2020 INFINITI QX80 Owner's Manual

measured reference height when loaded,
the vehicle may handle unpredictably
which could cause a loss of vehicle
control and cause serious personal injury
or property damage.
Sway control device
Sudden maneuvers, wind gusts and buffet-
ing caused by other vehicles can affect
trailer handling. Sway control devices may
be used to help control these affects. If you
choose to use one, contact a reputable
trailer hitch supplier to make sure the sway
control device will work with the vehicle,
hitch, trailer and the trailer’s brake system.
Follow the instructions provided by the
manufacturer for installing and using the
sway control device.
Class I hitch
Class I trailer hitch equipment (receiver, ball
mount and hitch ball) can be used to tow
trailers of a maximum weight of 2,000 lb
(907 kg).
Class II hitch
Class II trailer hitch equipment (receiver, ball
mount and hitch ball) can be used to tow
trailers of a maximum weight of 3,500 lb
(1,588 kg).
Class III hitch
Class III trailer hitch equipment (receiver, ball
mount and hitch ball) can be used to tow
trailers of a maximum weight of 5,000 lb
(2,267 kg).
Class IV hitch
Class IV trailer hitch equipment (receiver, ball
mount and hitch ball) can be used to tow
trailers of a maximum weight of 10,000 lb
(4,545 kg). A weight distributing hitch
should be used to tow trailers that weigh
over 5,000 lb (2,267 kg).
Your vehicle may be equipped with Class IV
trailer hitch equipment that has a 10,000 lb
(4,545 kg) maximum weight rating, but your
vehicle is only capable of towing the max-
imum trailer weights shown in the “Towing
Load/Specification” chart earlier in this
section.
CAUTION
.Do not use axle-mounted hitches.
. Do not modify the vehicle exhaust
system, brake system, etc.
. Do not attach any additional hitches
to your vehicle because a hitch is
already mounted to your vehicle frame.
Tire pressures
.
When towing a trailer, inflate the
vehicle tires to the recommended
cold tire pressure indicated on the
Tire and Loading Information la-
bel.
. Trailer tire condition, size, load
rating and proper inflation pres-
sure should be in accordance with
the trailer and tire manufacturers’
specifications.
Safety chains
Always use a suitable chain between your
vehicle and the trailer. The safety chains
should be crossed and should be attached to
the hitch, not to the vehicle bumper or axle.
Be sure to leave enough slack in the chains to
permit turning corners.
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10-26Technical and consumer information
STI0745
Trailer lights
Your vehicle is equipped with a towing
package, which also includes the 7-pin trailer
harness connector located under the trailer
hitch cover on the rear bumper.
CAUTION
.When splicing into the vehicle elec-
trical system, a commercially avail-
able power-type module/converter
must be used to provide power for
all trailer lighting. This unit uses the
vehicle battery as a direct power
source for all trailer lights while using the vehicle tail light, stoplight and
turn signal circuits as a signal source.
The module/converter must draw no
more than 15 milliamps from the stop
and tail lamp circuits. Using a mod-
ule/converter that exceeds these
power requirements may damage
the vehicle’s electrical system. See a
reputable trailer retailer to obtain the
proper equipment and to have it
installed.
. Do not connect electrical devices that
draw more than 40 amps to the
vehicle. The fusible link may melt.
Trailer lights should comply with federal
and/or local regulations. For assistance in
hooking up trailer lights, contact an INFINITI
retailer or reputable trailer retailer.
Trailer brakes
When towing a trailer load of 3,500 lbs.
(1,587 kg) or more, trailers with a brake
system MUST be used. However, most
states require a separate braking system on
trailers with a loaded weight above a
specific amount. Make sure the trailer meets
the local regulations and the regulations
where you plan to tow.
Several types of braking systems are avail-
able. Surge Brakes -
The surge brake actuator is
mounted on the trailer tongue with a
hydraulic line running to each trailer wheel.
Surge brakes are activated by the trailer
pushing against the hitch ball when the tow
vehicle is braking. Hydraulic surge brakes are
common on rental trailers and some boat
trailers. In this type of system, there is no
hydraulic or electric connection for brake
operation between the tow vehicle and the
trailer.
