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2010-2011 Buick LaCrosse

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Comments

  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    You are so right Cooley and sorry.
    But here goes from someone who gets a bit confused with it all as well. Sometimes I just can't find it in my onboard computer.
    DIC=display information center(sometimes I think this is a carryover from older vehicles where GM named it that & some of the current have little resemblance to the original.
    MPG=miles per gallon )hope most got that one
    3.6L= engine size, but can be in many configurations with most of the changes occuring to the heads. No, not those who smoke funny stuff at GM plant break time. But I can now see how some got confused. "Plant break time", for those who misunderstood, does not mean go smoke some plant.
    10K= 10,000 miles. K being the equivalent of 1000. Much longer than a 10K run.
    DI=direct injection. A system new to gasoline and passenger cars. Not really new though because that is how diesels have always worked.
    ULA= I'm stumped?
    OAM= Got me again!
    trany= I hope you meant tranny as in transmission. The box that changes gears, or once more you stumped me.
    INST=Instantaneous, abbreviation for. Not sure it would pass Webster's, but it is straight out of owners manual.
    TCC= Torque convertor clutch. I remember when this one confused me. Think of a vehicle that has standard transmission with clutch. Only this clutch is operated by the vehicle itself and it puts a direct, non-slipping connection between the engine and transmission. Normally torque convertors slip because there is fluid being churned by the input(friction) which in turn drives the output. For older Buick owners, think Dyna-Flow, no gears, no clutch. Modern 'no shift' transmissions couldn't beat those old ones for smoothness.
    WOT=Wide open throttle. If taken literally, the point where the throttle plate is wide open or not restricting the flow of air into the engine. But not at all accurate for diesels because they have no throttle plate. And with modern gas engines, the meaning goes beyond that because there are sensors tied to computers to do a number of special things when full acceleration is wanted.
    AC=Air Conditioning, except in rare cases when dealing with automobiles. For aircraft & many other occurences, AC=Alternating Current. A/C is then considered air conditioning so not to confuse someone working with both and a deadly mistake could incur. AC power has not been in cars until recently, except when not wanted & a test might require checking to make sure none is present such as from a faulty alternator. Or escaping from an old vacuum tube radio which made use of a vibrator to create it. Hope no one accidentally sticks finger in outlet in back seat if the test says, "check outlet of AC system for temperature change by feeling." OUCH!
    There are a million more acronyms, but I've given up on texting.
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    You beat me to it. I was thinking of suggesting such or putting a link to a site that would be a ready reference for those of us who get confused with these abbreviations.
    You are correct about UOA, oil analysis, specifically 'Used". I've used Blackstone and they want at least 1,000 miles on oil to acheive a degree of comparison to new oil. You can send a sample of new oil if you wish to establish a base line for new, but from that point they maintain a data base of new oils so just be sure to put on the form the brand, special mix, weight, etc. as asked for.
    Or if you have deep pockets, want an abundance of caution, you might have all oil you put in sampled to make sure it is what it is supposed to be. When it got me, synthetic was easily spotted compared to conventional and Mobil admitted to me they were packaged on the same line. These days it is more about the blended ingredients, something you can't eyeball.
  • poodog13poodog13 Member Posts: 320
    Amazing how much bashing of technology has suddenly sprung up. I agree that the seat module design seems poor, but it's a big jump to say that all tech in cars are a bad thing. Truth is that only poorly implemented tech is bad. If you don't agree, then fine, but then I hope you also enjoy hand-writing and buying stamps for all of your correspondence, watching three channels of black and white TV with your rabbit ears, and carrying around extra nickels for the pay phone. Oh, and how exactly did you access this online forum?

    Perhaps somewhat indicative that these comments are popping up on a Buick forum. Don't seem to see the same comments on other forums. Likely a sign of both Buick design issues and those still drawn to Buicks.
  • samm43samm43 Member Posts: 195
    edited March 2011
    I have a feeling you consider me to be one of the ones bashing technology?

