2012 NISSAN MAXIMA ECU

WARNING
Infants and children need special protec-
tion. The vehicle’s seat belts may not fit
them properly. The shoulder belt may come
too close to the face or neck. The lap belt
may not fit over their small hip bones. In an
accident, an improperly fitting seat belt
could cause serious or fatal injury. Always
use appropriate child restraints.
All U.S. states and Canadian provinces or terri-
tories require the use of approved child restraints
for infants and small children. See “Child re-
straints” later in this section.
A child restraint may be secured in the vehicle by
using either the LATCH (Lower Anchor and Teth-
ers for CHildren) system or with the vehicle seat
belt. See the “Child restraints” section for more
information.
NISSAN recommends that all pre-teens
and children be restrained in the rear seat.
Studies show that children are safer when
properly restrained in the rear seat than in
the front seat.
This is especially important because your
vehicle has a supplemental restraint sys-
tem (air bag system) for the front passen-
ger. See “Supplemental restraint system”
later in this section.
INFANTS
Infants up to at least 1 year old should be placed
in a rear-facing child restraint. NISSAN recom-
mends that infants be placed in child restraints
that comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards. You should choose a child restraint
that fits your vehicle and always follow the manu-
facturer’s instructions for installation and use.
SMALL CHILDREN
Children that are over 1 year old and weigh at
least 20 lbs (9 kg) should remain in a rear-facing
child restraint as long as possible up to the height
or weight limit of the child restraint. Forward-
facing child restraints are available for children
who outgrow rear-facing child restraints and are
at least 1 year old. Refer to the manufacturer’s
instructions for minimum and maximum weight
and height recommendations. NISSAN recom-
mends that small children be placed in child
restraints that comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards. You should choose a child
restraint that fits your vehicle and always follow
the manufacturer’s instructions for installation
and use.
LARGER CHILDREN
Children who are too large for child restraints
should be seated and restrained by the seat belts
which are provided. The seat belt may not fit
properly if the child is less than 4 ft 9 in (142.5
cm) tall and weighs between 40 lbs (18 kg) and
80 lbs (36 kg) . A booster seat should be used to
obtain proper seat belt fit.
NISSAN recommends that a child be placed in a
commercially available booster seat if the shoul-
der belt fits close to the face or neck or if the lap
portion of the seat belt goes across the abdo-
men. The booster seat should raise the child so
that the shoulder belt is properly positioned
across the top, middle portion of the shoulder
and the lap belt is low on the hips. A booster seat
can only be used in seating positions that have a
three-point type seat belt. The booster seat
should fit the vehicle seat and have a label certi-
fying that it complies with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards. Once the child has grown so
the shoulder belt is no longer on or near the face
and neck, use the shoulder belt without the
booster seat.
1-18Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system

– Infants and children should never beheld on anyone’s lap. Even the stron-
gest adult cannot resist the forces of
a collision.
– Do not put a seat belt around both a child and another passenger.
– NISSAN recommends that all child restraints be installed in the rear
seat. Studies show that children are
safer when properly restrained in the
rear seat than in the front seat. If you
must install a forward-facing child
restraint in the front seat, see
“Forward-facing child restraint in-
stallation using the seat belts” later
in this section.
– Even with the NISSAN Advanced Air Bag System, never install a rear-
facing child restraint in the front
seat. An inflating air bag could seri-
ously injure or kill a child. A rear-
facing child restraint must only be
used in the rear seat.
– Be sure to purchase a child restraint that will fit the child and vehicle.
Some child restraints may not fit
properly in your vehicle. – Child restraint anchor points are de-
signed to withstand loads from child
restraints that are properly fitted.
– Never use the anchor points for adult seat belts or harnesses.
– A child restraint with a top tether strap should not be used in the front
passenger seat.
– Keep seatbacks as upright as pos- sible after fitting the child restraint.
– Infants and children should always be placed in an appropriate child re-
straint while in the vehicle.
● When the child restraint is not in use,
keep it secured with the LATCH system
or a seat belt. In a sudden stop or colli-
sion, loose objects can injure occu-
pants or damage the vehicle.
CAUTION
A child restraint in a closed vehicle can
become very hot. Check the seating sur-
face and buckles before placing a child in
the child restraint. This vehicle is equipped with a universal child
restraint anchor system, referred to as the LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) sys-
tem. Some child restraints include rigid or
webbing-mounted attachments that can be con-
nected to these anchors. For details, see “LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) sys-
tem” later in this section.
If you do not have a LATCH compatible child
restraint, the vehicle seat belts can be used.
Several manufacturers offer child restraints for
infants and children of various sizes. When se-
lecting any child restraint, keep the following
points in mind:
● Choose only a restraint with a label certifying
that it complies with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 213 or Canadian Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 213.
● Check the child restraint in your vehicle to be
sure it is compatible with the vehicle’s seat
and seat belt system.
1-20Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system

