2010+ Buick Lacrosse - Options

e_net_rider

As the title says, issues related to options, except where there is a more appropriate discussion. Such things as factory and dealer options or add-ons.

e_net_rider

I am interested in what it includes. Details were sketchy at the build it site and showed it included mud flaps and some protection to door edge.
Can someone tell me what you got in yours?

On the Malibu it was a clear plastic film on door edges, rear end, and one on the bumper to protect it from scratches when accessing the trunk.
I think I'd like to have the film at all those locations.
Is there an aftermarket version?

I saw a new one that showed the package on the window sticker but the vehicle did not have flaps or protective film on it.

rainman5542

Sorry e, no flaps or film. Isn't the film something reserved for shipping and to be removed by dealer at delivery?

My CXS stay pretty clean w/o mud flaps.

e_net_rider

The film I mention was on the Malibu as part of some package. It is a thin clear vinyl or something like that. Likely self adhesive. It was on the door edges and on the bumper in the area of trunk opening. The latter was to protect the bumper when moving something in or out of trunk. It works because son-in-law grabbed his big suitcase and dragged it from trunk across it. No mark whatsoever.
The flaps I saw in picture are quite small, but may be valuable against stones being thrown by tires.

e_net_rider

I have this option with rear view camera.
On two occasions the screen became very dark, once to the point I could make out nothing.
Both times it happened when the headlights automatically came on.
The other day I was under a thick canopy of trees about 1630. I adjusted the dimmer control on dash to full brightness and that did not help. I gave it the command "Display Day" which it accepted but did nothing.
Also the camera has trouble with late afternoon images. They appear blurry and unable to adapt to lighting conditions.

Has anyone seen these issues or a fix?

kjs8

My 2010 camera sometimes does not work many times at all in reverse, just a blank screen with the direction warning lines imposed on the screen. This mostly happens in the rain. The camera also is blurred in the sunlight and in the afternoon shadows. My dealer told me that the camera is not designed to work in the rain or in full sunlight or shade. Go figure, do you think we're stupid, I've experienced many problems with the LaCrosse with no GM fixes. I don't think this is right. 2011 models still have defective memory seats, is that unbelievable....

e_net_rider

Some of this just seems outrageous. Why did they not just ask us to hand over money. At least then we'd know their intent, robbery.
I was by the dealer today because of issues. First by sales. Another salesman wandered by and I asked him about the seat memory. I showed him what was going on. No problem he could fix. He was going to turn the memory function off. I'm glad his customer was standing nearby when this occurred, and I think he left.
I was then shuffled over to service manager. He told me someone did something to the car, the crease that has paint in it? Also did not seem to want to do anything related to the flaws in headlamp. He was going to look into the Nav display issue and seat memory issue.

kjs8

You are right about the robbery issue, could not agree with you more. My dealer is the best to deal with, but they can't get any input or answers from GM on any of the issues we all see every day as we drive the LaCrosse, and I really like this car. GM just makes it so hard to be loyal to their brand.

wolfman14

When parked on a slight incline I proceed to put the shift in reverse to back up, as I have done for the past 45 years with many GM vehicles. But it is not so easy with this new Buick. I need to keep my foot on the brake while stepping on the gas pedal to back up safely so I will not roll forward into whatever is in front of my car at the time. I was told by the dealer this is normal. That is ridiculous. This is definitely a safety problem. It also rolls back while I am stopped and proceed to drive forward. The dealer said it was normal. I thought this was an automatic transmission. It acts like a manual transmission with a clutch. Does anyone else have this problem?

e_net_rider

Because it is pretty flat around here, I have not yet seen the roll forward or back problem. I have noticed while backing up that it seems to take an inordinate amount of pedal. It gives the feeling that the transmission might be slipping. I'll have to monitor RPM, but that is not easy either because the tachometer is not easy to read accurately.

gmcustsvc

Hello Wolfman14,
Have you taken the vehicle to another dealership in order to get a second opinion? Does this happen intermittently? Have you tested the vehicle on an incline at the dealership with a service tech with you? Thank you,
Mariah GM Customer Service

e_net_rider

This should really be in Powertrain.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f21a666/1#MSG1