    If so, my quote about technology and its progress was: "I think the point of diminishing return is history by a few years already."

    Which is the case I believe.

    A few years suggests 3 or more, and drive-by-wire goes back 6 give or take. There may be a few brands, a few years before that, but mainstream use is only in the last 5 or 6 or so. Drive-by-wire and all the technology that is easily (using the term loosely) linked through it because of drive-by-wire, has opened many doors of issues that are often difficult, or so far seemingly impossible to duplicate when attempting to troubleshoot. Examples of this are certainly not contained to Buick forums. Just using SUA, or automatic transmission communication issues with the engine and all other linked (by drive-by-wire) components, as an example, you can find these discussions in Hyundai Santa Fe, Toyota, Nissan, Chev, Ford and many other brands.

    So if going back a few years, certainly did not restrict us from any of these things, save possibly for readily finding B&W TV's to watch (although we, coincidently, still have one we could use and can watch it with a through-the-air antenna) - your quote: "hand-writing and buying stamps for all of your correspondence, watching three channels of black and white TV with your rabbit ears, and carrying around extra nickels for the pay phone. Oh, and how exactly did you access this online forum?" isn't really applicable as we could do all those things just 6 years ago. Although the 5 cent phone call was a fairly distant memory still, yet the mechanism that receives the coins works much the same in today's payphone as one over 40 years ago.

    If you would like to use memory seat options as the example, since that was the topic, we had memory seats over 20 years ago that worked flawlessly. They were still convenient for those who wanted them on their must-have list, even though they did not have them activating through a handheld keyfob, that was not reading messages of what it should or should not do through some master computer that has so many variables linked through it, it screws up at times if not all the exact factory designed parameters are not met with precision. For example, when the engineers designed it, they did not think that a ham radio operator might be nearby operating wirelessly a multi thousand watt amplifier that is more than capable of bleeding over with much signal-to-noise interference even though those frequencies are far apart. Also see: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f216050

    post 6. I could cite other examples but I hope you get my drift.

    Just how many years ago was a payphone 5 cents? Now that goes back before B&W TV's.

    I apologize in advance if you did not intend for us to take you seriously.

    Sam
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    You are right, but Mercedes apparently became aware of toy issues about 10 years ago. They had made a decision to stop installing or even offering many of the new things because they were constantly malfunctioning and ruining their name for quality.
    I'd bet they've reversed that position considering how competition is jumping into it. But then does anything really compete with a Mercedes?
    You'd think that in 10 years time they'd have worked out bugs before going mainstream. Yet GM will make some of the same mistakes they discovered in vehicles from 15 years ago?
  • Kirstie_HKirstie_H Administrator Posts: 11,146
    You beat me to it. I was thinking of suggesting such or putting a link to a site that would be a ready reference for those of us who get confused with these abbreviations.

    That's actually a project we're working on this year - getting together a list of automotive acronyms to put here for easy reference.

    MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
    Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
    Share your vehicle reviews

  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    bobinor,
    Can you please email me your VIN? I would like to look into this feature availability for you.
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • crankeeecrankeee Member Posts: 298
    Chrisitina & Bob:
    The instant mileage feature that was on the old Cadillac that we had gave a continuous readout. The new DIC on our 2010 Lacrosse CXL allows for an instant readout with the following:
    Enter the menu on the DIC to get the MPG readout. Clear the reading by pushing in the button on the stalk end. The readout will then give the "instant" reading of MPG at the moment and average from the reset until it is reset again. At that point a new "instant" MPG will be displayed.
    Very handy for testing the "instant" milegae with A/C on or off, various speed tests, MPG in different gears, MPG on road or in city driving.
    Also a comment on the Lacrosse level of technology per prior posts:
    The Buick Lacrosse, at various trim levels, offers the needed driver information to include tire pressure, MPG, Fuel range, trip mileage, oil life (NOT LEVEL) and other needed data to operate the vehicle. IMO the data is not overly distracting or demanding of the operators total attention. Good job GM.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    I apologize if you experienced concerns with your vehicles in the past and if it took some time to get them resolved. Unfortunately there are times when situations arise that takes more time than others. If you have any specific complaints or concerns, please feel free to contact me by email. Thank you.

