back against the seatback and as
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.1-46) .
. Keep hands on the outside of the
steering wheel. Placing them inside
the steering wheel rim could in-
crease the risk that they are injured 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 bag
and curtain air bag inflate with great
force. Do not allow anyone to place
their hand, leg or face near the side
air bag 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 dan-
gerous 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 bag inflation.
Safety — Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-43
JVR0272X
1. Crash zone sensor
2. Supplemental front-impact air bag modules
3. Front seat-mounted side-impact supplementalair bag modules
4. Occupant classification sensors (weight sen- sors)
5. Occupant classification system control unit 6. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact and rollover
supplemental air bag inflators
7. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact and rollover supplemental air bags modules
8. Seat belt with pretensioners
9. Satellite sensors
10. Air bag Control Unit (ACU)
NISSAN ADVANCED AIR BAG SYS-
TEM (front seats)
.Until you have confirmed with your
dealer that your passenger seat
occupant classification system is
working properly, position the occu-
pants 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 has
dual stage air bag inflators. The system monitors
information from the Air bag Control Unit (ACU) ,
seat belt buckle sensors and the occupant classification sensors (weight sensors) . Inflator
operation is based on the severity of a collision
and seat belt usage for the driver. For the front
passenger, the occupant classification 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 classification 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-
46) 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 indicatea 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
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 the ignition is placed 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.
Safety — Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-45
