New Owner dumb minor questions

I bought a used 2015 Nissan Leaf S that I am now on my third day of driving. Love the car so far, learning more every day. This is the most modern car I have ever owned, so I'm still learning how to deal with steering wheel controls and on-board touch screens. So to start with, a couple of questions for you veterans out there...mostly trivial.

Nissan Connect EV doesn't seem to want to connect for me. The online chat tech says it should work, the phone is setup to work with the Bluetooth (made hands-free calls already), and I have created an online account with the portal service and installed the app. I just can't seem to get the app to talk to the car. Any thoughts? As a side issue, this app has terrible reviews, is there something else better? I looked at Leafspy, but that required me to buy an ODB2 Bluetooth connector...which I could do...but thought I would ask.

As it is winter and I am in NY. Therefore, I am interested in timing the environmental controls to warm things up 30 minutes or so before I get in while the car is still plugged in. Outside of a seemingly non-functional Nissan Connect, is there a another way to do this? Manually, I can't seem to trigger any of the environmental controls while the car is powered off and plugged in, and it won't power up until I remove the plug.

I like to listen to podcasts. I currently have them on a USB stick. Whenever I am turning a corner I seem to manage to flick the change track control on the steering wheel which resets the podcast. With no granular MP3 type controls, I then have to listen from the beginning again, or go onto the next one. Outside of changing 35 year driving habits, any ideas on how to deal with that? Is there a way to selectively disable to steering wheel controls? Looking at a Bluetooth receiver for the aux port, but again, thought I might ask.

I'm sure I will come up with some more dumb questions as things progress. I did do a forum search on these and nothing popped up for me, so I apologize in advance if these are HEAVILY covered topics that I didn't see.

I am really interested in hearing from brand new Leaf owners who had never owned an EV before. What kind of small problems did you run up against? Range issues for example, which is well covered in the forum, is a large problem, what trivial problems did you find a way to deal with?

-Thank you in advance for any replies/help.

There are apps that do things similar to the Nissan app. Search the App Store. I'm not making any specific recommendations as I last used an app several years ago.

LeadSpy is NOT an app like that. It has completely different functionality and tells you much more than the Nissan app. It tells you the voltages on you individual battery modules. It displays tire pressures and diagnostic codes. It shows how much your battery has degraded; the main reason I have it. I highly recommend it especially if you are a tech geek.

LEAFs came with second generation telecommunications modules. AT&T shut that down at the beginning of 2017. Nissan is offering a $200 upgrade to a third generation module. You probably need that.

Learning how to use eco mode and brakes most effectively is one thing to learn... Nothing has really annoyed me so far. I haven't had any issues with the wheel so yeah that sounds like a driving style change.

Not a huge fan of the placement of the E-brake, but at least it's easy to engage and disengage.

Your Leaf's CarWings/EV Connect isn't working because the 2015 model has the 2G TCU, which must be replaced with a newer 3G capable unit that will talk to AT&T's cell network (they no longer have 2G). The good news for you is that the upgrade usually costs $199, but for 2015 owners it's supposed to be free. LeafSpy is a diagnostic utility, so not useful for Carwings/EV Connect.

You can try this app, as an alternative (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.darkspawns.leafmanager&hl=en

Having said all that, you mentioned you have an S model (no NAV unit), so Carwings/EV Connect isn't a feature of your car.

With respect to pre-warming the car prior to your commute, you can use the climate control timer. If you have an S model, look at page 4-14 of the owner's manual: https://owners.nissanusa.com/content/techpub/ManualsAndGuides/LEAF/2015/2015-LEAF-owner-manual.pdf (heading "Climate Ctrl. Timer"). Note that it's much better to use this if you have a level 2 EVSE as it will otherwise drain the battery pack.

With respect to your podcast question, I don't think you can disable the steering wheel controls. However, if you push and HOLD the up/down arrows that should quickly scan through the MP3. I know that works for radio tuning, just haven't tried it with an MP3 yet...

