far-away as practical from the steer-
ing wheel or instrument panel. Al-
ways use the seat belts.
. The driver and front passenger seat
belt buckles are equipped with
sensors that detect if the seat belts
are fastened. The Advanced Air Bag
System monitors the severity of a
collision and seat belt usage then
inflates the air bags. Failure to
properly wear seat belts can in-
crease the risk or severity of injury
in an accident.
. The front passenger seat is
equipped with occupant classifica-
tion sensors (weight sensors) that
turn the front passenger air bag
OFF under some conditions. This
sensor is only used in this seat.
Failure to be properly seated and
wearing the seat belt can increase
the risk or severity of injury in an
accident. See “Front passenger air
bag and status light” (P.1-60) .
. Keep hands on the outside of the
steering wheel. Placing them inside
the steering wheel rim could in-
crease the risk of injury if the front air bag inflates.
.The curtain air bags ordinarily will
not inflate in the event of a front
impact, rear impact, or lower sever-
ity side collision. Always wear your
seat belts to help reduce the risk or
severity of injury in various kinds of
accidents.
. The seat belts, the side air bags and
curtain air bags are most effective
when you are sitting well back and
upright in the seat. The side air bags
and curtain air bags inflate with
great force. Do not allow anyone to
place their hand, leg or face near the
side air bags on the side of the
seatback of the front seat or near
the side roof rails. Do not allow
anyone sitting in the front seats or
rear outboard seats to extend their
hand out of the window or lean
against the door. Some examples of
dangerous riding positions are
shown in the previous illustrations.
. When sitting in the rear seat, do not
hold onto the seatback of the front
seat. If the side air bag inflates, you
may be seriously injured. Be espe-
cially careful with children, who
should always be properly re- strained. Some examples of danger-
ous riding positions are shown in
the illustrations.
. Do not use seat covers on the front
seatbacks. They may interfere with
side air bags inflation.
Safety — seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-57
JVR0399X
1. Crash zone sensor
2. Supplemental front-impact air bag modules(NISSAN Advanced Air Bags)
3. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact and rollover supplemental air bag inflators
4. Front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental air bag modules 5. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact and rollover
supplemental air bags
6. Door satellite sensors
7. Seat belt pretensioners
8. Satellite sensors
9. Diagnosis sensor unit
10. Occupant classification sensors (weight sen- sors) 11. Occupant classification system control unit
NISSAN ADVANCED AIR BAG SYS-
TEM (front seats)
.If a forward facing child restraint is
installed in the front passenger
seat, do not position the front
passenger seat so the child restraint
contacts the instrument panel. If the
child restraint does contact the in-
strument panel, the system may
determine the seat is occupied and
the passenger air bag may deploy in
a collision. Also the front passenger
air bag status light may not illumi-
nate. See “Child restraints” (P.1-31)
for information about installing and
using child restraints.
. Confirm the operating condition
with the front passenger air bag
status light.
. If you notice that the front passen-
ger air bag status light is not
operating as described in this sec-
tion, it is recommended you visit a
NISSAN dealer to check the passen-
ger seat Advanced Air Bag System.
. Until you have confirmed with your
dealer that your passenger seat
advanced air bag is working prop-
erly, position the occupants in the
rear seating positions. This vehicle is equipped with the NISSAN
Advanced Air Bag System for the driver and
front passenger seats. This system is designed
to meet certification requirements under U.S.
regulations. It is also permitted in Canada.
All of
the information, cautions and warnings in
this manual apply and must be followed.
The driver supplemental front-impact air bag is
located in the center of the steering wheel. The
passenger supplemental front-impact air bag is
mounted in the instrument panel above the glove
box. The front air bags are designed to inflate in
higher severity frontal collisions, although they
may inflate if the forces in another type of
collision are similar to those of a higher severity
frontal impact. They may not inflate in certain
frontal collisions. Vehicle damage (or lack of it) is
not always an indication of proper front air bag
operation.
The NISSAN Advanced Air Bag System moni-
tors information from the Air bag Control Unit
(ACU) , seat belt buckle sensors and the
occupant classification sensors (weight sen-
sors) . Inflator operation is based on the severity
of a collision and seat belt usage for the driver.
For the front passenger, the occupant classifi-
cation sensors are also monitored. Based on
information from the sensors, only one front air
bag may inflate in a crash, depending on the
crash severity and whether the front occupants are belted or unbelted. Additionally, the front
passenger air bag may be automatically turned
OFF under some conditions, depending on the
information provided by the occupant classifica-
tion sensors. If the front passenger air bag is
OFF, the front passenger air bag status light will
be illuminated (if the seat is unoccupied, the
light will not be illuminated, but the air bag will
be off) . (See “Front passenger air bag and
status light” (P.1-60) for further details.) One
front air bag inflating does not indicate improper
performance of the system.
If you have any questions about your air bag
system, it is recommended you visit a NISSAN
dealer to obtain information about the system. If
you are considering modification of your vehicle
due to a disability, you may also contact
NISSAN. Contact information is contained in
the front of this Owner’s Manual.
When a front air bag inflates, a fairly loud noise
may be heard, followed by release of smoke.
This smoke is not harmful and does not indicate
a fire. Care should be taken not to inhale it, as it
may cause irritation and choking. Those with a
history of a breathing condition should get fresh
air promptly.
Front air bags, along with the use of seat belts,
help to cushion the impact force on the head
and chest of the front occupants. They can help
Safety — seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-59
save lives and reduce serious injuries. However,
an inflating front air bag may cause facial
abrasions or other injuries. Front air bags do
not provide restraint to the lower body.
Even with NISSAN advanced air bags, seat
belts should be correctly worn and the driver
and passenger seated upright as far as practical
away from the steering wheel or instrument
panel. The front air bags inflate quickly in order
to help protect the front occupants. Because of
this, the force of the front air bag inflating can
increase the risk of injury if the occupant is too
close to, or is against, the air bag module during
inflation.
The front air bags deflate quickly after a collision.
The front air bags operate only when the
ignition switch is in the ON position.
After placing the ignition switch in the ON
position, the supplemental air bag warning
light illuminates. The supplemental air bag
warning light will turn off after about 7
seconds if the system is operational.
