2019 NISSAN MAXIMA ignition

The CVT in your vehicle is electronically
controlled to produce maximum power
and smooth operation.
The recommended operating procedures
for this transmission are shown on the fol-
lowing pages. Follow these procedures for
maximum vehicle performance and driv-
ing enjoyment.
NOTE:
Engine power may be automatically re-
duced to protect the CVT if the engine
speed increases quickly when driving on
slippery roads or while being tested on
some dynamometers.
Starting the vehicle
1. Af ter starting the engine, fully depressthe foot brake pedal before moving the
shif t lever out of the P (Park) position.
2. Keep the foot brake pedal depressed and move the shif t lever into a driving
gear.
3. Release the parking brake and the foot brake pedal, then gradually start the
vehicle in motion. 4. Stop the vehicle completely before
shif ting the shif t lever to the P (Park)
position.
The Continuously Variable Transmission
is designed so the foot brake pedal MUST
be depressed before shif ting from P
(Park) to any drive position while the ig-
nition switch is in the ON position.
The shif t lever cannot be moved out of P
(Park) and into any of the other gear po-
sitions if the ignition switch is pushed to
the LOCK position.
WARNING
∙ Do not depress the accelerator pedal while shif ting from P (Park) or N (Neu-
tral) to R (Reverse), D (Drive), or M
(Manual shif t mode). Always depress
the brake pedal until shif ting is com-
pleted. Failure to do so could cause
you to lose control and have an acci-
dent. It can also damage the vehicle.
∙ Cold engine idle speed is high, so use caution when shif ting into a forward
or reverse gear before the engine has
warmed up. ∙ Do not downshif t abruptly on slippery
roads. This may cause a loss of
control.
∙ Never shif t to either the P (Park) or R (Reverse) position while the vehicle is
moving forward and P (Park) or D
(Drive) position while the vehicle is re-
versing. This could cause an accident
or damage the transmission.
CAUTION
∙ Except in an emergency, do not shif tto the N (Neutral) position while driv-
ing. Coasting with the transmission in
the N (Neutral) position may cause se-
rious damage to the transmission.
∙ To avoid possible damage to your ve- hicle, when stopping the vehicle on an
uphill grade, do no hold the vehicle by
depressing the accelerator pedal. The
foot brake should be used for this
purpose.
Starting and driving5-17

To move the shif t lever, complete the fol-
lowing procedure:1. Push the ignition switch to the LOCK position.
2. Apply the parking brake.
3. Using a protective cloth on the tip of a small (1/8 inch or 3 mm) flat-head
screwdriver, remove the shif t lock re-
lease cover.
∙ If available, a plastic trim tool can also be used.
4. Insert the car key into the shif t lock release slot and press straight down. A
small screwdriver or small trim tool
may also be used.
∙ For additional information, refer to “NISSAN Intelligent Key®” in the “Pre-
driving checks and adjustments”
section of this manual.
5. Move the shif t lever to the N (Neutral) position while holding down the shif t
lock release.
6. Push the ignition switch to the ON po- sition to unlock the steering wheel.
Now the vehicle may be moved to the
desired location. If the shif t lever cannot be moved out of P
(Park), have the transmission checked as
soon as possible. It is recommended that
you visit a NISSAN dealer for this service.
CAUTION
Make sure to take extra care during the
removal of the shif t lock cap as this part
is easily damaged.
WARNING
If the shif t lever cannot be moved from
the P (Park) position while the engine is
running and the brake pedal is de-
pressed, the stop lights may not work.
Malfunctioning stop lights could cause
an accident injuring yourself and
others.
Accelerator downshif t
— in D (Drive) position and manual
shif t mode
For passing or hill climbing, depress the
accelerator pedal to the floor. This shif ts
the transmission down into lower range,
depending on the vehicle speed.
High fluid temperature protection
mode
This transmission has a high fluid tem-
perature protection mode. If the fluid tem-
perature becomes too high (for example,
when climbing steep grades in high tem-
peratures with heavy loads, such as when
towing a trailer), engine power and, under
some conditions, vehicle speed will be de-
creased automatically to reduce the
chance of transmission damage. Vehicle
speed can be controlled with the accelera-
tor pedal, but the engine and vehicle speed
may be limited.
Fail-safe
If the vehicle is driven under extreme
conditions, such as excessive wheel
spinning and subsequent hard braking,
the fail-safe system may be activated.
The Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL)
may come on to indicate the fail-safe
mode is activated. For additional infor-
mation, refer to “Malfunction Indicator
Light (MIL)” in the “Instruments and con-
trols” section of this manual. This will oc-
cur even if all electrical circuits are func-
tioning properly. In this case, place the
ignition switch in the OFF position and
wait for 10 seconds. Then place the igni-
Starting and driving5-21