Electric Trailer Brakes - Electric braking
systems are activated by an electronic signal
sent from a trailer brake controller (special
brake sensing module).
Have a professional supplier of towing
equipment make sure the trailer brakes are
properly installed and demonstrate proper
brake function testing.WARNING
Never connect a trailer brake system
directly to the vehicle brake system.
Pre-towing tips
. Be certain your vehicle maintains a level
position when a loaded 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 condi-
tion.
. 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,
vehicle tire pressure, trailer light opera-
tion, 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 clear-
ance 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 performance will be somewhat different than under normal driving condi-
tions.
.
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 inad-
vertently 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 possi-
ble, 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 Transmission
(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.
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10-28Technical and consumer information
4. Release the parking brake.
5. Drive slowly until the vehicle and trailerare 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 overheat-
ing. Shifting to a lower gear instead
provides “engine braking” and reduces
the need to brake as frequently.
. If the engine coolant temperature rises to
a high temperature, see “If your vehicle
overheats” (P.6-14).
. 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 recom-
mended maintenance schedule shown in
the “9. Maintenance and schedules”
section. .
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 ad-
versely affect vehicle/trailer handling,
possibly causing vehicle sway. When
being passed by larger vehicles, be pre-
pared for possible changes in crosswinds
that could affect vehicle 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 vehicle.
.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 balanced as described earlier in this
section.
. Be careful when passing other vehicles.
Passing while towing a trailer requires
considerably more distance than normal
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 Warning (LDW) system
— the Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) system
— the Blind Spot Warning (BSW) system
— the Blind Spot Intervention
®(BSI)
system
— the Back-up Collision Intervention (BCI) system
— the Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system
— the Distance Control Assist (DCA) system

— the Forward Emergency Braking(FEB) with pedestrian detection sys-
tem
— the Predictive Forward Collision Warning (PFCW) system
. 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
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 “9. Main-
tenance and schedules” section.
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 indicator 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 transmission/
engine driving characteristics may feel unu-
sual.
When towing a trailer, the transmission
fluid should be changed more frequently.
For additional information, see “9. Main-
tenance and schedules” section.
Trailer Sway Control
To minimize trailer sway, your vehicle may
apply braking to individual wheels based on
input from your vehicle sensors and vehicle
speed. Trailer Sway Control is a function of
the Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system
and is active when the VDC function is
enabled.
CAUTION
If the VDC OFF switch is on (meaning
VDC system OFF), the Trailer Sway
Control is also disabled.
When Trailer Sway Control is in operation,
the VDC warning light blinks. When vehicle
control is regained, VDC warning light will
turn OFF.
For additional information about the VDC
system, see “Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC)
system” (P.5-124).
If Trailer Sway Control activates:
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 vehicle.
CAUTION
Do not try to 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.
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10-30Technical and consumer information
3. Try to rearrange the trailer load so it isbalanced.
NOTE:
Trailer Sway Control cannot reduce trailer
sway in all situations.
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,
always tow forward, never back-
ward.
. DO NOT tow any automatic trans-
mission vehicle with all four wheels
on the ground (flat towing). Doing so
WILL DAMAGE internal transmis-
sion parts due to lack of transmission
lubrication.
. DO NOT tow a 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” (P.6-16).
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 automatic
transmission, an appropriate vehicle dolly
MUST be placed under the towed vehicle’s
drive wheels. Alwaysfollow the dolly man-
ufacturer’s recommendations when using
their product. DOT (Department Of Transportation) Qual-
ity Grades: All passenger car tires must
conform to federal safety requirements in
addition to these grades.
Quality grades can be found where applic-
able on the tire sidewall between tread
shoulder and maximum section width. For
example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Temperature A
TREADWEAR
The treadwear grade is a comparative rating
based on the wear rate of the tire when
tested under controlled conditions on a
specified government test course. For ex-
ample, a tire graded 150 would wear one
and one-half (1 1/2) times as well on the
government course as a tire graded 100.
