●When returning the seatbacks to the
upright position, be certain they are
completely secured in the latched posi-
tion. If they are not completely secured,
passengers may be injured in an acci-
dent or sudden stop.
●Closely supervise children when they
are around cars to prevent them from
playing and becoming locked in the
trunk where they could be seriously in-
jured. Keep the car locked, with the rear
seatback and trunk lid securely latched
when not in use, and prevent children’s
access to car keys.
To fold down the driver side of the rear seat, reach
through the opening and pull on the strap
1
located behind the seat.
The rear seats can be locked using the mechani-
cal key to prevent unauthorized access.
Secondary trunk lid release (if so
equipped)
For models with a rear center console, the trunk
can be accessed through the access panel be-
tween the rear seats, as shown.
●Fold down the center arm rest.
●Insert the mechanical key into the trunk com-
partment access lid lock. Fold down the
trunk compartment access lid. For more in-
formation on the mechanical key, see
“Nissan Intelligent Key™” in the Pre-driving
checks and adjustments chapter.
●Pull the rear seat trunk release handle
1.
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1-6Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system
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Owners Manual—USA_English(nna)
10/21/08—tbrooks
5. Check to make sure the child restraint is
properly secured prior to each use. If the
child restraint is loose, repeat steps 2
through 4.
CHILD RESTRAINT INSTALLATION
USING THE SEAT BELTS
WARNING
●Even with the NISSAN Advanced Air
Bag System, never install a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger
seat. Front air bags inflate with great
force. A rear-facing child restraint could
be struck by the front air bag in a crash
and could seriously injure or kill your
child.●NISSAN recommends that child re-
straints be installed in the rear seat.
However, if you must install a front-
facing child restraint in the front pas-
senger seat, move the passenger seat
to the rearmost position. Also, be sure
the front passenger air bag status light
is illuminated to indicate the passenger
air bag is OFF. See “Front passenger air
bag and status light” later in this sec-
tion for details.
●The three-point seat belt in your vehicle
is equipped with an Automatic Locking
Retractor (ALR) which must be used
when installing a child restraint.
●Failure to use the ALR mode will result
in the child restraint not being properly
secured. The restraint could tip over or
otherwise be unsecured and cause in-
jury to the child in a sudden stop or
collision.
●A child restraint with a top tether strap
should not be used in the front passen-
ger seat.
The instructions in this section apply to child
restraint installation using the vehicle seat belts in
the rear seat or the front passenger seat.
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7. Check that the retractor is in the ALR mode
by trying to pull more seat belt out of the
retractor. If you cannot pull any more seat
belt webbing out of the retractor, the retrac-
tor is in the ALR mode.
8. Check to make sure that the child restraint is
properly secured prior to each use. If the
seat belt is not locked, repeat steps 3
through 6.
After the child restraint is removed and the seat
belt fully retracted, the ALR mode (child restraint
mode) is canceled.
PRECAUTIONS ON BOOSTER
SEATS
WARNING
●Infants and small children should al-
ways be placed in an appropriate child
restraint while riding in the vehicle.
Failure to use a child restraint or
booster seat can result in serious injury
or death.●Infants and small children should never
be carried on your lap. It is not possible
for even the strongest adult to resist the
forces of a severe accident. The child
could be crushed between the adult and
parts of the vehicle. Also, do not put the
same seat belt around both your child
and yourself.
●NISSAN recommends that the booster
seat be installed in the rear seat. Ac-
cording to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seat than in the front seat. If
you must install a booster seat in the
front seat, see “Booster seat installa-
tion” in this section.
●A booster seat must only be installed in
a seating position that has a
lap/shoulder belt. Failure to use a
three-point type seat belt with a
booster seat can result in a serious in-
jury in sudden stop or collision.
●Improper use or improper installation
of a booster seat can increase the risk
or severity of injury for both the child
and other occupants of the vehicle and
can lead to serious injury or death in an
accident.
ARS1098
BOOSTER SEATS
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-31
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●Make sure the child’s head will be properly
supported by the booster seat or vehicle
seat. The seatback must be at or above the
center of the child’s ears. For example, if a
low back booster seat
1is chosen, the
vehicle seatback must be at or above the
center of the child’s ears. If the seatback is
lower than the center of the child’s ears, a
high back booster seat
2should be used.
●If the booster seat is compatible with your
vehicle, place your child in the booster seat
and check the various adjustments to be
sure the booster seat is compatible with your
child. Always follow all recommended pro-
cedures.All U.S. states and Canadian provinces or
territories require that infants and small
children be restrained in an approved child
restraint at all times while the vehicle is
being operated.
The instructions in this section apply to booster
seat installation in the rear seats or the front
passenger seat.
BOOSTER SEAT INSTALLATION
WARNING
●NISSAN recommends that booster
seats be installed in the rear seat. How-
ever, if you must install a booster seat in
the front passenger seat, move the pas-
senger’s seat to the rearmost position.
CAUTION
Do not use the lap/shoulder belt Auto-
matic Locking Retractor mode when using
a booster seat with the seat belts.
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ger air bag to be automatically turned OFF. For
small adults it may be turned OFF, however 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 ALR 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 occupant
classification sensor and seat belt sensors are
designed to operate as described above to turn
the front passenger air bag OFF for specified
child restraints as required by the regulations.
Failing to properly secure child restraints and to
use the ALR mode (child restraint mode) may
allow the restraint to tip or move in an accident or
sudden stop. This can also result in the passen-
ger air bag inflating in a crash instead of being
OFF. See “Child restraints” earlier in this section
for proper use and installation.If the front passenger seat is not occupied 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 occupant
classification 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 with the seat occupied.
