NISSAN XTERRA 2005 N50 / 2.G Owner's Guide

There are three basic types of child restraint
systems:
cRear facing child restraint
cFront facing child restraint
cBooster seat
The proper restraint depends on the child’s size.
Generally, infants up to about 1 year and less
than 20 pounds (9 kg) should be placed in rear
facing child restraints. Front facing child re-
straints are available for children who outgrow
rear facing child restraints and are at least 1 year
old. Booster seats are used to help position a
vehicle lap/shoulder belt on a child who can no
longer use a front facing child restraint.
WARNING
Infants and children need special protec-
tion. The vehicle’s seat belts may not fit
them properly. The shoulder belt may
come too close to the face or neck. The
lap belt may not fit over their small hip
bones. In an accident, an improperly fit-
ting seat belt could cause serious or fatal
injury. Always use appropriate child
restraints.
All U.S. states and Canadian provinces or terri-
tories require the use of approved child restraintsfor infants and small children. See “Child Re-
straints” later in this section.
Also, there are other types of child restraints
available for larger children for additional protec-
tion.
NISSAN recommends that all pre-teens
and children be restrained in the rear seat.
According to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in the
rear seat than in the front seat.
This is especially important because your
vehicle has a supplemental restraint sys-
tem (Air bag system) for the front passen-
ger. See “Supplemental restraint system”
later in this section.
Infants
Infants up to at least 1 year old should be placed
in a rear facing child restraint. NISSAN recom-
mends that infants be placed in child restraints
that comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards or Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards. You should choose a child restraint
that fits your vehicle and always follow the manu-
facturer’s instructions for installation and use.
Small Children
Children that are over one year old and weigh
between 20 lbs (9 kg) and 40 lbs (18 kgs) can beplaced in a forward facing child restraint. Refer to
the manufacturer’s instructions for minimum and
maximum weight and height recommendations.
NISSAN recommends that small children be
placed in child restraints that comply with Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or Canadian Mo-
tor Vehicle Safety Standards. You should choose
a child restraint that fits your vehicle and always
follow the manufacturer’s instructions for instal-
lation and use.
Larger children
Children who are too large for child restraints
should be seated and restrained by the seat belts
which are provided. The seat belt may not fit
properly if the child is less than 4 feet 9 inches
(142.5 cm) tall and weighs between 40 lbs (18
kg) and 80 lbs (36 kg) . A booster seat should be
used to obtain proper seat belt fit.
NISSAN recommends that a child be placed in a
commercially available booster seat if the shoul-
der belt in the child’s seating position fits close to
the face or neck or if the lap portion of the seat
belt goes across the abdomen. The booster seat
should raise the child so that the shoulder belt is
properly positioned across the top, middle por-
tion of the shoulder and the lap belt is low on the
hips. A booster seat can only be used in seating
positions that have a three-point type seat belt.
The booster seat should fit the vehicle seat and
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have a label certifying that it complies with Fed-
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standards or Canadian
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Once the child
has grown so the shoulder belt is no longer on or
near the face and neck, use the shoulder belt
without the booster seat.
WARNING
Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat and do not allow a child in the cargo
areas while the vehicle is moving. The
child could be seriously injured or killed in
an accident or sudden stop.
PREGNANT WOMEN
NISSAN recommends that pregnant women use
seat belts. The seat belt should be worn snug,
and always position the lap belt as low as pos-
sible around the hips, not the waist. Place the
shoulder belt over your shoulder and across your
chest. Never run the lap/shoulder belt over your
abdominal area. Contact your doctor for specific
recommendations.
INJURED PERSONS
NISSAN recommends that injured persons use
seat belts. Check with your doctor for specific
recommendations.
THREE-POINT TYPE SEAT BELT
WITH RETRACTOR
WARNING
cEvery person who drives or rides in this
vehicle should use a seat belt at all
times.
cDo not ride in a moving vehicle when
the seatback is reclined. This can be
dangerous. The shoulder belt will not
be against your body. In an accident,
you could be thrown into it and receive
neck or other serious injuries. You
could also slide under the lap belt and
receive serious internal injuries.
cFor the most effective protection when
the vehicle is in motion, the seat should
be upright. Always sit well back in the
seat and adjust the seat belt properly.
Fastening the seat belts
s1Adjust the seat. See “Seats” earlier in this
section.