The relative performance of tires depends
upon actual conditions of their use, however,
and may depart significantly from the norm
due to variations in driving habits, service
practices and differences in road character-
istics and climate.
UNIFORM TIRE QUALITY GRADING

TRACTION AA, A, B AND C
The traction grades, from highest to lowest,
are AA, A, B and C. Those grades represent
the tire’s ability to stop on wet pavement as
measured under controlled conditions on
specified government test surfaces of as-
phalt and concrete. A tire marked C may
have poor traction performance.
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this tire is
based on straight-ahead braking trac-
tion tests, and does not include accel-
eration, cornering, hydroplaning, or peak
traction characteristics.
TEMPERATURE A, B AND C
The temperature grades A (the highest), B,
and C, representing the tire’s resistance to
the generation of heat and its ability to
dissipate heat when tested under controlled
conditions on a specified indoor laboratory
test wheel. Sustained high temperature can
cause the material of the tire to degenerate
and reduce tire life, and excessive tempera-
ture can lead to sudden tire failure. The
grade C corresponds to a level of perfor-
mance which all passenger car tires must
meet under the Federal Motor VehicleSafety Standard No. 109. Grades B and A
represent higher levels of performance on
the laboratory test wheel than the minimum
required by law.
WARNING
The temperature grade for this tire is
established for a tire that is properly
inflated and not overloaded. Excessive
speed, under-inflation, or excessive
loading, either separately or in combina-
tion, can cause heat build-up and possi-
ble tire failure.
Your INFINITI is covered by the following
emission warranties.
For USA:
.
Emission Defects Warranty
. Emissions Performance Warranty
Details of these warranties may be found
with other vehicle warranties in your War-
ranty Information Booklet that comes with
your INFINITI. If you did not receive a
Warranty Information Booklet, or it has
become lost, you may obtain a replacement
by writing to:
. INFINITI Division
Nissan North America, Inc.
Consumer Affairs Department
P.O. Box 685003
Franklin, TN 37068-5003
For Canada:
Emission Control System Warranty
Details of these warranties may be found
with other vehicle warranties in your War-
ranty and Roadside Assistance Information
that comes with your INFINITI. If you did not
receive a Warranty and Roadside Assistance
Information, or it has become lost, you may
obtain a replacement by writing to:
. Nissan Canada Inc.
5290 Orbitor Drive
Mississauga, Ontario,
Technical and consumer information10-31
EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM
WARRANTY

10-32Technical and consumer information
L4W 4Z5For USA
If you believe that your vehicle has a
defect which could cause a crash or
could cause injury or death, you
should immediately inform the Na-
tional Highway Traffic Safety Admin-
istration (NHTSA) in addition to
notifying INFINITI.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints,
it may open an investigation, and if it
finds that a safety defect exists in a
group of vehicles, it may order a recall
and remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
your retailer, or INFINITI.
To contact NHTSA, you may call the
Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-
888- 327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-
9153); go to http://www.safercar.
gov; or write to: Administrator,
NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, D.C. 20590. You can
also obtain other information about
motor vehicle safety from http://
www.safercar.gov.
You may notify INFINITI by contact-ing our Consumer Affairs Depart-
ment, toll-free, at 1-800-662-6200.
For Canada
If you believe that your vehicle has a
defect which could cause a crash or
could cause injury or death, you
should immediately inform Transport
Canada in addition to notifying
INFINITI.
If Transport Canada receives com-
plaints, it may open an investigation,
and if it finds that a safety defect
exists in a group of vehicles, it may
request that INFINITI conduct a recall
campaign. However, Transport Cana-
da cannot become involved in indivi-
dual problems between you, your
retailer, or INFINITI.
You may contact Transport Canada’s
Defect Investigations and Recalls Di-
vision toll free at 1-800-333-0510.
You may also report safety defects
online at:
https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-
Sur/7/PCDB-BDPP/fc-cp.aspx?lan-
g=eng (English speakers) or https://
REPORTING SAFETY DEFECTS