overheating INFINITI QX80 2021 Owner's Manual

ENGINE PROTECTION MODE
The engine has an engine protection mode to
reduce the chance of damage if the coolant
temperature becomes too high (for example,
when climbing steep grades in high tem-
perature with heavy loads, such as when
towing a trailer).
When the engine temperature reaches a
certain level:
.The engine coolant temperature gauge
will move toward the H position.
. Engine power may be reduced.
. The air conditioning cooling function may
be automatically turned OFF for a short
time (the blower will continue to oper-
ate).
Engine power and, under some conditions,
vehicle speed will decrease. Vehicle speed
can be controlled with the accelerator pedal,
but the vehicle may not accelerate at the
desired speed. The transmission will down-
shift or upshift as it reaches prescribed shift
points. You can also shift manually.
As driving conditions change and engine
coolant temperature is reduced, vehicle
speed can be increased using the accelerator
pedal, and air conditioning cooling function
will automatically be turned back ON. If:
1. The engine coolant temperature is not
reduced.
2. The air conditioning cooling function does not turn back ON.
3. The engine oil pressure warning light
illuminates or engine coolant tempera-
ture gauge does not return to the normal
range from the H position, this may
indicate a malfunction. Move the vehicle
off the road to a safe area and allow the
engine to cool. If after checking the oil
and coolant, the
remains on or
engine coolant temperature does not
return to the normal range, do not
continue to drive. It is recommended
you contact an INFINITI retailer.
The Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL)
may also come ON. You do not need to have
your vehicle towed, unless it remains on, but
have it inspected soon. It is recommended
you visit an INFINITI retailer for this service.
See “Warning lights, indicator lights and
audible reminders” (P.2-11).
WARNING
Overheating can result in reduced engine
power and vehicle speed. The reduced
speed may be lower than other traffic, which could increase the chance of a
collision. Be especially careful when
driving. If the vehicle cannot maintain a
safe driving speed, pull to the side of the
road in a safe area. Allow the engine to
cool and return to normal operation. See
“If your vehicle overheats” (P.6-14).
CAUTION
Running the engine with the engine oil
pressure warning light on could cause
serious damage to the engine almost
immediately. Such damage is not cov-
ered by warranty. Turn off the engine as
soon as it is safe to do so.
Starting and driving5-17
DRIVING THE VEHICLE

come poor visibility in rain, fog, or
other bad weather. Decelerate the
vehicle speed by depressing the brake
pedal, depending on the distance to
the vehicle ahead and the surround-
ing circumstances in order to main-
tain a safe distance between vehicles.
. If the vehicle ahead comes to a stop,
the vehicle decelerates to a standstill
within the limitations of the system.
The system will cancel once it judges
that the vehicle has come to a
standstill and sound a warning chime.
To prevent the vehicle from moving,
the driver must depress the brake
pedal.
. Always pay attention to the opera-
tion of the vehicle and be ready to
manually control the proper follow-
ing distance. The vehicle-to-vehicle
distance control mode of the ICC
system may not be able to maintain
the selected distance between vehi-
cles (following distance) or selected
vehicle speed under some circum-
stances.
. Normally when controlling the dis-
tance to a vehicle ahead, this system
automatically accelerates or decele-
rates your vehicle according to the
speed of the vehicle ahead. Depress the accelerator to properly accelerate
your vehicle when acceleration is
required for a lane change. Depress
the brake pedal when deceleration is
required to maintain a safe distance
to the vehicle ahead due to its sudden
braking or if a vehicle cuts in. Always
stay alert when using the ICC system.
. The system may not detect the
vehicle in front of you in certain road
or weather conditions. To avoid ac-
cidents, never use the ICC system
under the following conditions:
— On roads where the traffic is heavy or there are sharp curves
— On slippery road surfaces such as on ice or snow, etc.
— During bad weather (rain, fog, snow, etc.)
— When rain, snow or dirt adhere to the system sensor
— On steep downhill roads (the vehicle may go beyond the set
vehicle speed and frequent brak-
ing may result in overheating the
brakes)
— On repeated uphill and downhill roads — When traffic conditions make it
difficult to keep a proper distance
between vehicles because of fre-
quent acceleration or deceleration
. Do not use the ICC system if you are
towing a trailer. The system may not
detect a vehicle ahead.
. In some road or traffic conditions, a
vehicle or object can unexpectedly
come into the sensor detection zone
and cause automatic braking. You
may need to control the distance
from other vehicles using the accel-
erator pedal. Always stay alert and
avoid using the ICC system when it is
not recommended in this section.
The radar sensor will not detect the follow-
ing objects:
. Stationary and slow moving vehicles
. Pedestrians or objects in the roadway
. Oncoming vehicles in the same lane
. Motorcycles traveling offset in the travel
lane
The sensor generally detects the signals
returned from the vehicle ahead. Therefore,
if the sensor cannot detect the reflection
from the vehicle ahead, the ICC system may
not maintain the selected distance.
The following are some conditions in which
Starting and driving5-75

