1-46Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system
meter and gauges area will blink. Have the
system checked by an INFINITI retailer.
Other supplemental front-impact
air bag precautions
WARNING
. Do not place any objects on the steering
wheel pad or on the instrument panel.
Also, do not place any objects between
any occupant and the steering wheel or
instrument panel. Such objects may
become dangerous projectiles and cause
injury if the front air bag inflates.
. Do not place objects with sharp edges
on the seat. Also, do not place heavy
objects on the seat that will leave
permanent impressions in the seat. Such
objects can damage the seat or occupant
classification sensor (pattern sensor).
This can affect the operation of the air
bag system and result in serious perso-
nal injury.
. Do not use water or acidic cleaners (hot
steam cleaners) on the seat. This can
damage the seat or occupant classifica-
tion sensor. This can also affect the
operation of the air bag system and result in serious personal injury.
. Immediately after inflation, several front
air bag system components will be hot.
Do not touch them; you may severely
burn yourself.
. No unauthorized changes should be
made to any components or wiring of
the 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, suspen-
sion system or front end structure. This
could affect proper operation of the front
air bag system.
. Tampering with the air bag system may
result in serious personal injury. Tamper-
ing includes changes to the steering
wheel and the instrument panel assem-
bly by placing material over the steering
wheel pad and above the instrument
panel or by installing additional trim
material around the air bag system.
Removing or modifying the front pas-
senger seat may affect the function of
the air bag system and result in serious
personal injury. .
Modifying or tampering with the front
passenger seat may result in serious
personal injury. For example, do not
change the front seats by placing
material on the seat cushion or by
installing additional trim material, such
as seat covers, on the seat that is not
specifically designed to assure proper
air bag operation. Additionally, do not
stow any objects under the front pas-
senger seat or the seat cushion and
seatback. Such objects may interfere
with the proper operation of the occu-
pant classification 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 serious
personal injury.
. Work on and around the front air bag
system should be done by an INFINITI
retailer. Installation of electrical equip-
ment should also be done by an INFINITI
retailer. The Supplemental Restraint
System (SRS) wiring harnesses* should
not be modified or disconnected. Un-
authorized electrical test equipment and
probing devices should not be used on
the air bag system.
. A cracked windshield should be replaced
immediately by a qualified repair facility.
A cracked windshield could affect the
function of the supplemental air bag
system.
* The SRS wiring harness connectors
are yellow and orange for easy
identification.
When selling your vehicle, we request that
you inform the buyer about the supple-
mental front air bag system and guide the
buyer to the appropriate sections in this
Owner’s Manual.
SSS0521
FRONT SEAT-MOUNTED SIDE-IM-
PACT SUPPLEMENTAL AIR BAG AND
ROOF-MOUNTED CURTAIN SIDE-IM-
PACT SUPPLEMENTAL AIR BAG SYS-
TEMS
The side air bags are located in the outside
of the seatback of the front seats. The
curtain air bags are located in the side roof
rails. These systems are designed to meet
voluntary guidelines to help reduce the risk
of injury to occupants. However, all of the
information, cautions and warnings in this
manual still apply and must be followed.
The side air bags and curtain air bags are designed to inflate in higher severity side
collisions, although they may inflate if the
forces in another type of collision are
similar to those of a higher severity side
impact. They are designed to inflate on the
side where the vehicle is impacted. They
may not inflate in certain side collisions on
the side where the vehicle is impacted.
Vehicle damage (or lack of it) is not always
an indication of proper side air bag and
curtain air bag operation.
When the side air bags and curtain air bags
inflate, a fairly loud noise may be heard,
followed by release of smoke. This smoke
is not harmful and does not indicate a fire.
Care should be taken not to inhale it, as it
may cause irritation and choking. Those
with a history of a breathing condition
should get fresh air promptly.
Side air bags, along with the use of seat
belts, help to cushion the impact force on
the chest and pelvis of the front occupants.
Curtain air bags help to cushion the impact
force to the head of occupants in the front
and rear outboard seating positions. They
can help save lives and reduce serious
injuries. However, inflating side air bags
and curtain air bags may cause abrasions
or other injuries. Side air bags and curtain
Safety
—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-47
1-48Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system
air bags do not provide restraint to the
lower body.
