2016 Leaf still has outdated tech .....

[dgpcolorado]

I see by the response I have gotten by my post that I have reached the age of having a conflict with the progress of society. Although I am not an old geezer by any means, I lived through the time when an FM radio was an option on a car, and the waist seat belt was considered new technology. If you wanted to see a TV show, you had to get back home in time to see it.

Although I am quite technically savvy, I have no interest in my car having internet connectivity, Bluetooth, USB, or any "telematics" where anyone knows what I do, how often I do it, etc. For me, a car is to drive, I put on the FREE FM radio, and I am happy. If I am lost, I can always pull out my GPS or my cell phone. Yes, for me, and hopefully some others, this "tech" issue is totally unimportant.

+1!

You are not alone in your views about tech in cars. And, yes, I also remember having those newfangled lap seat belts installed in the family car (which had a metal dash!). I have zero interest in bluetooth and cell phone connectivity in cars and consider use of cell phones by drivers — even "hands free" — irresponsible and dangerous. But I do appreciate the USB port in the LEAF because I use a flash drive with many hours of ripped CDs, from my collection, for music; can't stand radio, especially talk radio.

 

[Cornellio]

+1 to powersurge.

I agree a car is to drive. A Leaf is for driving electric. I would drive one even if it had zero telematics features, no GPS, no map, nothing but pure and simple electric, zero emissions driving with a nice smooth ride, fast acceleration and good steering. These are the core things that matter to me.

And I say this as a big techie. I am an open source software fanatic, a systems engineer who runs a network of servers. I do appreciate these things like remote charge/climate control, gps, music connectivity, but I could live without them. If I need a map, my iPhone is way better anyway.

When it comes to screens with UI in cars, I think they're all outdated and poor in design when compared to the professional software guys at Apple or Google. In terms of UI, car makers ought to just give it up and get someone in Silicon Valley to design it. Tesla might be the exception here, but I think they have too much skeuomorphism in the UI.

 

[dgpcolorado]

...When it comes to screens with UI in cars, I think they're all outdated and poor in design when compared to the professional software guys at Apple or Google. In terms of UI, car makers ought to just give it up and get someone in Silicon Valley to design it. Tesla might be the exception here, but I think they have too much skeuomorphism in the UI.

Tesla gets some criticism from Model S owners for some of its software, most notably the navigation system used to get between Supercharging stations. On the other hand, the OTA updates are much applauded, save that they are sometimes said to "break" some useful feature with each update of new features.

 

[bbrowncods]

A couple of points I would like to bring out.
1. Nissan just finished upgrading their app from Carwings to NissanConnect. While not a guarantee, I doubt if corporate would invest in the technology of all 2011-2015(2016??) cars with Carwings if that technology was going to cease working in less than a year from now.

2. If you have Carwings, it is an integral part of the vehicle and was a premium option adding significantly to the cost of the car. If it ceases to work due to a lack of investment of Nissan I will be standing in the LONG line to signup for the class action lawsuit.

My car will still be under warranty, and it will be at the dealer to fix the NissanConnect on day one of it not working.

 

[edatoakrun]

...Carwings was renamed to NissanConnectEV for the 2011 to 2015 cars as well. It isn't anything new, they just renamed it.

...Nissan just finished upgrading their app from Carwings to NissanConnect...

CarWings was actually degraded in the conversion in terms of driving reports in several respects, most notably in that the Driving records and rate simulation pages dropped the tenth miles from the distances posted, replacing it with "0".

Evidently, you can still approximate distances more accurately by dividing the m/kWh reports by energy use.

The distance traveled still understates odometer miles by ~2.5% in 2011-12 LEAFs (and all others?) in the CW/NC reports, and the same ~2.5% distance underreport is also present the Dash m/kWh display (either errors or intentional inaccuracies Nissan has chosen to not correct) as has been the case since the first LEAFs were delivered.

The only explanation I can think of for Nissan's behavior, is that it may realize that CW/NC kWh use reports allow LEAF owners to accurately estimate actual battery capacity, and further reducing the accuracy of the CW/NC reports is intended to make this more difficult.

And of course, many LEAF owners (including myself) also had all their CW data scrubbed from the site, during the conversion.

More than three months of promises, of we're working on it, with no results for me.

Anyone else ever had any of their deleted CW data restored by Nissan?

 

[hill]

Yes, a car will last decades, but best case, any Leaf will need an expensive battery replacement after 5-8 years and some need it quite a bit sooner. I need to take 55 mile trips one way on occasions. I wonder when that will stop being practical for me. ICEs and hybrids don't degrade this rapidly. ........snip............

hmm
you didn't know that going into your purchase? Our VIN ends with 000659 & yet we were made aware. At 60k miles / down 2 bars, an average daily trip of 19 miles one way, 10 EVSE's at work - yes, we counted on 10 years, & we're on schedule. If you want the latest & greatest updates, one ought to buy a Tesla. Otherwise, it's best to count on old tech remaining status quo until the latest and greatest. Until then, yes, things will keep getting long toothed.

