NISSAN LEAF 2011 Owners Manual

WARNING
.Never let children ride unrestrained
or extend their hands or face out of
the window. Do not attempt to hold
them in your lap or arms. Some
examples of dangerous riding posi-
tions are shown in the illustrations.
. Children may be severely injured or
killed when the front air bags, side
air bags or curtain air bags inflate if
they are not properly restrained.
Pre-teens and children should be
properly restrained in the rear seat,
if possible.
. Even with the NISSAN Advanced Air
Bag System, never install a rear-
facing child restraint on the front
seat. An inflating front air bag could
seriously injure or kill your child.
See “Child restraints” earlier in this
section for details.
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-39

Do not lean against doors or windows.

.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 system1-41

1. Crash zone sensor
2. Supplemental front-impact air bag modules
3. Front seat-mounted side-impact supplemental airbag modules
4. Occupant classification sensors (weight sensors)
5. Occupant classification system control unit 6. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental
air bag inflators
7. Roof-mounted curtain side-impact supplemental air bag modules
8. Satellite sensors
9. Lap outer pretensioner (driver side only) 10. Seat belt with pretensioner
11. Air bag Control Unit (ACU)
NISSAN ADVANCED AIR BAG SYS-
TEM (front seats)

your NISSAN certified LEAF dealer
to check the occupant classification
system.
. 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.
However, all of the information, cautions
and warnings in this manual still 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
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” later
in this section for further details. One front air
bag inflating does not indicate improper perfor-
mance of the system.
If you have any questions about your air bag
system, contact NISSAN or a NISSAN certified
LEAF dealer. If you are considering modification
of your vehicle due to a disability, you may also
contact NISSAN. Contact information is con-
tained 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
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.
Safety—Seats, seat belts and supplemental restraint system1-43

The front air bags operate only when the
power switch is in the ON position.
After the power switch 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.

If the passenger air bag status light will not
illuminate even though you believe that the child
restraint, the seat belts and the occupant are
properly positioned, the system may be sensing
an unoccupied seat (in which case the air bag is
OFF). Your NISSAN certified LEAF dealer can
check that the system is OFF by using a special
tool. However, until you have confirmed with
your dealer that your air bag is working properly,
reposition the occupant or child restraint in a
rear seat.
The air bag system and passenger air bag status
light will take a few seconds to register a change
in the passenger seat status. However, if the
seat becomes unoccupied, the air bag status
light will remain off.
If a malfunction occurs in the front passenger air
bag system, the supplemental air bag warning
light

.Removing or modifying the front
passenger seat may affect the func-
tion of the air bag system and result
in serious personal injury.
. Modifying or tampering with the
front passenger seat may result in
serious personal injury. For exam-
ple, do not change the front seats by
placing material on the seat cushion
or by installing additional trim ma-
terial, such as seat covers, on the
seat that is not specifically designed
to assure proper air bag operation.
Additionally, do not stow any ob-
jects under the front passenger seat
or the seat cushion and seatback.
Such objects may interfere with the
proper operation of the occupant
classification sensors.
. No unauthorized changes should be
made to any components or wiring
of the seat belt system. This may
affect the front air bag system.
Tampering with the seat belt system
may result in serious personal in-
jury.
. Work on and around the front air
bag system should be done by a NISSAN certified LEAF dealer. In-
stallation of electrical equipment
should also be done by a NISSAN
certified LEAF dealer. The Supple-
mental Restraint System (SRS) wir-
ing harnesses* should not be
modified or disconnected. Un-
authorized electrical test equipment
and probing devices should not be
used on the air bag system.
. A cracked windshield should be
replaced immediately by a qualified
repair facility. A cracked windshield
could affect the function of the
supplemental air bag system.
*The SRS wiring harness connectors are
yellow and orange for easy identification.
When selling your vehicle, we request that you
inform the buyer about the front air bag system
and guide the buyer to the appropriate sections
in this Owner’s Manual.

designed to inflate in higher severity side
collisions, although they may inflate if the forces
in another type of collision are similar to those of
a higher severity side impact. They are designed
to inflate on the side where the vehicle is
impacted. They may not inflate in certain side
collisions on the side where the vehicle is
impacted.
Vehicle damage (or lack of it) is not always an
indication of proper side air bag and curtain air
bag operation.
When the side air bags and curtain air bags
inflate, 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.
Side air bags, along with the use of seat belts,
help to cushion the impact force on the chest
and pelvic area of the front occupants. Curtain
air bags help to cushion the impact force to the
head of occupants in the front and rear outboard
seating positions. They can help save lives and
reduce serious injuries. However, side air bags
and curtain air bags may cause abrasions or
other injuries. Side air bags and curtain air bags
do not provide restraint to the lower body.The seat belts should be correctly worn and the
driver and passenger seated upright as far as
practical away from the side air bags. Rear seat
passengers should be seated as far away as
practical from the door finishers and side roof
rails. The side air bags and curtain air bags
inflate quickly in order to help protect the
occupants in the outboard seating positions.
Because of this, the force of the side air bags
and curtain air bags inflating can increase the
risk of injury if the occupant is too close to, or is
against, these air bag modules during inflation.
The side air bags and curtain air bags will deflate
quickly after the collision is over.
The side air bags and curtain air bags
operate only when the power switch is in
the ON position.
After turning the power switch to 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 systems are operational.