manual transmission NISSAN ALTIMA COUPE 2012 D32 / 4.G Owners Manual

CAUTION
●Do not ground electrical accessories
directly to the battery terminal. Doing
so will bypass the variable control sys-
tem and the vehicle battery may not
charge completely. Refer to “Variable
voltage control system” in the “Mainte-
nance and do-it-yourself” section later
in this manual.
● Do not continue driving if the generator
belt is loose, broken or missing.
Continuously Variable
Transmission (CVT) check
warning light (if so equipped)
When the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, the light comes on for about 2 seconds.
If the light comes on at any other time, it may
indicate the CVT system is not functioning prop-
erly. Have the system checked by a NISSAN
dealer.
Engine oil pressure warninglight
This light warns of low engine oil pressure. If the
light flickers or comes on during normal driving, pull off the road in a safe area, stop the engine
immediately
and call a NISSAN dealer or other
authorized repair shop.
The engine oil pressure warning light is not
designed to indicate a low oil level. Use the
dipstick to check the oil level. See “Engine oil” in
the “Maintenance and do-it-yourself” section of
this manual.
CAUTION
Running the engine with the engine oil
pressure warning light on could cause se-
rious damage to the engine almost imme-
diately. Such damage is not covered by
warranty. Turn off the engine as soon as it
is safe to do so.
Low tire pressure warning light
Your vehicle is equipped with a Tire Pressure
Monitoring System (TPMS) that monitors the tire
pressure of all tires except the spare.
The low tire pressure warning light warns of low
tire pressure or indicates that the TPMS is not
functioning properly.
After the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, this light illuminates for about 1 second
and turns off. Low tire pressure warning:
If the vehicle is being driven with low tire
pressure, the warning light will illuminate.
A CHECK TIRE PRESSURE warning also
appears in the vehicle information display.
When the low tire pressure warning light
illuminates, you should stop and adjust the
tire pressure of all 4 tires to the recom-
mended COLD tire pressure shown on the
Tire and Loading Information label located
in the driver’s door opening. The low tire
pressure warning light does not automati-
cally turn off when the tire pressure is ad-
justed. After the tire is inflated to the rec-
ommended pressure, the vehicle must be
driven at speeds above 16 MPH (25 km/h)
to activate the TPMS and turn off the low
tire pressure warning light. Use a tire pres-
sure gauge to check the tire pressure.
The CHECK TIRE PRESSURE warning is active
as long as the low tire pressure warning light
remains illuminated.
For additional information, see “Vehicle informa-
tion display” in the “Instruments and controls”
section and “Tire Pressure Monitoring System
(TPMS)” in the “Starting and driving” section and
in the “In case of emergency” section.
2-12Instruments and controls

●No key warning
● Low fuel warning
● Low windshield-washer fluid warning
● Parking brake release warning
● Door/trunk open warning
● Loose fuel cap
● Check tire pressure warning
Seat belt warning light and
chime
The light and chime remind you to fasten your
seat belts. The light illuminates whenever the
ignition switch is placed in the ON or START
position and remains illuminated until the driver’s
seat belt is fastened. At the same time, the chime
sounds for about 6 seconds unless the driver’s
seat belt is securely fastened.
The seat belt warning light may also illuminate if
the front passenger’s seat belt is not fastened
when the front passenger’s seat is occupied. For
7 seconds after the ignition switch is placed in
the ON position, the system does not activate the
warning light for the front passenger.
Refer to “Seat belts” in the “Safety—Seats, seat
belts and supplemental restraint system” section
for precautions on seat belt usage.
Supplemental air bag warninglight
When the ignition switch is placed in the ON or
START position, the supplemental air bag warn-
ing light illuminates for about 7 seconds and then
turns off. This means the system is operational.
If any of the following conditions occur, the front
air bag, side air bag, curtain air bag, and preten-
sioner systems need servicing and your vehicle
must be taken to a NISSAN dealer:
● The supplemental air bag warning light re-
mains on after approximately 7 seconds.
● The supplemental air bag warning light
flashes intermittently.
● The supplemental air bag warning light does
not come on at all.
Unless checked and repaired, the supplemental
restraint system (air bag system) and/or the pre-
tensioners may not function properly. For addi-
tional details, see “Supplemental restraint sys-
tem” in the “Safety—Seats, seat belts and
supplemental restraint system” section of this
manual.
WARNING
If the supplemental air bag warning light
is on, it could mean that the front air bag,
side air bag, curtain air bag systems
and/or pretensioner systems will not op-
erate in an accident. To help avoid injury
to yourself or others, have your vehicle
checked by a NISSAN dealer as soon as
possible.
INDICATOR LIGHTS
For additional information on warnings and indi-
cators, see “Vehicle information display” later in
this section.
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) position
indicator light (if so equipped)
When the ignition switch is placed in the ON
position, this indicator light shows the shift selec-
tor position. See “Driving the vehicle” in the
“Starting and driving” section of this manual.
2-14Instruments and controls

