2011 NISSAN ALTIMA HYBRID Owners Manual

The Hybrid System combines the power of a
gasoline engine and an electric motor to minimize
fuel consumption and emissions.
Depending on driving conditions, the vehicle runs
on a combination of the gasoline engine and the
electric motor, whichever is best for those condi-
tions.
Because the gasoline engine charges the high
voltage battery as needed, the battery does not
have to be charged from an outside source like an
all-electric vehicle.WARNING
Your vehicle contains a sealed Nickel-
Metal hydride high voltage battery. If dis-
posed of improperly, it is hazardous to the
environment and there is a risk of severe
burns and electrical shock that may result
in serious injury or death.
The high voltage battery is used to drive the
electric motors in the Hybrid System.
The high voltage battery has a limited service life.
Contact your NISSAN dealer for information
about recycling or disposal of the battery.
WARNING
● The hybrid system uses high voltage up
to 650 V. The system can be hot while
and after starting. Be careful of both the
high voltage and the high temperature.
Obey the caution labels attached to the
vehicle.
● Never touch, disassemble, remove or
replace the high voltage parts, cables
and their connectors. High voltage
cables are orange. Touching, disassem-
bling, removing or replacing those parts
and cables can cause severe burns or
electric shock that may result in serious
injury or death.
● Never try to remove the service discon-
nect located in the trunk on the lower
right-hand side. The service disconnect
is used only when the vehicle is ser-
viced by trained technicians wearing
personal protection equipment and is
part of the high voltage system. Touch-
ing the service disconnect can cause
severe burns or electric shock that may
result in serious injury or death.
HYBRID SYSTEM HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERYHIGH VOLTAGE CAUTIONS
HEV-2HEV Overview

WARNING
●Pull your vehicle off the road, put the
transmission in the P (Park) position,
apply the parking brake and turn the
Hybrid System off.
● Check to see if there are exposed high
voltage parts and cables. Never touch
the parts and cables. See “High voltage
components”, later in this section for
the locations of the high voltage parts
and cables.
● To avoid personal injury, do not touch
high voltage wiring, connectors and
high voltage parts (inverter unit, high
voltage battery etc.) .
● If exposed electric wires are visible in-
side or outside of your vehicle, an elec-
tric shock may occur. Never touch the
electric wires.
● Inspect the ground under the vehicle. If
liquid has leaked onto the ground, the
fuel system may have been damaged.
Leave the vehicle as soon as possible. ●
Never touch fluid leaks inside or out-
side the vehicle. The leak may be strong
alkaline electrolyte from the high volt-
age battery. If it contacts your skin or
eyes, wash it off immediately with a
large amount of water or if possible,
boric acid solution. Get immediate
medical attention to help avoid serious
injury.
● If a fire occurs in the hybrid vehicle,
leave the vehicle as soon as possible.
Never use a fire extinguisher that is not
meant for use on electric fires. Using
even a small amount of water may be
also dangerous.
● If your vehicle needs to be towed, do it
with the front wheels raised. If the front
wheels are on the ground when towing,
the traction motor may generate elec-
tricity. This may damage the Hybrid Sys-
tem components and cause a fire.
EMERGENCY SHUT OFF SYSTEM
The emergency shut off system automatically
turns off the high voltage current in certain frontal
collisions. This is to minimize the risk of electrical
short circuits. If the system activates, your vehicle
will not restart. To restart the Hybrid System,
contact a NISSAN dealer. The Hybrid System monitors the status of power
being sent to the traction motor and the battery
state of charge. The status is shown on the hybrid
power meter and high voltage battery status me-
ter. System status can also be shown on the
navigation system display (if so equipped) when
the screen is in the Energy Flow mode or
energy/fuel history mode.
ROAD ACCIDENT CAUTIONS
ENERGY MONITORS
HEV OverviewHEV-3