Manual front seat shown
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s2Slowly pull the seat belt out of the retractor
and insert the tongue into the buckle until
you hear and feel the latch engage.
cThe retractor is designed to lock during
a sudden stop or on impact. A slow
pulling motion permits the seat belt to
move, and allows you some freedom of
movement in the seat.
cIf the seat belt cannot be pulled from
its fully retracted position, firmly pull
the belt and release it. Then smoothly
pull the belt out of the retractor.s3Position the lap belt portionlow and snug
on the hipsas shown.
s4Pull the shoulder belt portion toward the
retractor to take up extra slack. Be sure the
shoulder belt is routed over your shoulder
and across your chest.
The front passenger seat and the rear seating
positions three-point seat belts have a locking
mechanism for child restraint installation. It is
referred to as the automatic locking mode or child
restraint mode.
When automatic locking mechanism is activated
the seat belt cannot be extended again until the
seat belt tongue is detached from the buckle andfully retracted. Once retracted, the seat belt is in
the emergency locking mode. See “Child re-
straints” later in this section for more information.
The automatic locking mode should be
used only for child restraint installation.
During normal seat belt use by a passen-
ger, the locking mode should not be acti-
vated. If it is activated it may cause uncom-
fortable seat belt tension. It can also
change the operation of the front passen-
ger air bag. See “Front passenger air bag
and status light” later in this section.
WARNING
When fastening the seat belts, be certain
that the seatbacks are completely se-
cured in the latched position. If they are
not completely secured, passengers may
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Unfastening the seat belts
s1To unfasten the seat belt, press the button on
the buckle. The seat belt automatically re-
tracts.
Checking seat belt operation
Seat belt retractors are designed to lock seat belt
movement by two separate methods:
cWhen the seat belt is pulled quickly from the
retractor.
cWhen the vehicle slows down rapidly.
To increase your confidence in the seat belts,
check the operation as follows.cGrasp the shoulder belt and pull forward
quickly. The retractor should lock and re-
strict further belt movement.
If the retractor does not lock during this check or
if you have any questions about seat belt opera-
tion, see a NISSAN dealer.
Center of the rear bench seat
The center seat belt has a connector tongues1
and a seat belt tongues2. Both the connector
tongue and the seat belt tongue must be securely
latched for proper seat belt operation.
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WARNING
cAlways fasten the connector tongue
and the seat belt in the order shown.
cAlways make sure both the connector
tongue and the seat belt tongue are
secured when using the seat belt. Do
not use it with only the seat belt tongue
attached. This could result in serious
personal injury in case of an accident or
a sudden stop.Stowing the center seat belt
When folding down the rear seat, the rear center
seat belt can be retracted into a stowed position
as follows:
s1Hold the connector tongue so that the seat
belt does not retract suddenly when the
tongue is released from the connector
buckle. Release the connector tongue by
inserting a suitable tool such as key into the
connector buckle
sAand release the con-
nector tongue.
s2Retract the seat belt up to the retractor base.
s3Fold the connector tongue into the molded
retractor base. Then pull enough slack in the
seat belt to secure the seat belt tongue into
the slot on the retractor base. Pull the seat
belt so that it will lay flat in the ceiling.
WARNING
cDo not unfasten the rear center seat
belt connector except when folding
down the rear seat.
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cWhen attaching the rear center seat
belt connector, be certain that the seat-
backs are completely secured in the
latched position and the rear center
seat belt connector is completely
secured.
cIf the rear center seat belt connector
and the seatbacks are not secured in
the correct position, serious personal
injury may result in an accident or sud-
den stop.Attaching the center seat belt
Always be sure the center seat belt connector
tongue and connector buckle are attached. Dis-
connect only when folding down the rear seat.
To connect the buckle:
s1Pull out the seat belt tongue from the retrac-
tor base.
s2Pull out the connector tongue from the
molded retractor base.
s3Pull the seat belt and secure the receiver
buckle until it clicks.
The center seat belt connector tongue and re-
ceiver buckle are indicated by the > and < mark.
The center seat belt connector tongue can be
attached only into the rear center seat belt con-
nector buckle.
To fasten the seat belt, see “Fastening the seat
belt” earlier in this section.
WARNING
cDo not unfasten the rear center seat
belt connector except when folding
down the rear seat.
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cWhen attaching the rear center seat
belt connector, be certain that the seat-
backs are completely secured in the
latched position and the rear center
seat belt connector is completely
secured.
cIf the rear center seat belt connector
and the seatbacks are not secured in
the correct position, serious personal
injury may result in an accident or sud-
den stop.
2nd row center seat belt comfort
guide
When using the 2nd row center seat belt it may
be necessary to use the comfort guide to adjust
the shoulder belt height for occupants of different
sizes for added comfort and to help obtain proper
seat belt fit.
