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2010-2011 Buick LaCrosse

2053 messages,  Last post on Mar 30, 2013 at 6:18 AM

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What is this discussion about? Buick LaCrosse, Sedan

Messages Page 182 of 206

#1809 of 2053 Re: MPG [e_net_rider] by dodgeman07

Sep 29, 2011 (6:42 pm)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Sep 29, 2011 9:02 am)
I'll try to answer a few of your questions e_net_rider.
 
I owned a 2006 Lucerne CX with the 3800 V6. It was a good car that provided me 4 1/2 years and 70,000 miles of trouble-free service.
 
The Lacrosse has a shorter wheelbase the the Lucerne. 3.9" shorter.
 
My new Lacrosse has 18" aluminum rims with Michelin Pilot rubber. Very quiet tires. The 50-series sidewall does transmit more feel to the driver than the 60-series my Lucerne had. It's not all about isolation with new Buicks, they are morphing into more of a driver's car.
 
I would guess that someone coming out of a Lucerne with a bench seat (mine were buckets) and into a Lacrosse with buckets and a completely different driving experience, might prefer the Lucerne if they want total isolation from the road and loads of elbow room for the driver. The Lucerne was a re-skinned LeSabre with a 30 year old chassis configuration.
 
I get zero vibration from the steering wheel. Sounds like you might have gotten a bad one. It happens. I love mine.

#1810 of 2053 Re: Acceleration delay [imidazol97] by e_net_rider

Oct 06, 2011 (4:39 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Sep 28, 2011 3:03 pm)
I ended up in the Malibu much longer than I wanted to be with its problems because I had agreed to buy another GM. It took a little while to find out what I wanted. No truck, no SUV, no mini. What was left was Impala, a couple of Buicks and Cadillacs. I figured Cadillac was out of range.
The Impala was decent, but learned the option list was missing stuff I wanted and the list had gotten smaller from the previous year. Being a bit gas concious, I decided on the Lacrosse over the Lucernne, and again option availability. That was in Spring, before Buick started making lots of mid-season changes. I had one thing that I did not want and that was the sunroof. That became a problem because everytime a vehicle had most of the options I wanted, it had a sunroof. I had the GM people and dealers assisting me in the search. Everytime there was a problem with the results. Often the vehicle was not equipped as they said, sometimes too far away. Finally I located someone at GM that knew how to enter specifics in the search so that it did not show results with those that had sunroof. In the following approximately six weeks, they located one in Kansas City, too far for them to ship I was told by dealer. And near the end of the six weeks, they located three. One in Kansas City, Chicago, and New York. Although speacial ordering had been suggested earlier, I had been hoping to lay my eyes on the vehicle. Also there had been suggestions that there were long delays on orders, as long as three months, some posted in forums.
There was only one obvious answer at that point, do the special order. I was pleasantly surprised that it had gotten to dealer as quick as it did.
I would never have dreamed that I could see two problem vehicles, especially consecutively.

#1811 of 2053 Re: MPG [dodgeman07] by e_net_rider

Oct 06, 2011 (4:53 am)

Replying to: dodgeman07 (Sep 29, 2011 6:42 pm)
Zero vibration?
It seems like I was getting a lot transmitted to the steering wheel early on. My attention certainly more concentrated on that area after the steering column change which induced steering play. At times I've wondered if the MagnaSteer is working. Maybe it got interferred with during that change. And as I recall, my previous vehicle with that had no error code if it malfunctioned. And I did have "Service Suspension System" which they reset, they said.

#1812 of 2053 Things by e_net_rider

Oct 06, 2011 (5:39 am)

