engine overheat INFINITI G35 2006 Owners Manual

CAUTIONIf the gauge indicates engine coolant tem-
perature near the hot (H) of the normal
range, reduce vehicle speed to decrease
temperature. If gauge is over the normal
range, stop the vehicle as soon as safely
possible. If the engine is overheated, contin-
ued operation of the vehicle may seriously
damage the engine. See ªIf your vehicle
overheatsº in the ª6. In case of emergencyº
section for immediate action required.
FUEL GAUGE The gauge indicates the approximate fuel
level in the tank.
The gauge may move slightly during brak-
ing, turning, acceleration, or going up or
down hill.
The gauge needle is designed to move to
the E (Empty) position when the ignition
key is turned to the OFF position.
Refill the fuel tank before the gauge regis-
ters the E (Empty) position. The low fuel warning light comes on when
the fuel tank is getting low. Refuel as soon
as it is convenient, preferably before the
gauge reaches the E (Empty) position.
There will be a small reserve of fuel in the
tank when the fuel gauge needle reaches
the E (Empty) position.
The indicates that the fuel-filler door
is located on the passenger's side of the
vehicle.
CAUTION O If the vehicle runs out of fuel, the
malfunction indicator lamp (MIL)
may come on. Refuel as soon as pos-
sible. After a few driving trips, the
lamp should turn off. If the lamp
remains on after a few driving trips, have
the vehicle inspected by an INFINITI
dealer.
O For additional information, see ªMal-
function indicator lamp (MIL)º later in
this section. SIC2562
Instruments and controls
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CAUTIONO The battery could run down if the seat
heater is operated while the engine is
not running.
O Do not use the seat heater for extended
periods or when no one is using the seat.
O Do not put anything on the seat which in-
sulates heat, such as a blanket, cushion,
seat cover, etc. Otherwise, the seat may
become overheated.
O Do not place anything hard or heavy on
the seat or pierce it with a pin or similar
object. This may result in damage to the
heater.
O Any liquid spilled on the heated seat
should be removed immediately with a
dry cloth.
O When cleaning the seat, never use gaso-
line, benzine, thinner, or any similar
materials. O If any abnormalities are found or the
heated seat does not operate, turn the
switch off and have the system checked
by an INFINITI dealer.
For driving or starting the vehicle on
snowy roads or slippery areas, push the
SNOW mode switch to the ON position
and then the indicator light in the switch
and the SNOW indicator light in the in-
strument panel will illuminate.
When the SNOW mode is activated, en-
gine output is controlled to reduce wheel
spin. SIC2660
SNOW MODE SWITCH (if so equipped)
Instruments and controls
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If the power supply is disconnected, the
clock will not indicate the correct time. Re-
adjust the time.
ADJUSTING THE TIME To move the time forward, push the
button
q 1
.
To move the time backward, push the
button
q 2
.
Push and hold each adjusting switch to
move the time forward or backward con-
tinuously. The power outlet is for powering electrical
accessories such as cellular telephones.
CAUTION O The outlet and plug may be hot during or
immediately after use.
O This power outlet is not designed for use
with a cigarette lighter unit.
O Do not use with accessories that exceed a
12 volt, 120W (10A) power draw. Do not
use double adapters or more than one
electrical accessory. O Use power outlets with the engine running
to avoid discharging the vehicle battery.
O Avoid using power outlets when the air
conditioner, headlights or rear window de-
froster is on.
O Before inserting or disconnecting a plug,
be sure the electrical accessory being used
is turned OFF.
O Push the plug in as far as it will go. If good
contact is not made, the plug may overheat
or the internal temperature fuse may open.
O When not in use, be sure to close the cap.
Do not allow water to contact the outlet.SIC2568 SIC1840B
Automatic transmission model SIC2673
Manual transmission modelsCLOCK POWER OUTLET
Instruments and controls
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THREE WAY CATALYST The three way catalyst is an emission con-
trol device installed in the exhaust
system. Exhaust gas in the converter is
burned at high temperatures to help re-
duce pollutants.
WARNINGO The exhaust gas and the exhaust system
are very hot. Keep people, animals or
flammable materials away from the ex-
haust system components.
O Do not stop or park the vehicle over flam-
mable materials such as dry grass,
waste paper or rags. They may ignite and
cause a fire.
CAUTIONO Do not use leaded gasoline. Deposits
from leaded gasoline will seriously re- duce the three-way catalyst's ability to
help reduce exhaust pollutants.