    Tricia, GM Customer Service.
  • gberpagberpa Member Posts: 44
    Crankee:

    I saw this and a prior post re: getting an instantaneous MPG out of the LaCrosse DIC. While I agree, it can be done, it truly is a bit subjective on how fast you do the reset. You also lose your running average MPG so it is only handy when you want to reset. For me, that is usually when I finish filling up as I (for now) am manually recording info to determine mileage and check on things like effect of fuel octane/brand. But, if on an interstate, quickly accelerating out of a service station isn't ideal for getting a reading.

    It clearly would be better if Buick implemented this feature mentiioned in the manual on new models and possibly retroactively on our cars via programming changes.
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    I second that. And Christina, thank you for someone finally looking into it. Many of these issues should certainly be no more complicated to fix than Microsoft releasing an update to an operating system.
  • bobinorbobinor Member Posts: 63
    The Instantaneous Fuel Economy function in the Driver Information Center has been a Buick staple for many years. At the least, it was included in my 2001 Regal GS. We shouldn't have to play with a work-around for a function that Buick describes in the owner manual. The DIC is listed as standard equipment for my 2011 CXS and instantaneous readouts should be there.

    I have emailed my VIN to Christina - thanks for your interest, Christina. I hope we can get to the bottom of why this feature is missing.
  • bobbob2bobbob2 Member Posts: 28
    Anyone experience, or hear, trouble getting Remote Keyless Entry transmitter thru TSA check points at airports? My concern is the key blade that pops out like a little switch blade.

    I ve had little nail files and screw drivers which were hanging on car keys impounded so this is a serious question.

    Thx
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    Best check with TSA for rules. That little dull key would not be an item with me. But then the remote might be. Checked luggage rigged to go off with a cell phone or remote would be far more serious.
    Those little files and screw drivers are likely because of what they've learned from prisoners and how they can convert such to a tool of death.
  • dwight9dwight9 Member Posts: 8
    Have you found out how to set your clock for day light savings time ? I'm having the same problem with my 2010 Lacrosse CXS. I've followed the instructions in the owners manual, but with no success. I noticed in the book that it list instructions for time zone and day light savings time, but nowhere in the car's display do I have such a feature. It seems that maybe there should be a feature like this which might solve our problem.

    I contacted the dealer who I bought the car from and they couldn't help me, other than to tell me to bring the car in so that they could look at it. Seems crazy not to be able to set the clock and I don't remember having this problem when the time changed last year, makes me think that maybe the clock automatically changed itself back then, but for some reason this year it did not.

    If one of the GM reps reads this note could you pls. reply as to what you think might be the problem. My car has the nav system if that makes any difference and also the clock displays the date as well as the time.

    Thanks, Dwight
  • jaadamsjaadams Member Posts: 1
    I have the exact same problem. I have followed the instructions in the manual to set the clock to daylight savings time. Each time I turn the engine off the clock reverts to the old time..... I can not find a way to get to the daylight savings time.
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    Apparently there are two sets of directions depending upon whether you have the NAV system.
    If you have the expensive option, NAV, there is no way to differentiate for daylight saving time.
    Now isn't that a hoot. Modern technologies, most autoset the clock if there is any way to receive time signals. Clock radios, TV, phones, etc. So here is a vehicle with NAV system and it receives signals from AM/FM/XM, GPS, OnStar, & has Bluetooth which interfaces with cellphones, but no way to accurately update time.
  • rainman5542rainman5542 Member Posts: 114
    I have a 2010 CXL with NAV. When DST rolled around, I had to manually set my clock an hour forward. It took all of five seconds to accomplish in CONFIG mode. There is an option to check off DST but it seems to have no effect, perhaps because we saw fit to change the date DST takes effect.
  • cooleyddcooleydd Member Posts: 105
    Some of you may remember my problems with a pause before it would pick up when the accelerator was pressed. It seemed to be very slow to downshift unless the accelerator was pushed to the limit.

