2002 Nissan Maxima Owner's Manual - Page 32

CHILD RESTRAINTS ¼ If dirt builds up in the shoulder belt guide of the seat belt anchors, the seat belts may retract slowly. Wipe the shoulder belt guide with a clean, dry cloth. ¼ Periodically 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 belt assembly should be replaced. PRECAUTIONS ON CHILD RESTRAINTS WARNING ¼ Infants and small children should always be placed in an appropriate child restraint while riding in the vehicle. Failure to use a child restraint can result in serious injury or death. ¼ Infants 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. ¼ Never install a rear facing child restraint in the front seat. An inflating supplemental air bag could seriously injure or kill your child. A rear facing child restraint must only be used in the rear seat. ¼ NISSAN recommends that the child restraint be installed in the rear seat. According to accident statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in the rear seat than in the front seat. ¼ An 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 three-point type seat belt. In addition, this vehicle is equipped with a universal child restraint lower anchor system, referred to as the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether for Children) system. Some child restraints include two rigid or webbing-mounted attachments that can be connected to these lower anchors. For details, see "LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tether for Children) SYSTEM" later in this section. Child restraints for infants and children of various sizes are offered by several manufacturers. When selecting any child restraint, keep the following points in mind: ¼ choose only a restraint with a label certifying that it complies with Federal Motor Seats, restraints and supplemental air bag systems 1-27