5 Starting and driving
Precautions when starting and driving................5-2
Exhaust gas (carbon monoxide) ..................5-2
Three-way catalyst ..............................5-2
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) ..........5-3
Avoiding collision and rollover ....................5-5
Off-road recovery ...............................5-6
Rapid air pressure loss ..........................5-6
Drinking alcohol/drugs and driving ................5-7
Push-Button Ignition Switch ........................5-7
Push-button ignition switch positions .............5-8
Emergency engine shut off ......................5-9
NISSAN Intelligent Key™ battery discharge ........5-9
NISSAN vehicle immobilizer system .............5-10
Before starting the engine ......................... 5-10
Starting the engine ............................... 5-11
Driving the vehicle ................................ 5-12
Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
(if so equipped) ............................... 5-12
Manual transmission (if so equipped) ............5-17
Parking brake .................................... 5-19Cruise control
.................................... 5-20
Precautions on cruise control ...................5-20
Cruise control operations .......................5-20
Break-in schedule ................................ 5-22
Increasing fuel economy ........................... 5-22
Parking/parking on hills ............................ 5-23
Power steering ................................... 5-24
Brake system .................................... 5-24
Brake precautions ............................. 5-24
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) .................5-25
Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) system .............5-26
Cold weather driving .............................. 5-28
Freeing a frozen door lock ......................5-28
Anti-freeze .................................... 5-28
Battery ....................................... 5-28
Draining of coolant water .......................5-28
Tire equipment ................................ 5-28
Special winter equipment .......................5-28
Driving on snow or ice ......................... 5-28
Engine

block heater (if so equipped) .............5-29

1. Apply the parking brake.
2.Continuously Variable Transmission
(CVT) model:
Move the shift selector to P (Park) or N
(Neutral) . P (Park) is recommended.
The starter is designed not to operate if
the shift selector is in any of the driving
positions.
Manual transmission (M/T) model:
Move the shift selector to N (Neutral) . De-
press the clutch pedal to the floor.
The starter is designed not to operate
unless the clutch pedal is fully de-
pressed.
3. Push the ignition switch to the ON position. Depress the brake pedal and the clutch
pedal (if so equipped) and push the ignition
switch to start the engine.
To start the engine immediately, push and
release the ignition switch while depressing
the brake pedal with the ignition switch in
any position. ●
If the engine is very hard to start in ex-
tremely cold weather or when restarting,
depress the accelerator pedal a little (ap-
proximately 1/3 to the floor) and while
holding, crank the engine. Release the
accelerator pedal when the engine starts.
● If the engine is very hard to start because
it is flooded, depress the accelerator
pedal all the way to the floor and hold it.
Push the ignition switch to the ON posi-
tion to start cranking the engine. After 5 or
6 seconds, stop cranking by pushing the
ignition switch to LOCK. After cranking
the engine, release the accelerator pedal.
Crank the engine with your foot off the
accelerator pedal by depressing the
brake pedal and pushing the push-button
ignition switch to start the engine. If the
engine starts, but fails to run, repeat the
above procedure.CAUTION
Do not operate the starter for more than
15 seconds at a time. If the engine does
not start, push the ignition switch to the
OFF position and wait 10 seconds before
cranking again, otherwise the starter
could be damaged.
4. Warm-up
Allow the engine to idle for at least 30 sec-
onds after starting. Do not race the engine
while warming it up. Drive at moderate
speed for a short distance first, especially in
cold weather. In cold weather, keep the en-
gine running for a minimum of2-3minutes
before shutting it off. Starting and stopping
the engine over a short period of time may
make the vehicle more difficult to start.
5. To stop the engine, shift the shift selector to the P (Park) position (CVT) or to N (Neutral)
and apply the parking brake (M/T) and push
the ignition switch to the OFF position.
STARTING THE ENGINE
Starting and driving5-11

CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE
TRANSMISSION (CVT) (if so
equipped)
WARNING
●Do not depress the accelerator pedal
while shifting from P (Park) or N (Neu-
tral) to R (Reverse) , D (Drive) , Ds (Drive
Sport) or (M) Manual shift mode. Al-
ways depress the brake pedal until
shifting is completed. Failure to do so
could cause you to lose control and
have an accident.
● Cold engine idle speed is high, so use
caution when shifting into a forward or
reverse gear before the engine has
warmed up.
● Do not downshift abruptly on slippery
roads. This may cause a loss of control.
● Never shift to P (Park) or R (Reverse)
while the vehicle is moving. This could
cause an accident.
● Except in an emergency, do not shift to
the N (Neutral) position while driving.
Doing so can cause a loss of engine
braking which may result in a collision,
serious personal injury or death. In ad-
dition, coasting with the transmission
in the N (Neutral) position may cause
serious damage to the transmission.
CAUTION
When stopping the vehicle on an uphill
grade, do not hold the vehicle by depress-
ing the accelerator pedal. The foot brake
should be used for this purpose.
The CVT in your vehicle is electronically con-
trolled to produce maximum power and smooth
operation.
The CVT can operate in two different automatic
drive modes: ● D (Drive) mode - Move the shift selector to D
(Drive) , the transmission is in the normal
forward automatic driving mode. The posi-
tion indicator in the meter shows a “D”. The
D (Drive) mode does not produce a gear
change sensation like a traditional automatic
transmission.
WSD0247
DRIVING THE VEHICLE
5-12Starting and driving

●Ds (Drive Sport) mode - Move the shift se-
lector over from D (Drive) to the left into the
manual shift gate. The position indicator in
the meter shows a “Ds”. In Ds (Drive Sport)
mode, transmission operation changes to
Sporty” driving shift operation, creating a
more aggressive acceleration feeling than
the D (Drive) mode and a gear change sen-
sation when the driver accelerates quickly.
When the driver selects M (Manual) mode
ratio with shift selector during Ds (Drive
Sport) mode operation, the driver must move
the shift selector from Ds mode to D mode
and back again to re-select Ds (Drive Sport)
mode.
● To cancel the Ds mode, return the shift se-
lector to the D (Drive) position. The trans-
mission returns to the automatic drive mode.
The CVT can operate in a manual drive mode: ● M (Manual) mode - With the shift selector in
the manual shift gate Ds (Drive Sport) mode,
M (Manual) mode can be selected by mov-
ing the shift selector up (+) or down (–) . In M
mode, the transmission will produce notice-
able upshifts and downshifts. The position
indicator in the meter shows a “M”.
Follow these procedures for maximum vehicle
performance and driving 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. After starting the engine, fully depress the
foot brake pedal before moving the shift
selector out of the P (Park) position.
2. Keep the foot brake pedal depressed and move the shift selector into a driving gear.
3. Release the foot brake, then gradually start the vehicle in motion.
4. Stop the vehicle completely before shifting the shift selector to the P (Park) position.
The CVT is designed so the foot brake
pedal MUST be depressed before shifting
from P (Park) to any drive position while
the ignition switch is in the ON position.
The shift selector cannot be moved out of P
(Park) and into any of the other gear posi-
tions if the ignition switch is pushed to the
LOCK position. To move the shift selector:
Press the button while depressing the
brake pedal
Press the button to shift
Shift without pressing button
Shifting
After starting the engine, fully depress the brake
pedal and move the shift selector from P (Park) to
any of the desired shift positions.
WSD0248
Starting and driving5-13