The light will not illuminate when the front pas-
senger seat is unoccupied.
If an adult occupant is in the seat but the passen-
ger air bag status light is illuminated (indicating
that the air bag is OFF) , it could be that the
person is a small adult, or is not sitting on the seat
properly or not using the seat belt properly.
If a child restraint must be used in the front seat,
the passenger air bag status light may or may not
be illuminated, depending on the size of the child
and the type of child restraint being used. If the air
bag status light is not illuminated (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. Make sure that the child restraint isinstalled properly, the seat belt is used properly
and the occupant is positioned properly. If the air
bag status light is not illuminated, reposition the
occupant or child restraint in a rear seat.
If the passenger air bag status light will not illu-
minate even though you believe that the child
restraint, the seat belts and the occupant are
properly positioned, the system may be sensing
an unoccupied seat (in which case the air bag is
OFF) . Your NISSAN dealer can check that the
system is OFF by using a special tool. However,
until you have confirmed with your dealer that
your air bag is working properly, reposition the
occupant or child restraint in a rear seat.
The air bag system and passenger air bag status
light will take a few seconds to register a change
in the passenger seat status. For example, if a
large adult who is sitting in the front passenger
seat exits the vehicle, the passenger air bag
status light will go from OFF to ON for a few
seconds and then to OFF. This is normal system
operation and does not indicate a malfunction.
If a malfunction occurs in the front passenger air
bag system, the supplemental air bag warning
light
, located in the meter and gauges area
on the driver’s side of the instrument panel, will
blink. Have the system checked by a NISSAN
dealer.
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Owners Manual—USA_English(nna)
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FUEL GAUGE
The gauge indicates theapproximatefuel level
in the tank.
The gauge may move slightly during braking,
turning, acceleration, or going up or down hills.
The gauge needle returns to E (Empty) after the
ignition is placed in the OFF position.
The low fuel warning light comes on when the
amount of fuel in the tank is getting low.
Refill the fuel tank before the gauge regis-
ters E (Empty) .The
indicates that the fuel-filler door is
located on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
CAUTION
●If the vehicle runs out of fuel,
the
Malfunction Indicator Light
(MIL) may come on. Refuel as soon as
possible. After a few driving trips,
the
light should turn off. If the
light remains on after a few driving
trips, have the vehicle inspected by a
NISSAN dealer.
●For additional information, see “Mal-
function Indicator Light (MIL)” later in
this section.This unit measures terrestrial magnetism and in-
dicates the heading direction of the vehicle.
With the ignition placed in the ON position, press
the
button as described in the charts be-
low to activate various features of the automatic
anti-glare rearview mirror.
Push and hold
the
button for about:Feature:
(Push button again for about 1 sec-
ond to change settings)
1 second Compass display toggles on/off
8 secondsCompass zone can be changed to
correct false compass readings
10 seconds Compass enters calibration mode
For information about the automatic anti-glare
feature, refer to “Automatic anti-glare rearview
mirror” in the “Pre-driving checks and adjust-
ments” section.
LIC1385
COMPASS DISPLAY (if so equipped)
2-6Instruments and controls
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Owners Manual—USA_English(nna)
10/20/08—debbie
HOW TO USE THE VEHICLE
INFORMATION DISPLAY
Press thebutton, located on the instru-
ment panel just behind the steering wheel, to
display the following modes:
MPG→MPG/MPH→Time/Miles→Range→
Exterior Temperature→Setting→WarningFuel Economy mode
The fuel economy mode can be selected to dis-
play the instant fuel economy since the last reset.Average speed mode
The average speed mode can be selected to
display the average miles per gallon and miles per
hour since the last reset.
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10/20/08—debbie
PROGRAMMING HOMELINK
1. To begin, press and hold the two outer
HomeLinkbuttons (to clear the memory)
until the indicator light
1blinks (after 20
seconds) . Release both buttons.
2. Position the end of the hand-held transmitter
1 - 3 inches (26 - 76 mm) away from the
HomeLinksurface.3. Using both hands, simultaneously press and
hold both the HomeLinkbutton you want to
program and the hand-held transmitter but-
ton.
DO NOT release the buttons until step 4 has
been completed.
4. Hold down both buttons until the indicator
light on the HomeLinkflashes, changing
from a “slow blink” to a “rapidly flashing
blink”. This could take up to 90 seconds.
When the indicator light flashes rapidly, both
buttons may be released. The rapidly flash-
ing light indicates successful programming.
To activate the garage door or other pro-grammed device, press and hold the pro-
grammed HomeLinkbutton — releasing
when the device begins to activate.
5. If the indicator light on the HomeLinkblinks
rapidly for 2 seconds and then turns solid,
HomeLinkhas picked up a “rolling code”
garage door opener signal. You will need to
proceed with the next steps to train the
HomeLinkto complete the programming
which may require a ladder and another per-
son for convenience.
6. Press and release the “smart” or “learn” pro-
gram button located on the garage door
opener’s motor to activate the “training
mode”. This button is usually located near
the antenna wire that hangs down from the
motor. If the wire originates from under a
light lens, you will need to remove the lens to
access the program button.
NOTE:
Once you have pressed and released the
program button on the garage door open-
er’s motor and the “training light” is lit, you
have 30 seconds in which to perform step 7.
Use the help of a second person for conve-
nience to assist when performing this step.
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2-52Instruments and controls
REVIEW COPY—2009 Maxima(max)
Owners Manual—USA_English(nna)
10/20/08—debbie