    Our GM customer service person here picked up my messages and forwarded them to Customer Service. I got an immediate reply in which the person checked with the dealers involved and their actions. He then told me he would forward it to the next step.

    Again the response was quick but that is all. The new person just advised me that if the dealers can't duplicate it there is nothing GM can do - Good-bye. Of course I have always maintained that the dealers could not duplicate it nor would they let me take them for a ride to duplicate it. That is exactly the reason I complained. I assumed GM would have some other procedure to have it checked. Seemed like the GM of old is still with us. I presently own 5 GM vehicles, 4 of them are 2007 models and later.

    I have always loved my 2010 LaCrosse and have defended it on this list several times. Now with the problem I have with the downshifting and no one will do anything about it - the small minor problems now loom larger and the love for the car is smaller. I am fast becoming a dissatisfied buyer.

    Thank you but no thank you - is not an answer - in a way t is a challenge.
  • 50324lacrosse50324lacrosse Member Posts: 21
    I certainly understand your frustration.
    I had a problem with my 2010 always feeling like the wheels were out of balance. I would take it in every time it got on my nerves so it was on record. Even if I went for something else, I would make them note the original problem. Finally, the service manager noticed that I had more than five visits with the same problem. He became challenged to get to the bottom of the problem. Finally today, after 14 months and many more visits, a new transmission, new wheels (upgraded) and tires were put on. Problem solved. The dealer was great, when GM customer service only added to my frustration by making me think they were on top of it, when they just strung me along (go figure).
    Good luck and keep after it.

    DAVE
    2010 LaCrose
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    2011 CSX with NAV, I found not DST or time zone setting.
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    I'll second that emotion about GM. There are certainly some in their system that seem to be people just there to pickup check.
    Some may remember my posting about the AC oil filter from factory that was missing anti-drainback valve. I called the number listed with AC Delco site & explained they have a quality problem. They guy acted like so what?
    I took the time to let them know of a quality issue and that is the type of response I got? Shame on GM.
    The price of a filter is cheap unless it cost you an engine.
  • rainman5542rainman5542 Member Posts: 114
    The menu options are part of Configuration and ONLY are present when the car is in PARK but running.
  • bwiabwia Member Posts: 2,913
    Nothing new to report except the road noise from the 19-inch wheels is becoming more pronounced. Between 3K to 5K the noise level was acceptable but now, a little more irritating.

    Other than that, the car is smooth and composed and still a head turner. The paint and interior leather are still show room new and the HID Xenon lights are still blindingly bright especially when combined with the fog lights. No longer am I am hesitant to drive at night because I can see so much better with the HID.

    All in all I am very satisfied with my CXS except for the road noise which can be a little annoying on winter ravaged roads.
  • bwiabwia Member Posts: 2,913
    edited April 2011
    Webbie, my name does not display when I sign in, what gives.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    50324lacrosse,

    Glad to hear your issues have now been fixed. If you have any other concerns, please feel free to contact customer assistance.

    Thank you,
    Caron, GM Customer Service
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    cooleydd,
    I apologize for your concerns and experience. Can you please email me the case number?
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    dwight9,

    I would recommend taking the vehicle into the dealership to be diagnosed. Please keep me posted on any information you may find out.

    Thank you,
    Caron, GM Customer Service
  • dwight9dwight9 Member Posts: 8
    Thanks Caron for following up with me on this. I have an appointment for next Monday to take the car in to see if they can resolve the problem with not being able to set the clock. I'll let you know how I make out. Just seems strange that I didn't have this problem last year when daylight savings time when back in October; I don;t remember having to do anything to affect the time, it just took care of itself, now this time can't do anything to make it hold the time.