.

 

[jpadc]

1. Nissan just finished upgrading their app from Carwings to NissanConnect. While not a guarantee, I doubt if corporate would invest in the technology of all 2011-2015(2016??) cars with Carwings if that technology was going to cease working in less than a year from now.

Well it won't stop working on the 2016+ cars because they have newer technology radios that don't use 2G. While I agree that it was perhaps a good sign that Nissan moved current owners to NissanConnect EV, if they offer an upgrade to older vehicles (which I seriously doubt) you can bet they won't be footing the cost of manufacturing it, installing it, nor the ongoing data transmission costs for it. Imagine the dealer installation labor fees alone to install a potential upgrade with labor rates at around $100+ per hour. Nissan won't cover that (see my last point).

2. If you have Carwings, it is an integral part of the vehicle and was a premium option adding significantly to the cost of the car. If it ceases to work due to a lack of investment of Nissan I will be standing in the LONG line to signup for the class action lawsuit.

Good luck with that as Nissan has signed statements from every LEAF owner since 2013 (when ATT first announced their intentions to phase out 2G service) that we understood Carwings would cease to function when ATT pulls the plug on 2G service and that the timing and decision to do so was beyond the control of Nissan motors. I'm sure that notice even appeared on the window sticker of your 2014 when you bought it. One could hardly argue that Nissan misrepresented something about the car like they did the range and life of the battery up until 2012. So I would not count on some class action "fix" for CarWings.

My car will still be under warranty, and it will be at the dealer to fix the NissanConnect on day one of it not working.

Well there are several LEAF owners here on MNL who have reported that they have already lost CarWings functionality because ATT has already disabled 2G in their area as the company upgraded its towers and equipment. Likely this is how it will go everywhere and not just cease on a fixed date. When you take the car in to be "repaired" the dealer will tell you (after charging you a $75+ diagnostic fee) that your car functions perfectly like the day it was new and that your problem is with ATT so you should contact them. For the record, ATT coverage/connectivity was never covered under warranty and was explicitly stated as NOT covered.

And finally, the most important part to bring out: Nissan is a company in the business of selling NEW cars, not keeping old ones working.

 

[Firetruck41]

1. Nissan just finished upgrading their app from Carwings to NissanConnect. While not a guarantee, I doubt if corporate would invest in the technology of all 2011-2015(2016??) cars with Carwings if that technology was going to cease working in less than a year from now.

Pretty much a name change and non update, just a slightly different interface for the same data as before, that is arguably less useful than now.

 

[Woosie]

In my Leaf S, I don't worry about telematics for obvious reasons. Rather, I use my iPhone 6+ for Maps, and/or the ChargePoint and PlugShare apps. Works like a charm.

I even ditched the Nuvi 40 I purchased for $100 since Maps works much better.

One of my favorite features is the hands-free voice capability especially in the uber quiet interior of the car. Just love it!

 

[Stanton]

I can't believe there are still folks that don't realize how easy (and cheap) it will be to swap out our 2G modems for the 3G modems that are already in use in MY 2016! The only question is: who will actually pay for it and how will they handle the data service, which Nissan has been "footing the bill" on since the first Leaf was delivered 5 years ago.

 

[Firetruck41]

I can't believe there are still folks that don't realize how easy (and cheap) it will be to swap out our 2G modems for the 3G modems that are already in use in MY 2016!...

Please explain how this is done.

 

[jpadc]

I can't believe there are still folks that don't realize how easy (and cheap) it will be to swap out our 2G modems for the 3G modems that are already in use in MY 2016!...

Please explain how this is done.

Well you see Firetruck41, following the lead of manufactures and technology companies the world over whenever a technology in a product you purchased 5 years ago no longer works in the modern world, Nissan will start producing upgrade parts for it so it will still work just as it did before. For example, I have an original iPhone that I paid over $600 for that was about to become a paperweight, but then Apple announced an upgrade kit for it so it would get 4G LTE data. Wasn't that great? Or do you remember how all the television manufacturers offered replacement tuners for the analog devices they sold you in the years before the transition to digital signals? Or maybe it will be more like those original analog mobile phones that were built into cars that thankfully they keep making parts for so they can still operate on modern cellular towers.

What I can't believe is there are still folks that don't realize that the fact that the technology in the car will stop working is a feature, not a bug.

 

[Stanton]

I can't believe there are still folks that don't realize how easy (and cheap) it will be to swap out our 2G modems for the 3G modems that are already in use in MY 2016!...

Please explain how this is done.

The telematics system is a modular design (Iike a lot of communication systems) so it can be repaired/upgraded more easily. In this case, the modem is a daughter card that can be upgraded independently of the rest of the system (similar to replacing a card in a PC). It will probably take longer to get physical access than to actually perform the upgrade.

