
A red light located on
top of the instrument
panel, toward the center
of the vehicle and
near the windshield, will
ash slowly when the
system is armed.
The theft-deterrent alarm system needs to be
activated through the Driver Information Center
(DIC). See “CONTENT THEFT” under
“Customization Menu Items” inDIC Vehicle
Personalization on page 229. While armed, the
doors will not unlock with the power door lock
switch. The remote alarm will sound if someone
tampers with the trunk or enters the vehicle without
using the remote keyless entry transmitter or key to
unlock the doors. The horn will sound and the
headlamps will ash for up to two minutes. The
system will also cut off the fuel supply, preventing
the vehicle from being driven.
104

Arming with the Power Lock Switch
The vehicle’s content theft-deterrent alarm system
can be activated when the key is removed from
the ignition and the power door lock switch
of either the driver’s or front passenger’s door is
used to lock the vehicle. The door needs to
be in the open position when pressing the power
door lock switch. The alarm system will not
activate if the door is closed when the power door
lock switch is pressed. This system can be
activated through the Driver Information Center
(DIC). See “CONTENT THEFT” under
“Customization Menu Items” inDIC Vehicle
Personalization on page 229.
When the doors are locked using the power door
lock switch of either front door, the red light on
top of the instrument panel will start ashing at a
fast rate, indicating that the system is arming.
After all the doors are locked there will be a time
delay and then the red light will begin to ash
at a very slow rate, indicating the system is armed.
Arming with the Remote Keyless Entry
Transmitter
The alarm system will arm when the remote keyless
entry transmitter is used to lock the doors after the
key is removed from the ignition. The red light will
come on to indicate that the system is arming. After
all doors are closed and locked, and after a time
delay, the red light will begin ashing at a very slow
rate to show the system is armed.
Arming Conrmation
A red light located on top of the instrument panel,
towards the center of the vehicle and near the
windshield, will ash slowly to conrm when
the system is armed.
Disarming with the Remote Keyless
Entry Transmitter
The alarm system will disarm when the remote
keyless entry transmitter is used to unlock
the doors. The red light will go out to show that
the system is disarmed.
105

Starting and Operating Your
Vehicle
New Vehicle Break-In
Notice:Your vehicle does not need an
elaborate break-in. But it will perform better in
the long run if you follow these guidelines:
Do not drive at any one constant speed,
fast or slow, for the rst 500 miles
(805 km). Do not make full-throttle starts.
Avoid downshifting to brake, or slow,
the vehicle.
Avoid making hard stops for the rst
200 miles (322 km) or so. During this time
your new brake linings are not yet broken
in. Hard stops with new linings can mean
premature wear and earlier replacement.
Follow this breaking-in guideline every time
you get new brake linings.
Do not tow a trailer during break-in. See
Towing a Trailer on page 327for the trailer
towing capabilities of your vehicle and more
information.
Following break-in, engine speed and load can
be gradually increased.
Ignition Positions
With the ignition key in the ignition, the key can be
turned to four different positions:
Notice:Using a tool to force the key from the
ignition switch could cause damage or
break the key. Use the correct key and turn the
key only with your hand. Make sure the key
is in all the way. If none of this works,
then your vehicle needs service.
A (OFF):This is the only position in which the
ignition key can be inserted or removed. This
position locks the ignition and transaxle. It is a
theft-deterrent feature.
109