WARNING
If the engine is not running or is turned
off while driving, the power assist for
the steering will not work. Steering will
be harder to operate.
The power assisted steering uses a hydraulic
pump, driven by the engine, to assist steer-
ing.
If the engine stops or the drive belt breaks,
you will still have control of the vehicle.
However, much greater steering effort is
needed, especially in sharp turns and at low
speeds.
BRAKING PRECAUTIONS
The brake system has two separate hydrau-
lic circuits. If one circuit malfunctions, you
will still have braking ability at two wheels.
You may feel a small click and hear a sound
when the brake pedal is fully depressed
slowly. This is not a malfunction and in-
dicates that the brake assist mechanism is
operating properly.
Hydraulically-assisted brakes
The hydraulically-assisted brake system is
designed to use a hydraulic pump driven
electrically, to assist braking. If the engine
stops, you can stop the vehicle by depressing
the foot brake pedal. However, greater foot
pressure on the foot brake pedal will be
required to stop the vehicle. The stopping
distance 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 whenever
the stopping effect of the parking brake is
weakened or whenever the parking brake
shoes and/or drums/rotors are replaced, in
order to assure the best braking perfor-
mance.
This procedure is described in the vehicle
service manual. It is recommended you visit
an INFINITI retailer for this service.
Using the brakes
Avoid resting your foot on the brake pedal
while driving. This will cause overheating of
the brakes, wearing out the brake and pads
faster and reduce gas mileage.
To help save the brakes and to prevent the
brakes from overheating, reduce speed and
downshift to a lower gear before going
down a slope or long grade. Overheated
brakes may reduce braking performance and
could result in loss of vehicle control.
WARNING
.
While driving on a slippery surface,
be careful when braking, accelerating
or downshifting. Abrupt braking or
accelerating could cause the wheels
Starting and driving5-123
POWER STEERING BRAKE SYSTEM

6-14In case of emergency
CAUTION
.Do not continue to drive if your
vehicle overheats. Doing so could
cause engine damage or a vehicle fire.
. To avoid the danger of being scalded,
never remove the radiator cap or
coolant reservoir cap while the en-
gine is still hot. When the radiator
cap or coolant reservoir cap is re-
moved, pressurized hot water will
spurt out, possibly causing serious
injury.
. 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 P (Park) position.
Do not stop the engine.
2. Turn off the climate control. Open all the windows, move the heater or air condi-
tioner temperature control to maximum
hot and fan control to high speed. 3. If engine overheating is caused by climb-
ing 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 further
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 drive belts for damage or looseness. Also check if the cooling fan is
running. The radiator hoses and radiator
should not leak water. If coolant is
leaking or the cooling fan does not run,
stop the engine.
WARNING
Be careful not to allow your hands, hair,
jewelry or clothing to come into contact
with, or get caught in, engine belts or the
engine cooling fan. The engine cooling
fan can start at any time.
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. It is recommended you
visit an INFINITI retailer for this service.
IF YOUR VEHICLE OVERHEATS