O Keep your engine tuned up. Malfunc-
tions in the ignition, fuel injection, or
electrical systems can cause overrich
fuel flow into the three-way catalyst,
causing it to overheat. Do not keep
driving if the engine misfires, or if no-
ticeable loss of performance or other un-
usual operating conditions are detected.
Have the vehicle inspected promptly by
an INFINITI dealer.
O Avoid driving with an extremely low fuel
level. Running out of fuel could cause the
engine to misfire, damaging the
three-way catalyst.
O Do not race the engine while warming it
up.
O Do not push or tow your vehicle to start
the engine.
TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING
SYSTEM (TPMS) Each tire, including the spare (if provided),
should be checked monthly when cold and inflated to the inflation pressure recom-
mended by the vehicle manufacturer on the
vehicle placard or tire inflation pressure la-
bel. (If your vehicle has tires of a different
size than the size indicated on the vehicle
placard or tire inflation pressure label, you
should determine the proper tire inflation
pressure for those tires.)
As an added safety feature, your vehicle
has been equipped with a tire pressure
monitoring system (TPMS) that illumi-
nates a low tire pressure telltale when
one or more of your tires is significantly
under-inflated. Accordingly, when the low
tire pressure telltale illuminates, you
should stop and check your tires as soon
as possible, and inflate them to the
proper pressure. Driving on a significantly
under-inflated tire causes the tire to over-
heat and can lead to tire failure. Under-
inflation also reduces fuel efficiency and
tire tread life, and may affect the vehicle's
handling and stopping ability.
Please note that the TPMS is not a substi-
tute for proper tire maintenance, and it is
the driver's responsibility to maintain cor-
rect tire pressure, even if under-inflation
has not reached the level to trigger illumi-
nation of the TPMS low tire pressure tell-
tale.
Starting and driving
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BRAKING PRECAUTIONS The brake system has two separate hy-
draulic circuits. If one circuit malfunc-
tions, you will still have braking ability at
two wheels.
Vacuum assisted brake
The brake booster aids braking by using
engine vacuum. If the engine stops, you
can stop the vehicle by depressing the
brake pedal. However, greater foot pres-
sure on the brake pedal will be required
to stop the vehicle and the stopping dis-
tance will be longer.
Wet brakes
When the vehicle is washed or driven
through water, the brakes may get wet.
As a result, your braking distance will be
longer and the vehicle may pull to one
side during braking.
To dry brakes, drive the vehicle at a safe
speed while lightly tapping the brake
pedal to heat-up the brakes. Do this until
the brakes return to normal. Avoid driving
the vehicle at high speeds until the
brakes function correctly.
Parking brake break-in
Break-in the parking brake shoes when-
ever the stopping effect of the parking brake is weakened or whenever the park-
ing brake shoes and/or drums/rotors are
replaced, in order to assure the best
braking performance.
This procedure is described in the vehicle
service manual and can be performed by
your INFINITI dealer.
Using the brakes
Avoid resting your foot on the brake pedal
while driving. This will cause overheating
of the brakes, increases wear on the
brakes and pads, and reduces gas
mileage.
To help save the brakes and to prevent
the brakes from overheating, reduce
speed and downshift to a lower gear be-
fore going down a slope or long grade.
Overheated brakes may reduce braking
performance and could result in loss of
vehicle control.
WARNING O While driving on a slippery surface, be
careful when braking, accelerating or
downshifting. Abrupt braking or accel- erating could cause the wheels to skid
and result in an accident.
O If the engine is not running or is turned
off while driving, the power assist for the
brakes will not work. Braking will be
harder.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS) The anti-lock brake system (ABS) controls
the brakes so the wheels will not lock when
braking abruptly or when braking on slip-
pery surfaces. The system detects the rota-
tion speed at each wheel and varies the
brake fluid pressure to prevent each wheel
from locking and sliding. By preventing
wheel lockup, the system helps the driver
maintain steering control and helps to mini-
mize swerving and spinning on slippery sur-
faces.
Using the system Depress the brake pedal and hold it
down.BRAKE SYSTEM
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WARNINGO Do not continue to drive if your vehicle
overheats. Doing so could cause engine
damage or a vehicle fire.
O To avoid the danger of being scalded,
never remove the radiator cap while the
engine is still hot. When the radiator cap
is removed, pressurized hot water will
spurt out, possibly causing serious in-
jury.
