Newbie bought an import

[PoppyD]

G'day all,
I'm Dave from Wagga Wagga Australia and i bought a 2017 ZE0 from an auction sale and unbeknown to me it is an Import from Japan. The vehicle is in terrific condition with 70,000 K's and good battery condition and i really like driving it. There are some issues that are annoying that i need some guidance with.
1. The media head unit language can't be changed from Japanese. It plays a welcome message or something when you turn the engine on and also says random stuff whilst i am driving around which may be traffic warnings?
2. The reverse beeper cannot be turned off by the push button switch.
3. DRL (the vertical 4 x LED strip on the front bumper) operation is a mystery. Normally i would expect to have the headlight switch in Auto so the DRL's operate during the day and then turn off in low light when the headlights come on .

Any help with these issues would be appreciated.

 

[JVM]

G'day all,
I'm Dave from Wagga Wagga Australia and i bought a 2017 ZE0 from an auction sale and unbeknown to me it is an Import from Japan. The vehicle is in terrific condition with 70,000 K's and good battery condition and i really like driving it. There are some issues that are annoying that i need some guidance with.
1. The media head unit language can't be changed from Japanese. It plays a welcome message or something when you turn the engine on and also says random stuff whilst i am driving around which may be traffic warnings?
2. The reverse beeper cannot be turned off by the push button switch.
3. DRL (the vertical 4 x LED strip on the front bumper) operation is a mystery. Normally i would expect to have the headlight switch in Auto so the DRL's operate during the day and then turn off in low light when the headlights come on .

Any help with these issues would be appreciated.

'Morning Dave
I also drive a Japanese import (Good Car Company, based in Hobart) and on startup, the screen displays the GCC logo and a Japanese voice says something I don't understand. I ignore it.
I also tried to turn off the reverse beeper, and gave up. Now, I think it's an advantage having it because there is always the risk of reversing into a pedestrian I did not see - despite checkingmirors and the screen.

I have no knowledge of your third query; sounds like a custom job on your car.

JVM

 

[PoppyD]

G'day JVM,
thanks for the response. I am having trouble finding an Operators Manual for my specific Japanese model with DRL's, but i'm still looking. I can't access the language menu on the side control panel (near odo reset) to change from Japanese and the pedestrian warning alarm seems to be under the front bonnet somewhere and if i could find it i would disconnect the wiring.

 

[woeful]

1. The media head unit language can't be changed from Japanese. It plays a welcome message or something when you turn the engine on and also says random stuff whilst i am driving around which may be traffic warnings?
2. The reverse beeper cannot be turned off by the push button switch.

I suspect the software has all languages stored, but the Japanese user interface doesn't include any menu entry to change the language. There's probably a way to poke the media unit's memory directly, but I don't know it.

The reverse beeper is probably "just" software within the all-purpose sound unit, the one which also provides a bit of a humming noise at low speed (as warning to pedestrians) and the beeps and chirps to confirm locking and charging. Ideally patch the relevant software option (Leaf Spy, possibly?) to tell it it doen't have to operate a reverse beeper.

The sound-off button inside disables just the pedestrian warning hum, not any of the other noises. That'll be why it doesn't affect the reverse beeper.

 

[PoppyD]

Interesting! Is Leaf spy available to the public or only service agents?

 

[glhall2]

Cheers mate! There is a youtube video on changing the media head unit language from Japanese to English, but I can't recall at the moment whose channel it was on. I'll see if I can find it when I have the time.

 

[Cameron]

G'day Poppy. I believe the only complete ways to change the head unit language to English is with reprogramming, or a new head unit. I paid for reprogramming from a Leaf forum on F.book. All done on internet, via email; instructions were quick, a bit convoluted, but explicit and precise. It worked first time, no worries. Cost was AUD$400. For the dash, we had to change that over as language conversion is done with laptop (apparently), cost AUD $200. An Aussie friend (also on Aust. FB Leaf forum) purchased a new head unit from Estonia, paid via Pay Pal. He was a bit nervous for the three weeks it took to arrive, but it was all good, can't recall his cost (maybe USD $200?) Good luck with whichever way you choose to go.

 

[MozzoAU]

Leafspy pro is freely available on the Google Play store and apple app store. You will also need a Bluetooth obd dongle to use it. These forums have all the information on leafspy usage. Language changing via leafspy is limited to a very few models and is not complete. Best advice is to contact EVs Enhanced in NZ. They have all the tools and have agents in Australia.

 

[PoppyD]

Thanks for your input fellas. I contacted EVs Enhanced in NZ and Oz but because mine was converted (in Japan prob) using a specific program or software they can't help me to get rid of the Japanese warnings. I have Hit the wall! I could buy a used converted head/nav unit for $800 but that's too steep.

 

[BillAinCT]

Leafspy pro is freely available on the Google Play store and apple app store.

Last I knew you can only download it from the Apple Store by paying for it. Maybe (hopefully) that's changed but I haven't checked since I got my copy. It didn't work for a 2022 at the time and "Turbo3" was very responsive and we worked together to get it working.