2011 INFINITI M Owners Manual

Before driving a loaded vehicle, confirm
that you do not exceed the Gross Vehicle
Weight Rating (GVWR) or the Gross Axle
Weight Rating (GAWR) for your vehicle.
(See “MEASUREMENT OF WEIGHTS” later
in this section.)
Also check tires for proper inflation pres-
sures. See the Tire and Loading Informa-
tion label.
LOADING TIPS
●The GVW must not exceed GVWR or
GAWR as specified on the
F.M.V.S.S./C.M.V.S.S. certification la-
bel.
●Do not load the front and rear axle to
the GAWR. Doing so will exceed the
GVWR.
WARNING
●Properly secure all cargo to help pre-
vent it from sliding or shifting. Do not
place cargo higher than the seat-
backs. In a sudden stop or collision,
unsecured cargo could cause per-
sonal injury.
●Do not load your vehicle any heavier
than the GVWR or the maximum front
and rear GAWRs. If you do, parts of
your vehicle can break, tire damage
could occur, or it can change the way
your vehicle handles. This could re-
sult in loss of control and cause per-
sonal injury.
●Overloading could not only shorten
the life of your vehicle and the tires,
but also could lead to hazardous ve-
hicle handling and long braking dis-
tance. This may cause a premature
tire malfunction, which could result in
a serious accident and personal in-
jury. Failures caused by overloading
are not covered by the vehicle’s
warranty.
MEASUREMENT OF WEIGHTS
Secure loose items to prevent weight
shifts that could affect the balance of
your vehicle. When the vehicle is loaded,
drive to a scale and weigh the front and
the rear wheels separately to determine
axle loads. Individual axle loads should
not exceed either of the gross axle
weight ratings (GAWR). The total of the
axle loads should not exceed the gross
vehicle weight rating (GVWR). These rat-
ings are given on the vehicle certifica-
tion label. If weight ratings are ex-
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ceeded, move or remove items to bring
all weights below the ratings.Do not tow a trailer with your vehicle.
FLAT TOWING
Towing your vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground is sometimes called flat towing. This
method is sometimes used when towing a
vehicle behind a recreational vehicle, such as a
motor home.
CAUTION
●
Failure to follow these guidelines can result
in severe transmission damage.
● Whenever flat towing your vehicle, always
tow forward, never backward.
● DO NOT tow any automatic transmission ve-
hicle with all four wheels on the ground (flat
towing). Doing so WILL DAMAGE internal
transmission parts due to lack of transmis-
sion lubrication.
● For emergency towing procedures refer to
“TOWING RECOMMENDED BY INFINITI” in the
“6. In case of emergency” section of this
manual.
Automatic transmission
To tow a vehicle equipped with an automatic
transmission, an appropriate vehicle dolly MUST
be placed under the towed vehicle’s drive
wheels. Alwaysfollow the dolly manufacturer’s
recommendations when using their product.
TOWING A TRAILER
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DOT (Department Of Transportation) Quality
Grades: All passenger car tires must conform to
federal safety requirements in addition to these
grades.
Quality grades can be found where applicable
on the tire sidewall between tread shoulder and
maximum section width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
TREADWEAR
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when tested
under controlled conditions on a specified gov-
ernment test course. For example, a tire graded
150 would wear one and one-half (1 1/2) times
as well on the government course as a tire
graded 100. The relative performance of tires
depends upon actual conditions of their use,
however, and may depart significantly from the
norm due to variations in driving habits, service
practices and differences in road characteristics
and climate.
TRACTION AA, A, B AND C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest, are
AA, A, B and C. Those grades represent the
tire’s ability to stop on wet pavement as mea-
sured under controlled conditions on specifiedgovernment test surfaces of asphalt and con-
crete. A tire marked C may have poor traction
performance.
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is based
on straight-ahead braking traction tests, and
does not include acceleration, cornering, hy-
droplaning, or peak traction characteristics.