e_net_rider

I often get to screens that show choice buttons but nothing happens when I push them. And have gotten where it will respond to nothing forcing me to pull over and restart engine.
Has anyone else experienced this?
In the NAV manual, page 100, there are several commands that in brackets it says, "(used in conjunction with another command)". Does anyone understand what that means?
Some of the voice commands seem stupid, such as the first one to access phone capability if you have NAV, "Hands Free". Is not that the whole purpose of using voice commands? Why is it not "phone, telephone, or OnStar, etc.".
And on the subject of "hands free" voice commands to the NAV system, it seems stupidly limited. Example, Show Gas, Hide Gas. It seems to be an all or nothing, no asking for particular brands. That is if you enter manually, you can get specific brands from a list to show, such as Shell, Chevron, etc.
I had manually done such with Arby's fast food. And then tried the voice for dining. Show plastered map with location symbols, hide removed all but Arby's and I had to dig through menus to get it removed manually.
What seems to be very limited commands I can compare to a very old program, Corel 7, which had a speech add on by IBM which enabled basic menu commands, no voice to text. That was the time when the fastest CPU was 200 MHz, biggest HDD 2 GB. That was 5 computer lifes ago, so I wonder why this system seems feeble.
My old Bluetooth phone does a better job of recognizing commands accurately, using voice pass-through.
I recently tried entering a destination with voice. It worked fine until I got to the street and then it kept popping up a list that did not contain the correct one. I could not find a way to enter it manually without losing the state and city. That is manually entering the entire destination.
When will GM come out with an update to fix these issues?

rainman5542

"When will GM come out with an update to fix these issues? "

Sadly, my money is on 'never'!

e_net_rider

That thought entered my head, but word of mouth will kill sales. And if that is not enough, traded vehicles will display the same results from GM, each time the vehicle moves through an owner. If I bought a used vehicle with this much stuff wrong it would tell me to stay away from GM. And this being my second new GM in two years, it says the same. (the first was a GM buy back because of major safety issue, EPS. It too had lots of lessor issues.)

GM better start making mine fixed or it will be the last.

e_net_rider

Does anyone understand what they mean concerning preprogrammed playlists?
Page 27 of Nav manual. The playlists I'm familiar with are associated with specific programs such as Winamp, Foobar, & WMP. I think each one uses its own format or extension for saving playlists.

rainman5542

iPod users can create a list of songs to play. One could create a list to drive to work with or a particular "best of" or a genre such as "Country". You can select this list off the NAV touch screen when you don't want to just shuffle or manually find individual songs to play.

e_net_rider

Verified? I suppose that would be nice. I could not get my wife's Ipod to work with it. I assumed it was because of the file structure I could see with computer. I went into folders and burned music to CD which then transferred to HDD fine. Can you tell me what the file structure is on your Ipod so I can compare?
Are there any other known playlists that are recognized? It might help eliminating music in folders as a predesigned playlist substitute.

rainman5542

My iPod works just fine. It is a simple plug in, no extra steps needed. Just be sure that the current menu on the iPod is NOT set to something other than songs. I found that if mine gets jostled and goes into video top level, it isn't recognized by the car. Go into songs to the menu level where "shuffle" is one option. Have ipod on and just plug into the USB with the proprietary iPod connector. My file structure on the iPod is the standard factory from Apple.

rainman5542

FYI, playlists are created in Itunes on your pc OR mac. You don't create them using the car.

e_net_rider

Some models will not work according to owners manual.
My daughter set it up for my wife so I'm not familiar with Apple apps other than the ones for computer use.

rainman5542

Let's make a distiction between real Apple products vs. MP3 players. If there is a specific list of Apple models which are not compatable, follow that warning. You could easily try it in another like car at your dealer. See your salesman. I have two different models, both work (iTouch 8GB and iPod 5th Gen Video)

e_net_rider

I earlier complained about lousy bass on this system. It still has problem, but let me get to good part first.
I turned on ACC, HDD, & played a couple of tunes in the cool quiet air and cranked the volume a bit. Beetles 'Come Together' with some very bassy passes. Then I played "He ain't heavy, he's my brother". That has some very nice higher harmonic and other, but with very little low bass. It was with this tune I learned just what the sound system is capable of, minus the bass issue, and you won't believe us less you try it.
Or will You?
But this should convince you especially if you try same tune of equal to mine. That this is a fantastic system with acoustics that don't quit.
BTW I learned reason the bass is distorted. I have not yet decided upon fix but I've located the harmonic spot with issue to within inch. I'll see if I can come up with esthetic appearance to fix as well as let it churn out the bass notes it is capable of.
A hint at one of the surround or stereo point of this system. Pick something that has a wide front with vocalist center.
I now need to do more road testing to see what interference there is to the quality. Air and road noises might reach the level of deterioation that is objectionable, subjective to me. I'll post what I learn related to driving.

e_net_rider

Has anyone figured out how to use these files?
Several places I've read indicate this is a non-lossy format, but when I run conversion using Foobar it pops a warning that I'm converting to a lossy format.
If anyone has experience I'd appreciate feedback.
Maybe it is the Nero encoder I'm using?
But I will copy to disc and see what happens. :shades:

rainman5542

My recollection of the car's feature is that one can copy a comercial/retail music CD from the car's player to the HDD. I also understand a disk made at home which has MP3 files will likely play in the CD changer. You seem to be overly complicating what is needed. What are you trying to do? This CAR forum probably won't get you any answers. Sorry.

