2015 NISSAN SENTRA Owners Manual

WARNING
●Never let children ride unrestrained or
extend their hands or face out of the
window. Do not attempt to hold them in
your lap or arms. Some examples of
dangerous riding positions are shown
in the illustrations.
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WARNING
●Children may be severely injured or
killed when the front air bags, side air
bags or curtain air bags inflate if they
are not properly restrained. Pre-teens
and children should be properly re-
strained in the rear seat, if possible.
● Even with the NISSAN Advanced Air
Bag System, never install a rear-facing
child restraint in the front seat. An in-
flating front air bag could seriously in-
jure or kill your child. For additional
information, refer to “Child restraints”
in this section.
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WARNING
Front seat-mounted side-impact supple-
mental air bags and roof-mounted curtain
side-impact and rollover supplemental air
bags:
●The side air bags and curtain air bags
ordinarily will not inflate in the event of
a frontal impact, rear impact, or lower
severity side collision. Always wear
your seat belts to help reduce the risk or
severity of injury in various kinds of
accidents.
WARNING
● The seat belts, the side air bags and
curtain air bags are most effective when
you are sitting well back and upright in
the seat with both feet on the floor. The
side air bag and curtain air bag inflate
with great force. Do not allow anyone to
place their hand, leg or face near the
side air bag on the side of the seatback
of the front seat or near the side roof
rails. Do not allow anyone sitting in the
front seats or rear outboard seats to
extend their hand out of the window or
lean against the door. Some examples
of dangerous riding positions are
shown in the previous illustrations.
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WARNING
●When sitting in the rear seat, do not
hold onto the seatback of the front seat.
If the side air bag inflates, you may be
seriously injured. Be especially careful
with children, who should always be
properly restrained. Some examples of
dangerous riding positions are shown
in the illustrations.
● Do not use seat covers on the front
seatbacks. They may interfere with side
air bag inflation.
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Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-43

NISSAN Advanced Air Bag System
(front seats)
1. Top tether anchor
2. Rear seat belts
3. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact and roll-over supplemental air bag
4. Head restraints/headrests
5. Front seat belts
6. Supplemental front-impact air bags
7. Front crash zone sensor
8. Pressure sensors in door (passenger side shown; driver’s side similar)
9. Front seats
10.
Occupant classification sensor (weight sensor)
11. Satellite crash zone sensor
12. Seat belt with pretensioner
13. Front seat-mounted side-impact supple- mental air bag
14. Rear seats
15. LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) system
16. Satellite crash zone sensor
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WARNING
To ensure proper operation of the passen-
ger’s advanced air bag system, please ob-
serve the following items.
●Do not allow a passenger in the rear
seat to push or pull on the seatback
pocket.
● Do not place heavy loads heavier than
2.2 lb (1 kg) on the seatback, head
restraint/headrest or in the seatback
pocket.
● Do not store luggage behind the seat
that can press into the seatback.
● Do not position the front passenger
seat so it contacts the rear seat. If the
front seat does contact the rear seat,
the air bag system may determine a
sensor malfunction has occurred and
the front passenger air bag status light
may illuminate and the supplemental
air bag warning light may flash. ●
If a forward facing child restraint is in-
stalled in the front passenger seat, do
not position the front passenger seat so
the child restraint contacts the instru-
ment panel. If the child restraint does
contact the instrument panel, the sys-
tem may determine the seat is occupied
and the passenger air bag may deploy
in a collision. Also the front passenger
air bag status light may not illuminate.
For additional information, refer to
“Child restraints” in this section for in-
formation about installing and using
child restraints.
● Confirm the operating condition with
the front passenger air bag status light.
● If you notice that the front passenger air
bag status light is not operating as de-
scribed in this section, please take your
vehicle to your NISSAN dealer to check
the occupant classification system.
● Until you have confirmed with your
dealer that your passenger seat occu-
pant classification system is working
properly, position the occupants in the
rear seating positions.
This vehicle is equipped with the NISSAN Ad-
vanced Air Bag System for the driver and front
passenger seats. This system is designed to meet certification requirements under U.S. regu-
lations. It is also permitted in Canada.
All of the
information, cautions and warnings in this
manual must be followed.
The driver supplemental front-impact air bag is
located in the center of the steering wheel. The
passenger supplemental front-impact air bag is
mounted in the dashboard above the glove box.
The front air bags are designed to inflate in higher
severity frontal collisions, although they may in-
flate if the forces in another type of collision are
similar to those of a higher severity frontal impact.
They may not inflate in certain frontal collisions.
Vehicle damage (or lack of it) is not always an
indication of proper front air bag system opera-
tion.
The NISSAN Advanced Air Bag System has dual
stage inflators. It also monitors information from
the crash zone sensor, the Air bag Control Unit
(ACU) , seat belt buckle sensors and occupant
classification sensor (weight sensor) . Inflator op-
eration is based on the severity of a collision and
seat belt usage for the driver. For the front pas-
senger, the occupant classification sensors are
also monitored. Based on information from the
sensors, only one front air bag may inflate in a
crash, depending on the crash severity and
whether the front occupants are belted or un-
belted. Additionally, the front passenger air bag
may be automatically turned off under some con-
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-45

