2021 NISSAN ARMADA warning

10-28Technical and consumer information
Several types of braking systems are
available.
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.
WAJ0207X
Gain –
Gain +
Manual control lever
Boost
Trailer Brake Controller Unit (TBCU)
The Trailer Brake Controller Unit (TBCU),
located on the lower instrument panel, is
a device that assists the vehicle in having
effective and smooth braking while tow-
ing a trailer. Operating modes:
.
Automatic mode:
This is the normal operation of the
TBCU depending on the gain and
boost settings adjusted by the custo-
mer. This mode will activate when
vehicle brake pedal is pressed.
. Manual mode:
This mode is initiated by adjusting the
manual control lever from resting
position. This mode will provide out-
put power to trailer brakes without
applying the vehicle brake pedal.
To determine the output operation of the
system:
. Gain + and Gain - :
Used to increase or decrease the
braking force supplied to the trailer
brakes.To adjust the gain, press Gain +
or Gain - to the desired point (0-10).
For example: gain setting 6.0 is a
typical starting point for heavy loads.
. Boost:
Used to adjust the feel of the auto-
matic brake event that occurs when
the vehicle brake pedal is applied. To
set up boost, press Boost button once
to display for current boost setting
(display for 3 seconds). Keep pressing
to increase boost level until the de-
sired level (0-3) is achieved.

WAJ0208X
This graphic shows the suggested
boost levels for different trailer sizes
relative to the vehicle size.
WARNING
Do not exceed Gross Combined
Weight Rating (GVWR). See “Towing
load/specification” (P.10-23).
Technical and consumer information10-31

10-32Technical and consumer information
Pre-towing tips
.Be certain your vehicle maintains a
level position when a loaded or un-
loaded 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,
vehicle tire pressure, trailer light op-
eration, and trailer wheel lug nuts
every time you attach a trailer to the
vehicle.
. Be certain your rearview mirrors con-
form 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 understand-
ing 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.
.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
inadvertently becoming unlatched.
. Avoid abrupt starts, acceleration or
stops.
. Avoid sharp turns or lane changes.
. Always drive your vehicle at a moder-
ate 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 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 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 Transmis-
sion (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.
4. Release the parking brake.
5. Drive slowly until the vehicle andtrailer 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
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 overheating. 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
recommended 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
prepared 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 combina-
tion will help stabilize the vehicle.
.Do not correct trailer sway bysteering 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 vehi-
cles. 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 en-
gine 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, result-
ing 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
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
(See “How to enable/disable the
LDW system” (P.5-28).)
— the Intelligent Lane Intervention (I- LI) system
(See “How to enable/disable the I-LI
system” (P.5-34).)
Technical and consumer information10-33

10-34Technical and consumer information
— the Blind Spot Warning (BSW) sys-tem
(See “How to enable/disable the I-
BSI system” (P.5-48).)
— the Intelligent Blind Spot Interven- tion (I-BSI) system
(See “How to enable/disable the I-
BSI system” (P.5-48).)
— the Intelligent Back-up Intervention (I-BI) system
(See “I-BI system operation” (P.5-
65).)
— the Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) system
(See “Intelligent Cruise Control
(ICC)” (P.5-74).)
— the Rear Automatic Braking (RAB) system
(See “RAB system operation” (P.5-
118).)
— the Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) system
(See “How to enable/disable the
RCTA system” (P.5-59).)
. Some states or provinces have speci-
fic regulations and speed limits for
vehicles that are towing trailers. Obey
the local speed limits.
. Check your hitch, trailer wiring har-
ness 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 (if so equipped) 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 fre-
quently. For additional information,
see the "9. Maintenance 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 fea-
tures:
. 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 trans-
mission/engine driving characteristics
may feel unusual.
When towing a trailer, the transmission
fluid should be changed more fre-
quently. For additional information,
see the "9. Maintenance 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 vehi-
cle control is regained, VDC warning light
will turn OFF.
For additional information about the VDC
system, see “Vehicle Dynamic Control
(VDC) system” (P.5-144).
If Trailer Sway Control activates:
1. Take your foot off the acceleratorpedal to allow the vehicle to coast
and steer as straight ahead as the
road conditions allow. This combina-
tion 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.
3. Try to rearrange the trailer load so it is balanced.
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 recrea-
tional vehicle, such as a motor home.
CAUTION
. Failure to follow these guidelines
can result in severe transmission
damage.
. Whenever flat towing your vehi-
cle, always tow forward, never
backward.
. DO NOT tow any automatic trans-
mission vehicle with all four
wheels on the ground (flat tow-
ing). Doing so WILL DAMAGE inter-
nal transmission 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 proce-
dures refer to “Towing recom-
mended by NISSAN” (P.6-17).
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 auto-
matic transmission, an appropriate vehi-
cle dolly MUSTbe placed under the towed
vehicle’s drive wheels. Alwaysfollow the
dolly manufacturer’s recommendations
when using their product.
Technical and consumer information10-35

