Rat
Well-known member
I have come to love the navigation feature in my Leaf and thought some people might benefit from some tips. Whenever possible I input my destinations(s) using Google Maps from my desktop computer before setting out. That makes it much easier and quicker to select a destination once in the car. If you don't know how to do that, here are the basic steps (see further below for more sophisticated tips):
On Google Maps
1. search for your destination (business name, address, intersection, coordinates, etc. all work). Once found,
2. click the "other" button on the left side pane next to "Save to Map" and on the drop down menu click send
3. On the popup screen click "car"
4. (The first time only you will have to input Nissan and your Carwings ID), then Click Send button at bottom.
In the car:
1. push the blue "e" button in the lower right of the dash display
2. All information Feeds
3. Google Maps
4. Send to car
The system announces "Connect to Information Center" and begins downloading the destination(s) you sent using Google Maps.
5. When the destination is read out by the voice, push the "pause" button on the upper right area of the touchscreen.
6. Push "New destination" button and the computer takes it from there, setting that as the next destination. Occasionally it doesn't take and you have to repeat. Be sure the voice says "Starbucks set as new destination"
7. It may take a minute or so for it to figure out the best route and then direct you, so be patient.
Those are the basics. I've found some useful tips for "power users"
1. On the last popup screen on Google Maps edit the name to be short, rather than the lengthy address or other description that the mapping software puts in as default, e.g. "Starbucks" instead of "Westmont Shopping Center, 12345 XYZ highway, Anytown, CA 93008-7654" so you don't have to listen to that whole thing being read out, and so that it is something you can recognize. You may not realize the Starbucks was in the Westmont center, especially if you searchecd on the name Starbucks, Anytown. This is particularly useful if you had numerous destinations in the car and the voice is reading a long list of unfamiliar addresses.
2. You don't have to wait for the voice to complete, or even begin the readout. The destination is spelled out in the lower left part of the screen before the reading begins, so you can press pause at that point when your destination appears.
3. If you have several destinations you can make it easier by searching them on Google Maps in the optimal order. The car will read out multiple destinations in reverse order from how they were sent, i.e. last in first out. This can be confusing if you were expecting the destinations to come out in the order you input them. Sometimes it is important to have specific destinations read out first. E.g. suppose you plan to meet your carpool at the Starbucks parking lot, get coffee, then drop off A and B at busy downtown locations where you will have to pull over to a no parking/stopping curb quickly and move on in heavy traffic, then go to a meeting at an unfamiliar location then to your office. You want location B and the meeting to be the last two you enter because you will probably need to have those read out to you as you are getting ready to pull away from the curb quickly and not have to wait for a list of five locations to be read out to you as you are negotiating heavy traffic and maybe going the wrong direction at first. The others you can select while at home or in the parking lot and not on the road driving, so those can be last (i.e. first input, last read).
4. If you are going to be in locations where cell phone coverage is not reliable, you can input all the destinations into the car at home or office before you leave (go through the whole process of actually setting them as destinations, not just read out), then later in the car, you can use the History feature or Previous Destinations to select one, even if you can't get connected. The GPS works fine as long as you can see the sky, even if cell coverage is non-existent, so the car can still navigate.
On Google Maps
1. search for your destination (business name, address, intersection, coordinates, etc. all work). Once found,
2. click the "other" button on the left side pane next to "Save to Map" and on the drop down menu click send
3. On the popup screen click "car"
4. (The first time only you will have to input Nissan and your Carwings ID), then Click Send button at bottom.
In the car:
1. push the blue "e" button in the lower right of the dash display
2. All information Feeds
3. Google Maps
4. Send to car
The system announces "Connect to Information Center" and begins downloading the destination(s) you sent using Google Maps.
5. When the destination is read out by the voice, push the "pause" button on the upper right area of the touchscreen.
6. Push "New destination" button and the computer takes it from there, setting that as the next destination. Occasionally it doesn't take and you have to repeat. Be sure the voice says "Starbucks set as new destination"
7. It may take a minute or so for it to figure out the best route and then direct you, so be patient.
Those are the basics. I've found some useful tips for "power users"
1. On the last popup screen on Google Maps edit the name to be short, rather than the lengthy address or other description that the mapping software puts in as default, e.g. "Starbucks" instead of "Westmont Shopping Center, 12345 XYZ highway, Anytown, CA 93008-7654" so you don't have to listen to that whole thing being read out, and so that it is something you can recognize. You may not realize the Starbucks was in the Westmont center, especially if you searchecd on the name Starbucks, Anytown. This is particularly useful if you had numerous destinations in the car and the voice is reading a long list of unfamiliar addresses.
2. You don't have to wait for the voice to complete, or even begin the readout. The destination is spelled out in the lower left part of the screen before the reading begins, so you can press pause at that point when your destination appears.
3. If you have several destinations you can make it easier by searching them on Google Maps in the optimal order. The car will read out multiple destinations in reverse order from how they were sent, i.e. last in first out. This can be confusing if you were expecting the destinations to come out in the order you input them. Sometimes it is important to have specific destinations read out first. E.g. suppose you plan to meet your carpool at the Starbucks parking lot, get coffee, then drop off A and B at busy downtown locations where you will have to pull over to a no parking/stopping curb quickly and move on in heavy traffic, then go to a meeting at an unfamiliar location then to your office. You want location B and the meeting to be the last two you enter because you will probably need to have those read out to you as you are getting ready to pull away from the curb quickly and not have to wait for a list of five locations to be read out to you as you are negotiating heavy traffic and maybe going the wrong direction at first. The others you can select while at home or in the parking lot and not on the road driving, so those can be last (i.e. first input, last read).
4. If you are going to be in locations where cell phone coverage is not reliable, you can input all the destinations into the car at home or office before you leave (go through the whole process of actually setting them as destinations, not just read out), then later in the car, you can use the History feature or Previous Destinations to select one, even if you can't get connected. The GPS works fine as long as you can see the sky, even if cell coverage is non-existent, so the car can still navigate.