WARNING
Apply the parking brake if the shift selec-
tor is in any position while the engine is
not running. Failure to do so could cause
the vehicle to move unexpectedly or roll
away and result in serious personal injury
or property damage.
P (Park):
CAUTION
To prevent transmission damage, use the
P (Park) or R (Reverse) position only when
the vehicle is completely stopped.
Use the P (Park) shift selector position when the
vehicle is parked or when starting the engine.
Make sure the vehicle is completely stopped.
The brake pedal should be depressed to
move the shift selector from N (Neutral) or
any drive position to P (Park) . Apply the
parking brake. When parking on a hill, apply the
parking brake first, then move the shift selector
into the P (Park) position. R (Reverse):
CAUTION
To prevent transmission damage, use the
P (Park) or R (Reverse) position only when
the vehicle is completely stopped.
Use the R (Reverse) position to back up. Make
sure the vehicle is completely stopped before
selecting the R (Reverse) position. The brake
pedal must be depressed to move the shift
selector from P (Park) , N (Neutral) or any
drive position to R (Reverse) .
N (Neutral):
Neither forward nor reverse gear is engaged. The
engine can be started in this position. You may
shift to N (Neutral) and restart a stalled engine
while the vehicle is moving.
D (Drive):
Use this position for all normal forward driving. DS (Drive Sport):
When the shift selector is shifted from the D
(Drive) position to the manual shift gate, the
transmission enters the DS (Drive Sport) mode.
Moving the shift selector to the DS (Drive Sport)
position allows you to enjoy “sporty” driving shift
operation on a winding road and feel smooth
acceleration or deceleration on a hilly road by
moving in a lower gear automatically. When can-
celing the DS mode, return the shift selector to
the D (Drive) position. The transmission returns to
the normal driving mode.
5-14Starting and driving

Manual shift mode (if so equipped)
When the shift selector is in the Ds (Drive Sport)
position, the transmission is ready for the manual
shift mode. Shift ranges can be selected manu-
ally by moving the shift selector up (+) or down
(–) . To cancel the Ds mode, return shift selector
to the D (Drive) position. The transmission returns
to automatic driving mode.
When the shift selector is shifted from D (Drive)
to the manual shift gate
Awith the vehicle
stopped or while driving, the transmission enters
the manual shift mode. Shift ranges can be se-
lected manually. In the manual shift mode, the
shift range is displayed on the position indicator in the meter. When shifting the shift selector to
the manual shift gate, the position indicator dis-
plays 1 (first) up to 6 (sixth) depending on vehicle
speed.
Shift ranges up or down one by one as follows:
1⇔
2⇔ 3⇔ 4⇔ 5⇔ 6
M6 (6th):
Use this position for all normal forward driving at
highway speeds.
M5 (5th):
Use this position when driving up long slopes, or
for engine braking when driving down long
slopes.
M4 (4th) , M3 (3rd) and M2 (2nd):
Use for hill climbing or engine braking on downhill
grades.
M1 (1st):
Use this position when climbing steep hills slowly
or driving slowly through deep snow, sand or
mud, or for maximum engine braking on steep
downhill grades. ● Remember not to drive at high speeds for
extended periods of time in lower than 6
range. This reduces fuel economy. When shifting up:
Move the shift selector to the + (up) side. (Shifts
to higher range.)
When shifting down:
Move the shift selector to the
(down) side.
(Shifts to lower range.)
● The transmission will automatically down-
shift the gears. (For example, if you select the
3rd range, the transmission will shift down
between the 3rd and 1st gears.)
● Moving the shift selector rapidly to the same
side twice will shift the ranges in succession.
When canceling the manual shift mode:
Return the shift selector to the D (Drive) position
to return the transmission to the normal driving
mode. ● In the manual shift mode, the transmis-
sion may not shift to the selected gear.
This helps maintain driving perfor-
mance and reduces the chance of ve-
hicle damage or loss of control.
WSD0249
Starting and driving5-15