TEMPERATURE A, B AND C
The temperature grades A (the highest), B, and
C, representing the tire’s resistance to the
generation of heat and its ability to dissipate
heat when tested under controlled conditions
on a specified indoor laboratory test wheel.
Sustained high temperature can cause the ma-
terial of the tire to degenerate and reduce tire
life, and excessive temperature can lead to
sudden tire failure. The grade C corresponds to
a level of performance which all passenger car
tires must meet under the Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard No. 109. Grades B and A rep-
resent higher levels of performance on the
laboratory test wheel than the minimum re-
quired by law.
WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is estab-
lished for a tire that is properly inflated and not
overloaded. Excessive speed, under-inflation,
or excessive loading, either separately or in
combination, can cause heat build-up and pos-
sible tire failure.
UNIFORM TIRE QUALITY GRADING
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Your INFINITI is covered by the following emis-
sion warranties.
For US:
●Emission Defects Warranty
● Emissions Performance Warranty (See War-
ranty Information Booklet for details.)
For Canada:
Emission Control System Warranty
Details of these warranties may be found with
other vehicle warranties in your Warranty Infor-
mation Booklet (Warranty and Roadside Assis-
tance Information (Canada only)) that comes
with your INFINITI. If you did not receive a
Warranty Information Booklet (Warranty and
Roadside Assistance Information (Canada
only)), or it has become lost, you may obtain a
replacement by writing to:
● INFINITI Division
Nissan North America, Inc.
Consumer Affairs Department
P.O. Box 685003
Franklin, TN 37068-5003
● Nissan Canada Inc.
5290 Orbitor Drive
Mississauga, Ontario,
L4W 4Z5For USA
If you believe that your vehicle has a
defect which could cause a crash or
could cause injury or death, you should
immediately inform the National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) in addition to notifying INFINITI.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it
may open an investigation, and if it finds
that a safety defect exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and rem-
edy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot
become involved in individual problems
between you, your retailer, or INFINITI.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the
Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-
327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153); go to
http://www.safercar.gov; or write to: Ad-
ministrator, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington D.C. 20590. You can
also obtain other information about mo-
tor vehicle safety from
http://www.safercar.gov. You may notify INFINITI by contacting our
Consumer Affairs Department, toll-free,
at 1-800-662-6200.
For Canada
If you believe that your vehicle has a
defect which could cause a crash or
could cause injury or death, you should
immediately inform Transport Canada in
addition to notifying INFINITI.
If Transport Canada receives complaints,
it may open an investigation, and if it
finds that a safety defect exists in a
group of vehicles, it may request that
INFINITI conduct a recall campaign. How-
ever, Transport Canada cannot become
involved in individual problems between
you, your retailer, or INFINITI.
You may contact Transport Canada’s De-
fect Investigations and Recalls Division
toll free at 1-800-333-0510. You may also
report safety defects online at:
https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/
7/PCDB-BDPP/Index.aspx
EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM WARRANTY REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS (US only)
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Additional information concerning motor
vehicle safety may be obtained from
Transport Canada’s Road Safety Infor-
mation Centre at 1-800-333-0371 or on-
line at www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety (English
speakers) or
www.tc.gc.ca/securiteroutiere (French
speakers).
To notify INFINITI of any safety concerns
please contact our Consumer Informa-
tion Centre toll free at 1-800-361-4792.A vehicle equipped with Intelligent All-Wheel
Drive (AWD) should never be tested using a two
wheel dynamometer (such as the dynamom-
eters used by some states for emissions test-
ing), or similar equipment. Make sure you in-
form test facility personnel that your vehicle is
equipped with AWD before it is placed on a
dynamometer. Using the wrong test equipment
may result in transmission damage or unex-
pected vehicle movement which could result in
serious vehicle damage or personal injury.
Due to legal requirements in some states/
areas, your vehicle may be required to be in
what is called the “ready condition” for an
Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) test of the emis-
sion control system.
The vehicle is set to the “ready condition” when
it is driven through certain driving patterns.
Usually, the “ready condition” can be obtained
by ordinary usage of the vehicle.