    Dwight
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    e_net_rider,
    I apologize for your frustrations. You are able to turn it off so when you hit the button on the key fob the seat won’t move. This way when you get in the vehicle you can press the button to the memory setting of your choice. This is all detailed in the owners manual.
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • bwiabwia Member Posts: 2,913
    edited April 2011
    A close look at the sales numbers for the LaCrosse shows the following trend.
    2009 Calendar year 27,818
    2010 Calendar year 61,178 – 120% increase

    2010 First quarter 26,882
    2011 First quarter 24,810 – (7.7%) decrease

    Sales in first quarter of 2010 by months:
    2010 January 4,246
    2010 February 8,291
    2010 March 14,345

    However, comparable sales for 2011 show a steady decrease
    2011 January 3,771 – (11.2%) decrease
    2011 February 8,100 – (2.3%) decrease
    2011 March 12,939 – (9.8%) decrease

    I have a theory that perhaps the new Regal is cannibalizing LaCrosse’s sales. It seems as though GM has not positioned the LaCrosse properly. For essentially the same size and features the Regal is so much cheaper. If they are trying to attract a younger demographic that is a good thing but there should be more of a differentiation between the Regal and LaCrosse to justify the price premium. But what do I know? I am just an average Joe.

    Source: http://media.gm.com/content/dam/Media/gmcom/investor/2011/DeliveriesDecember2010- .pdf
  • buickdawgbuickdawg Member Posts: 8
    Comparing the 2009 Lacrosse sales to the 2010 sales is laughable, they only made a few 2009 Lacrosse's because the 2010 was coming out...The 2009 production was stopped early, which I know because I was in the market for one and not many were available...It's disappointing to see the sales dropping on the new Lacrosse, it would be interesting to see which cars are gaining sales in it's category also....
  • bwiabwia Member Posts: 2,913
    When it rains, it pours. Would you believe that after writing about declining Lacrosse sales I saw four of them today? One white, one silver and two midnight blues. After complaining that the Lacrosse was a rare bird, so rare in fact, that I had only seen two in one year....And on a rainy today, I had 4 sightings which was very refreshing.
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    Thanks for the reply, but I already knew that. I want it to work. The memory is the reason I passed over other vehicles such as the Impala.

    A somewhat alagorical story: Once upon a time there was a company well known for its computer sound cards. They even implemented new types of sound for use in gaming which became a standard for several game makers. Many were satisfied of the products and raved about them, but there were many that also had problems because they did not carefully vet their software and thus lots of rants. As almost all computer part manufacturers do, they created software fixes. Alas their fixes were not fixes at all. They turned off the features, via software, that some customers were having issues with. Their support got a bad reputation for sure. Also decision makers in the company decided "end of life" for product was when a new Operating System was released. Thus if you wanted to move to a newer operating system you had to buy a new sound card, they hoped from them since they were the premier maker. Customers got smart and the company went "BANKRUPT".
  • gberpagberpa Member Posts: 44
    I have also seen a lot more '10/'11s in our area. My block has 3 -2 qucksilver including my '11 CXS and 1 black.
  • 50324lacrosse50324lacrosse Member Posts: 21
    e net rider, I like your reply to customer service. Do they really think that it is as simple as that? Did you find any fine print in the owners manual that said "if you have memory seats, you may experience shortness of breath due to being pushed up against the stearing wheel"?
    To say "just shut it off" is a huge cop out. Why don't they tell the owners the truth which is they don't know why it is occuring and we do not know how to fix it.
    My car shakes at highway speeds (GM customer service, do not message me) and if they tell me to just shut if off, I will be really annoyed. I already know they don't know why it is shaking.