 

[bbrowncods]

1. Nissan just finished upgrading their app from Carwings to NissanConnect. While not a guarantee, I doubt if corporate would invest in the technology of all 2011-2015(2016??) cars with Carwings if that technology was going to cease working in less than a year from now.

Well it won't stop working on the 2016+ cars because they have newer technology radios that don't use 2G. While I agree that it was perhaps a good sign that Nissan moved current owners to NissanConnect EV, if they offer an upgrade to older vehicles (which I seriously doubt) you can bet they won't be footing the cost of manufacturing it, installing it, nor the ongoing data transmission costs for it. Imagine the dealer installation labor fees alone to install a potential upgrade with labor rates at around $100+ per hour. Nissan won't cover that (see my last point).

2. If you have Carwings, it is an integral part of the vehicle and was a premium option adding significantly to the cost of the car. If it ceases to work due to a lack of investment of Nissan I will be standing in the LONG line to signup for the class action lawsuit.

Good luck with that as Nissan has signed statements from every LEAF owner since 2013 (when ATT first announced their intentions to phase out 2G service) that we understood Carwings would cease to function when ATT pulls the plug on 2G service and that the timing and decision to do so was beyond the control of Nissan motors. I'm sure that notice even appeared on the window sticker of your 2014 when you bought it. One could hardly argue that Nissan misrepresented something about the car like they did the range and life of the battery up until 2012. So I would not count on some class action "fix" for CarWings.

My car will still be under warranty, and it will be at the dealer to fix the NissanConnect on day one of it not working.

Well there are several LEAF owners here on MNL who have reported that they have already lost CarWings functionality because ATT has already disabled 2G in their area as the company upgraded its towers and equipment. Likely this is how it will go everywhere and not just cease on a fixed date. When you take the car in to be "repaired" the dealer will tell you (after charging you a $75+ diagnostic fee) that your car functions perfectly like the day it was new and that your problem is with ATT so you should contact them. For the record, ATT coverage/connectivity was never covered under warranty and was explicitly stated as NOT covered.

And finally, the most important part to bring out: Nissan is a company in the business of selling NEW cars, not keeping old ones working.

I bought a car from Nissan one and a half years ago. Nissan has the responsibility as the warrantor of my vehicle as outlined in my Warranty Information Booklet. AT&T does not know my name, I have no account with them. Registering for NissanConnect service is done through Nissan. This issue is between AT&T and Nissan.
My agreement with Nissan is that of a New Car Warranty. There is no exclusion on the functions in the Leaf that depend on communication with the car and Nissan. In fact it is expressly not excluded on page 9 of the Warranty Booklet under "What is not covered".
So let's be clear what this means to the functionality of the car, and what will no longer be functioning if the car cannot communicate with Nissan.
Information (driving records,service reminders), Remote Functions (battery status check, unplug status, charge status, remote charge, remote climate control, Li-ion battery warmer status), Navigation Telematics (automatic update of charging stations, all information feeds, "Favorites", email and text notifications on vehicle status, traffic information. And probably some that I don't know about that Nissan uses to "inform" themselves on what I do with my car.

You are correct in assuming that if you no longer have a warranty, you are pretty much on your own. Those that have a warranty are in a different class (action).

 

[abasile]

Although I am quite technically savvy, I have no interest in my car having internet connectivity, Bluetooth, USB, or any "telematics" where anyone knows what I do, how often I do it, etc. For me, a car is to drive, I put on the FREE FM radio, and I am happy. If I am lost, I can always pull out my GPS or my cell phone. Yes, for me, and hopefully some others, this "tech" issue is totally unimportant.

I'm not a fan of talking on the phone while driving, either. However, the Bluetooth capability has been very useful to us. It gives us easy access to our iPhone music and podcasts. I also appreciate being able to remotely start charging and climate control. Finally, after years with our 2011 LEAF SL, I can't imagine buying another car without a backup camera!

 

[jpadc]

I bought a car from Nissan one and a half years ago. Nissan has the responsibility as the warrantor of my vehicle as outlined in my Warranty Information Booklet.

Simple question.. Were you shown and did you sign the statement from Nissan informing you that "Carwings will no longer function when AT&T discontinues 2G service." I had to sign it and I don't even have CarWings as I purchased an S model that does not support it. Does the statement also appear on your new car window sticker of which they gave you a copy?

File your class action lawsuit.... I wish you luck.

 

[bbrowncods]

I bought a car from Nissan one and a half years ago. Nissan has the responsibility as the warrantor of my vehicle as outlined in my Warranty Information Booklet.

Simple question.. Were you shown and did you sign the statement from Nissan informing you that "Carwings will no longer function when AT&T discontinues 2G service." I had to sign it and I don't even have CarWings as I purchased an S model that does not support it. Does the statement also appear on your new car window sticker of which they gave you a copy?

File your class action lawsuit.... I wish you luck.

I did not receive either as you stated. Doesn't mean that they don't exist.
I do have a Warranty from Nissan that is explicit on what they will cover. I did not sign that either.