2014 NISSAN Consumer Safety & Air Bag Information Guide 2
THE NISSAN ADVANCED AIR BAG SYSTEM
All 2014 NISSAN vehicles (except for the 2014 NV 1500/2500/3500*) are equipped with
the NISSAN Advanced Air Bag System (AABS) for the driver and front passenger seats.
Typically, this system, which has dual-stage inflators,** monitors information from various
crash sensors, the front seat belt buckle sensors, and the occupant classification sensor.
The front passenger air bag may automatically turn OFF under some conditions, depending
on the pressure or weight detected by sensors in the passenger seat. See the vehicle
owner’s manual for more information. If the front passenger air bag is OFF, the front
passenger air bag status light will be illuminated.***
The front passenger air bag status light does not indicate a malfunction of the front
passenger air bag. If the front passenger air bag status light is illuminated while a small
adult, child, or child restraint occupies the seat, the occupant may need to shift his or her
seating position, or remove the child restraint so the system can turn ON the front
passenger air bag and turn off the status light.
THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF AN AIR BAG: YOUR SEAT BELT
Your chances of surviving a collision will improve greatly if one simple piece of advice is
followed: always wear your seat belt. Remember, all air bags are supplemental restraint
systems. Do not count on just the air bags for occupant protection; they are merely a
supplemental restraint system. You must always use seat belts properly, as explained in
the vehicle owner’s manual.
Seat belts help to protect the occupants of your vehicle during collisions in which the air
bags are not designed to activate. Moreover, in situations where the air bags are activated,
seat belts enhance their effectiveness and can help reduce the risk of injury from an
inflating air bag. Seat belts will also help protect the occupants of your vehicle during
multiple-impact collisions, while the air bags work only one time if a collision is severe
enough to activate them. Please see the SEAT BELT SAFETY and CHILD SAFETY
sections of this guide and the vehicle owner’s manual for more information.
*
The NV lineup is equipped with dual-stage front air bags and seat belt buckle sensors, but the
2014 NV 1500/2500/3500 does not have an occupant classification sensor (and the associated
front passenger air bag status light).
**Dual-stage inflators vary the air bag inflation rate based on the severity of the collision (for
example, less
forceful inflation for moderate impacts and a high force of inflation for more severe impacts). In
addition, based on information from the seat belt buckle sensors that detect whether the seat belts
are fastened, whether one or both front airbags deploy. Only one front air bag may inflate in a
crash, depending on the crash severity, and whether the front occupants are belted or unbelted.
***When the system detects that the seat is unoccupied, the passenger air bag status light will not
illuminate even though the front passenger air bag is OFF.
2014 NISSAN Consumer Safety & Air Bag Information Guide 3
EFFECTIVE USE OF SEAT BELTS AND AIR BAGS
Seat belts and supplemental air bags are most effective when vehicle occupants are sitting
upright and well back in the seat with both feet on the floor. Keep in mind that air bags
inflate with great force. Being unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting sideways, or being out
of position in any way puts you at a greater risk of injury or death in a crash. You may also
receive serious or fatal injuries from the air bag if you are up against it when it inflates.
Always sit back against the seatback with both feet on the floor and as far away as
practical from the steering wheel or instrument panel and always wear your seat belt.
Please see the SEAT BELT SAFETY section of this guide and the vehicle owner’s manual
for more information.
HOW AND WHEN FRONT AIR BAGS WORK
While the inner workings of a supplemental front air bag system are complicated,
understanding what makes the front air bags deploy is rather easy: the vehicle’s front air
bag sensor system is designed to detect rapid deceleration usually associated with
moderate to severe frontal collisions within a limited range of angles. The vehicle’s
deceleration rate is related to various factors, such as speed of the vehicles, the weight
and stiffness of the vehicles/objects involved, contact locations, and the angle of impact, to
name a few. Once the sensor system is activated, the front air bags inflate followed by a
release of smoke, almost instantly. The front air bags will not usually activate in side-impact
