Thinking of buying a Leaf with no SD card

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joeDees

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2018
Messages
20
Location
I'm In the HOT Central CA sun
I've seen people saying this is a big no-no, but I haven't seen anyone describe this situation, so here goes.

This car has the card in the "B" slot but not the one in the "A" slot. I noticed the A/C and the radio work but other things I haven't checked yet so I don't really know if they do or not.

I asked the salesman about this and he said the "A" slot was for personal files like pictures, music and things like that (in other words, it sounded like he was saying the card in the "A" slot was not necessary for some features of the car to operate). He also said that you can get an inexpensive card from a store like WalMart for this (he made no mention of a special $300-more or less- card specific to the car from a Nissan dealer or anything like that, which it seems, is a lot of what I've read about).

So what do you say? Am I taking a big risk buying the LEAF with no SD card in the "A" slot but having one in the "B" slot? Do you think the salesman gave me good information? Do you think not having a good card in the "A" slot could hurt me somewhere down the road, or is it not a big deal? (After all, if the A slot really is for strictly personal files, who would want to leave that card in there anyway?).

It's bad enough hearing those people who say not to buy a Leaf without an SD card but then there's that one quote I read that REALLY reverberates loudly in my head:
"you could be lucky the car still goes at all."
:eek:

Thanks!
 
joeDees said:
He also said that you can get an inexpensive card from a store like WalMart for this (he made no mention of a special $300-more or less- card specific to the car from a Nissan dealer or anything like that, which it seems, is a lot of what I've read about).!
No! The former won't work.

You should have the salesman go do that and demonstrate the stereo, nav system, Carwings and all menus on the head unit's LCD working with a cheap SD card from Walmart.
 
I see you are not really a Leaf owner (yet), so I understand there's some confusion.
1) All Leafs require a (custom) SD card on the right-side slot for navigation (and other) functions to work
2) The left-side slot is empty on delivery...and is only used for "copy" functions that are beyond the scope of your question

You have not provided enough information...or maybe done enough evaluation...to determine whether the Leaf in question has a proper SD card (and no, you can't just buy them at Walmart).
 
Ok, thanks so far. This has provided some clarity...and some more confusion.

1. It has the one card on the right side. But is it a "PROPER" SD card? How can I tell?
(Could it be a matter of having the salesman, as cwerda sort of said, " demonstrate the stereo, nav system, Carwings and all menus on the head unit's LCD working" and finding out if they do work or don't, or is there more to it than that?)

2. Stanton said: "The left-side slot is empty on delivery...and is only used for "copy" functions that are beyond the scope of your question"

Hmmmm. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that suggests to me that the card is unneeded, if the car doesn't even come with one when its new.

So if you're the buyer of a new leaf (or one like me, a possible buyer of a used Leaf) with an empty left-side slot,
A) is it necessary to get an SD card to fill this slot?
B) how do you go about getting a card to fill this slot?
(if it's necessary to have the card, it doesn't seem to me like they would sell new cars without one)
C) if it isn't necessary to have one, what do you lose out on by not having one?
D) is the card on the left one that has to be specific to the car like, I imagine, the one on the right is
E) if the answer to D) is "yes", then is the price of that card like $300 too?

On a side note, I've read something about how, if you go to a Nissan dealer to get an SD card you need what I think was called a "confirmation code." Is that true? Now suppose they don't have a confirmation code (or whatever other info that might be needed), does that mean a new card just can't be gotten? And what would be the results of that?
 
So the sd card is a deal breaker.the SD card is only good in one car, can not go get one out of anther Leaf and try it. so to get a new card and see Range info, and to see if the radio works, To check if the A/C system works, you need a working SD card. I bought my leaf with out a SD card, the dealer got the card took 5 weeks to get in 2013 for a 2011 SL Leaf. After installing the SD card,and driving the car for a moth. The car started loosing bars, i ended up with a 3 bar looser when i bought a car with full bars... so there are just too many places to go wrong. the car would have to be like $3000 below market if i was to look at it....
 
exactly as @Santon has said at point 1 as only a matched SD card will work so let the salesman demonstrate all satnav functions etc
also when you pop out the card it should be an original Nissan SD card!

the left slot can be empty for the life of the Leaf or used to save some user data but not needed to operate the Leaf
this can indeed just a Walmart SD card

the SD card on the right is indeed being matched by Nissan using the confirmation code you can get from one of the Satnav info screens
i made a picture of it and wrote this code in the owners manual just in case if i (or next owner) ever loose the Nissan SD card

good luck
 
Aha. And so the answer has apparently unfolded.

cwerdna said:
"You should have the salesman go do that and demonstrate the stereo, nav system, Carwings and all menus on the head unit's LCD working with a cheap SD card from Walmart."

stanton said:
"The left-side slot is empty on delivery"

bitmanEV said:
"the left slot can be empty for the life of the Leaf or used to save some user data but not needed to operate the Leaf this can indeed just a Walmart SD card"

Confusion cleared, I'm pretty sure. It looks to me like If cwerdna had said to have the salesman demonstrate by using a card from Walmart in the RIGHT-SIDE slot, then there would be big problems. But it looks like it should be ok to not even have a card in the left-side slot (or maybe a Walmart card). (cwerdna, not writing this to get on you, I know you were trying to help and you really got this thread going for me, so thanks!).

