2009 NISSAN SENTRA tow

Interior trunk access (if so equipped)
The trunk can be accessed from the rear seat for
loading and unloading, as shown.
1. Stow outboard seat belts with clip before
folding rear seatbacks.
When folding the passenger’s side rear seat-
back, first disconnect and stow the center seat
belt. See “Stowing the rear center seat belt” later
in this section.2. Pull up on the strap
Alocated on the top
outboard side of the seat to be folded.
3. Fold seatback down.
WARNING
●Never allow anyone to ride in the cargo
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 acci-
dent or sudden stop.●Properly secure all cargo with ropes or
straps to help prevent it from sliding or
shifting. Do not place cargo higher than
the seatbacks. In a sudden stop or col-
lision, unsecured cargo could cause
personal injury.
●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.
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1-4Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system
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Folding the rear cushions and
seatbacks (if so equipped)
1. Lift up on the front edge of the seat cushion
and fold it toward the front of the vehicle.2. Fold down the rear head restraint. Pull the
head restraint forward and rotate until it
clicks into the locked position1.
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Fastening the seat belts
1. Adjust the seat. See “Seats” earlier in this
section.
2Slowly pull the seat belt out of the retractor
and insert the tongue into the buckle until
you hear and feel the latch engage.
●The retractor is designed to lock during
a sudden stop or on impact. A slow
pulling motion permits the seat belt to
move, and allows you some freedom of
movement in the seat.
●If the seat belt cannot be pulled from
its fully retracted position, firmly pull
the belt and release it. Then smoothly
pull the belt out of the retractor.3Position the lap belt portionlow and snug
on the hipsas shown.
4Pull the shoulder belt portion toward the
retractor to take up extra slack. Be sure the
shoulder belt is routed over your shoulder
and across your chest.
The front passenger seat and the rear seating
positions three-point seat belts have two modes
of operation:
●Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR)
●Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR)
Manual front seat shown
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Stowing the rear center seat belt
When folding down the rear seat, the center seat
belt can be retracted into a stowed position as
follows:
1Hold the connector tongue so that the seat
belt does not retract suddenly when the
tongue is released from the connector
buckle. Release the connector tongue by
inserting a suitable tool such as key into the
connector buckle
A.
2Retract the seat belt up to the retractor base.
3Insert the seat belt connector buckle into the
fabric sleeve to stow.
WARNING
●Do not unfasten the rear center seat
belt connector except when folding
down the rear seat.
●When attaching the rear center seat
belt connector, be certain that the seat-
backs are completely secured in the
latched position and the rear center
seat belt connector is completely
secured.●If the rear center seat belt connector
and the seatbacks are not secured in
the correct position, serious personal
injury may result in an accident or sud-
den stop.
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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.●Do not use towels, books, pillows or
other items in place of a booster seat.
Items such as these may move during
normal driving or a collision and result
in serious injury or death. Booster seats
are designed to be used with a
lap/shoulder belt. Booster seats are de-
signed to properly route the lap and
shoulder portions of the seat belt over
the strongest portions of a child’s body
to provide the maximum protection dur-
ing a collision.
●Follow all of the booster seat manufac-
turer’s instructions for installation and
use. When purchasing a booster seat,
be sure to select one which will fit your
child and vehicle. It may not be possible
to properly install some types of
booster seats in your vehicle.
●If the booster seat and seat belt is not
used properly, the risk of a child being
injured in a collision or a sudden stop
greatly increases.
●Adjustable seatbacks should be posi-
tioned to fit the booster seat, but as
upright as possible.
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BOOSTER SEATS
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3. The booster seat should be positioned on
the vehicle seat so that it is stable. If neces-
sary, adjust or remove the head restraint to
obtain the correct booster seat fit. See
“Head restraint adjustment” earlier in this
section.
If the head restraint is removed, store it in a
secure place. Be sure to reinstall the head
restraint when the booster seat is removed.
If the seating position does not have an
adjustable head restraint and it is interfering
with the proper booster seat fit, try another
seating position or a different booster seat.4. Position the lap portion of the seat belt low
and snug on the child’s hips. Be sure to
follow the booster seat manufacturer’s in-
structions for adjusting the seat belt routing.