ditions, depending on the weight detected on the
passenger seat and how the seat belt is used. If
the front passenger air bag is OFF, the passenger
air bag status light will be illuminated (if the seat is
unoccupied, the light will not be illuminated, but
the air bag will be off) . For additional information,
refer to “Front passenger air bag and status light”
in this section. One front air bag inflating does not
indicate improper performance of the system.
If you have any questions about your air bag
system, please contact NISSAN or your NISSAN
dealer. If you are considering modification of your
vehicle due to a disability, you may also contact
NISSAN. Contact information is contained in the
front of this Owner’s Manual.
When a front air bag inflates, a fairly loud noise
may be heard, followed by the release of smoke.
This smoke is not harmful and does not indicate a
fire. Care should be taken to not inhale it, as it may
cause irritation and choking. Those with a history
of a breathing condition should get fresh air
promptly.
Front air bags, along with the use of seat belts,
help to cushion the impact force on the face and
chest of the front occupants. They can help save
lives and reduce serious injuries. However, an
inflating front air bag may cause facial abrasions
or other injuries. Front air bags do not provide
restraint to the lower body.Even with NISSAN advanced air bags, seat belts
should be correctly worn and the driver and pas-
senger seated upright as far as practical away
from the steering wheel or instrument panel. The
front air bags inflate quickly in order to help
protect the front occupants. Because of this, the
force of the front air bag inflating can increase the
risk of injury if the occupant is too close to, or is
against, the front air bag module during inflation.
The front air bags deflate quickly after a collision.
The front air bags operate only when the
ignition switch is placed in the ON position.
After placing the ignition switch in the ON
position, the supplemental air bag warning
light illuminates. The supplemental air bag
warning light will turn off after about 7 sec-
onds if the system is operational.
Front passenger air bag and status light
WARNING
The front passenger air bag is designed to
automatically turn OFF under some condi-
tions. Read this section carefully to learn
how it operates. Proper use of the seat,
seat belt and child restraints is necessary
for most effective protection. Failure to
follow all instructions in this manual con-
cerning the use of seats, seat belts and
child restraints can increase the risk or
severity of injury in an accident.
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Status light
The front passenger seat is equipped with an
occupant classification sensor (weight sensor)
that turns the front passenger air bag on or off
depending on the weight applied to the front
passenger seat. The status of the front passen-
ger air bag (ON or OFF) is indicated by the front
passenger air bag status light
which is
located on the instrument panel.
After the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, the front passenger air bag status light
on the instrument panel illuminates for about
7 seconds and then turns off or remains illumi-
nated depending on the front passenger seat
occupied status. The light operates as follows:
● Unoccupied front passenger’s seat:
The
light is OFF and the front passen-
ger air bag is OFF and will not inflate in a
crash.
● Front passenger seat occupied by a small
adult, child or child restraint as outlined in
this section: The
light illuminates to
indicate that the front passenger air bag is
OFF and will not inflate in a crash.
● Occupied front passenger seat and the pas-
senger meets the conditions as outlined in
this section: The
light is OFF to indi-
cate that the front passenger air bag is op-
erational. In addition to the above, certain objects placed
on the front passenger seat may also cause the
light to operate as described above depending
on their weight.
For additional information related to the normal
operation and troubleshooting of this occupant
classification sensor system, please refer to
“Normal operation” and “Troubleshooting” in this
section.
Front passenger air bag
The front passenger air bag is designed to auto-
matically turn OFF when the vehicle is operated
under some conditions as described below in
accordance with U.S. regulations. If the front
passenger air bag is OFF, it will not inflate in a
crash. The driver air bag and other air bags in your
vehicle are not part of this system.
The purpose of the regulation is to help reduce
the risk of injury or death from an inflating air bag
to certain front passenger seat occupants, such
as children, by requiring the air bag to be auto-
matically turned OFF. Certain sensors are used to
meet the requirements.
The occupant classification sensor in this vehicle
is a weight sensor. It is designed to detect an
occupant and objects on the seat by weight. For
example, if a child is in the front passenger seat,
the NISSAN Advanced Air Bag System is de- signed to turn the front passenger air bag OFF in
accordance with the regulations. Also, if a child
restraint of the type specified in the regulations is
on the seat, its weight and the child’s weight can
be detected and cause the air bag to turn OFF.
Front passenger seat adult occupants who are
properly seated and using the seat belt as out-
lined in this manual should not cause the front
passenger air bag to be automatically turned
OFF. For small adults it may be turned OFF,
however if the occupant takes his/her weight off
the seat cushion (for example, by not sitting up-
right, by sitting on an edge of the seat, or by
otherwise being out of position) , this could cause
the sensor to turn the air bag OFF. Always be
sure to be seated and wearing the seat belt
properly for the most effective protection by the
seat belt and supplemental air bag.
NISSAN recommends that pre-teens and chil-
dren be properly restrained in a rear seat.
NISSAN also recommends that appropriate child
restraints and booster seats be properly installed
in a rear seat. If this is not possible, the occupant
classification sensor is designed to operate as
described above to turn the front passenger air
bag OFF for specified child restraints as required
by the regulations. Failing to properly secure
child restraints and to use the ALR mode may
allow the restraint to tip or move in a collision or
sudden stop. This can also result in the passen-
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