∙ Do not place reflective materials, suchas white paper or a mirror, on the instru-
ment panel. The reflection of sunlight
may adversely affect the camera unit’s
capability of detecting the lane mark-
ers.
∙ Do not strike or damage the areas around the camera unit. Do not touch
the camera lens or remove the screw
located on the camera unit. If the cam-
era unit is damaged due to an accident,
it is recommended that you visit a
NISSAN dealer.
WARNING
Failure to follow the warnings and in-
structions for proper use of the I-LI sys-
tem could result in serious injury or
death.
∙ The I-LI system will not steer the ve-hicle or prevent loss of control. It is the
driver’s responsibility to stay alert,
drive safely, keep the vehicle in the
traveling lane, and be in control of the
vehicle at all times. ∙ The I-LI system is primarily intended
for use on well-developed freeways or
highways. It may not detect the lane
markers in certain road, weather, or
driving conditions.
The I-LI system can be turned on with the
dynamic driver assistance switch on the
lower lef t panel, every time the ignition is
placed in the ON position.
The I-LI system will operate when the ve-
hicle is driven at speeds of approximately
37 mph (60 km/h) and above, and only
when the lane markings are clearly visible
on the road.
The I-LI system warns the driver when the
vehicle has lef t the center of the traveling
lane with an indicator and a steering wheel
vibration. The system helps assist the
driver to return the vehicle to the center of
the traveling lane by applying the brakes to
the lef t or right wheels individually (for a
short period of time).
The I-LI system monitors the lane markers
on the traveling lane using the camera unit
Alocated above the inside mirror.
LSD3425
INTELLIGENT LANE INTERVENTION
(I-LI) (if so equipped)
Starting and driving5-31

1. Side BSW/RCTA Indicator Light
2. BSW/RCTA Indicator
BSW SYSTEM OPERATION
The BSW system operates above approxi-
mately 20 mph (32km/h).
If the radar sensors detect a vehicle in the
detection zone, the side BSW/RCTA indica-
tor light (1) illuminates. If the turn signal is
then activated, the system chimes (twice)
and the side BSW/RCTA indicator light
flashes. The side BSW/RCTA indicator light
continues to flash until the detected ve-
hicle leaves the detection zone.
The side BSW/RCTA indicator light illumi-
nates for a few seconds when the ignition
switch is placed in the ON position.
The brightness of the side BSW/RCTA indi-
cator light is adjusted automatically de-
pending on the brightness of the ambient
light.
If a vehicle comes into the detection zone
af ter the driver activates the turn signal,
then only the side BSW/RCTA indicator light
flashes and no chime sounds. For addi-
tional information, refer to “BSW driving
situations” in this section.
LSD2417
Starting and driving5-39

∙ Cruise control warning (yellow): Indi-cates that there is a malfunction in
the ICC system
2. Set vehicle speed indicator: This indicator indicates the set vehicle
speed. For Canadian models, the
speed is displayed in km/h.
Operating conventional (fixed
speed) cruise control mode
To turn on the conventional (fixed speed)
cruise control mode, push and hold the ICC
switch
Afor longer than about 1.5 sec-
onds.
When pushing ICC switch on, the conven-
tional (fixed speed) cruise control mode
display and indicators
Bare displayed in
the vehicle information display. Af ter you
hold ICC switch on for longer than about
1.5 seconds, the ICC system display turns
off. The cruise indicator appears. You can
now set your desired cruising speed. Push- ing the ICC switch again will turn the sys-
tem completely off. When the ignition
switch is placed in the OFF position, the
system is also automatically turned off.
To use the ICC system again, quickly push
and release the ICC switch (vehicle-to ve-
hicle distance control mode) or push and
hold it (conventional cruise control mode)
again to turn it on.
CAUTION
To avoid accidentally engaging cruise
control, make sure to turn the ICC switch
off when not using the ICC system.
LSD3398
5-82Starting and driving

INTELLIGENT DRIVER ALERTNESS
SYSTEM OPERATION
If the system detects driver fatigue or that
driver attention is decreasing, the mes-
sage “Take a break?” appears in the vehicle
information display and a chime sounds
when the vehicle is driven at speeds above
37 mph (60 km/h).
The system continuously monitors driver
attention and can provide multiple warn-
ings per trip.The system resets and starts reassessing
driving style and steering behavior when
the ignition switch is cycled from ON to OFF
and back on.
LSD3386
Starting and driving5-121

