2013 INFINITI QX change wheel

clearance is known.
Trailer towing tips
In order to gain skill and an understanding
of the vehicle’s behavior, you should
practice turning, stopping and backing up
in an area which is free from traffic.
Steering stability, and braking perfor-
mance will be somewhat different than
under normal driving conditions.
. Always secure items in the trailer to
prevent load shift while driving.
. Lock the trailer hitch coupler with a pin
or lock to prevent the coupler from
inadvertently becoming unlatched.
. Avoid abrupt starts, acceleration or
stops.
. Avoid sharp turns or lane changes.
. Always drive your vehicle at a moderate
speed. Some states or provinces have
specific speed limits for vehicles that
are towing trailers. Obey the local
speed limits.
. When backing up, hold the bottom of
the steering wheel with one hand.
Move your hand in the direction in
which you want the trailer to go. Make
small corrections and back up slowly. If
possible, have someone guide you when you are backing up.
Always block the wheels on both vehicle
and trailer when parking. Parking on a
slope is not recommended; however, if you
must do so:
CAUTION
If you move the shift lever to the P (Park)
position before blocking the wheels and
applying the parking brake, transmission
damage could occur.
1. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
2. Have someone place blocks on the downhill side of the vehicle and trailer
wheels.
3. After the wheel blocks are in place, slowly release the brake pedal until the
blocks absorb the vehicle load.
4. Apply the parking brake.
5. Shift the transmission into P (Park).
6. Four-Wheel Drive (4WD) models:
Make sure that the 4WD shift switch is
engaged in the AUTO, 4HI or 4LO
position and the Automatic Transmis-
sion (AT) park warning light is turned off.
7. Turn off the engine.
To drive away:
1. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine.
3. Shift the transmission into gear.
4. Release the parking brake.
5. Drive slowly until the vehicle and trailer are clear from the blocks.
6. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
7. Have someone retrieve and store the blocks.
. While going downhill, the weight of the
trailer pushing on the tow vehicle may
decrease overall stability. Therefore, to
maintain adequate control, reduce your
speed and shift to a lower gear. Avoid
long or repeated use of the brakes
when descending a hill, as this reduces
their effectiveness and could cause
overheating. Shifting to a lower gear
instead provides “engine braking” and
reduces the need to brake as fre-
quently.
. If the engine coolant temperature rises
to a high temperature, see “If your
vehicle overheats” in the“6. In case of
Technical and consumer information9-27

9-28Technical and consumer information
emergency”section.
. Trailer towing requires more fuel than
normal circumstances.
. Avoid towing a trailer for your vehicle’s
first 500 miles (800 km).
. Have your vehicle serviced more often
than at intervals specified in the
recommended maintenance schedule
in the INFINITI Service and Maintenance
Guide.
. When making a turn, your trailer wheels
will be closer to the inside of the turn
than your vehicle wheels. To compen-
sate for this, make a larger than normal
turning radius during the turn.
. Crosswinds and rough roads will ad-
versely affect vehicle/trailer handling,
possibly causing vehicle sway. When
being passed by larger vehicles, be
prepared for possible changes in cross-
winds that could affect vehicle hand-
ling.
Do the following if the trailer begins to
sway:
1. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal to allow the vehicle to coast and steer
as straight ahead as the road condi-
tions allow. This combination will help
stabilize the vehicle..Do not correct trailer sway by steer-ing or applying the brakes.
2. When the trailer sway stops, gently apply the brakes and pull to the side of
the road in a safe area.
3. Try to rearrange the trailer load so it is balanced as described earlier in this
section.
. Be careful when passing other vehicles.
Passing while towing a trailer requires
considerably more distance than nor-
mal passing. Remember the length of
the trailer must also pass the other
vehicle before you can safely change
lanes.
. Use the Tow mode or downshift the
transmission to a lower gear for engine
braking when driving down steep or
long hills. This will help slow the
vehicle without applying the brakes.
. Avoid holding the brake pedal down too
long or too frequently. This could cause
the brakes to overheat, resulting in
reduced braking efficiency.
. Increase your following distance to
allow for greater stopping distances
while towing a trailer. Anticipate stops
and brake gradually. .
INFINITI recommends that the cruise
control not be used while towing a
trailer.
. While towing a trailer, do not use the
following systems (if so equipped):
— the Lane Departure Prevention (LDP)
system
— the Blind Spot Warning (BSW) sys-
tem
— the Blind Spot Intervention system
— the Back-up Collision Intervention
(BCI) system (if so equipped)
— the Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC)
system
— the Distance Control Assist (DCA)
system
— the Intelligent Brake Assist (IBA)
system
. Some states or provinces have specific
regulations and speed limits for vehi-
cles that are towing trailers. Obey the
local speed limits.
. Check your hitch, trailer wiring harness
connections, and trailer wheel lug nuts
after 50 miles (80 km) of travel and at
every break.
. When launching a boat, do not allow
the water level to go over the exhaust

tail pipe or rear bumper.
. Make sure you disconnect the trailer
lights before backing the trailer into the
water or the trailer lights may burn out.
When towing a trailer, the transmission
fluid should be changed more frequently.
For additional information, see the INFINITI
Service and Maintenance Guide.
TOW mode
Using TOW mode is recommended when
pulling a heavy trailer or hauling a heavy
load. Push the TOW MODE switch to
activate tow mode. The TOW MODE indi-
cator light in the meter illuminates when
TOW mode is selected. Push the TOW
MODE switch again to turn TOW mode off.
TOW mode is automatically cancelled when
the ignition switch is placed in the OFF
position.
TOW mode includes the following features:
. Grade logic —Adjusts transmission
shifts when pulling a trailer or hauling
a load up a grade.
. Downhill Speed Control (DSC) —auto-
matically downshifts when driving
down a grade with a trailer or heavy
load to help control vehicle speed. Driving the vehicle in the TOW mode with
no trailer/load or light trailer/light load will
not cause any damage. However, fuel
economy may be reduced and the trans-
mission/engine driving characteristics may
feel unusual.
When towing a trailer, the transmission
fluid should be changed more frequently.
For additional information, see the INFINITI
Service and Maintenance Guide.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, al-
ways tow forward, never backward.
. DO NOT tow any automatic transmission
vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground (flat towing). Doing so WILL
DAMAGE internal transmission parts due to lack of transmission lubrication.
. DO NOT tow an Four-Wheel Drive (4WD)
vehicle with any of the wheels on the
ground. Doing so may cause serious and
expensive damage to the powertrain.
. For emergency towing procedures refer
to“Towing recommended by INFINITI” in
the “6. In case of emergency” section of
this manual.
Automatic Transmission
Four-Wheel Drive (4WD) models:
Do not tow a 4WD vehicle with any of the
wheels on the ground.
Two-Wheel Drive (2WD) models:
To tow a vehicle equipped with an auto-
matic 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.
Technical and consumer information9-29