1997 NISSAN SENTRA Owners Manual

Reclining
To recline the seatback, pull the lever up
and lean back. To bring the back of the seat
forward again, pull the lever and move your
body forward. The seatback moves forward.
WARNING
cDo not ride in a moving vehicle when
the seatback is reclined. This can be
dangerous. The shoulder belt will
not be against your body. In an acci-
dent, you could be thrown into it and
receive neck or other serious inju-
ries. You could also slide under the
lap belt and receive serious internal
injuries.cFor the most effective protection
when the vehicle is in motion, the
seat should be upright. Always sit
well back in the seat and adjust the
seat belt properly. See ``Precautions
on seat belt usage'' later in this sec-
tion.
APD0531APD0654
2-13
ZX

TILTING FRONT SEAT (2-door
model)
The front passenger's seat can be tilted to
make it easier for the rear seat passengers
to get in and out.
To tilt the front seatback forward, pull the
reclining lever up or depress the tilt lever.
The seat back tilts and the seat moves
forward automatically. Some models re-
quire the seat to be pushed forward.
To return the seat to its original position,
push the seatback up and move the whole
seat backward until it locks.
CAUTION
When returning the seat to its original
position, check that the seat and seat-
back are properly locked.
HEAD RESTRAINTS
Adjust the head restraints so the top is level
with the top of your ears.
To raise the head restraint, simply pull it up.
To lower, push the lock knob and push the
head restraint down.
WARNING
Head restraints should be adjusted
properly as they may provide significant
protection against injury in an accident.
Do not remove them. Check the adjust-
ment after someone else uses the seat.
APD0615MPA0001
2-14
ZX

REAR SEAT
Interior trunk access
(if so equipped)
The trunk can be readily accessible from the
rear seat for loading and unloading, as
shown.
cWhen returning the seatbacks to the
upright position, be certain they are
completely secured in the latched
position.
WARNING
Never allow anyone to ride in the lug-
gage area or on the rear seat when it is
in the fold-down position. Use of these
areas by passengers without proper
restraints could result in serious injury
in an accident or sudden stop.
PD1177M
2-15
ZX

This Supplemental Restraint System sec-
tion contains important information concern-
ing the driver and passenger supplemental
air bags. The Supplemental Restraint Sys-
tem Air Bag can help reduce impact force to
the driver and to the front passenger in
certain frontal collisions. The supplemental
air bags are designed tosupplementthe
crash protection provided by the driver and
front passenger seat belts and arenot a
substitutefor them. The seat belts should
always be correctly worn and the driver and
front passenger seated a suitable distance
from the steering wheel and instrument
panel. (See ``Seat belts'' for instructions and
precautions on seat belt usage.)
NOTE:
For Canada, some vehicles are not equipped
with a Supplemental Air Bag System.
Your vehicle may not have a Driver and
Passenger-side Supplemental Air Bag.
If your vehicle is not equipped with a
Supplemental Air Bag System,it will not
havethe following equipment:
cSupplemental Air Bag Warning Light
(see ``Supplemental air bag warning
light'' later in this section).cDriver Supplemental Air Bag (see
``Meters and gauges'' in the ``Instru-
ments and controls'' section).
cPassenger-side Supplemental Air Bag
(see ``Meters and gauges'' in the ``Instru-
ments and controls'' section).
cSupplemental Restraint System Warn-
ing Labels (see ``Warning labels'' later in
this section).
Every person who drives or rides in this vehicle
should use a seat belt at all times. Children
should be in appropriate child restraints (see
``Seat belts'' and ``Child restraints for infants
and small children'' later in this section).
The supplemental air bags operate only
when the ignition switch is in the ON or
START position.
SUPPLEMENTAL RESTRAINT
SYSTEM (supplemental air bag
system) (if so equipped)
2-16
ZX

WARNING
cThe supplemental air bags ordinarily
will not inflate in the event of a side
impact, rear impact, roll over, or
lower severity frontal collision. Al-
ways wear your seat belts to help
reduce the risk or severity of injury
in various kinds of accidents.
c
The seat belts and the supplemental
air bags are most effective when you
are sitting back and upright in the
seat. Supplemental air bags inflate
with great force. If you are unre-
strained, leaning forward, sittingsideways or out of position in any
way, you are at greater risk of injury
or death in a crash and may also
receive serious or fatal injuries from
the supplemental air bag if you are up
against it when it inflates. Always sit
back against the seatback and as far
away as practical from the steering
wheel or instrument panel. Always
use the seatbelts.cKeep hands on the outside of the
steering wheel. Placing them inside
the steering wheel rim could increase
the risk that they are injured when the
air bag inflates.
APD0717
2-17
ZX

APD0656APD0650
APD0651
2-18
ZX

WARNING
cNever let children ride unrestrained.
Do not attempt to hold them in your
lap or arms. Some examples of dan-
gerous riding positions are shown in
the previous illustrations.
cChildren may be severely injured or
killed when the supplemental air bag
inflates if they are not properly
restrained.
cAlso, never install a rear-facing child
restraint in the front seat. An inflat-
ing supplemental air bag could seri-
ously injure or kill your child. See
``Child restraints for infants and
small children'' for details.
APD0652
APD0653
APD0660
APD0648
2-19
ZX

The driver supplemental air bag is located in
the center of the steering wheel; the front
passenger supplemental air bag is mounted in
the dashboard above the glove box. The
supplemental air bag system is designed to
inflate in higher severity frontal collisions, al-
though it may inflate if the forces in another
type of collision are similar to those of a higher
severity frontal impact. It may not inflate in
certain frontal collisions. Vehicle damage (or
lack of it) is not always an indication of proper
supplemental air bag operation.
When the supplemental air bag inflates, a
fairly loud noise may be heard, followed bythe release of smoke. This smoke is not
harmful and does not indicate a fire, but
care should be taken to not unintentionally
inhale it, as it may cause irritation and
choking. Those with a history of breathing
trouble should get fresh air promptly.
The supplemental air bags, along with the
use of seat belts, help to cushion the impact
force on the face and chest of the occupant.
They can help save lives and reduce seri-
ous injuries. However, an inflating supple-
mental air bag may cause facial abrasions
or other injuries. Supplemental air bags do
not provide restraint to the lower body.
Seat belts should be correctly worn, and the
driver and passenger seated upright as far
as practical away from the steering wheel or
dashboard. Since the supplemental air bag
inflates quickly in order to help protect the
occupant, the force of the supplemental air
bag inflating can increase the risk of injury if
the occupant is too close to or is against the
supplemental air bag module during inflation.
The supplemental air bag deflates quickly
after a collision.
The supplemental air bags operate only
when the ignition switch is in the ON or
START position.
WARNING
c
Do not place any objects on the steer-
ing wheel pad or on the instrument
panel. Also, do not place any objects
between any occupant and the steer-
ing wheel or instrument panel. Such
objects may become dangerous pro-
jectiles and cause injury if the supple-
mental air bag inflates.
cRight after inflation, several supple-
mental air bag system components
will be hot. Do not touch them; you
may severely burn yourself.
APD0644
SUPPLEMENTAL AIR BAG
SYSTEM (if so equipped)
2-20
ZX