    DAVE
    2010 LaCrosse
  • navychief3navychief3 Member Posts: 8
    I have a 2011 Lacrosse CXS. The car always felt like the tires were out of balance also. I Took the car to the dealership,both the service advisor and the mechanic drove the car and said nothing was wrong and they could not help me.(Less than 300 miles on car) I took it to a independant tire dealer and said the wheels were not true. I went back to the dealership and had the zone rep drive the car and he said he could not feel any problem, but had the alignment checked..all ok. They decided to put 4 new michelin tires on(oem)..did not help..less than 500 miles on car..total of 3 trips to the dealership by now.I then took it to another independant tire dealer and had the tires checked and "road forced balanced"..did not help. I now have 2600 miles on car..took it back to the dealership again this week..they let me drive another 2011 Lacrosse (only 14 miles on odometer)..it had the same balance/vibration problem..only worse!! I got in my car and left...GM/BUICK do not want to hear it!! The dealerships stopgap problems from going to engineers or corporate people that can solve your issues. What do I do now..I'm not sure..this is my 8th new GM vehicle since 1992.. I presently own a 2500HD Silverado,and a GM Winnebago motorhome.I am happy that someone else that had these problems got them solved even tho it took a long time.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    dwight9,
    Thank you for the update. I look forward to hearing from you once you have spoke with a dealer.
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • 50324lacrosse50324lacrosse Member Posts: 21
    I would be interested to know what size wheels your LaCrosse has. If you don't want to share it in public, I understand. Do you only notice it at highway speeds? Feel free to email me: 50324dave@gmail.com

    DAVE
    2010 LaCrosse
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    e_net_rider,
    I apologize that you do not like the functionality of this feature; however it is operating as designed. If it is difficult to get in due to the seat moving so close to the steering wheel another option would be to set the memory seating a little farther back, to accommodate getting in the vehicle, and then moving it forward to your specifications. I hope this helps! Have a wonderful weekend!
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • navychief3navychief3 Member Posts: 8
    Dave..I have 235-50R/18 tires on my 2011 Lacrosse. I notice it feels like an out of balance tire at 40-50mph..and at highway speeds above 60mph, it's almost like a vibration. I guess what really bothers me is that 3 dealership employees could not feel it, or did not want to. My wife can feel it from the passenger seat, its that bad. That new 2011 Lacrosse that I drove this week was really bad..it only had 14 miles on the odometer. Thanks for the info on your earlier message.
  • 50324lacrosse50324lacrosse Member Posts: 21
    Employees from your dealership must not know what they are supposed to be aware of. Keep after it!
    Mine had the wheels road force balanced. One was out of tollerance and that tire was replaced. I have personally driven three from different delerships and found each one to have the same vibration and in addition, if idled up to 1500rpm or so while in park, the car will shake then as well. That is still the case with mine. I have 17" steel wheels. I keep telling myself that one day there will be a recall for this.