I had to make another run to VA hospital Monday. New mysteries, so I thought I'd catch them up.
First I discovered something odd upon returning from Dad's funeral. My daughters picked some pumpkins and wanted them transported. Normally I would not put items sensitive to heat on the trunk floor because road heat seems to enter. Lowest temps, overnite, low 50's. Iput the pumpkins on the deck and they were covered with several items like clothing bags. Over night in Bowling Green and then home as it was getting dark. We decided to unload some stuff. My wife called to my attention, the pumpkins were cold, like they had been refrigerated, very cold. My best guess is maybe the ducted air gets dumped via the trunk.
Now Charleston. About 20 miles into my run, I get stuck behind the Beverly Hillbilly's truck doing 40 MPH. Very limited passing zones, so my first opportunity I put foot in it. I did not know the truck was being slowed by a vehicle ahead and he decided to pass as well. He must have had some engine in it. But I was alarmed at the motion of my vehicle. The front end was moving like the duck walk and with the play I was having a hard time holding it between the lines. Somewhat mystified as to what was going on, so a bit later when road was open, I put my foot in it again. Same result. I am sure the road had something to do with it, but steering play was an obvious issue. And I suspect the tires, GY, as well. At a red light, it changed when I glanced aside and I moved my foot quite quickly from brake to accelerator and end up putting a bit more foot into it than I normally would. Both tires started squawking and jumping. Another quirk? So I intentionally did it a few times on different surfaces. The tires squawked and alternately wheel hopped. I had not experienced that since the days of my '68 Mustang Hi-Per if you did not get it just right.
I did it a couple of more times to verify something. Sure enough, no traction light. It could be a design difference, but on a previous GM, it was designed to cut throttle and give the traction warning if such happened.
Also during that run, I got a weird sound from center dash area. It sounded like a relay, --latch, unlatch, pause --, repeating rapidly for about two minutes. No indicater problems. About 10 minutes later I did a rest room stop and grabbed a smoke. When I opened the door of car, the obvious smell of something electrical burning or overheating. I had to push on, uncertain of conditions in Charleston. I got to the hospital with a half-hour to spare, which half was spent looking for parking and the other half for check-in. Whew~.
I had regular gas on the way up and decided to move to mid-grade when I filled there. I have a hard time figuring what to expect, sometimes wondering if they mixed the fuel or put in wrong tanks. That mid-grade really put a boost in it. But then it might be time for seasonal mix changes, which I noted yesterday for lawn mower gas. More smell of propane/butane in premium.
I took a different route home, avoided the duck-walk road, probably not good for stopping either. By this time I'm also suspecting the tires have reached a point of worsening traction.
 
And if that is not enough, about 20 miles from home, I noticed the headlamp indicator is on at 4 PM, bright and sunny. Verified by flashing to high beams, the blue light came on. The lights stayed on for about 15 minutes.
This vehicle definitely has Gremlins.

#1813 of 2053 Re: Things [e_net_rider] by e_net_rider

Oct 09, 2011 (8:23 am)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Oct 06, 2011 5:39 am)
More quirks yesterday. My back was starting to hurt with cooler damper weather when I realized the lumbar had leaked down again. I decided to get a bit of heat to comfort myself and turn on the seats and wheel. I punched the seat heat and it lit for about a second and went out. I repeated this several times and sometimes the light would not come on. The passenger seat was the same. After it was parked for some time, it returned to operation.
My daughter climbed in the driver's seat and was thrilled with the features. Too bad it is not reliable.
Update on the M4A files that the system is supposed to be able to play. My last report was that it would read and display the songs with a high speed scroll, but not play them. Those M4A files were of the AAC coding type. A very high quality, higher than MP3, yet lossy.
The other type of M4A file is lossless and often referred to as ALAC, Apple Lossless Audio Codec. So, I copied several songs to the thumb drive I previously used and know that it works for MP3. I got the same result as the AAC type.
I have to conclude that GM has messed up again.
Possibly wrong with the statements in the owner's manual.
There is a wide array of problems but there is a significant number that fall under electric/electronic.
Because there are so many of varied types, it should not be ruled out that grouping is just another bunch of typical GM screw-ups.
On the other hand, those of that commonality should be considered for a common reason. Especially those of the intermittant type if they are electronic related.
One source of such issues is "dirty power". And more difficult to isolate is the intermittantly dirty power.
But also we have the reluctance or incompetance of GM to fix known issues. In another forum, a "new owner", is complaining about no delay of seat movement in the memory system. So they have not yet incorporated the slight delay in production, nor fixed properly.

#1814 of 2053 Re: Things [e_net_rider] by bwia

Oct 09, 2011 (12:13 pm)

Replying to: e_net_rider (Oct 09, 2011 8:23 am)
net rider, stop making yourself miserable.
 
It seems as though you spend your waking hours looking for problems instead of enjoying the very comfortable and reliable LaCrosse. None of the regular posters here do not have the problems you mention. Perhaps GM should hire you as a "tester" to report back to them all the real and imaginary gremlins you've discovered to date.
 