Accelerator downshift
— in D position —
For passing or hill climbing, depress the accel-
erator pedal to the floor. This shifts the transmis-
sion down into a lower gear, depending on the
vehicle speed.
High fluid temperature protection
mode
This transmission has a high fluid temperature
protection mode. If the fluid temperature be-
comes too high (for example, when climbing
steep grades in high temperature with heavy
loads, such as when towing a trailer) , engine
power and, under some conditions, vehicle
speed will be decreased automatically to reduce
the chance of transmission damage. Vehicle
speed can be controlled with the accelerator
pedal, but the engine and vehicle speed may be
limited.
Fail-safe
If the vehicle is driven under extreme con-
ditions, such as excessive wheel spinning
and subsequent hard braking, the fail-safe
system may be activated. The MIL may
come on to indicate the fail-safe mode is
activated, see “Malfunction Indicator Light
(MIL)” in the “Instrument and controls” sec-tion. This will occur even if all electrical
circuits are functioning properly. In this
case, place the ignition switch in the OFF
position and wait for 10 seconds. Then
push the switch back to the ON position.
The vehicle should return to its normal op-
erating condition. If it does not return to its
normal operating condition, have a
NISSAN dealer check the transmission and
repair if necessary.
WARNING
When the high fluid temperature protec-
tion mode or fail-safe operation occurs,
vehicle speed may be gradually reduced.
The reduced speed may be lower than
other traffic, which could increase the
chance of a collision. Be especially care-
ful when driving. If necessary, pull to the
side of the road at a safe place and allow
the transmission to return to normal op-
eration, or have it repaired if necessary.
MANUAL TRANSMISSION (if so
equipped)
WARNING
●
Do not downshift abruptly on slippery
roads. This may cause a loss of control.
● Do not over-rev the engine when shift-
ing to a lower gear. This may cause a
loss of control or engine damage.
● Do not shift to the N (Neutral) position
while driving. Doing so may result in an
accident due to loss of engine braking.
CAUTION
● Do not rest your foot on the clutch pedal
while driving. This may cause clutch
damage.
● Fully depress the clutch pedal before
shifting to help prevent transmission
damage.
● Stop your vehicle completely before
shifting into R (Reverse) .
● When the vehicle is stopped with the
engine running (for example, at a stop
light) , shift to N (Neutral) and release
the clutch pedal with the foot brake
applied.
Starting and driving5-17

Suggested maximum speed in each
gear
Downshift to a lower gear if the engine is not
running smoothly, or if you need to accelerate.
Do not exceed the maximum suggested speed
(shown below) in any gear. For level road driving,
use the highest gear suggested for that speed.
Always observe posted speed limits, and drive
according to the road conditions, which will en-
sure safe operation. Do not over-rev the engine
when shifting to a lower gear as it may cause
engine damage or loss of vehicle control.
GEAR QR25DEMPH (km/h) VQ35DE
MPH (km/h)
1st 32 (53) 36 (58)
2nd 59 (95) 58 (93)
3rd 82 (133) 81 (131)
4th — —
5th — —
6th — —
WARNING
●Be sure the parking brake is fully re-
leased before driving. Failure to do so
can cause brake failure and lead to an
accident.
● Do not release the parking brake from
outside the vehicle.
● Do not use the shift selector in place of
the parking brake. When parking, be
sure the parking brake is fully engaged.
● Do not leave children unattended in a
vehicle. They could release the parking
brake and cause an accident.
To engage:Type A, firmly depress the parking
brake. Type B, pull the lever up
A.
To release: 1. Firmly apply the foot brake.
2. Manual transmission models:
Place the shift selector in the N (Neutral)
position.
CVT models:
Move the shift selector to the P (Park) posi-
tion.
Type A
LSD0158
PARKING BRAKE
Starting and driving5-19