2011 Buick LaCrosse Radio Navigation Problems

[Blueshound]

Hey everyone. I recently became an owner of a 2011 Buick LaCrosse. I really like this car. It's a big upgrade from my previous vehicle. To the issue at hand, I'm having issues with the radio and navigation system.

1) Everytime I start the car, it goes to the XM preview station. I have no interest in this and would like to disable the XM feature or at least keep it from doing this.

2) When I get out of the vehicle and then jump back in and restart it, it forgets where it was as far as radio station, cd, or the HD drive.

3) For some reason, everytime I start the car and enter the navigation system it defaults to a Washington state location. Also, I cleared out / deleted the previous owner's addresses, favorite routes, etc. I've also entered and saved mine. However the next time I get in the car, the vehicles still defaults to Washington; the previous owner's addresse, etc. reappear; and the addresses I saved are now gone.

4) Has anyone ever uninstalled the original HD and installed a brand new HD to get a larger amount of storage, etc.?

BTW, this car is now high mileage (100k+) so all the warranties are expired to my knowledge.

Can and will anyone help with ANY of these questions/ issues?

Thanks, Mark

 

[Raggums]

Common problem. Your head unit needs to be replaced but if you are out of warranty then its around $1800 through the dealer I believe. Had mine replaced 1 month before warranty expired. Sorry to be the bad news messenger.

 

[dbris]

This is a known problem and in most, if not all cases was rectified by exchanging the radio. I believe that your warranty was up at 50K so this could be kind of pricey. I'd check with GM and see if they have an out of warranty replacement program. Seems like they should. Or you may be able to find someone that repairs them.

 

[Buick Customer Service]

Hey everyone. I recently became an owner of a 2011 Buick LaCrosse. I really like this car. It's a big upgrade from my previous vehicle. To the issue at hand, I'm having issues with the radio and navigation system.

1) Everytime I start the car, it goes to the XM preview station. I have no interest in this and would like to disable the XM feature or at least keep it from doing this.

2) When I get out of the vehicle and then jump back in and restart it, it forgets where it was as far as radio station, cd, or the HD drive.

3) For some reason, everytime I start the car and enter the navigation system it defaults to a Washington state location. Also, I cleared out / deleted the previous owner's addresses, favorite routes, etc. I've also entered and saved mine. However the next time I get in the car, the vehicles still defaults to Washington; the previous owner's addresse, etc. reappear; and the addresses I saved are now gone.

4) Has anyone ever uninstalled the original HD and installed a brand new HD to get a larger amount of storage, etc.?

BTW, this car is now high mileage (100k+) so all the warranties are expired to my knowledge.

Can and will anyone help with ANY of these questions/ issues?

Thanks, Mark

Hi Blueshound,

I'm sorry to hear of this concern! Please let me know if you are interested in speaking with your dealership regarding a diagnosis. We also have an Infotainment team that may be able to provide further information for you. The phone number is 855-478-7767, and the hours of operation are 8:00am to 10:00pm EST. They are open seven days a week.

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

 

[imaronaldo]

Same problem here in Canada(2010) with the nav not holding new settings, and reverting to Washington. Buick/ GM have way overpriced this feature considering you can buy an over the counter nav for 100 and get lifetime map updates and better memory functions.
Seems the nav sellers are trying to make extra cash crashing the program just after the warranty ends.

 

[JwpRider]

I had the same issues, and the clock never was correct (you didn't mention this item). Anyway they just "reprogramed/updated" the firmware and it fixed it all. I have read on the forums where this did not work for everyone, but so far mine has been fine.

This may be a less expensive option
Good luck!

 

[kmac59]

All,

I want to thank you for the great info here.

My Nav/Radio was reseting to Washington DC as home site and the clock would not stay set to CST. After turning off car, all would go back to incorrect settings.

I brought into my dealer and they quoted me $1100 to replace the whole unit.

Someone posted about calling Buick Customer Service. I did this and they put me in contact with Buick customer service at my dealership. One day waiting and they replaced whole unit and I paid for install at $180!

Also found a leak on my water pump and replaced that at no charge.

I have 83.5K miles on this 2010, so out of warranty.

Complain before paying $1800!!!

Keith

 

[dbris]

$1100 is kind of steep to repair a radio. At least mine was not replaced with a new one, I know this because it already had an XM subscription and XM would not activate mine because the serial number belonged to another VIN.
I don't have a problem with them being exchanged with a repaired unit, but really, $1100 for an exchange?
Sounds like you talked to the right people!

 

[Regal-O-Rama]

I had this issue on my just-traded-in 2011 Regal Turbo. They switched out the radio TWICE, and when the problem persisted, the service manager received new, updated software/firmware from Buick, and this finally solved the problem. See if the LATEST software update (released earlier this month) fixes the problem before paying out megabucks.

 

[Buick Customer Service]

All,

I want to thank you for the great info here.

My Nav/Radio was reseting to Washington DC as home site and the clock would not stay set to CST. After turning off car, all would go back to incorrect settings.

I brought into my dealer and they quoted me $1100 to replace the whole unit.

Someone posted about calling Buick Customer Service. I did this and they put me in contact with Buick customer service at my dealership. One day waiting and they replaced whole unit and I paid for install at $180!

Also found a leak on my water pump and replaced that at no charge.

I have 83.5K miles on this 2010, so out of warranty.

Complain before paying $1800!!!