POWER METER
The power meter indicates the total amount of
power in the hybrid system.
For additional information, see “Meters and
gauges” in the “Instruments and controls” section
of this manual.
HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY STATUS
METER
The gauge indicates the amount of power in the
high voltage battery.
For additional information, see “Meters and
gauges” in the “Instruments and controls” section
of this manual.
ENERGY FLOW (vehicles equipped
with navigation)
When you use this system, make sure the Hybrid
System is in the ready mode.If you use the system with the Hybrid Sys-
tem off (ignition switch placed in the ACC
position) for a long time, it will use up all
the 12–volt battery power, and the engine
will not start.
Energy flow for various operating modes can be
displayed on the navigation system monitor. The
screen must be set to the Energy Flow mode or
the Fuel Economy History mode.
LIC1109WIC1123
HEV-4HEV Overview

Press the INFO button on the control panel, then
touch the “Energy Flow” key on the screen.This is an example of the Energy Flow display.
The Energy Flow display varies, depending on
the condition of the vehicle. The graphic does not
reflect the actual motion of the vehicle.
The Energy Flow will display:
● When the vehicle is powered only by the
traction motor.
● When the vehicle is powered by both the
traction motor and the gasoline engine.
● When the vehicle is powered only by the
gasoline engine. ●
When the vehicle is regenerating and charg-
ing the high voltage battery.
● When there is no energy flow in the vehicle.
FUEL ECONOMY HISTORY (vehicles
equipped with navigation)
The Fuel Economy History screen appears in the
display with the navigation system when the
screen is in the Fuel Economy History mode.
LHV2000LHV2001
HEV OverviewHEV-5

Press the INFO button on the control panel, and
then touch the “Fuel Economy History” key on the
screen.The Fuel Economy History can be displayed on
the navigation system monitor. The screen must
be set to the Energy Flow mode or the Fuel
Economy History mode. This displays the vehi-
cle’s average fuel consumption and regenerative
electric power at 5 minute intervals.
The displayed values on the screen indicate gen-
eral driving conditions. Accuracy varies with driv-
ing habits and road conditions. 1. Regenerated energy in the past 30 minutes:
The regenerated energy in the past 30 min-
utes is indicated with symbols. One symbol
indicates 50 watt hours. The energy of 50
watt hours illuminates a 50 watt bulb for an
hour.
2. Fuel consumption in the past 30 minutes: Fuel consumption in the past 30 minutes is
displayed.
3. Current fuel consumption (Latest column): The current fuel consumption is calculated
and displayed based on distance and fuel
consumption.
NOTE:
Information shown in the yellow column
means current (within 5 minutes) and infor-
mation shown in the blue columns means
past (more than 5 minutes) .
LHV2000LHV2002
HEV-6HEV Overview

Place the ignition switch in the ON position.
Depress the brake pedal and push the ignition
switch when the transmission is in the P (Park)
position to start the Hybrid System.
The READY light illuminates indicating that the
vehicle is ready to be driven. If the ambient tem-
perature is low, the READY may flash and may
take time until the READY light stays on. For
details, see “Starting the Hybrid System” in the
“Starting and driving” section of this manual.
As long as the READY light remains on you can
drive your vehicle using the traction motor even
though the gasoline engine may not be running.Drive your vehicle with smooth accelera-
tion and deceleration.
● While driving, energy is recovered through
the regenerative brake as the vehicle decel-
erates. However, for most efficient use, do
not accelerate or decelerate your vehicle
more than necessary.
● Avoid abrupt acceleration and deceleration.
● The power of the high voltage battery can be
checked on the high voltage battery status
meter. See “High voltage battery status me-
ter” in this section for details. Gradual or
non-abrupt acceleration and deceleration
will make more effective use of the traction
motor without having to use gasoline engine
power.
● When parking, be sure to place the shift
selector in the P (Park) position. While driv-
ing, place the shift selector in the D (Drive)
position.
● The Hybrid System recharges the high volt-
age battery as necessary. However, the Hy-
brid System can not charge the high voltage
battery when the transmission is in the N
(Neutral) position even if the engine is run-
ning. ●
If the high voltage battery becomes dis-
charged, the engine will run for a longer
period of time. Do not keep the transmission
in the N (Neutral) position with the system in
the ready mode.
NOTE:
The gasoline engine starts and stops auto-
matically. It may stop during low load driv-
ing, deceleration or when the vehicle is
stopped.
As long as the READY light remains on, you
can drive your vehicle using the traction
motor even with the gasoline engine
stopped.
The gasoline engine may not stop auto-
matically in the following conditions: ● During gasoline engine warm-up.
● During high voltage battery charging.
● During high or low high voltage battery
temperature.
STARTING THE HYBRID SYSTEM EFFICIENT USE OF YOUR VEHICLE
HEV OverviewHEV-7

