towing NISSAN PATHFINDER 2013 R52 / 4.G Owner's Manual

●While going downhill, the weight of the
trailer pushing on the tow vehicle may de-
crease overall stability. Therefore, to main-
tain adequate control, reduce your speed
and shift to a lower gear. Avoid long or
repeated use of the brakes when descend-
ing a hill, as this reduces their effectiveness
and could cause overheating. Shifting to a
lower gear instead provides “engine brak-
ing” and reduces the need to brake as fre-
quently.
● If the engine coolant temperature rises to a
high temperature, refer to “If your vehicle
overheats” in the “In case of emergency”
section of this owner’s manual.
● Trailer towing requires more fuel than normal
circumstances.
● Avoid towing a trailer for your vehicle’s first
500 miles (805 km) .
● For the first 500 miles (805 km) that you do
tow, do not drive over 50 MPH (80 km/h).
● Have your vehicle serviced more often than
at intervals specified in the recommended
Maintenance Schedule in the “NISSAN Ser-
vice and Maintenance Guide”. ●
When making a turn, your trailer wheels will
be closer to the inside of the turn than your
vehicle wheels. To compensate for this,
make a larger than normal turning radius
during the turn.
● Crosswinds and rough roads will adversely
affect vehicle/trailer handling, possibly caus-
ing vehicle sway. When being passed by
larger vehicles, be prepared for possible
changes in crosswinds that could affect ve-
hicle handling.
Do the following if the trailer begins to sway: 1. Take your foot off the accelerator pedal to allow the vehicle to coast and steer as
straight ahead as the road conditions allow.
This combination will help stabilize the ve-
hicle
– Do not correct trailer sway by steering or applying the brakes.
2. When the trailer sway stops, gently apply the brakes and pull to the side of the road in a
safe area.
3. Try to rearrange the trailer load so it is bal- anced as described earlier in this section. ●
Be careful when passing other vehicles.
Passing while towing a trailer requires con-
siderably more distance than normal pass-
ing. Remember, the length of the trailer must
also pass the other vehicle before you can
safely change lanes.
● Use the Tow Mode or downshift the trans-
mission to a lower gear for engine braking
when driving down steep or long hills. This
will help slow the vehicle without applying
the brakes.
● Avoid holding the brake pedal down too long
or too frequently. This could cause the
brakes to overheat, resulting in reduced
braking efficiency.
● Increase your following distance to allow for
greater stopping distances while towing a
trailer. Anticipate stops and brake gradually.
● NISSAN recommends that the cruise con-
trol not be used while towing a trailer.
● Some states or provinces have specific
regulations and speed limits for vehicles that
are towing trailers. Obey the local speed
limits.
● Check your hitch, trailer wiring harness con-
nections, and trailer wheel lug nuts after
50 miles (80 km) of travel and at every break.
Technical and consumer information9-27

●When launching a boat, don’t allow the wa-
ter level to go over the exhaust tail pipe or
rear bumper.
● Make sure you disconnect the trailer lights
before backing the trailer into the water or
the trailer lights may burn out.
When towing a trailer, final drive gear oil
should be replaced and transmission
oil/fluid should be changed more fre-
quently. For additional information, see the
“Maintenance and do-it-yourself” section
earlier in this manual.
Tow mode
Using tow mode is recommended when pulling a
heavy trailer or hauling a heavy load. Press the
TOW MODE switch to activate tow mode. The
indicator light on the TOW MODE switch illumi-
nates when tow mode is selected. Press the
TOW MODE switch again to turn tow mode off.
Tow mode is automatically cancelled when the
ignition switch is turned OFF.
Tow mode includes the following features: ● Grade logic — Adjusts transmission shifts
when pulling a trailer or hauling a load up a
grade. ●
Downhill Speed Control (DSC) — automati-
cally downshifts when driving down a grade
with a trailer or heavy load to help control
vehicle speed.
Driving the vehicle in the tow mode with no
trailer/load or light trailer/light load will not cause
any damage. However, fuel economy may be
reduced and the transmission/engine driving
characteristics may feel unusual.
When towing a trailer, final drive gear oil
should be replaced and transmission
oil/fluid should be changed more fre-
quently. For additional information, see the
“Maintenance and do-it-yourself” section
earlier in this manual.FLAT TOWING
Towing your vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground is sometimes called flat towing. This
method is sometimes used when towing a vehicle
behind a recreational vehicle, such as a motor
home.
CAUTION
● Failure to follow these guidelines can
result in severe transmission damage.
● Whenever flat towing your vehicle, al-
ways tow forward, never backward.
● DO NOT tow any automatic transmis-
sion vehicle with all four wheels on the
ground (flat towing) . Doing so WILL
DAMAGE internal transmission parts
due to lack of transmission lubrication.
● For emergency towing procedures refer
to “Towing recommended by NISSAN”
in the “In case of emergency” section of
this manual.
Continuously Variable Transmission
To tow a vehicle equipped with a continuously
variable transmission, an appropriate vehicle
dolly MUST be placed under the towed vehicle’s
drive wheels. Alwaysfollow the dolly manufac-
turer’s recommendations when using their prod-
uct.
9-28Technical and consumer information