O Do not open the hood if steam is coming
out.
If your vehicle is overheating (indicated
by an extremely high temperature gauge
reading), or if you feel a lack of engine
power, detect abnormal noise, etc., take
the following steps:
1. Move the vehicle safely off the road,
apply the parking brake and move the
shift lever to the N (Neutral) position
(automatic transmission to the P
(Park) position).
Do not stop the engine. 2. Turn off the air conditioner. Open all
the windows, and move the tempera-
ture control to maximum hot and the
fan control to high speed.
3. If engine overheating is caused by
climbing a long hill on a hot day, run
the engine at a fast idle (approximately
1,500 rpm) until the temperature gauge
indication returns to normal.
4. Get out of the vehicle. Look and listen
for steam or coolant escaping from the
radiator before opening the hood. (If
steam or coolant is escaping, turn off
the engine.) Do not open the hood fur-
ther until no steam or coolant can be
seen.
5. Open the engine hood.
WARNING If steam or water is coming from the engine,
stand clear to prevent getting burned.
6. Visually check if the cooling fan is run-
ning. The radiator hoses and radiator
should not leak water. If coolant is
leaking or the cooling fan does not
run, stop the engine. WARNING O Be careful not to allow your hands, hair,
jewelry or clothing to come into contact
with, or to get caught in, the engine
belts or the engine cooling fan.
O The engine cooling fan can start at any
time when the coolant temperature is
high.
7. After the engine cools down, check
the coolant level in the reservoir tank
with the engine running. Add coolant
to the reservoir tank if necessary.
Have your vehicle repaired at an
INFINITI dealer.
If needed, Roadside Assistance is avail-
able. Please see your Warranty Information
Booklet or Roadside Assistance I.D. Card
for the toll-free number to call (U.S.) or War-
ranty Information Booklet (Canada).IF YOUR VEHICLE OVERHEATS
In case of emergency
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The engine cooling system is filled at the
factory with a high-quality, year-round,
anti-freeze coolant solution. The anti-
freeze solution contains rust and corro-
sion inhibitors, therefore additional
cooling system additives are not neces-
sary.
WARNINGO Never remove the radiator or coolant res-
ervoir cap when the engine is hot. Wait
until the engine and radiator cool down.
Serious burns could be caused by high
pressure fluid escaping from the ra-
diator. See precautions in ªIf your ve-
hicle overheatsº found in the ª6. In case
of emergencyº section.
O The radiator is equipped with a pressure
type radiator cap. To prevent engine
damage, use only a genuine NISSAN ra-
diator cap. CAUTION When adding or replacing coolant, be sure to
use only a Genuine Nissan Long Life
Antifreeze/Coolant or equivalent with the
proper mixture ratio of 50% antifreeze and
50% demineralized water/distilled water.
The use of other types of engine coolant may
damage your engine cooling system. Outside temperature
down to
Antifreeze Deminer-
alized
water/
distilled
waterÉC ÉF
þ35 þ30 50% 50%
CHECKING ENGINE COOLANT LEVEL Check the coolant level in the reservoir
tank when the engine is cold. If the cool-
ant level is below the MIN level
q 2
, open
the cap and add coolant up to the MAX
level
q 1
. If the reservoir tank is empty,
check the coolant level in the radiator
when the engine is cold. If there is insuffi-
cient coolant in the radiator, fill the radia-
tor with coolant up to the filler opening
and also add it to the reservoir tank up to
the MAX level
q 1
. SDI1385B
ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM
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If the cooling system frequently requires
coolant, have it checked by an INFINITI
dealer.
CHANGING ENGINE COOLANT O Major cooling system repairs should be
performed by an INFINITI dealer. The
service procedures can be found in the
appropriate INFINITI Service Manual. O Improper servicing can result in re-
duced heater performance and engine
overheating.
WARNING O To avoid being scalded, never change
the coolant when the engine is hot.
O Never remove the radiator cap when the
engine is hot. Serious burns could be
caused by high pressure fluid escaping
from the radiator.
O Avoid direct skin contact with used cool-
ant. If skin contact is made, wash thor-
oughly with soap or hand cleaner as
soon as possible.
O Keep coolant out of reach of children and
pets.
1. Open radiator drain plug
q A
at the
bottom of radiator, and remove ra-
diator filler cap
q B
.
O Be careful not to allow coolant to con-
tact drive belts.
