mmarshall

I'm coming up on 11 months ownership now on my 2018 Lacrosse (picked it up last August), and did a 6-month analysis. I'll do the one-year summary now, since I know I'm behind on regular reviews, and plan to spend the next several weeks at least starting to catch up (Bagwell, I know you still have that request for the Edge Sport).

Since the last threads I did on my car were practically a whole book, and the threads (and responses) went on forever, I'll be a little more brief this time.....and just separate what I'm satisfied with, and what I'm not. If any of you have questions or comments on any one item, we can take it from there.

Since I'm retired and don't commute every day or go on long vacations, I don't put a whole lot of miles on it, and am averaging about 500 or so a month (6000 miles a year).....which is still a fair amount, though less than the national average.


What I'm Satisfied with.

Excellent ride comfort (among the best) by today's standards...though not as silky, of course, as with the behemoth American luxury cars of the 1970s. Note: My car has the 18" wheels, not the 20s pictured above, which ride more stiffly.

Good handling/steering response considering the comfort level....in that regard, this is definitely not Grandpa's Buick. Still, you know you are not in a sport sedan, and somewhat isolated from the road (which is just the way I like it).

Typical Buick library-quiet sound insulation, except over the most coarse road pavement, and, even then, it is not bad at all.

3.6L V6 and 9-speed transmission have more power than I ever need....and a very low noise level under the hood, except for the DI fuel-injection pulses, which emit a faint thrumming noise.

Paint job is stunning in the sun. Normally, I don't care for gray, but GM's Pepperdust, though brownish-gray and dull-looking in the shade, is just beautiful in the sun, with its gold-flake effect mixed in the gray, and it you really look very close, you can even see very tiny speckles of red, blue, and purple intermixed with the general goldish hue. Another excellent-looking gray is the Lexus Atomic Silver, but that's a subject for another thread.

Excellent front seat comfort by today's standards....most vehicles, even some other Buicks, have seat-padding that is too firm for my tastes. The Lacrosse seats basically cush your tush. But, instead of Leatherette or real leather, I'd still prefer soft velour-cloth...Buick doesn't use that any more.

Consumer Reports gave the redesigned 2017 Lacrosse very low marks for reliability (mostly transmission and video-screen), but I haven't (yet) had any major or significant problems with mine.....at least anything that I think needs repair. The 2017 also had a different transmission than mine.

Am VERY pleased with fuel economy. The engine start/stop system at idle may be a PITA (even without a shut-off, there are several ways around it, if desired), but it works seamlessly most of the time....as does the cylinder-shutdown on the V6 at cruise. I'm averaging low-to-mid-20s in town (on regular gas) and well over 30 on the highway. That's better than I was getting with my smaller Verano and its four-cylinder.....the latest Lacrosse's weight reduction and engine/fuel tricks really do the job on gas mileage.

Gas struts that hold up the hood are a true pleasure to have. Up to now, every car that I have owned since the 1970s has had a cheap prop-rod to fumble with.

Cap-less fuel-filler system nice to have at gas stations.....and eliminates the possibility of driving off and leaving an untethered cap (or one with a broken tether-strap) sitting on the pump or on the ground.

Also, though it is not part of the car itself, I am also very pleased with the service I get at my local Chevy/GMC/Buick shop...IMO better than what I got at the Lexus shop not that far away, when I owned one of their products.




What I'm Not Satisfied with.

Throttle-by-wire system and 9-speed automatic ultra-smooth on most shifts, but can sometimes hiccup or surge a little at lower speeds and on/off throttle. GM's FWD 6-speed automatic (which the 9-speed was developed from) also does that a little.

Sheet metal too thin for my tastes....that was one of the casualties of the 300-lb. weight-reduction the engineers gave the redesigned 2017 version. In comparison, my Verano's doors were like a tank. On the Lacrosse, one seam at the edge of the front bumper/vinyl was also loosely attached at the factory....but it's no big deal, and has not significantly separated. The tin-can sheet metal, though, along with some underhood features, really helps with the fuel economy, as noted above.

Too many of the climate-control functions are accessable only on the video screen....IMO it needs dash buttons for the A/C and vent modes. The tiny little pin-hole orange light indicator for the system's recirc-mode is impossible to see in sunlight....I have to hold my hand over it to shade it.

The Buick emblem in the steering wheel is a cheap-looking chrome outline....it should have been changed to the tri-color, like on the exterior. The steering wheel itself, though solid and well-built, is also somewhat awkward-looking, especially compared to the beautiful wood steering wheel on the Lexus ES.

There is no hood-emblem like on yesterday's big Buicks...although, with some of the teen-agers in my neighborhood, one probably wouldn't last very long anyway LOL.