The seat belts should be correctly worn
and the driver and passenger seated
upright as far as practical away from the
side air bags. Rear seat passengers should
be seated as far away as practical from the
door finishers and side roof rails. The side
air bags and curtain air bags inflate quickly
in order to help protect the occupants.
Because of this, the force of the side air
bags and curtain air bags inflating can
increase the risk of injury if the occupant is
too close to, or is against, these air bag
modules during inflation. The side air bags
and curtain air bags will deflate quickly
after the collision is over.
The side air bags and curtain air bags
operate only when the ignition switch is in
the ON position.
After pushing the ignition switch to the ON
position, the supplemental air bag warn-
ing light illuminates. The air bag warning
light will turn off after about 7 seconds if
the systems are operational.
WARNING
. Do not place any objects near the
seatback of the front seats. Also, do
not place any objects (an umbrella, bag,
etc.) between the front door finisher and
the front seat. Such objects may become
dangerous projectiles and cause injury if
a side air bag inflates.
. Right after inflation, several front seat-
mounted side air bags and roof-mounted
curtain air bag system components will
be hot. Do not touch them; you may
severely burn yourself.
. No unauthorized changes should be
made to any components or wiring of
the side air bag and curtain air bags.
This is to prevent damage to or acci-
dental inflation of the side air bag and
curtain air bag systems.
. Do not make unauthorized changes to
your vehicle’s electrical system, suspen-
sion system or side panel. This could
affect proper operation of the side air
bag and curtain air bag systems.
. Tampering with the side air bag system
may result in serious personal injury. For
example, do not change the front seat by placing material near the seatback or by
installing additional trim material, such
as seat covers, around the side air bag.
. Work around and on the side air bag and
curtain air bag systems should be done
by an INFINITI retailer. Installation of
electrical equipment should also be
done by an INFINITI retailer. The Supple-
mental Restraint System (SRS) wiring
harnesses* should not be modified or
disconnected. Unauthorized electrical
test equipment and probing devices
should not be used on the side air bag
or curtain air bag systems.
* The SRS wiring harness connectors
are yellow and orange for easy
identification.
When selling your vehicle, we request that
you inform the buyer about the side-impact
air bag and curtain side-impact air bag
system and guide the buyer to the appro-
priate sections in this Owner’s Manual.
SEAT BELTS WITH PRETENSIONERS
(front seats)
WARNING
.The pretensioners cannot be reused after
activation. They must be replaced to-
gether with the retractor and buckle as a
unit.
. If the vehicle becomes involved in a
collision but a pretensioner is not
activated, be sure to have the preten-
sioner system checked and, if necessary,
replaced by an INFINITI retailer.
. No unauthorized changes should be
made to any components or wiring of
the pretensioner system. This is to
prevent damage to or accidental activa-
tion of the pretensioners. Tampering
with the pretensioner system may result
in serious personal injury.
. Work around and on the pretensioner
system should be done by an INFINITI
retailer. Installation of electrical equip-
ment should also be done by an INFINITI
retailer. Unauthorized electrical test
equipment and probing devices should
not be used on the pretensioner system. .
If you need to dispose of the preten-
sioner or scrap the vehicle, contact an
INFINITI retailer. Correct pretensioner
disposal procedures are set forth in the
appropriate INFINITI Service Manual.
Incorrect disposal procedures could
cause personal injury.
The pretensioner system may activate with
the supplemental air bag system in certain
types of collisions. Working with the seat
belt retractor, it helps tighten the seat belt
when the vehicle becomes involved in
certain types of collisions, helping to
restrain front seat occupants.
The pretensioner is encased with the seat
belt retractor. These seat belts are used the
same way as conventional seat belts.
When a pretensioner activates, smoke is
released and a loud noise may be heard.
The smoke is not harmful, and it does not
indicate a fire. Care should be taken not to
inhale it as it may cause irritation and
choking. Those with a history of a breath-
ing condition should get fresh air promptly.