O Waste coolant must be disposed of
properly. Check your local regulations. SDI0114B
Maintenance and do-it-yourself
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2. Close the radiator drain plug securely
after the coolant is drained.
3. Fill the radiator slowly with the proper
mixture of antifreeze solution and
demineralized water/distilled water.
Fill the reservoir tank up to the MAX
level. Then install the radiator filler
cap.
4. Start the engine and warm it up until
it reaches normal operating tempera-
ture. Then race the engine 2 or 3 times
under no load. Watch the engine cool-
ant temperature gauge for signs of
overheating.
5. Stop the engine. After it completely
cools down, refill the radiator up to
the filler opening. Fill the reservoir
tank up to the MAX level. Check the
drain plug for any sign of leakage.
6. Check the coolant level again after
driving the vehicle.
CHECKING ENGINE OIL LEVEL 1. Park the vehicle on a level surface and
apply the parking brake.
2. Run the engine until it reaches operat-
ing temperature.
3. Turn off the engine. Wait more than 10
minutes for the oil to drain back into
the oil pan.
4. Remove the dipstick
q A
and wipe it
clean. Reinsert it all the way. 5. Remove the dipstick again and check
the oil level. It should be between the
H and L marks
q B
. If the oil level is
below the L mark
q A
, remove the oil
filler cap and pour recommended oil
through the opening. Do not overfill
q C
.
6. Recheck oil level with dipstick.
It is normal to add some oil between oil
maintenance intervals or during the break-
in period, depending on the severity of op-
erating conditions. SDI1386D SDI1781
ENGINE OIL
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performance problems and/or fuel system
damage.
O The fuel must be unleaded and have an
octane rating no lower than that recom-
mended for unleaded gasoline.
O If an oxygenate-blend, excepting a
methanol blend, is used, it should con-
tain no more than 10% oxygenate.
(MTBE may, however, be added up to
15%.)
O If a methanol blend is used, it should
contain no more than 5% methanol
(methyl alcohol, wood alcohol). It
should also contain a suitable amount
of appropriate cosolvents and corro-
sion inhibitors. If not properly formu-
lated with appropriate cosolvents and
corrosion inhibitors, such methanol
blends may cause fuel system damage
and/or vehicle performance problems.
At this time, sufficient data is not avail-
able to ensure that all methanol blends
are suitable for use in INFINITI vehicles.
If any driveability problems such as en-
gine stalling and hard hot starting are ex-
perienced after using oxygenate-blend fu-
els, immediately change to a non-
oxygenate fuel or a fuel with a low blend
of MTBE. Take care not to spill gasoline during refu-
eling. Gasoline containing oxygenates can
cause paint damage.
E-85 fuel E-85 fuel is a mixture of approximately
85% fuel ethanol and 15% unleaded gaso-
line. E-85 can only be used in a Flexible
Fuel Vehicle (FFV). Do not use E-85 fuel in
your vehicle. U.S. government regulations
require fuel ethanol dispensing pumps to
be identified by a small, square, orange
and black label with the common abbre-
viation or the appropriate percentage for
that region.
Aftermarket fuel additives INFINITI does not recommend the use of
any aftermarket fuel additives (i.e. fuel in-
jector cleaner, octane booster, intake
valve deposit removers, etc.) which are
sold commercially. Many of these addi-
tives intended for gum, varnish or deposit
removal may contain active solvent or
similar ingredients that can be harmful to
the fuel system and engine.
Octane rating tips Using unleaded gasoline with an octane
rating lower than recommended can cause persistent, heavy spark knock. (Spark
knock is a metallic rapping noise.) If se-
vere, this can lead to engine damage. If
you detect a persistent heavy spark knock
even when using gasoline of the stated oc-
tane rating, or if you hear steady spark
knock while holding a steady speed on
level roads, have your dealer correct the
condition. Failure to correct the condition
is misuse of the vehicle, for which INFINITI
is not responsible.
Incorrect ignition timing will result in
knocking, after-run or overheating. This in
turn may cause excessive fuel consump-
tion or damage to the engine. If any of the
above symptoms are encountered, have
your vehicle checked at an INFINITI dealer
or other competent service facility.
However, now and then you may notice
light spark knock for a short time while ac-
celerating or driving up hills. This is no
cause for concern, because you get the
greatest fuel benefit when there is light
spark knock for a short time under heavy
engine load.
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