I'm not saying this info doesn't exist anywhere (perhaps it does in the owners manual but I don't know that), but I definately haven't read it anywhere or seen it in a video.

As for whether its a good SD card or not:
bitmanEV said:
"let the salesman demonstrate all satnav functions etc also when you pop out the card it should be an original Nissan SD card!"

Thank you!

And about the confirmation code:
bitmanEV said:
"the SD card on the right is indeed being matched by Nissan using the confirmation code you can get from one of the Satnav info screensi made a picture of it and wrote this code in the owners manual just in case if i (or next owner) ever loose the Nissan SD card"

Seems to me (and correct me if I'm wrong) if I can get this information by the card that is in the car I should have a good card and be good to go.

And about one other comment:
bitmanEV said:
"good luck"

Seems to me like I've already stumbled on the "good luck" I needed by posting here. This is great!

So thanks for your help. If anyone else has anything to add, let me know. Meanwhile I'll keep you posted on this thread to let you know how it works out.
 
Oops! My apologies. :oops: I jumped on the "no SD card" part.

We tend to every now and then get folks who find or get Leafs missing the SD card on the right (copy-protected card using the Secure part of Secure Digital). If that's missing, you're pretty hosed and need to spend more than a few $ get a replacement. And, we've many times encountered sales critters who give out wrong info, either due to ignorance or malice (trying to make a sale).

Example threads:
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=19875 - pic missing
https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=10146 - I think the old message was SD UNLOCK NG

I've never played with this until today but just for kicks, I removed the Nissan-supplied copy protected SD card from slot B (under MAP) and sure enough, after power cycling, I get helpful message "NO SD CARD Please insert a valid Map SD card.... slot on the right side..." And, as I'd heard before and confirmed myself, I can't do squat on that LCD. I can't get to the radio, nav or any of the menus. Using the HVAC controls results in no confirmation/status on the LCD.

In my almost 5 years of driving a '13 Leaf SV, I've never put anything in the left side SD card slot nor removed the right side card, until today.
 
Just wanted to add this in case it helps. I bought my 2017 SL from Carvana - very low miles and like new (still even smells new!). It was missing the SD card, but in my case they covered the cost to replace it - as without it the statistics, nav & satellite radio system are all basically useless. However it did take several weeks for the Nissan dealer to get it and they have to order a card specific to your car (there is a number on the system they have to get to order it). It would have cost around $500 I believe so unless they they are going to cover the cost to order and install it ( think there are some settings they have to do once they get it) it would probably be better to find another one with a card.

On a side note, why do the cards end up getting removed anyway? Is it someone who just doesn't know that it has to stay with the car when its traded in? (Just wondering....... :roll: )
 
I bought a 2017 SL from Carvana which was delivered on Sep 20, 2018. It also had a missing SD card. Carvana told me to visit a Nissan dealer and have them charge it to their warranty company (SilverRock). No dealers wanted to do business with SilverRock. I just bought a SD card from a dealer and installed it myself. Cost me $125.76 in Ohio before tax.

Installing is easy. Insert card, turn on car, follow instructions.
 
I see this post has some great answers. I was wondering if I buy one of these SD cards off of eBay if they would work or if there is an easy way to hack the system. My dealer (Nissan but might as well be drug with the prices they charge lol this was just a joke calm down) wants $450 for the SD card and says it will take around 4-5 weeks (as mentioned previously in this post). I refuse to pay for this over charging scam. If I have to pay $450 for a SD card it better damn well be delivered by a hot chick in a biki.....oh nevermind....anyway so.
For the record, I've been driving my leaf for a long time without a card in either slot. EVERYTHING WORKS but the car stereo or navigation and i'm sure there is others but the rear back up camera works, the air conditioning works, it drives fine, reverse, forward, eco mode. Park works, parking brake works, heating works. For the stereo and navagation I just use my cell phone. It only get's around 50-70 miles on the battery but for my purpose of going to work in back, it has been just find and I can also run 110 cord out from my office if I need to charge it more.
For the price I paid and the gas I've saved...it's 100% been worth it.
 
Looking a '15 SV missing the map SD card. Worst case I buy it from dealer. So is it $125 or $450? My local dealer hasn't responded to my inquiry yesterday.
 
Good call, LeftieBiker. The dealer finally returned my call and said $330. He was nice enough to give me the part number and I found it for $241 at https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-memory-card-map~25920-4np0a.html?Make=Nissan&Model=Leaf&Year=2015&Submodel=&Filter=(3=SV;5=24KWH)

Definitely good info for haggling! We might be a 2-Leaf family soon. Formerly a 2-PT Snoozer family.
 
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