The electronic dash-gauges sometimes take their time coming up or going off with engine start-up or shutdown....and the red engine-warning lights have a mind of their own coming on and off with the ignition when you first start up. Fortunately, there are needle-gauges for all of the engine functions except oil-pressure....there's even one for oil temperature and voltmeter, unusual in non-sport oriented passenger cars.

The headlights could be a little better at night in really dark areas, though I live in an area where everything is lit up for miles around at night, with street-lights and building-lights, so the headlight issue is usually not that big a deal.

I've gotten used to the E-shifter, but I still think it is a gimmick, and would prefer a traditional one either on the console or the steering column.

I miss the automatic tilt-down mirrors when the car goes into reverse......it is available on more expensive Lacrosse models, and with some expensive packages that I felt were not (otherwise) worth the money. Still, I play with the power-mirror switch quite a bit when backing up or pulling forward again....it helps me back into white-striped parking spaces better than the rear-camera, which has distracting color-bars all over the place.



OVERALL..........best car I've owned, from a comfort standpoint and being pleasant to drive, since the big Buick I had in college many decades ago, but not as solidly-built as my Verano, and not as versatile (especially in winter) as my Outback wagon. Even with its few faults, however, I absolutely love driving this car, which I look forward to every day. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.

Fizzboy7

Why not show pics of your own car? That is what usually comes with personal online car reviews.

mmarshall

My rather old cellphone's shots aren't that good, but, if you want some, I'll take a few.

Johnhav430

Not trying to be funny, how about a shot of the front brake rotors which would depict their condition after a year on the road....bet they have no rust because of the GM FNC process. I noticed this AM on a new style Camry, the rotors were rusted nicely. Also see that on my Lexus OE brakes, the vanes have rusted. Kinda cool that GM did that process right and seem to be ahead of the curve...

mmarshall

Well, unless they are made out of ceramic materials or expensive stainless steel (which you are usually not going to find on mainstream production cars), virtually all steel rotors are going to pick up a thin layer of brownish rust on them if not used regularly, especially in a humid climate or right after you have gotten them wet during a wash. With most of the disc-brake cars I've owned, you will get some groaning and vibration in the brakes the first couple of times you (gently) use the pedal after the rust forms, because the pads, especially on a gentle push, are abrading the rust instead of the rotor surface itself. After a couple of pedal-pushes (or, on average, a quarter to half a mile), the pedal gets smooth and quiet again. That's normal....and the rust usually wears away after a couple of pushes. I've had my neighbors come to me and ask if there is something wrong with their brakes because they have experienced that, too, right after a wash or a bout with rainy weather. I usually tell them no, it's perfectly normal, and they have no more problems.

Johnhav430

Well the GM rotors start like this (as do BMW)




While most cars start out like this





I thought the only difference was paint, not realizing it was an entire process called FNC, where rotors are baked at 1000F+ and the resultant coating is 1/2 the diameter of a human hair. The results speak for themselves for sure 5-7 yrs. down the road, but even after 1....

mmarshall

OK.....That's something that you probably know more about than I do. I don't keep up wth every small detail on the latest rotor-manufacturing processes. I do know, however, that the ceramic rotors, which of course don't rust, and can withstand thousands of degrees of heat without warping, are not likely going to be found on mainstream family sedans...they are going to be on very high-performance cars like the Porsche GT2 and GT3.

rogerh00

--as far as the E-shifter goes, I've read GM is including it's second iteration of the digital shifter in the upcoming 2019 XT4 and CT6. Details of what has changed is not clear.

--I agree I'd like to see the plush cloth seats make a comeback.

--yes, dash buttons are needed not only for climate control but also the radio. My XT5 has no **** for volume/on-off. Very poor design.

--cap less fuel filler is a nice touch.

--Do you have a spare tire included? My XT5 has none and I don't like it.

I'm glad to hear you like your Buick which tells me GM is doing a good job now. My XT5 is problem free after 6 months now.

mmarshall

Good point.....my guess is that the L-shaped pattern for reverse will probably be redone. That, and the fact that you have to pull the lever back one notch to put the system both into and OUT of manual mode, confuses some people.

Yes....weren't they nice? But many of the people who liked those seats, though, are aging, and demand for vehicles with them is generally going down. People nowadays think that leather is the ultimate mark of luxury-seats.

Check your steering wheel. Most GM vehicles (and many others as well) have a button or switch on the wheel-spoke to adjust or mute the stereo volume.

Yes, in most cases....but I wonder how they repair (or replace) the spring-mechanism inside the pipe that forces the lid closed after you pull the nozzle out. They might (?) have to replace the whole pipe-assembly....I don't know, as I have never owned one before or had it break.