If a powertrain system component is repaired or
the battery is disconnected, the vehicle may be
reset to a “not ready condition”. Before taking
the I/M test, check the vehicle’s
inspection/maintenance test readiness condi-
tion. Place the ignition switch in the ON position
without starting the engine. If the Malfunction
Indicator Light (MIL) comes on steady for 20
seconds and then blinks for 10 seconds, the I/Mtest condition is “not ready”. If the MIL does not
blink after 20 seconds, the I/M test condition is
“ready”.
Contact an INFINITI retailer to set the “ready
condition” or to prepare the vehicle for testing.
READINESS FOR INSPECTION/
MAINTENANCE (I/M) TEST (US only)
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This vehicle is equipped with an Event Data Re-
corder (EDR). The main purpose of an EDR is to
record, in certain crash or near crash-like situa-
tions, such as an air bag deployment or hitting a
road obstacle, data that will assist in under-
standing how a vehicle’s systems performed.
The EDR is designed to record data related to
vehicle dynamics and safety systems for a short
period of time, typically 30 seconds or less. The
EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such
data as:
●How various systems in your vehicle were
operating;
● Whether or not the driver and passenger
safety belts were buckled/fastened;
● How far (if at all) the driver was depressing
the accelerator and/or brake pedal; and,
● How fast the vehicle was traveling.
● Sounds are not recorded.
These data can help provide a better under-
standing of the circumstances in which crashes
and injuries occur. NOTE: EDR data are recorded
by your vehicle only if a nontrivial crash situa-
tion occurs; no data are recorded by the EDR
under normal driving conditions and no personal
data (e.g. name, gender, age and crash location)
are recorded. However, other parties, such as
law enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type of personally identifying data rou-
tinely acquired during a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equip-
ment is required and access to the vehicle or the
EDR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manu-
facturer and INFINITI retailer, other parties, such
as law enforcement, that have the special equip-
ment, can read the information if they have ac-
cess to the vehicle or the EDR. EDR data will only
be accessed with the consent of the vehicle
owner or lessee or as otherwise required or per-
mitted by law.
A genuine INFINITI Service Manual is the best
source of service and repair information for your
vehicle. Filled with wiring diagrams, illustra-
tions and step-by-step diagnostic and adjust-
ment procedures, this manual is the same one
used by the factory trained technicians working
at an INFINITI retailer. Also available are genu-
ine INFINITI Owner’s Manuals, and genuine
INFINITI Service and Owner’s Manuals for older
INFINITI models.
In the USA:
For current pricing and availability of genuine
INFINITI Service Manuals
for the 2000 model
year and later, contact:
1-800-450-9491
www.infiniti-techinfo.com
For current pricing and availability of genuine
INFINITI Service Manuals for the 1999 model
year and prior, see an INFINITI retailer, or
contact:
1-800-247-5321
For current pricing and availability of genuine
INFINITI Owner’s Manuals for this model year
and prior, see an INFINITI retailer, or contact:
1-800-247-5321
EVENT DATA RECORDERS (EDR) OWNER’S MANUAL/SERVICE MANUAL
ORDER INFORMATION
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In Canada:
To purchase a copy of a genuine INFINITI Service
Manual or Owner’s Manual please contact an
INFINITI retailer. For the phone number and
location of an INFINITI retailer in your area call
the INFINITI Satisfaction Center at 1-800-361-
4792 and a bilingual INFINITI representative will
assist you.
Also available are genuine INFINITI Service and
Owner’s Manuals for older INFINITI models.
IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION
Unfortunately, accidents do occur. In this un-
likely event, there is some important informa-
tion you should know. Many insurance compa-
nies routinely authorize the use of non-genuine
collision parts in order to cut costs, among
other reasons.
Insist on the use of Genuine INFINITI
Collision Parts!
If you want your vehicle to be restored using
parts made to INFINITI’s original exacting speci-
fications — if you want to help it to last and hold
its resale value, the solution is simple.Tell your
insurance agent and your repair shop to only use
Genuine INFINITI Collision Parts. INFINITI doesnot warrant non-INFINITI parts, nor does
INFINITI’s warranty apply to damage caused by
a non-genuine part.
