
WARNING
cNever let children ride unrestrained or
extend their hands or face out of the
window. Do not attempt to hold them in
your lap or arms. Some examples of
dangerous riding positions are shown
in the illustrations.
ARS1133ARS1041
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental air bags1-17
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WARNING
cChildren may be severely injured or
killed when the supplemental front air
bags, side air bags or curtain side-
impact and rollover air bags inflate if
they are not properly restrained. Pre-
teens and children should be properly
restrained in the rear seat, if possible.
ARS1042ARS1043ARS1044
1-18Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental air bags
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WARNING
cEven with the NISSAN Advanced Air
Bag System, never install a rear-facing
child restraint in the front seat. An in-
flating supplemental front air bag could
seriously injure or kill your child. See
“Child restraints” later in this section
for details.WARNING
Supplemental side air bag (if so equipped)
and curtain side-impact and rollover air
bag:
cThe supplemental side air bag and cur-
tain side-impact and rollover air bag
ordinarily will not inflate in the event of
a frontal impact, rear impact, or lower
severity side collision. Always wear
your seat belts to help reduce the risk or
severity of injury in various kinds of
accidents.
ARS1045WRS0256
Do not lean against the door.
WRS0431
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WARNING
cThe seat belts, the supplemental side
air bags and curtain side-impact and
rollover air bags are most effective
when you are sitting well back and up-
right in the seat. The side air bag and
curtain air bag inflate with great force.
Do not allow anyone to place their
hand, leg or face near the side air bag
on the side of the seatback of the front
seat or near the side roof rails. Do not
allow anyone sitting in the front seats or
rear outboard seats to extend their
hand out of the window or lean against
the door. Some examples of dangerous
riding positions are shown in the previ-
ous illustrations.
Do not lean against doors or windows.
WRS0365
Do not lean against doors or windows.
SSS0162
1-20Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental air bags
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WARNING
cWhen sitting in the 2nd row rear seat, do
not hold onto the seatback of the front
seat. If the side air bag inflates, you may
be seriously injured. Be especially care-
ful with children, who should always be
properly restrained. Some examples of
dangerous riding positions are shown
in the illustrations.
cDo not use seat covers on the front
seatbacks. They may interfere with
supplemental side air bag inflation.
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supplemental front air bag is mounted in the
dashboard above the glove box. The supplemen-
tal front air bags are designed to inflate in higher
severity frontal collisions, although they may in-
flate if the forces in another type of collision are
similar to those of a higher severity frontal impact.
They may not inflate in certain frontal collisions.
Vehicle damage (or lack of it) is not always an
indication of proper supplemental front air bag
system operation.
The NISSAN advanced air bag system has dual
stage inflators. It also monitors information from
the crash zone sensor, the diagnosis sensor unit,
seat belt buckle sensors, occupant classification
sensor (weight sensor) and passenger seat belt
tension sensor. Inflator operation is based on the
severity of a collision and seat belt usage for the
driver. For the front passenger, it additionally
monitors the weight of an occupant or object on
the seat and seat belt tension. Based on informa-
tion from the sensors, only one front air bag may
inflate in a crash, depending on the crash severity
and whether the front occupants are belted or
unbelted. Additionally, the front passenger air
bag may be automatically turned OFF under
some conditions, depending on the weight de-
tected on the passenger seat and how the seat
belt is used. If the front passenger air bag is OFF,
the passenger air bag status light will be illumi-
nated. See “Front passenger air bag and statuslight” later in this section for further details. One
front air bag inflating does not indicate improper
performance of the system.
If you have any questions about your air bag
system, please contact NISSAN or your NISSAN
dealer. If you are considering modification of your
vehicle due to a disability, you may also contact
NISSAN. Contact information is contained in the
front of this Owner’s Manual.
When a supplemental front air bag inflates, a
fairly loud noise may be heard, followed by the
release of smoke. This smoke is not harmful and
does not indicate a fire. Care should be taken to
not inhale it, as it may cause irritation and chok-
ing. Those with a history of a breathing condition
should get fresh air promptly.
Supplemental front air bags, along with the use of
seat belts, help to cushion the impact force on
the face and chest of the front occupants. They
can help save lives and reduce serious injuries.
However, an inflating front air bag may cause
facial abrasions or other injuries. Front air bags
do not provide restraint to the lower body.
Even with NISSAN advanced air bags, seat belts
should be correctly worn and the driver and pas-
senger seated upright as far as practical away
from the steering wheel or instrument panel. The
supplemental front air bags inflate quickly in order
to help protect the front occupants. Because ofthis, the force of the front air bag inflating can
increase the risk of injury if the occupant is too
close to, or is against, the front air bag module
during inflation.
The front air bags deflate quickly after a collision.
The supplemental front air bags operate
only when the ignition switch is in the ON
or START position.
After turning the ignition key to the ON
position, the supplemental air bag warning
light illuminates. The supplemental air bag
warning light will turn off after about 7
seconds if the system is operational.