Let's be honest. You have buyer's remorse and you want to return the car and unless you get your way you will continue to complain. By now, I am sure your dealer has tuned you off and dread your phone calls or unscheduled visits.
 
My two cents

#1815 of 2053 Happy LaCrosse Owner by dodgeman07

Oct 09, 2011 (1:31 pm)

Just clicked over 1000 miles on my new 2011 Buick LaCrosse and I must say it has been perfect in every respect. I have averaged 25mpg over the 1000 miles in a roughly 50/50 mix of city/hwy driving.
 
The car is well made and rock solid. The 2.4L DI engine is smooth and revs quickly into it's power band which starts at 3500rpm IMHO. Plenty of power combined with good economy. I do notice the 6-sp auto tranny shifting, not at all rough but noticeable and not quite as smooth as the old 4-sp auto in my now long gone Lucerne.
 
The steering is much quicker than the Lucerne and you really feel like you're driving the car rather than being along for the ride. The ride is still smooth and quiet as you would expect from this class of car. I am 100% satisfied after 4 weeks and 1000 miles!

#1816 of 2053 Re: Things [bwia] by e_net_rider

Oct 09, 2011 (1:56 pm)

Replying to: bwia (Oct 09, 2011 12:13 pm)
Your first sentence is laughable. If you have the seats that are designed to be cooling capable, that is the perforated ones, they are not comfortable. They are very hard compared to most seats, whether you have the cooling or not. Perhaps you need to check some other seats if you think they are comfortable. You may not have problems with the lumbar deflating whenever it wants to. Also, note that these poor seats are also in other makes such as Chrysler 300 and Cadillac. Reliable? Am I the only one with problems? Hell NO! As I mentioned in previous post, new owners are still complaining about the seat memory system. GM has still not given an answer on which portable hard drive actually works. And as I have posted several of the files that are claimed to work in the owner's manual do not. I've been in more than one vehicle where the SBZA does not work. And every vehicle with more than a thousand miles on it has the boots falling down on the rear, unless they were lucky enough to get the assemblies replaced by the dealer.
And about half of the vehicles I've seen have the gap between the fender and door seal.
And none of the vehicles I've been in have the CAF functioning as it is supposed to, or at least have a leak path allowing unfiltered air in. I now suspect the latter because I ran through a smelly area yesterday with it in the auto position. I quickly switched to outside air, no light on that switch, and the smell quickly disappated until I opened the window to check.
One system designer not working with another?
I can't say of everywhere, but it looks like the Buick dealer does not want used ones in this city or the alternate dealer I've been to. Here, most of them are on the Chevy lot and Mercury dealer pretty much told me he did not want it. He'd call Buick to get a trade value then wholesale it. The other dealer had none on his lot and it carries the full GM line. On neighboring lots of the same name, he carries several brands of import names.
 
Imagined? Is your brain disengaged? Why would any of it be imagined? Do I have to have family members chime in to witness? One of my daughters is shopping for new right now and actually seen many of the things that went wrong, are still wrong, on this one, will not go near a GM lot. Another daughter and her husband are shopping for something used, but won't go near a GM for the same reason. One family member has two GM, the older one, a Tahoe, being the most reliable he has ever had, but his three year old truck has him swearing he'll never have another.
Me, I'm lucky. I'll be rid of this thing in a week, assuming they set date that soon.
I should start a pool as to whether anything else acts up in the remaining time. I'd bet yes.

#1817 of 2053 Re: Things [bwia] by ab348

Oct 09, 2011 (2:28 pm)

Replying to: bwia (Oct 09, 2011 12:13 pm)
I agree. It is similar to trolling on a message board, except this seems to occur in real life. Ditch the car, end your misery, and move on.

#1818 of 2053 Re: Things [ab348] by imidazol97

Oct 09, 2011 (6:07 pm)

Replying to: ab348 (Oct 09, 2011 2:28 pm)
> except this seems to occur in real life.
 
Try reading about Munchausen Syndrome.
 
Be clear to read about Munchausen and not Munchausen by proxy. Munchausen by proxy makes the news once in a while because it often involves children so it's good news fodder.

Messages Page 182 of 206

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