StartingBefore starting the engine ..........5-13
Jump starting .................6-9
Precautions when starting and driving ....5-2
Push starting .................6-11
Starting the engine .............5-13
Steering Heated steering wheel ...........2-39
Power steering fluid .............8-12
Power steering system ...........5-26
Steering wheel audio control switch .....4-112
Stoplight.....................8-27
Storage......................2-44
Storagebin....................2-50
Sunglassescase.................2-45
Sunglassesholder................2-45
Sunroof (see Moonroof) .............2-53
Sun visors ....................3-31
Supplemental air bag warning labels ......1-64
Supplemental air bag warning light . . .1-64, 2-14
Supplemental front impact air bag system . . .1-56
Supplemental restraint system Information and warning labels .......1-64
Precautions on supplemental restraint
system ....................1-49
Supplemental restraint system
(Supplemental air bag system) .........1-49
Switch Autolightswitch...............2-33
Automatic power window switch ......2-53
Foglightswitch ...............2-36
Hazard warning flasher switch ........6-2
Headlight and turn signal switch ......2-32
Headlightcontrolswitch ..........2-32
Power door lock switch ............3-6
Power inverter switch ............2-41 Rear window and outside mirror defroster
switch.....................2-31
Rear window wiper and washer
switches...................2-30
Turn signal switch
..............2-35
Vehicle dynamic control (VDC) off switch .2-41
Windshield wiper and washer switch . . .2-29
T
Tachometer ....................2-4
Temperature gauge Engine coolant temperature gauge .....2-5
Theft (NISSAN vehicle immobilizer system) ,
engine start .............2-28,3-4,5-13
Three-way catalyst ................5-2
Tire Flat tire .....................6-3
Spare tire ...................6-4
Tire and Loading Information label .....9-11
Tirechains..................8-37
Tireplacard..................9-11
Tire pressure .................8-30
Tire rotation..................8-37
Tires of 4-wheel drive ............8-39
Types of tires .................8-36
Uniform tire quality grading .........9-29
Wheels and tires ...............8-30
Wheel/tire size .................9-8
Tire pressure Low tire pressure warning light .......2-12
Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) ....5-3
Top tether strap child restraint .........1-34
Towing 4-wheel drive models ............6-13 Flattowing..................9-28
Towing load/specification
..........9-21
Tow truck towing ...............6-12
Trailer towing .................9-17
Towmodeswitch ................2-42
Transceiver HomeLink® Universal Transceiver . .2-59, 2-63
Transmission Continuously Variable Transmission
(CVT)fluid..................8-11
Driving
with Continuously Variable
Transmission (CVT) .............5-14
Travel (See registering your vehicle in another
country) ......................9-9
Trip odometer ...................2-4
Turn signal switch ................2-35
U
Uniform tire quality grading ...........9-29
USB interface Audio file operation .........4-98,4-100
Video file operation .............4-101
V
Vanity mirror ...................3-32
Variable voltage control system .........8-16
Vehicledimensionsandweights.........9-8
Vehicle dynamic control (VDC) off switch . . .2-41
Vehicle dynamic control (VDC) system .....5-29
Vehicle identification ...............9-9
Vehicle identification number (VIN)
(Chassis number) .................9-9
10-6