Using Genuine INFINITI Parts can help protect
your personal safety, preserve your warranty
protection and maintain the resale value of your
vehicle. And if your vehicle was leased, using
Genuine INFINITI Parts may prevent or limit
unnecessary excess wear and tear expenses at
the end of your lease.
INFINITI designs its hoods with crumple zones
to minimize the risk that the hood will penetrate
the windshield of your vehicle in an accident.
Non-genuine (imitation) parts may not provide
such built in safeguards. Also, non-genuine
parts often show premature wear, rust and
corrosion.
Why should you take a chance?
In over 40 states, the law says you must be
advised if non-genuine parts are used to repair
your vehicle. And some states have enacted
laws that restrict insurance companies from
authorizing the use of non-genuine collision
parts during the new vehicle warranty. These
laws help protect you, so you can take action to
protect yourself.
It’s your right!
If you should need further information visit us
at:
www.InfinitiUSA.com
(for U.S. customers) or
www.infiniti.ca (for Canadian customers)
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10 Index
4 Wheel Active Steer (4WAS) system.....5-91
4 Wheel Active Steer (4WAS) warning
light ...................... .2-12
A
ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) ........5-87
Adaptive front lighting system (AFS) .....2-35
Advanced air bag system ...........1-41
Aiming control, Adaptive front lighting
system (AFS) ................. .2-35
Air bag system Advanced air bag system .........1-41
Front passenger air bag and status
light ..................... 1-43
Front-seat mounted side-impact
supplemental air bag system .......1-46
Roof-mounted curtain side-impact
supplemental air bag system .......1-46
Air bag warning labels .............1-48
Air bag warning light ..........1-48 , 2-15
Air cleaner housing filter ...........8-19
Air conditioner Air conditioner service ...........4-44
Air conditioner specification label ....9-13
Air conditioning system refrigerant and
lubricant recommendations .......4-44
Automatic climate control ........4-30
In-cabin microfilter ............4-43
Operation
(See automatic climate control) .....4-30 Alarm, How to stop alarm
(see vehicle security system)
.........2-28
Alcohol, drugs and driving ...........5-6
Antenna .................... .4-85
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) ........5-87
Anti-lock braking system (ABS) warning
light ...................... .2-10
Appearance care Exterior appearance care ..........7-2
Interior appearance care ..........7-4
Armrest .................... .1-10
Ashtrays
(See cigarette lighter and ashtrays) .....2-44
Audible reminders .............. .2-18
Audio operation precautions .........4-44
Audio system ................. .4-44
Audio system, Steering wheel audio
controls .................... .4-83
Autolight system ............... .2-33
Automatic Automatic

climate control .........4-32
Automatic transmission fluid (ATF) ....8-14
Climate control .............. 4-30
Driving with automatic transmission . . . 5-12
Automatic door locks ..............3-5
Automatic drive positioner ..........3-26
Automatic seat positioner ...........3-26
Average fuel consumption and speed . . . .2-25
Avoiding collision and rollover .........5-5 B
Battery ..................... .8-16
Battery Battery saver system ...........2-34
Intelligent Key ............... 8-25
Variable voltage control system .....8-18
Before starting the engine ...........5-10
Belts (See drive belts) .............8-18
Bluetooth hands-free phone system
(models with navigation system) . . . . . . .4-86
Booster seats ................. .1-33
Brake Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) . .....5-87
Brake fluid ................. 8-15
Brake system ............... 5-84
Parking brake operation .........5-16
Brake warning light .............. .2-11
Break-in schedule .............. .5-80
Brightness control and display ON/OFF
button ..................... .4-8
Brightness control, Instrument panel . . . .2-36
Bulb check/instrument panel .........2-10
Bulb replacement .............. .8-27
C
Cabin air filter ................ .4-43
Capacities and recommended
fuel/lubricants ................. .9-2
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