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental air bags1-23
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Front passenger air bag and status light
WARNING
The front passenger air bag is designed to
automatically turn OFF under some con-
ditions. Read this section carefully to
learn how it operates. Proper use of the
seat, seat belt and child restraints is nec-
essary for most effective protection. Fail-
ure to follow all instructions in this
manual concerning the use of seats, seat
belts and child restraints can increase the
risk or severity of injury in an accident.Status light
The front passenger air bag status lightoris located under the climate controls. It
will illuminate to indicate that the front passenger
air bag is OFF and will not inflate in a crash. The
light will illuminate if the front passenger seat is
unoccupied or when other conditions are met as
outlined in this section. After turning the ignition
key to the ON position the front passenger air
bag status light illuminates and will turn off after
about 7 seconds if the system is operational.
Front passenger air bag
The front passenger air bag is designed to auto-
matically turn OFF when the vehicle is operatedunder some conditions as described below in
accordance with U.S. regulations. If the front
passenger air bag is OFF, it will not inflate in a
crash. The driver air bag and other air bags in your
vehicle are not part of this system.
The purpose of the regulation is to help reduce
the risk of injury or death from an inflating air bag
to certain front passenger seat occupants, such
as children, by requiring the air bag to be auto-
matically turned OFF. Certain sensors are used
to meet the requirements.
One sensor used is the occupant classification
sensor (weight sensor) . It is in the bottom of the
front passenger seat cushion and is designed to
detect an occupant and objects on the seat by
weight. It works together with seat belt sensors
described later. For example, if a child is in the
front passenger seat, the advanced air bag sys-
tem is designed to turn the passenger air bag
OFF in accordance with the regulations. Also, if a
child restraint of the type specified in the regula-
tions is on the seat, its weight and the child’s
weight can be detected and cause the air bag to
turn OFF. Weight sensor operation can vary de-
pending on the front passenger seat belt sen-
sors.
The front passenger seat belt sensors are de-
signed to detect if the seat belt is buckled and the
amount of tension on the seat belt, such as when
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it is in the automatic locking mode (child restraint
mode) . Based on the weight on the seat detected
by the weight sensor and the belt tension de-
tected on the seat belt, the advanced air bag
system determines whether the front passenger
air bag should be automatically turned OFF as
required by the regulations.
Front passenger seat adult occupants who are
properly seated and using the seat belt as out-
lined in this manual should not cause the passen-
ger air bag to be automatically turned OFF. For
small adults it may be turned OFF. Also, if the
occupant takes his/her weight off the seat cush-
ion (for example, by not sitting upright, by sitting
on an edge of the seat, or by otherwise being out
of position) , this could cause the sensor to turn
the air bag OFF. In addition, if the occupant
improperly uses the seat belt in the automatic
locking mode (child restraint mode) , this could
cause the air bag to be turned OFF. Always be
sure to be seated and wearing the seat belt
properly for the most effective protection by the
seat belt and supplemental air bag.
NISSAN recommends that pre-teens and chil-
dren be properly restrained in a rear seat.
NISSAN also recommends that appropriate child
restraints and booster seats be properly installed
in a rear seat. If this is not possible, the weight
sensor and seat belt sensors are designed to
operate as described above to turn the frontpassenger air bag OFF for specified child re-
straints as required by the regulations. Failing to
properly secure child restraints and to use the
automatic locking mode (child restraint mode)
may allow the restraint to tip or move in an acci-
dent or sudden stop. This can also result in the
passenger air bag inflating in a crash instead of
being OFF. See “Child restraints” later in this
section for proper use and installation.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied and
the seat belt is not buckled, the passenger air bag
is designed not to inflate in a crash. However,
heavy objects placed on the seat could result in
air bag inflation, because of the object’s weight
detected by the weight sensor. Other conditions
could also result in air bag inflation, such as if a
child is standing on the seat, or if two children are
on the seat, contrary to the instructions in this
manual. Always be sure that you and all vehicle
occupants are seated and restrained properly.
Using the passenger air bag status light, you can
monitor when the front passenger air bag is au-
tomatically turned OFF. The light will illuminate
(indicating the air bag is OFF and will not inflate)
when the front passenger seat is not occupied.
If an adult occupant is in the seat and the pas-
senger air bag status light is illuminated (indicat-
ing that the air bag is OFF) , it could be that the
person is a small adult, or is not sitting on the seator using the seat belt properly. If a child restraint
must be used in the front seat, but the status light
is not lit (indicating that the air bag might inflate in
a crash) , it could be that the child restraint or seat
belt is not being used properly. If such situations
happen, properly position and restrain the occu-
pant or child restraint. Otherwise reposition the
occupant or child restraint in a rear seat.
If a malfunction occurs in the front passenger air
bag system, the passenger air bag status
light
or, located under the climate
controls, will illuminate and the supplemental air
bag warning light
, located in the meter and
gauges area in the center of the instrument panel,
will blink. Have the system checked by a NISSAN
dealer.
Other supplemental front air bag precau-
tions
WARNING
cDo 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 steering
wheel or instrument panel. Such ob-
jects may become dangerous projec-
tiles and cause injury if the supplemen-
tal front air bag inflates.
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental air bags1-25
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