HIGH VOLTAGE COMPONENTS
WARNING
●The Hybrid System uses high voltage up
to 650 V. The system can be hot while
and after starting. Be careful of both the
high voltage and the high temperature.
Obey the caution labels attached to the
vehicle.
● Never touch, disassemble, remove or
replace the high voltage parts, cables
and their connectors. High voltage
cables are orange. Touching, disassem-
bling, removing or replacing those parts
and cables can cause severe burns or
electric shock that may result in serious
injury or death.
LHV0005
HYBRID VEHICLE PRECAUTIONS
HEV-8HEV Overview

1. Air conditioner compressor location
2. Electric power steering location
3. 42V DC/DC converter
4. High voltage battery and 12V DC/DCconverter
5. Service disconnect
6. High voltage harnesses
7. Traction motor location
8. Inverter unit
The Hybrid System uses high voltage up to 650
V. High voltage components are indicated in the
illustration. High voltage cables are orange. The
system can be hot while and after starting. Be
careful of both the high voltage and the high
temperature.
HYBRID VEHICLE
CHARACTERISTICS
WARNING
● Pay special attention to pedestrians
when the vehicle is powered only by the
traction motor. Because there is no en-
gine noise, pedestrians may not know
the vehicle is moving or about to move
and step into the direction of vehicle
travel. ●
When you leave your vehicle, be sure to
turn off the Hybrid System.
● Be sure to put the transmission in the P
(Park) position because the vehicle can
move when the READY light is on even
if the engine is stopped. When the
READY light is on, do not leave your
vehicle in a shift position other than the
P (Park) position. The vehicle will creep
and start abruptly if the accelerator
pedal is depressed by mistake. This may
cause serious injury or death.
CAUTION
● If the vehicle is parked for a long time,
the high voltage battery will discharge
gradually. To keep the high voltage bat-
tery in good condition, drive the vehicle
at least once every several months for
at least 30 minutes or ten miles. If the
high voltage battery becomes fully dis-
charged and the vehicle will not start
even with a jump-start to the 12-volt
system, contact your NISSAN dealer. ●
After the 12-volt battery is discon-
nected, run down, or replaced, the
gasoline engine may not stop even
while the vehicle is powered only by the
traction motor. If this condition contin-
ues for several days, take the vehicle to
your NISSAN dealer.
● Do not load large amounts of water in
open containers (aquariums or buck-
ets) into the vehicle. If the water spills
onto the high voltage battery, it may
cause a short circuit and damage the
battery.
High voltage parts and cables on the hybrid
vehicles emit approximately the same amount of
electromagnetic waves as the conventional
gasoline powered vehicles or home electronic
appliances despite of their electromagnetic
shieldings. Unwanted noise may occur in the
reception of a mobile two-way radio.
Charging the high voltage battery while driving is
important. The vehicle cannot run if the high
voltage battery is discharged. In the N (Neutral)
position, the high voltage battery does not re-
charge. Leaving the transmission in the N (Neu-
tral) position for an extended period of time may
discharge the high voltage battery. The high volt-
age battery recharges when the shift selector is
in any position other than N (Neutral) . Repeated
HEV OverviewHEV-9