2018 Nissan Pathfinder Won’t Let You Forget Your Kids in the Back Seat
You'll get honked at if you don't remember
We've all heard enough horror stories of people leaving their kids or pets in the back seat of a hot car. To help prevent further tragedies, and lesser incidents like forgetting food or your gym bag, Nissan is adding a special alert feature to the 2018 Pathfinder.
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Rear Door Alert keeps track of when the rear doors have been opened or closed prior to and after a trip. If it detects the rear doors were opened and closed before the trip but not re-opened after the trip, it displays a warning in the instrument panel. Later, the system uses a series of distinctive horn honks once the driver walks away from the vehicle.
The idea of reminding drivers to check the back seat isn't new. On a host of GM models, a Rear Seat Reminder sounds a chime and displays a message in the instrument cluster to make sure drivers don't leave something in the back of the car. But Nissan says the honking makes its feature unique from others.
"The Rear Door Alert uses a similar honking cue that has been proven successful with Nissan's Easy Fill Tire Alert," said Elsa Foley, one of the Nissan engineers behind the alert system. "By drawing your attention back to the vehicle, once you've walked away, you are more likely to recheck the back seat than with a visual alert alone."
By scrolling through vehicle settings on the instrument panel, drivers can deactivate the horn portion of the alert or turn off the Rear Door Alert feature altogether if they choose.
Rear Door Alert will arrive as a standard feature on the 2018 Pathfinder when it goes on sale in September. Since the three-row SUV was significantly revisedlast year, only a few other changes are expected for 2018. Along with the new alert feature, the Pathfinder also receives standard automatic emergency braking, a new Midnight Edition appearance package, and two new exterior colors including Scarlet Ember and Midnight Pine. Intelligent Cruise Control and NissanConnectSM with Navigation and Services, previously only standard on the Platinum grade, are now standard on the lower SL grade.
Source: Nissan
When I tell people I write about cars, the most common reply I receive is “Really?” I guess I never strike people as a car type as I drive down the freeway in the right lane going 60 mph in my old SUV. My gripes about driving in city traffic and fast drivers don’t help my case, either. For a time, the only cars I liked were old cars. Not old as in "classic" or "vintage," but as in well-worn. My first appreciation of cars came when I drove a very old Ford pickup. It wasn't perfect: I used a booster seat to reach the gas pedal, and the turn signal once fell off in my hand as I was learning to drive. But the thing I valued most was the memories. It took several years for me to truly become a "car person." Being a long-time writer and an avid reader has helped me develop a healthy curiosity and a desire to know how things work. This has made cars one of the most fascinating points of study for me because they are such intricate machines. I am interested in how cars can reach 200 mph, how they can run on hydrogen, and how they can drive and park on their own. I also enjoy learning how cars can solve problems whether it be in the form of reducing pollution, minimizing traffic, or helping people stay connected on the road. Yes, maybe I’m not a gearhead. Perhaps I’m a car nerd. Either way, I very much enjoy writing about cars and helping people stay in tune with the automotive industry. I wouldn't want to be writing about anything else. And don’t get me wrong: I know how to drool over a hot car. I am fascinated by the Tesla Model S, awed by the Lamborghini Veneno, and am hopelessly obsessed with the Audi R8.
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