After pretensioner activation, load limiters
allow the seat belt to release webbing (if
necessary) to reduce forces against the
chest. The supplemental air bag warning light
is used to indicate malfunctions in the
pretensioner system. (See “Supplemental
air bag warning light” later in this section
for more details.) If the operation of the
supplemental air bag warning light indi-
cates there is a malfunction, have the
system checked by an INFINITI retailer.
When selling your vehicle, we request that
you inform the buyer about the preten-
sioner system and guide the buyer to the
appropriate sections in this Owner’s Man-
ual.
Safety —Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-49
1-50Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system
SSS1016
SUPPLEMENTAL AIR BAG WARNING
LABELS
Warning labels about the supplemental
front-impact air bag systems are placed in
the vehicle as shown in the illustration.
SRS air bag
The warning labels*1are located on the
surface of the sun visors.
SPA1097
SUPPLEMENTAL AIR BAG WARNING
LIGHT
The supplemental air bag warning light,
displayingin the instrument panel,
monitors the circuits for the air bag
systems, pretensioners and all related
wiring.
When the ignition switch is in the ON
position, the supplemental air bag warning
light illuminates for about 7 seconds and
then turns off. This means the system is
operational.
If any of the following conditions occur, the
front air bag, side air bag, curtain air bag and pretensioner systems need servicing:
.
The supplemental air bag warning light
remains on approximately 7 seconds
after the ignition switch is pushed to
the ON position.
. The supplemental air bag warning light
flashes intermittently.
. The supplemental air bag warning light
does not come on at all.
Under these conditions, the front air bag,
side air bag, and curtain air bag or
pretensioner systems may not operate
properly. They must be checked and
repaired. Take your vehicle to the nearest
INFINITI retailer.WARNING
If the supplemental air bag warning light is
on, it could mean that the front air bag, side
air bag, curtain air bag and/or pretensioner
systems will not operate in an accident. To
help avoid injury to yourself or others, have
your vehicle checked by an INFINITI retailer
as soon as possible.
WARNING
.Do not leave children or adults who
would normally require the support of
others alone in your vehicle. Pets should
not be left alone either. They could
accidentally injure themselves or others
through inadvertent operation of the
vehicle. Also, on hot, sunny days,
temperatures in a closed vehicle could
quickly become high enough to cause
severe or possibly fatal injuries to
people or animals.
. Properly secure all cargo to help prevent
it from sliding or shifting. Do not place
cargo higher than the seatbacks. In a
sudden stop or collision, unsecured
cargo could cause personal injury.
EXHAUST GAS (carbon monoxide)
WARNING
.Do not breathe exhaust gases; they
contain colorless and odorless carbon
monoxide. Carbon monoxide is danger-
ous. It can cause unconsciousness or death.
. If you suspect that exhaust fumes are
entering the vehicle, drive with all
windows fully open, and have the
vehicle inspected immediately.
. Do not run the engine in closed spaces
such as a garage.
. Do not park the vehicle with the engine
running for any extended length of time.
. Keep the lift gate closed while driving,
otherwise exhaust gases could be drawn
into the passenger compartment. If you
must drive with the lift gate open, follow
these precautions:
—Open all the windows.
—Set theair recirculation to off
and the fan control to high to
circulate the air.
. If electrical wiring or other cable con-
nections must pass to a trailer through
the seal on the lift gate or the body,
follow the manufacturer’s recommenda-
tion to prevent carbon monoxide entry
into the vehicle.
. The exhaust system and body should be
inspected by a qualified mechanic when-
ever:
—The vehicle is raised for service.
—You suspect that exhaust fumes are
entering into the passenger compart-
ment.
—You notice a change in the sound ofthe exhaust system.
—You have had an accident involvingdamage to the exhaust system,
underbody, or rear of the vehicle.
THREE-WAY CATALYST
The three-way catalyst is an emission
control device installed in the exhaust
system. Exhaust gases in the three-way
catalyst are burned at high temperatures to
help reduce pollutants.
WARNING
. The exhaust gas and the exhaust system
are very hot. Keep people, animals or
flammable materials away from the
exhaust system components.
. Do not stop or park the vehicle over
flammable materials such as dry grass,
waste paper or rags. They may ignite and
Starting and driving5-3
PRECAUTIONS WHEN STARTING AND
DRIVING