e_net_rider

Space on HDD for music is limited to 10GB which is adequate, but copying full CD's that is about 15 CD's. You can do many more if you convert to MP3, but that is a lossy format and often has poor quality at some points unless you code to the very highest rate.
Still somewhat uncertain, but I've read that m4a is not lossy and will give exact quality of CDA but in a much smaller file.
Example, the Beatles One album, 1Hr 20 M long. That is a little over 1GB.
If you transcode it to MP3 at the highest rate, the file is about 200MB. I'm not certain because three songs I transcoded at a lower rate just for comparison. My coding to m4a yielded a little over 220 MB, but I think I used the standard rate which is deemed CD quality. That would mean four times as many full disks to the HDD.
Does that help explain it.

e_net_rider

Update. Success!!!
It turns out that windows built in burning must have gotten corrupted. Added other burning software and burned files the car would not previously read.
M4A is really great!!
What I've also learned is that the system reads a CD just like the computers HDD. That is if you use the Nav screen for listing what is available, it reads the file name which means it is best to use the Artist, Album, song, etc for naming files, but it reads the tags to get that info when displaying what is being played.
The HUD could confuse since it says MP3 List, not an MP3.
BTW I used highest rate and 1:59 of music only take 325MB. That would be 60 hours on HDD. I'll try lower rates to see if I find them satisfactory.

e_net_rider

I found that there is a button in the end of the turn signal stalk. At first I thought it was non-functional but holding it for a couple of seconds the Nav system makes a chime. I observed no other function than it makes a sound. I don't see anything in manual.
Does anyone know what it is supposed to do?

cooterbfd

Really??? That's the button I use to reset the trip odo and fuel econ.

e_net_rider

Now where did I put those keys? ;-)
And only a couple of hours earlier I fueled and reset everything. Brainfart? I'm thinking that I had the tire pressure sensors showing but uncertain. I guess what confused me was the sound coming from the NAV system and then looking in that area to find what the chime was.
Thanks (with a red face).

cooterbfd

".....Brainfart? "

Could that be where the odor is coming from??? (Please don't erase this message for that) :P

e_net_rider

That is usually accompanied by a little smoke. ;-)

e_net_rider

Since commanding display to day mode I have not had the issue of it being so dark I could not see it and not being able to turn it up. I'm not sure what mode it was in before because I recently commanded night mode just to see what it does and don't remember ever seeing the black background before.
I'm unhappy with the dimming that is controlled by the rocker button. Under quite dark conditions the speedometer area is too bright. Turning that down to what seems proper results in the blue lighting going out and before that point the Nav display being too dark, even in day mode. I learned this recently on a long drive with night driving.
This is a safety issue!
The Nav system is a safety item. Adjusting the guage area to a safe level for night time visibility makes the Nav Display useless.
Is anyone else having this issue?
It seems that having the Nav Display tied to the dimmer should not have been done, but handled by Day/Night mode instead.

e_net_rider

Clarifying "BTW I used highest rate and 1:59 of music only take 325MB. That would be 60 hours on HDD. I'll try lower rates to see if I find them satisfactory."
That is 1:59 is 1 hour 59 minutes.
Or about 6 hours of music per gigabyte,
or 60 hours of very high quality music in the allotted 10GB for music on HDD.

gberpa

I agree totally with your comments regarding the gauges/nav screen lighting in the evening. The best compromise for me is to get the best lighting for the nav screen and accept the brighter gauges. I then try to rely mainly on the DIC/HUD for info and avoid glancing at the gauges. I will see if dealer has solution on my next visit when replacement seat memory module comes in.

e_net_rider

Thanks g.
I will also the next time I'm in. And from now on if my complaint is not satisfactorally written, I will add my own statement when they ask me to sign work order. It might even say, "See attached sheets!"
I forgot just what the reason was they were replacing memory module for you.
They did not answer my complaint on memory issues and next time I will have both FOBS and show them what the issue is.
Also the part of busted battery case. And they say battery is 60 month when installing dealer wrote it was 30 month. Tomorrow I will pull and verify myself.
Thanks

rainman5542

Since the first day I've had my CXS, my display is fine night and day, I set my dash once and have left it there since July. No problems.

e_net_rider

Is it 2011? Do you have the Nav package or HUD?
Is the brightness level between standard guages and screen comparable?
One knob sets the HUD separately, so no problem there.
The guages, blue lighting, and Nav screen are tied together.
Full brightness is OK for some city driving, but for most city I'd prefer it turned down to at least where blue lights disappear, approximately 1/2 way. At that point the Nav screen is getting rather dim and hard to see in day mode, but even darker in night mode.
Out on dark stretches of highway where I'd prefer something resembling a black cockpit, dimming properly just is not feasible with this system design or problem.

e_net_rider

Has anyone seen the update we are supposedly eligible for?
Mine shows that it has an early 2009 Navigation.
I'm still hoping that when they do release an update it will fix other issues like shortage of voice commands.

rainman5542

My experience with these updates is that it is merely new streets, new points of interest and corrections. Its like getting a 2010 map to replace your 2009 map (which was researched in 2007). Voice commands are in the system firmware or software, not in the electronic maps. Rarely is even a new map free. Check eBay for DVDs. I have seen MSRPs of $295 selling for under $100.

e_net_rider

You might be correct as to what the update map disk contains. Someone had posted a few months back that GM was going to give us one free update because of the age of map installed on assembly.