Keith

Happy to hear that your concerns have been resolved! Please let us know if you ever need further assistance.

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

 

[Buick Customer Service]

Same problem here in Canada(2010) with the nav not holding new settings, and reverting to Washington. Buick/ GM have way overpriced this feature considering you can buy an over the counter nav for 100 and get lifetime map updates and better memory functions.
Seems the nav sellers are trying to make extra cash crashing the program just after the warranty ends.

Hi imaronaldo!

Have you spoken with our customer care team in Canada? They can be reached at 800-263-3777. The hours of operation are M-F 7:30am - 11:30pm and Sat 7:30am - 6:00 EST. Keep us posted on the outcome!

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

 

[coachaward]

Hi imaronaldo!

Have you spoken with our customer care team in Canada? They can be reached at 800-263-3777. The hours of operation are M-F 7:30am - 11:30pm and Sat 7:30am - 6:00 EST. Keep us posted on the outcome!

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

Jessica,

I spoke to customer service. My Lacrosse was purchased over the weekend. The vehicle was originally purchased in Canada. Customer service said my vehicle could be unserviceable in the United States. Can you tell me if the update to the Infotainment center is subject to this issue.

 

[Buick Customer Service]

Hi coachaward,

I do apologize that I am unable to provide technical advice regarding this concern. Were you able to speak with your local dealership? The customer care department in Canada would be happy to get you in contact with a technician who can provide further assistance.

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

Jessica,

I spoke to customer service. My Lacrosse was purchased over the weekend. The vehicle was originally purchased in Canada. Customer service said my vehicle could be unserviceable in the United States. Can you tell me if the update to the Infotainment center is subject to this issue.

 

[coachaward]

I went to the dealer here in Virginia and was able to be serviced. Unfortunately the firmware update didn't fix my clock, Nav defaulting to Washington DC, Caution screen, or forgotten settings. I currently am under warranty. If the firmware update didn't fix it will the unit just have to be replaced?

Hi coachaward,

I do apologize that I am unable to provide technical advice regarding this concern. Were you able to speak with your local dealership? The customer care department in Canada would be happy to get you in contact with a technician who can provide further assistance.

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

 

[coachaward]

My radio unit is being replaced on Monday! I'm glad to have found this forum. Thank you all!

 

[Buick Customer Service]

Thank you for the update, coachaward. I hope everything is working properly for you now and I apologize for any inconvenience you've encountered throughout this process. If you ever have additional questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Laura M. (assisting Jessica)
Buick Customer Care

 

[wacokid]

Happy to hear that your concerns have been resolved! Please let us know if you ever need further assistance.

Jessica
Buick Customer Care

Although an owner of 2010 Lacrosse CXS since January 2010, I am a new member of this forum. I did visit for info on steering noise and found help. In 2012, we had the frustrating issue with the clock's failure to hold the manually entered DST time. Next time, the car was started, reverted to CST. The Dealer provided a no charge reprogram even though we were over 60K. BUT, this year, the problem returned after our manual correction to DST. Irritating but adding one hour can be done easily. BUT, 2 months ago, the clock began to display GMT time. Manual changes only remained until ignition was turned off. The mathematical calculation was too confusing and irritating so paid $95 for dealer to reprogram although they stated it was not guaranteed to fix. It Didn't!! Dealer said $2,000 replacement was only solution. I contacted Buick and they have referred it back to the dealer. Appointment scheduled in 3 days. Hope i get a $180 replacement. FYI - my Appl is U415 and the DB is V20.09.03 and 120,000 miles. I would appreciate any information that I can furnish to the dealer to help resolve this aggravating issue. Other than this - We Love our Lacrosse. Thanks
Al

 

[volkeyn]

I have bought my first Buick Lacrosse yesterday. It is 2011 at 46k, still under warranty but I just wanted to have piece of mind and get an extended contract for $2200. Car has so many electronic and power options therefore it is always good to have an extended warranty.
As I see here in the forums that it is possible to have an expensive part replaced with a minimal charge even though the car is out of warranty for long time.
So what is the point of buying an extended warranty???? Is the money paid for the extended warranties being used in the pool to make other customers happy?
Can someone from customer care give me an answer?

 

[davej89]

My 2011 LaCrosse has this issue too and is just out of warranty. Currently, I am unable to set the clock. I can change the time, but it will not "save" it, this is what prompted me to search for an TSB. Once I found the TSB, I checked for other symptoms too, my NAV defaults to Washington D.C.. The radio always defaults back to the first page of presets, and first preset station. The hard drive always defaults to the very first song in alphabetic order. I understand a software update/patch may correct this issue, however, it appears that this is something only a dealer can do. I contacted my dealer and they are aware of the issue and are happy to fix it for $110. It would be nice to give the customer the option to download and apply the update. This seems to be a well know issue with the Infotainment system. I am going to contact Buick, as well, to see if they can provide any assistance.

 

[Raggums]

While the software update sometimes fixes the problem, more often than not the only fix is to have the head unit replaced at considerable expense to the owner. Some have been quite successful in negotiating a significant discount due to this being such a wide spread problem. My '10 CXS had the software update done to no avail and ended up having the unit replaced just before the warranty expired. One thing of note to any of you that are or have experienced this issue. I don't know if its relevant but when we (i worked with the gm tech directly) pulled the defective head unit there is a cooling fan i believe on the lower left side that was failed and is possibly (i'm speculating) contributing to the failure of these systems. Just a theory.