Not a real spare tire....the usual full-sized temporary spare. At least it's better than nothing.

Thanks. I don't think it is as well-built as the Opel-derived Verano I owned previously, which had noticeably more substantial sheet metal and interior hardware (I knew that when I ordered the car, and knew what I was getting). But the Lacrosse, IMO, with a couple of minor exceptions, is a true pleasure to drive, and and, though it is still early, so far, the V6 has avoided any sign of the oil-use that plagued the GM 2.4L in-line non-turbo four. A number of different GM vehicles, including non-turbo Veranos, used that engine. The new Lacrosse also doesn't have the mysterious trunk-opening problem (by itself) that plagued some earlier Buicks.

Congratulations, BTW, on the XT5 purchase (or lease?)...and glad to hear it has been reliable so far. . Maybe I just forgot, but I don't remember you getting one. Best of luck with it.

Toys4RJill

mmarshall

The vertical, shiny part of the rotors that you posted (it is normal for them to have circular, microscopic wear-grooves in them like that)....that is the part of the rotor which, as I described previously, will show some rust after getting wet, and cause a scraping or grinding noise for a couple of pedal-pushes until the rust wears off from the pad-pressure.

I can see what the effects of the salt used in Canadian winters is doing to the wheel rims. Try to keep them as clean as possible, but I know that can be difficult in your region when the temperature is well-below freezing for days at a stretch. It's difficult enough here in D.C., with a significantly more mild climate.

Johnhav430

hahaha you are correct! I wonder, how do I take my obsession/interest to the next level? I have never created a login at bitog, is that where the true geeks reign supreme??!

I am really impressed that GM would have done what they did on the discs, like BMW. I get that for them the motivation is the reduction of warranty claims (they say 70% reduction), but in the end, it's good for GM owners. And again, I had no idea that it was more than "paint." It's a 560C baking over an entire day and a chemical reaction process.

This is what a GM OE disc looks like, having spent 8 days on my wife's car. You can see that the vanes also have the reaction and should be protected. Unlike painting the hats, imho this means the only unprotected areas are where the pads sweep. My LS430 OE disc has about 26k miles, and the surface resembles your top pic. But the vanes more resemble your 4Runner pic. The Toyota OE discs have gray, not black, hats, which are matte, as opposed to glossy. They also have a cross-hatched surface. imho the way you know they are not aftermarket is the gray rather than glossy black hats. Otherwise, they really do look like aftermarket Centrics.

I did notice that the 6.5 y.o. GM OE rotor was severely rusted on the inside of the hat, as is the BMW. I think that this means that the area that is constantly exposed, eventually this coating is destroyed. For example, the back of the hub where the studs protrude, that's severely rusted. But this FNC process of baking the rotors for a day @ 560C with nitrogen, it likely puts off the rust likely long enough even for warranty concerns, i.e. 3 yrs or so....my .02

Johnhav430

So MM, on top of your car experience, how has your service experience been?

Our has been terrible to the point of very simple issues. We pay here in PA for state inspections. If you don't have a "coupon" you likely will be @ $75-$90 (stupid I know). To coupon prices, like $44.95, they add sticker fees and shop charges and you'd likely be $53 out the door.

Something this simple, our dealer overcharged, $49.95, and lo and behold the month changed, to our disadvantage (in 18 yrs. of inspections that never happened). Multiple calls to the dealer, no response. This is why I could never ever buy another Buick GMC Cadillac. Because since 2011 this has been par for the course across 5 dealerships!

I bought my LS430 from a Buick GMC in Westchester, and after the fact my brakes pulsated and driver door actuator was busted. They fixed all this for no charge, using Lexus OE brake parts (not sure about the actuator). The actuator is common and a $840 job at Lexus. So I got friendly with the service manager and he did share with me that GM is generally not that great for service and he is put in a tough situation as far as customer service scenarios that one would think are no-brainers. 1 yr. later? He's gone.

So if your service is good, is it exceptional somehow, or just no problems? Over the years I have caught them not performing work they say they did which is why now I avoid like the plague.

Another example, they send coupons, so I see the coolant service for like $49.95 up to blah blah blah Dexcool. I go in and the SA says there's no way we can do it for that price, maybe $129. HUH?! lol can't make it up. I say it has your dealership name on it and you mailed it to me. Guy goes I know I believe you but no way we can do it for that little.

SW17LS

Johnhav430

My dad used to use that as a line which separated nice cars from ordinary cars....not sure what dealer handles Rockville but better check out Yelp imho if your buddy is used to Honda service. my .02

edit: I could not resist and I looked it up myself. quite a few 1 star reviews on Yelp, it's mind-boggling. The reviews are so detailed it's highly unlikely customers are making it up...