∙HEADED UPHILL OR DOWNHILL, NO
CURB
C:
Turn the wheels toward the side of the
road so the vehicle will move away
from the center of the road if it moves.
4. Place the ignition switch in the LOCK position.WARNING
∙ If the engine is not running or isturned off while driving, the power as-
sist for the steering will not work.
Steering will be harder to operate.
∙ When the power steering warning light illuminates with the engine run-
ning, there will be no power assist for
the steering. You will still have control
of the vehicle but the steering will be
harder to operate. Have the power
steering system checked. It is recom-
mended that you visit a NISSAN dealer
for this service.
The power steering system is designed to
provide power assist while driving to oper-
ate the steering wheel with light force.
When the steering wheel is operated re-
peatedly or continuously while parking or
driving at a very low speed, the power as-
sist for the steering wheel will be reduced.
This is to prevent overheating of the power
steering system and protect it from getting
damaged. While the power assist is re-
duced, steering wheel operation will be-
come heavy. If the steering wheel opera-
tion is still performed, the power steering
may stop and the power steering warning
light will illuminate. In a safe location, stop the engine and push the ignition switch to
the OFF position. The temperature of the
power steering system will go down af ter a
period of time and the power assist level
will return to normal af ter starting the en-
gine. The power steering warning light will
go off. Avoid repeating such steering wheel
operations that could cause the power
steering system to overheat.
You may hear a noise from the front of the
vehicle when the steering wheel is oper-
ated. This is a normal operational noise
and is not a malfunction.
If the power steering warning light illumi-
nates while the engine is running, it may
indicate the power steering system is not
functioning properly and may need servic-
ing. Have the power steering system
checked. It is recommended that you visit a
NISSAN dealer for this service.
When the power steering warning light illu-
minates with the engine running, there will
be no power assist for the steering but you
will still have control of the vehicle. At this
time, greater steering effort is required to
operate the steering wheel, especially in
sharp turns and at low speeds.
POWER STEERING
Starting and driving5-127

The vehicle information display is used to
turn off the VDC system. The
indica-
tor light illuminates to indicate the VDC sys-
tem is off.
When the vehicle information display is
used to turn off the system, the VDC sys-
tem still operates to prevent one drive
wheel from slipping by transferring power
to a non-slipping drive wheel. The
in-
dicator light flashes if this occurs. All other
VDC functions are off and the
indica-
tor light will not flash.
The VDC system is automatically reset to
ON when the ignition switch is placed in the
OFF position then back to the ON position.
The computer has a built-in diagnostic fea-
ture that tests the system each time you
start the engine and move the vehicle for-
ward or in reverse at a slow speed. When
the self-test occurs, you may hear a clunk
noise and/or feel a pulsation in the brake
pedal. This is normal and is not an indica-
tion of a malfunction.
WARNING
∙ The VDC system is designed to help the driver maintain stability but does
not prevent accidents due to abrupt
steering operation at high speeds or
by careless or dangerous driving
techniques. Reduce vehicle speed and
be especially careful when driving and
cornering on slippery surfaces and al-
ways drive carefully.
∙ Do not modif y the vehicle’s suspen- sion. If suspension parts such as
shock absorbers, struts, springs, sta-
bilizer bars, bushings and wheels are
not NISSAN recommended for your
vehicle or are extremely deteriorated,
the VDC system may not operate
properly. This could adversely affect
vehicle handling performance, and
the
indicator light may flash.
∙ If brake related parts such as brake pads, rotors and calipers are not
NISSAN recommended or are ex-
tremely deteriorated, the VDC system
may not operate properly and
the
indicator light may
illuminate. ∙ If engine control related parts are not
NISSAN recommended or are ex-
tremely deteriorated, the
indica-
tor light may illuminate.
∙ When driving on extremely inclined surfaces such as higher banked cor-
ners, the VDC system may not operate
properly and the
indicator light
may flash. Do not drive on these types
of roads.
∙ When driving on an unstable surface such as a turntable, ferry, elevator or
ramp, the
indicator light may
flash. This is not a malfunction. Re-
start the engine af ter driving onto a
stable surface.
∙ If wheels or tires other than the NISSAN recommended ones are used,
the VDC system may not operate
properly and the
indicator light
may flash.
∙ The VDC system is not a substitute for winter tires or tire chains on a snow
covered road.
Starting and driving5-131