1. Raise the head restraint on the 2nd row
driver’s side seating position. Remove the
comfort guide from the stowed position by
pulling the cord from the channel.2. Insert the shoulder belt into the back of the
comfort guide so that the seat belt lays flat in
the guide. Be sure that the comfort guide
routes the seat belt properly over the center
of your shoulder and across your chest. The
belt should be away from your face and
neck, but not falling off of your shoulder.
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3. To return the seat belt comfort guide to the
stowed position, route the comfort guide
strap in the channel under the 2nd row driv-
er’s side seating position head restraint and
attach the guide in the clip.
Shoulder belt height adjustment (front
and 2nd row outboard seats)
The shoulder belt anchor height should be ad-
justed to the position best for you. (See “Precau-
tions on seat belt usage” earlier in this section.)
To adjust, pull out
s1the adjustment button and
move the shoulder belt anchor
s2to the desired
position, so the belt passes over the center of the
shoulder. The belt should be away from your face
and neck, but not falling off your shoulder. Re-
lease the adjustment button to lock the shoulder
belt anchor into position.
WARNING
cAfter adjustment, release the adjust-
ment button and try to move the shoul-
der belt anchor up and down to make
sure it is securely fixed in position.
cThe shoulder belt anchor height should
be adjusted to the position best for you.
Failure to do so may reduce the effec-
tiveness of the entire restraint system
and increase the chance or severity of
injury in an accident.
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Front and 2nd row outboard seats
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Seat belt hook
When the seat belt is not in use and when folding
down the rear seats, hook the rear seat belts on
the seat belt hooks.
SEAT BELT EXTENDERS
If, because of body size or driving position, it is
not possible to properly fit the lap-shoulder belt
and fasten it, an extender is available which is
compatible with the installed seat belts. The ex-
tender adds approximately 8 inches (200 mm) of
length and may be used for either the driver or
front passenger seating position. See a NISSAN
dealer for assistance if an extender is required.
WARNING
cOnly NISSAN seat belt extenders, made
by the same company which made the
original equipment seat belts, should
be used with NISSAN seat belts.
cAdults and children who can use the
standard seat belt should not use an
extender. Such unnecessary use could
result in serious personal injury in the
event of an accident.
cNever use seat belt extenders to install
child restraints. If the child restraint is
not secured properly, the child could be
seriously injured in a collision or a sud-
den stop.
SEAT BELT MAINTENANCE
cTo clean the seat belt webbing,apply a
mild soap solution or any solution recom-
mended for cleaning upholstery or carpet.
Then wipe with a cloth and allow the seat
belts to dry in the shade. Do not allow the
seat belts to retract until they are completely
dry.
cIf dirt builds up in the shoulder belt
guideof the seat belt anchors, the seat
belts may retract slowly. Wipe the shoulder
belt guide with a clean, dry cloth.cPeriodically check to see that the seat
belt and the metal components,such as
buckles, tongues, retractors, flexible wires
and anchors, work properly. If loose parts,
deterioration, cuts or other damage on the
webbing is found, the entire seat belt as-
sembly should be replaced.
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PRECAUTIONS ON CHILD
RESTRAINTS
WARNING
cInfants and small children should al-
ways be placed in an appropriate child
restraint while riding in the vehicle.
Failure to use a child restraint can re-
sult in serious injury or death.
WARNING
cInfants and small children should never
be carried on your lap. It is not possible
for even the strongest adult to resist the
forces of a severe accident. The child
could be crushed between the adult and
parts of the vehicle. Also, do not put the
same seat belt around both your child
and yourself.cEven with the NISSAN Advanced Air
Bag System, never install a rear-facing
child restraint in the front seat. An in-
flating supplemental front air bag could
seriously injure or kill your child. A rear-
facing child restraint must only be used
in the rear seat.
cNISSAN recommends that the child re-
straint be installed in the rear seat. Ac-
cording to accident statistics, children
are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seat than in the front seat.
cAn improperly installed child restraint
could lead to serious injury or death in
an accident.
In general, child restraints are designed to be
installed with the lap portion of a lap/shoulder
seat belt. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with
a universal child restraint lower anchor system,
referred to as the LATCH (Lower Anchors and
Tethers for CHildren) system. Some child re-
straints include two rigid or webbing-mounted
attachments that can be connected to these
lower anchors. For details, see the “LATCH
(Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) sys-
tem” later in this section.
Child restraints for infants and small children of
various sizes are offered by several manufactur-
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CHILD RESTRAINTS
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