2017 NISSAN PATHFINDER Trailer

Electric trailer brake controller
Trailers equipped with electric brakes may re-
quire the installation of an aftermarket trailer
brake controller.
Your vehicle is equipped with a connector and
jumper harness that is specifically designed to be
used when installing an aftermarket brake con-
troller.To install the electric trailer brake controller
jumper harness, perform the following proce-
dure:
1. Open the driver door. Move the seat to the rearmost position.
Jumper Harness
LTI0117
Connector Location
LTI2045
10-24Technical and consumer information

2. Locate the jumper harness connector underthe lower portion of the instrument panel.
The connector is taped to the wiring harness
1as indicated.
● The connector is marked with a white tag
with “elec brake conn”. Wire color designation for electric trailer brake
controller jumper harness.
WIRE COLOR
NOTE
RED/GREEN Vehicle stop lamp switch
to trailer brake controller.
BLACK Brake controller ground
(-) .
BROWN/WHITE Trailer brake controller switched output.
RED/BLUE Not used
RED Fused trailer brake con-
troller battery feed (B+) .
3. Peel off the tape and connect the jumper
harness to the connector.
4. Release the parking brake.
5. Install the aftermarket electric trailer brake controller according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.
Pre-towing tips
●Be certain your vehicle maintains a level
position when a loaded and/or unloaded
trailer is hitched. Do not drive the vehicle if it
has an abnormal nose-up or nose-down
condition; check for improper tongue load,
overload, worn suspension or other possible
causes of either condition. ●
Always secure items in the trailer to prevent
load shift while driving.
● Keep the cargo load as low as possible in
the trailer to keep the trailer center of gravity
low.
● Load the trailer so approximately 60% of the
trailer load is in the front half and 40% is in
the back half. Also make sure the load is
balanced side to side.
● Check your hitch, trailer tire pressure, ve-
hicle tire pressure, trailer light operation, and
trailer wheel lug nuts every time you attach a
trailer to the vehicle.
● Be certain your rearview mirrors conform to
all federal, state or local regulations. If not,
install any mirrors required for towing before
driving the vehicle.
● Determine the overall height of the vehicle
and trailer so the required 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.
Connector
LTI2046
Technical and consumer information10-25

●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 inadver-
tently becoming unlatched.
● Avoid abrupt starts, acceleration or stops.
● Avoid sharp turns or lane changes.
● Always drive your vehicle at a moderate
speed.
● 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 ab-
sorb the vehicle load.
4. Apply the parking brake.
5. Shift the transmission into P (Park) .
6. Turn off the engine.
To drive away: 1. Start the vehicle.
2. Apply and hold the brake pedal.
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 de-
crease overall stability. Therefore, to main-
tain adequate control, reduce your speed
and shift to a lower gear. Avoid long or
repeated use of the brakes when descend-
ing a hill, as this reduces their effectiveness
and could cause overheating. Shifting to a
lower gear instead provides “engine brak-
ing” and reduces the need to brake as fre-
quently.
● If the engine coolant temperature rises to a
high temperature, refer to “If your vehicle
overheats” in the “In case of emergency”
section of this owner’s manual.
● Trailer towing requires more fuel than normal
circumstances.
● Avoid towing a trailer for your vehicle’s first
500 miles (805 km) .
● For the first 500 miles (805 km) that you do
tow, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h).
● Have your vehicle serviced more often than
at intervals specified in the recommended
Maintenance Schedule in the “Maintenance
and schedules” section of this manual.
10-26Technical and consumer information

●When making a turn, your trailer wheels will
be closer to the inside of the turn than your
vehicle wheels. To compensate for this,
make a larger than normal turning radius
during the turn.
● Crosswinds and rough roads will adversely
affect vehicle/trailer handling, possibly caus-
ing vehicle sway. When being passed by
larger vehicles, be prepared for possible
changes in crosswinds that could affect ve-
hicle handling.
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 conditions allow.
This combination will help stabilize the ve-
hicle.
– Do not correct trailer sway by steering 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 bal- anced. For additional information, refer to
“Pre-towing tips” in this section. ●
Be careful when passing other vehicles.
Passing while towing a trailer requires con-
siderably more distance than normal pass-
ing. 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 trans-
mission 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.
● NISSAN recommends that the cruise con-
trol not be used while towing a trailer.
● Some states or provinces have specific
regulations and speed limits for vehicles that
are towing trailers. Obey the local speed
limits. ●
Check your hitch, trailer wiring harness con-
nections, and trailer wheel lug nuts after
50 miles (80 km) of travel and at every break.
● When launching a boat, don’t allow the wa-
ter 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, final drive gear oil
should be replaced and transmission
oil/fluid should be changed more fre-
quently. For additional information, refer to
the “Do-it-yourself” section in this manual.
Tow mode
Using tow mode is recommended when pulling a
heavy trailer or hauling a heavy load. Press the
TOW MODE switch to activate tow mode. The
indicator light on the TOW MODE switch illumi-
nates when tow mode is selected. Press the
TOW MODE switch again to turn tow mode off.
Tow mode is automatically canceled when the
ignition switch is turned off.
Technical and consumer information10-27