10-36Technical and consumer information
DOT (Department Of Transportation)
Quality Grades: All passenger car tires
must conform to federal safety require-
ments in addition to these grades.
Quality grades can be found where ap-
plicable on the tire sidewall between
tread shoulder and maximum section
width. For example:
Treadwear 200 Traction AA Tempera-
ture 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 example, 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 sig-
nificantly from the norm due to variations
in driving habits, service practices and
differences in road characteristics and
climate.
TRACTION AA, A, B AND C
The traction grades, from highest to low-
est, 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 asphalt and concrete. A tire
marked C may have poor traction perfor-
mance.
WARNING
The traction grade assigned to this
tire is based on straight-ahead brak-
ing traction tests, and does not
include acceleration, cornering, hy-
droplaning, or peak traction charac-
teristics.
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 con-
trolled 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 temperature can lead to
sudden tire failure. The grade C corre-
sponds to a level of performance whichall passenger car tires must meet under
the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan-
dard 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. Exces-
sive speed, under-inflation, or exces-
sive loading, either separately or in
combination, can cause heat build-
up and possible tire failure.
UNIFORM TIRE QUALITY GRADING

10-38Technical and consumer information
You may notify NISSAN by contact-
ing our Consumer Affairs Depart-
ment, toll-free, at 1-800-NISSAN-1
(1-800-647-7261).
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 Trans-
port Canada in addition to notifying
NISSAN.
If Transport Canada receives com-
plaints, it may open an investiga-
tion, and if it finds that a safety
defect exists in a group of vehicles,
it may request that NISSAN con-
duct a recall campaign. However,
Transport Canada cannot become
involved in individual problems be-
tween you, your dealer, or NISSAN.
You may contact Transport Cana-
da’s Defect Investigations and Re-
calls Division 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/Index.aspx.
Additional information concerning
motor vehicle safety may be ob-
tained from Transport Canada’s
Road Safety Information Centre at
1-800-333-0371 or online at www.
tc.gc.ca/roadsafety (English speak-
ers) or www.tc.gc.ca/securiterou-
tiere (French speakers).
To notify NISSAN of any safety
concerns please contact our Con-
sumer Information Centre toll free
at 1-800-387-0122.
WARNING
A vehicle equipped with Four-Wheel
Drive (4WD) should never be tested
using a two wheel dynamometer
(such as the dynamometers used by
some states for emissions testing),
or similar equipment. Make sure you
inform test facility personnel that
your vehicle is equipped with 4WD
before it is placed on a dynam-
ometer. Using the wrong test equip-
ment may result in transmission
damage or unexpected vehicle
movement which could result in
serious vehicle damage or personal
injury.
Due to legal requirements in some states
and Canadian Provinces, your vehicle may
be required to be in what is called the
“ready condition” for an Inspection/Main-
tenance (I/M) test of the emission control
system.
The vehicle is set to the “ready condition”
when it is driven through certain driving
patterns. Usually, the “ready condition”
can be obtained by ordinary usage of
the vehicle.
If a powertrain system component is
repaired or the battery is disconnected,
READINESS FOR INSPECTION/
MAINTENANCE (I/M) TEST