With respect to range anxiety, it's mostly in your head. After a few weeks with the Leaf, charging just becomes second nature and you'll realize that you rarely need to worry about range. It's really about getting better at thinking ahead and planning your trips more than with an ICE car.

SimplyDan said:

I bought a used 2015 Nissan Leaf S
...
As it is winter and I am in NY. Therefore, I am interested in timing the environmental controls to warm things up 30 minutes or so before I get in while the car is still plugged in. Outside of a seemingly non-functional Nissan Connect, is there a another way to do this? Manually, I can't seem to trigger any of the environmental controls while the car is powered off and plugged in, and it won't power up until I remove the plug.

Click to expand...

thimel said:

LEAFs came with second generation telecommunications modules. AT&T shut that down at the beginning of 2017. Nissan is offering a $200 upgrade to a third generation module. You probably need that.

Click to expand...

alozzy said:

Your Leaf's CarWings/EV Connect isn't working because the 2015 model has the 2G TCU, which must be replaced with a newer 3G capable unit that will talk to AT&T's cell network (they no longer have 2G). The good news for you is that the upgrade usually costs $199, but for 2015 owners it's supposed to be free. LeafSpy is a diagnostic utility, so not useful for Carwings/EV Connect.

You can try this app, as an alternative (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=no.darkspawns.leafmanager&hl=en

Having said all that, you mentioned you have an S model (no NAV unit), so Carwings/EV Connect isn't a feature of your car.

Click to expand...

OP has a Leaf S trim. There is no TCU and therefore NissanConnect/Carwings simply will not work. The S trim w/no nav system which means it has no cellular radio nor telematics control unit (TCU).

The stuff re: AT&T, upgrading the TCU from a 2G version, etc. simply doesn't apply to the S.

Does the S have a basic climate control timer? If so I suggest a 10-15 minute warmup, not 30 minutes. The heater in the S really sucks power.

@cwerdna - Yup, which is why I said this

Having said all that, you mentioned you have an S model (no NAV unit), so Carwings/EV Connect isn't a feature of your car.

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Well, the 'S' trim would explain why NissanConnect isn't working. :roll:

@LeftieBiker

Does the S have a basic climate control timer? If so I suggest a 10-15 minute warmup, not 30 minutes. The heater in the S really sucks power.

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I was told that if the climate control was timed for when it was still plugged in, it would draw from the current in the plug rather than drain the battery. Or maybe the recharge could keep up with the draw for the heating?

S trim still has a climate control timer but it's thru the pain in the butt b&w dash display and using the cluster of 4 buttons (well, uses only 2 of them) on the left side. Search the PDF of the manual for climate ctrl. timer. A copy can be downloaded from https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/manualsGuide.

Yup, I provided the manual url and exact page in my first post for setting the climate control timer on an S model.

With a type 2 (240V) EVSE, you can charge and preheat the cabin. With the stock charging though (level 1), set the preheat timer to run after any charging timers and realize that that doing so will use some pack battery.

With a type 2 (240V) EVSE, you can charge and preheat the cabin. With the stock charging though (level 1), set the preheat timer to run after any charging timers and realize that that doing so will use some pack battery.

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To put it another way, the car always draws its climate control power from the pack. If the charge being supplied (by L-1 or a low power L-2) is less than that being used for preheating, the net charge will drop. If they are the same, there is no net loss or gain of charge. If you use a charging station that can provide the full 27.5 amps the Leaf with 6.6 kw charger can use to charge, then it will charge fairly fast while also preheating. I use L-1 to charge, so I limit preheating to 2 to 5 minutes, making sure the seat and wheel heaters are on. This gets the car from "frigid" to "just a bit too cool" and preheats the seat and steering wheel, making it much easier to get warm as you drive. The net loss is 2% to 5% of charge with L-1, for that length of time.