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) — automati-
cally 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 transmission/engine driving
characteristics may feel unusual.
When towing a trailer, final drive gear oil
should be replaced and transmission
oil/fluid should be changed more fre-
quently. For additional information, refer to
the “Do-it-yourself” section of this manual.
FLAT TOWING FOR 4–WHEEL
DRIVE VEHICLE (if so equipped)
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.
● Never flat tow your 4-wheel drive (4WD)
vehicle.
● DO NOT tow your 4-wheel drive (4WD)
vehicle with any wheels on the ground.
Doing so may cause serious and expen-
sive damage to the powertrain.
● For emergency towing procedures refer
to “Towing recommended by NISSAN”
in the “In case of emergency” section of
this manual.
FLAT TOWING FOR FRONT WHEEL
DRIVE VEHICLE (if so equipped)
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.
● Never tow your front wheel drive vehicle
with the front tires on the ground. Doing
so may cause serious and expensive
damage to the powertrain.
● DO NOT tow your front wheel drive con-
tinuously variable transmission vehicle
with all four wheels on the ground (flat
towing) . Doing so WILL DAMAGE inter-
nal transmission parts due to lack of
transmission lubrication.
● For emergency towing procedures refer
to “Towing recommended by NISSAN”
in the “In case of emergency” section of
this manual.
Continuously Variable Transmission
To tow a vehicle equipped with a continuously
variable transmission, an appropriate vehicle
dolly MUST be placed under the towed vehicle’s
drive wheels. Alwaysfollow the dolly manufac-
turer’s recommendations when using their prod-
uct.
10-28Technical and consumer information

T
Tachometer ....................2-5
Temperature gauge Engine coolant temperature gauge .....2-5
Theft (NISSAN Vehicle Immobilizer System) ,
engine start ................2-31,5-13
Three-way catalyst ................5-2
Tire Flat tire .....................6-3
Spare tire ................6-4,8-35
TireandLoadingInformationlabel ....10-12
Tire chains ..................8-32
Tirepressure.................8-25
Tire rotation..................8-32
Tires of 4-wheel drive ............8-35
Types of tires .................8-31
Uniform tire quality grading ........10-29
Wheels and tires ...........8-25,10-9
Wheel/tire size ................10-9
Tire pressure Low tire pressure warning light .......2-12
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) ....5-3
Top tether strap child restraint .........1-32
Towing 4-wheel drive models ............6-13
Flattowing.................10-28
Towing load/specification .........10-20
Towtrucktowing...............6-12
Trailer towing ................10-17
Towing a trailer .................10-17
Tow mode switch ................2-46
Transceiver HomeLink® Universal
Transceiver....2-65,2-66,2-67,2-68,2-68 Transmission
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
fluid.......................8-9
Driving with Continuously Variable
Transmission (CVT) .............5-15
Travel (See registering a vehicle in another
country) .....................10-10
Trip odometer ...................2-4
Turn signal switch ................2-39
U
Uniform tire quality grading ..........10-29
USB interface ...............4-61,4-77
V
Vanity mirror ...................3-33
Vehicle dimensions and weights ........10-9
Vehicle dynamic control (VDC) off switch . . .2-44
Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system ....5-69
Vehicle identification ..............10-10
Vehicle identification number (VIN) ......10-10
Vehicle identification number (VIN)
(Chassis number) ...............10-10
Vehicle identification number (VIN) plate . . .10-10
Vehicle immobilizer system ........2-31,5-13
Vehicle loading information ..........10-13
Vehicle recovery ..............6-14,6-15
Vehicle security system .............2-30
Vehicle security system (NISSAN Vehicle
Immobilizer System) , engine start ....2-31,5-13
Vents.......................4-46
Visors.......................3-32 Voice Recognition System
...........4-136
W
Warning Airbagwarninglight.........1-67,2-14
Anti-lock brake warning light ........2-11
Battery charge warning light ........2-12
Brake warning light .............2-11
Hazard warning flasher switch ........6-2
Loose fuel cap warning ...........2-28
Low fuel

warning light ........2-14,2-28
Low tire pressure warning light .......2-12
Low windshield-washer fluid warning
light......................2-28
Passenger air bag and status light .....1-58
Seat belt warning light ........1-20,2-14
Supplemental air bag warning
light ..................1-67,2-14
TPMS ......................2-4
Vehicle security system ...........2-30
Warning/indicator lights and audible
reminders ...............2-10,2-15
Warning labels (for SRS) ..........1-66
Warning/indicator lights and audible
reminders.................2-10,2-15 Audiblereminders ..........2-10,2-15
Indicatorlights ............2-10,2-15
Warning lights .............2-10,2-15
Warning lights ...............2-10,2-15
Warning lights, indicator lights and audible
reminders.....................2-10
Washer switch Rear window wiper and washer
switches...................2-34
11-7