I just keep hoping that they will come out with a firmware or software update to fix some of the other issues. There were quite a few complaints about early 2010 models and some features not working at all. Some of these features were supposedly enabled in later model.

I'm still confused on this voice command:
Route (used in conjunction with another command)
I don't see any use of that word, route, elsewhere in instructions and in most cases find (used in conjunction with another command) confusing and not comprehensible.

e_net_rider

Does the AFL, adaptive forward lighting, work with low beams? It seems mine does not and I find nothing in the manual restricting it to high beams.

gberpa

It definitely does on my car. There is an extremely windy road leading to my neighborhood and the beam movement is clear.

e_net_rider

I recently renewed an XM offer. I was told I'd get weather but something is wrong. I'm not sure if the lady was wrong or maybe I did not have NAV activated when she sent the signal.

I found the road updates nice when it worked. Helped me avoid some bad stuff in Chicago. But on rural interstate I never got updates when traffic was delayed for over 2 hours each time because of accidents.
Is this a weakness in the system?
It also appears that part of system may not be working since renewal.
Also I'm not sure the quality of music is great. I'm not sure if it is XM method of sending signal, maybe a low quality stream? Does anyone know what their stream and compression method are?
I may try to find a couple of high range CD, checking for good low notes and trueness of ringing cymbals or bells.
I get the impression the quality is no better than a cheap tape with hiss removed.

rainman5542

I am happy with the quality but it seems about 95% of what my iPod or CDs put out.

The traffic updates require some time for reporting to get into the system. Whenever I have gotten them, they were accurate and timely.

Good luck with XM Customer Service. They are the worst, especially on billing. They can't even quote their costs correctly.

bwia

Compared to some of my local FM radio stations XM by comparison sounds ordinary, to a point. Since Sirius/XM basically plays "old" music that was once recorded in analog format and then digitized, it is expected that the sound quality and fidelity would be degraded somewhat. After my year of XM service expires I don't think I will renew because I listen to perhaps only three channels on a regular basis, not enough to justify the $45 quarterly price.

I have a related but different dilemma. I like OnStar but I also have AAA at $70 per year. Since I have a built-in NAV system in CXS, turn-by-turn service with OnStar is redundant. Furthermore, with my cell phone and Bluetooth I never use the prepaid minutes with the OnStar phone. I am very happy with AAA as they show up immediately when you call and the discounts at hotels and other places are fantastic.

OnStar was a great technology 10 years ago but given the many technology options motorists have today I think OnStar has lost its allure.

donl1

I pay $21.40 including tax for 5 months of XM. And that's about all it's worth.

e_net_rider

I agree on XM. I still think part of the issue is the compression format they use, proprietary. Even music that started digitally is lacking and suspect the HK system is part of issue.
If you are into burning your own music, there are some streams from London that are ogg-flac at around 1Mb/sec. FLAC stands for free lossless audio codec. That is you get what was on the CD, not some chopped down version.

mdg0208

Do all 2010 Lacrosses have the AFL option? I have not noticed it. But, when I have my brights on they appear to "dim" off and on at will... Not sure what us going on...

e_net_rider

Sounds like auto on/off feature along with daytime running.
The AFL, xenon that aim with steering, are part of Driver Confidence package available on CXL & CXS, unless they've changed availability again.
I also like the ease of turning fog lamps on. Not true fog in my opinion or they'd be amber, but when driving slowly they add to close in lighting. It would be a pain except for that big round button that only requires a tap to turn on/off.

gberpa

I've used mp3 with success and am trying to get m4a files on future music copies. To date, I ve had no luck. Foobar 2000 plus Nero AC encoder didn't work. Let me clarify: On CD Blues Traveler, Four, it created songs with the m4a extensions when I use but same generic names as .cda files when you view the raw commercial CD. When I had it get the name tags from an australian public server, still no go. I doctored the name to have a track # as my mp3 which play but it still was a no go.

I also tried a program a computer club friend mentioned, Exact Audio Copy (nice interface, many options) but there it created .wav files OK but then couldn't use the Nero CODEC.

Which CODEC did you link to Foobar and what m4a method, AAC ?
Were you able to intermix mp3 albums with m4a on the same USB memory?