.E-15 fuel contains more than 10%
oxygenate. E-15 fuel will adversely
affect the emission control devices and
systems of the vehicle and should not be
used. Damage caused by such fuel is not
covered by the INFINITI new vehicle
limited warranty.
. 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 ap-
propriate cosolvents and corrosion in-
hibitors. If not properly formulated with
appropriate cosolvents and corrosion
inhibitors, such methanol blends may
cause fuel system damage and/or vehi-
cle performance problems. At this time,
sufficient data is not available to ensure
that all methanol blends are suitable for
use in INFINITI vehicles.
If any undesirable driveability problems such
as engine stalling or hard hot starting are
experienced after using oxygenate-blend
fuels, immediately change to a non-oxyge-
nate fuel or a fuel with a low blend of MTBE.
Take care not to spill gasoline during
refueling. Gasoline containing oxygenates
can cause paint damage.E-15 fuel
E-15 fuel is a mixture of approximately 15%
fuel ethanol and 85% unleaded gasoline. E-
15 can only be used in vehicles designed to
run on E-15 fuel. Do not use E-15 in your
vehicle. U.S. government regulations require
fuel ethanol dispensing pumps to be identi-
fied with small, square, orange and black
label with the common abbreviation or the
appropriate percentage for that region.
E-85 fuel
E-85 fuel is a mixture of approximately 85%
fuel ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. 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 abbreviation or the appro-
priate percentage for that region.
Fuel containing MMT
MMT, or methylcyclopentadienyl manga-
nese tricarbonyl, is an octane boosting
additive. INFINITI does not recommend the
use of fuel containing MMT. Such fuel may
adversely affect vehicle performance, in-
cluding the emissions control system. Note
that while some fuel pumps label MMT
content, not all do, so you may have to consult your gasoline retailer for more de-
tails.
Aftermarket fuel additives
INFINITI does not recommend the use of any
aftermarket fuel additives (Example: fuel
injector cleaner, octane booster, intake valve
deposit removers, etc.) which are sold com-
mercially. Many of these additives 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 above can
cause persistent, heavy spark knock. (Spark
knock is a metallic rapping noise.) If severe,
this can lead to engine damage. If you
detect a persistent heavy spark knock even
when using gasoline of the stated octane
rating, or if you hear steady spark knock
while holding a steady speed on level roads,
it is recommended you have an INFINITI
retailer correct the condition. Failure to
correct the condition is misuse of the
vehicle, for which INFINITI is not respon-
sible.
Incorrect ignition timing will result in knock-
ing, after-run or overheating. This in turn
may cause excessive fuel consumption or
Technical and consumer information10-5

10-20Technical and consumer information
STI0541
The GCWR equals the combined weight of
the towing vehicle (including passengers and
cargo) plus the total trailer load. Towing
loads greater than these or using improper
towing equipment could adversely affect
vehicle handling, braking and performance.
The ability of your vehicle to tow a trailer is
not only related to the maximum trailer
loads, but also the places you plan to tow.
Tow weights appropriate for level highway
driving may have to be reduced on very steep
grades or for low traction situations (for
example, on slippery boat ramps).
Temperature conditions can also affect
towing. For example, towing a heavy trailer
in high outside temperatures on gradedroads can affect engine performance and
cause overheating. The transmission high
fluid temperature and engine protection
mode, which helps reduce the chance of
transmission and engine damage, could
activate and automatically decrease engine
power. Vehicle speed may decrease under
high load. Plan your trip carefully to account
for trailer and vehicle load, weather and road
conditions.
WARNING
Overheating can result in reduced engine
power and vehicle speed. The reduced
speed may be lower than other traffic,
which could increase the chance of a
collision. Be especially careful when
driving. If the vehicle cannot maintain a
safe driving speed, pull to the side of the
road in a safe area. Allow the engine to
cool and return to normal operation. See
“If your vehicle overheats” (P.6-14).
CAUTION
Vehicle damage resulting from improper
towing procedures is not covered by
INFINITI warranties.
STI0542
Tongue load
When using a weight carrying or a weight
distributing hitch, keep the tongue load
between 10 to 15% of the total trailer load
or use the trailer tongue load specified by the
trailer manufacturer. The tongue load must
be within the maximum tongue load limits
shown in the following “Towing Load/
Specification” chart. If the tongue load
becomes excessive, rearrange cargo to allow
for proper tongue load.