    DAVE
    2010 LaCrosse
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    1, it does not work as designed. It goes to random positions.
    2, is it supposed to move ahead when the rear door is opened?
    3, if this is design, then it is time to fire some designers and fix issues.
    4, issues include problems with NAV rear camera system. Screen is unusable when the sun hits it. It is surrounded with reflective chrome bezel. These are safety issues. Cameras such as these are available in much wider lighting ranges so they don't get overexposed by bright sun low in sky. Also, brake lights cause overexposure. And the porting of the exhaust is such that in cool weather you see nothing but a white cloud of condensed exhaust vapor.
    I am going to check and suspect that setting to factory defaults will turn off some seat memory functions. As told by one saleman, turn it off, and you, I suspect it was a known problem before the vehicles were built.
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    I feel for you guys with the shakes. Hope someone gets this figured. Maybe the wheel mounter at factory forgot to have his alcohol for breakfast and your vehicle is experiencing second hand DT's.
    Back to being serious, can you tell which wheel, wheels are responsible? Does it move to rear if rotated? If it stays in front, then it could be something in drive train such as CV shaft or brake rotor. I have not actually seen the construction of these but on older vehicles where they were of double layer construction, weights looking like large expansion pins were driven into the vents around the edge. Throwing such a weight would be a problem. Because of iron casting it would be near impossible to cast a perfectly balanced rotor. So, if they are of this type and have no weights, then someone is not finishing the job.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    e_net_rider,
    I would like to thank you for all of your feedback. I have passed this information along. I hope that you are able to utilize one of the alternative options I have presented. Have a great weekend!
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • navychief3navychief3 Member Posts: 8
    Dave, my 2011 Lacrosse also vibrates at 1500rpm when in park. I bought the Lacrosse because I can tow it behind our motorhome, 4 wheels down, just start (pushbutton) the engine, shift to neutral,stop the engine. Most automatic vehicles you cannot tow 4 wheels down, you have to go to a manual transmission. After having the baseplate installed on the car for the towbar attachment, and towing the car for 1 hour, the battery was dead. My last GM vehicle,(2008 HHR), the owners manual stated you had to pull a fuse to prevent battery drain...which worked great for 3 years..no dead battery. The owners manual on the Lacrosse does not say you have to pull any fuses. I called the Buick/GM customer service phone number, they could not help,said take it to the dealership..which I did,no help.All I wanted to know was what fuse(s) to pull to prevent battery drain. Again, the dealerships won't contact the higher echelon to help solve problems. I bought a battery disconnect switch and installed it on the negative battery post,the positive post has a terminal board attached, no room to work. I hope this doesn't cause any problems, more than resetting the radio, everything else worked good, Nav still held all the right info. I will keep after the dealership,thanks for the encouragement. JOHN!
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    Pulling the negative terminal is correct, even though it used to be the positive. Any stray electrons move from the negative terminal to the positive.
    This vehicle is supposed to have something to stop drain. Maybe it does not work unless in park. I had battery die, only two months old. It was defective.
    They did not send someone to get you started?
    NAV info is stored on HDD, hard drive.
  • gmcustsvcgmcustsvc Member Posts: 4,252
    edited April 2011
    navychief3,
    I have spoke with Technical Assistance trying to find out if there is a fuse that you could pull to save your battery. Unfortunately there is not; however, they did say that disconnecting the battery would work or periodically starting the vehicle and letting it run. If you have any questions comments or concerns please feel free to email me directly.
    Christina
    GM Customer Service
  • crankeeecrankeee Member Posts: 298
    edited April 2011
    As Regal (Opel Insignia) sales ramped up the Lacrosse sales flattened out about the same time that GM offered the CX in 4-cylinder (soon to be E.assist only) trim with cloth seats. CXL and CXS with leather and upscale options required additional ~$1400 for a V-6 (3.6L) thanks to marketing gurus. The upscale models also came to the dealers with the ole "option pack" and $34-$38,000 MSRP on the window that resulted in GM significantly increasing the margin (profit) per vehicle again thanks to the marketing gurus.
    These moves did differentiate the Lacrosse from the Regal, mainly by price and margins to GM.
    Sales figures are still very good for Buick in total and the margins are higher (except for Regal) so all is happy in the Motor City for now. CTS doing well also at higher price point.
    The unfortunate shakeup at Toyota and Honda will help GM with sales in the short term until gas hits $4-$5/gallon and then the bottom will fall out again for the big (60% of sales) truck/SUV sellers like Ford, GM and Chrysler (pre Fiat).
    At least we have access to good cars like the Lacrosse and Regal thanks to Brother Lutz (semper fi!)
  • e_net_ridere_net_rider Member Posts: 1,380
    with the ole "option pack" What pack is that?
    At current gas prices I'm sure many are looking more closely at mileage figures.
    Younger people are more interested in the Regal. Not to say the Lacrosse is not appealing to a wider market. It is also likely taking from Lucernne sales since it has already passed its last year and as GM has done with other vehicles reaching end of production, they remove some options from the available list.
    I saw the new Lacrosse commercial last night, laughable from my experience.
    In today's economy, GM best bet at boosting Lacrosse sales is getting buyers from slightly higher priced vehicles or giving the buyer something he can't get in other vehicles. For starters they'd need to refine the quality and improve some areas and definitely not blow off customers with "that's the way it is designed." Bad design? Fix it.
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