5. Pull the shoulder belt portion of the seat belt
toward the retractor to take up extra slack.
Be sure the shoulder belt is positioned
across the top, middle portion of the child’s
shoulder. Be sure to follow the booster seat
manufacturer’s instructions for adjusting the
seat belt routing.
Rear center position
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Rear outboard position
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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
in the center of the instrument panel, will blink.
Have the system checked by a NISSAN dealer.
Other supplemental front-impact air bag
precautions
WARNING
●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 steering
wheel or instrument panel. Such ob-
jects may become dangerous projec-
tiles and cause injury if the front air
bags inflate.●Immediately after inflation, several
front air bag system components will be
hot. Do not touch them; you may se-
verely burn yourself.
●No unauthorized changes should be
made to any components or wiring of
the supplemental air bag system. This is
to prevent accidental inflation of the
supplemental air bag or damage to the
supplemental air bag system.
●Do not make unauthorized changes to
your vehicle’s electrical system, sus-
pension system or front end structure.
This could affect proper operation of
the front air bag system.
●Tampering with the front air bag system
may result in serious personal injury.
Tampering includes changes to the
steering wheel and the instrument
panel assembly by placing material
over the steering wheel pad and above
the instrument panel or by installing
additional trim material around the air
bag system.●Modifying or tampering with the front
passenger seat may result in serious
personal injury. For example, do not
change the front seats by placing mate-
rial on the seat cushion or by installing
additional trim material, such as seat
covers, on the seat that are not specifi-
cally designed to assure proper air bag
operation. Additionally, do not stow any
objects under the front passenger seat
or the seat cushion and seatback. Such
objects may interfere with the proper
operation of the occupant classifica-
tion sensor (pressure sensor) .
●No unauthorized changes should be
made to any components or wiring of
the seat belt system. This may affect the
front air bag system. Tampering with
the seat belt system may result in seri-
ous personal injury.
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-51
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CHECKING BULBS
With all doors closed, apply the parking brake
and place the ignition switch in the ON position
without starting the engine. The following lights
will come on:
or,,,,,
If equipped, the following lights come on briefly
and then go off:
or,,,
If any light fails to come on, it may indicate
an open circuit in the electrical system.
Have the system repaired promptly.
WARNING LIGHTS
orAnti-lock Braking
System (ABS)
warning light (if so
equipped)
When the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
warning light illuminates and then turns off. This
indicates the ABS is operational.If the ABS warning light illuminates while the
engine is running, or while driving, it may indicate
the ABS is not functioning properly. Have the
system checked by a NISSAN dealer.
If an ABS malfunction occurs, the anti-lock func-
tion is turned off. The brake system then operates
normally, but without anti-lock assistance. See
Brake systemin theStarting and drivingsec-
tion.
orBrake warning light
This light functions for both the parking brake and
the foot brake systems.
Brake warning light
This light functions for both the parking brake and
the foot brake systems.
Parking brake indicator
When the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, the light comes on when the parking
brake is applied.
Low brake fluid warning light
When the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, the light warns of a low brake fluid level.
If the light comes on while the engine is running
with the parking brake not applied, stop the ve-
hicle and perform the following:1. Check the brake fluid level. Add brake fluid
as necessary. See “Brake fluid” in the “Main-
tenance and do-it-yourself” section of this
manual.
2. If the brake fluid level is correct, have the
warning system checked by a NISSAN
dealer.
WARNING
●Your brake system may not be working
properly if the warning light is on. Driv-
ing could be dangerous. If you judge it
to be safe, drive carefully to the nearest
service station for repairs. Otherwise,
have your vehicle towed because driv-
ing it could be dangerous.
●Pressing the brake pedal with the en-
gine stopped and/or a low brake fluid
level may increase your stopping dis-
tance and braking will require greater
pedal effort as well as pedal travel.
●If the brake fluid level is below the
MINIMUM or MIN mark on the brake
fluid reservoir, do not drive until the
brake system has been checked at a
NISSAN dealer.
Instruments and controls2-9
REVIEW COPY—2009 Sentra(sen)
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