●If the child restraint is compatible with your
vehicle, place your child in the child restraint
and check the various adjustments to be
sure the child restraint is compatible with
your child. Choose a child restraint that is
designed for your child’s height and weight.
Always follow all recommended procedures.
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. Canadian law requires the
top tether strap on forward-facing child
restraints be secured to the designated an-
chor point on the vehicle.
LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers
for CHildren) SYSTEM
Your vehicle is equipped with special anchor
points that are used with LATCH (Lower Anchors
and Tethers for CHildren) system compatible
child restraints. This system may also be referred
to as the ISOFIX or ISOFIX compatible system.
With this system, you do not have to use a vehicle
seat belt to secure the child restraint.
LATCH lower anchor
WARNING
Failure to follow the warnings and instruc-
tions for proper use and installation of
child restraints could result in serious in-
jury or death of a child or other passen-
gers in a sudden stop or collision:
– Attach LATCH system compatible child restraints only at the locations
shown in the illustration.
– Do not secure a child restraint in the center rear seating position using
the LATCH lower anchors. The child
restraint will not be secured properly.
– Inspect the lower anchors by insert- ing your fingers into the lower anchor
area. Feel to make sure there are no
obstructions over the anchors such
as seat belt webbing or seat cushion
material. The child restraint will not
be secured properly if the lower an-
chors are obstructed.
LATCH system lower anchor locations
WRS0718
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-21

LATCH lower anchor location
The LATCH lower anchors are located at the rear
of the seat cushion near the seatback. A label is
attached to the seatback to help you locate the
LATCH lower anchors.
Installing child restraint LATCH lower
anchor attachments
LATCH compatible child restraints include two
rigid or webbing-mounted attachments that can
be connected to two anchors located at certain
seating positions in your vehicle. With this sys-
tem, you do not have to use a vehicle seat belt to
secure the child restraint. Check your child re-
straint for a label stating that it is compatible with
LATCH. This information may also be in the in-
structions provided by the child restraint manu-
facturer.When installing a child restraint, carefully read
and follow the instructions in this manual and
those supplied with the child restraint.
LATCH lower anchor location
WRS0700
LATCH webbing-mounted attachment
LRS0661
LATCH rigid-mounted attachment
LRS0662
1-22Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system

Top tether anchor point locations
The child restraint top tether strap must be used
when installing the child restraint with the LATCH
lower anchor attachments or seat belts. See “In-
stalling top tether strap” later in this section.
If you have any questions when installing a
top tether strap child restraint on the rear
seat, consult your NISSAN dealer for de-
tails.
Anchor points
1are located on the rear parcel
shelf.
REAR-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT
INSTALLATION USING LATCH
Refer to all Warnings and Cautions in the “Child
safety” and “Child restraints” sections before in-
stalling a child restraint.
Follow these steps to install a rear-facing child
restraint using the LATCH system:
1. Position the child restraint on the seat. Al- ways follow the child restraint manufactur-
er’s instructions.
2. Secure the child restraint anchor attach-ments to the LATCH lower anchors. Check
to make sure the LATCH attachment is prop-
erly attached to the lower anchors.
LRS0243
Rear-facing web-mounted – step 2
WRS0801
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-23

3. For child restraints that are equipped withwebbing-mounted attachments, remove any
additional slack from the anchor attach-
ments. Press downward and rearward firmly
in the center of the child restraint with your
hand to compress the vehicle seat cushion
and seatback while tightening the webbing
of the anchor attachments. 4. After attaching the child restraint, test it be-
fore you place the child in it. Push it from side
to side while holding the child restraint near
the LATCH attachment path. The child re-
straint should not move more than 1 inch (25
mm) , from side to side. Try to tug it forward
and check to see if the LATCH attachment
holds the restraint in place. If the restraint is
not secure, tighten the LATCH attachment
as necessary, or put the restraint in another
seat and test it again. You may need to try a
different child restraint or try installing by
using the vehicle seat belt (if applicable) .
Not all child restraints fit in all types of ve-
hicles.
Rear-facing rigid-mounted – step 2
WRS0802
Rear-facing – step 3
LRS0673
Rear-facing – step 4
LRS0674
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5. Check to make sure the child restraint isproperly secured prior to each use. If the
child restraint is loose, repeat steps 1
through 4.
REAR-FACING CHILD RESTRAINT
INSTALLATION USING THE SEAT
BELTS
WARNING
The three-point seat belt with Automatic
Locking Retractor (ALR) 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 be loose and
cause injury to a child in a sudden stop or
collision. Also, it can change the opera-
tion of the front passenger air bag. See
“Front passenger air bag and status light”
later in this section.
WRS0256
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-25

4. Allow the seat belt to retract. Pull up on theshoulder belt to remove any slack in the belt. 5. Remove any additional slack from the seat
belt; press downward and rearward firmly in
the center of the child restraint to compress
the vehicle seat cushion and seatback while
pulling up on the seat belt. 6. After attaching the child restraint, test it be-
fore you place the child in it. Push it from side
to side while holding the child restraint near
the seat belt path. The child restraint should
not move more than 1 inch (25 mm) , from
side to side. Try to tug it forward and check
to see if the belt holds the restraint in place.
If the restraint is not secure, tighten the seat
belt as necessary, or put the restraint in
another seat and test it again. You may need
to try a different child restraint. Not all child
restraints fit in all types of vehicles.
Rear-facing – step 4
LRS0670
Rear-facing – step 5
WRS0762
Rear-facing – step 6
WRS0763
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-27