Nissan is Either Ending Free Remote Access or Wants You to Pay Them Anyway

[LeftieBiker]

It's just bizarre, but the worst thing is that I remain without access, as Cold weather approaches. I'm going to reach out to the car salesman we've dealt with since 2018: he's good guy, and hopefully can either get this straightened out or can put me in touch with the right people. That dealership (Lia Nissan of Colonie) set up my Nissan Connect account when I leased the car, because there was some sort of issue back then. Maybe this is related.

I'd like to encourage people to flood the Leaf EV hotline with calls, but that may, at this point, be an overreaction. Let's see what happens first.

 

[GerryAZ]

All the normal features of Nissan Connect EV still work with my 2019. I received another email earlier this week from Nissan Connect Services trying to get me to subscribe to the premium services (through Sirius) which I don't need. Unlike previous emails, this one did not imply that the subscription is needed for the main EV features to continue working.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I too just got another email trying to sell me services that my car supposedly can't use.

Before I further pursue this, I'd really like to see whether there are other drivers of '21 and newer Leafs here who still have - or don't have - telematic access. Only '21 and newer, please.

 

[knightmb]

I too just got another email trying to sell me services that my car supposedly can't use.

Before I further pursue this, I'd really like to see whether there are other drivers of '21 and newer Leafs here who still have - or don't have - telematic access. Only '21 and newer, please.

I was going to call them this weekend, but they were closed. Monday should be better because, the EV division should be open for questions.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Guess I am glad in this situation I habe a 2019 and not a newer Plus.

 

[knightmb]

I just talked with Nissan support for the EV app, no services have been disconnected or discontinued for 2021 or later models. The agent was puzzled to why their department would say otherwise. :?

 

[LeftieBiker]

Thanks. No big surprise. The nut case I spoke with even claimed to have looked at my account. Now how am I supposed to get remote access working again? And if I file a complaint with Nissan, will they actually track her down and Can her? They must have a record of who handled my call...

 

[knightmb]

Thanks. No big surprise. The nut case I spoke with even claimed to have looked at my account. Now how am I supposed to get remote access working again? And if I file a complaint with Nissan, will they actually track her down and Can her? They must have a record of who handled my call...

The agent I spoke with said only the Leafs with the 2G or 3G radio lost service when those were discontinued by the carriers. If the Leaf has the 4G compatible service, then they should work (provided it actually has the service unlike what the S trim, which does not come with the service). She did mention that there are a lot of different services such as buying a subscription to access the door lock, unlock feature, or the extra services for parental monitoring stuff like the boundary alerts, curfew alerts, speed alerts, etc. can cause confusion with the new agents since some are free (basic) and the others cost money.

As far as tracking her down, I don't see why not. In this modern tech support age, should be easy for a manager to find out who was working on your support ticket.

 

[LeftieBiker]

I'm going to ask the Leaf Salesman who's handled my last two cars to try to resolve this with Nissan. In the meantime, my housemate received an email informing her that her Nissan Connect service has "ended" and inviting her to subscribe to the full package for $11.95 a month. There is one brief mention of climate control access that implies it's part of that extra $ package. I was still able to access her car through the app though, so it appears that Nissan is still trying to bullshit people into paying for services that we get for free.

My Leaf, however, remains inaccessible.

 

[Snakebitten]

Good to find this thread. I bought in hook line and sinker when I recently acquired a used 2018 Leaf.
I don't blame Nissan for their efforts to get me to subscribe, but it was my "connected services" subscriptions for my 2022 F150 that was most influential in my signing up for the Nissan equivalents.

However, now I realize that they are not equivalents at all. The additional functionality you get with Nissan services are not ones that I even use, so I unsubscribed a few minutes ago and will spend the money on KW's of charging instead.

 

[LeftieBiker]

It will be...interesting... to see if unsubscribing has any adverse effects on your remote climate control access.

 

[Snakebitten]

I will report what I lose with unsubscribing. But I haven't ever used the climate control features in the app. Honestly, I use the app primarily to monitor the SOC remotely, to determine how long to schedule that nights charge session with the programmable EVSE.
(Emporia)

 

[fester]

No cell signal in the "dead zone" where I live. Not paying for something that wouldn't work in the first place...

 

[knightmb]

No cell signal in the "dead zone" where I live. Not paying for something that wouldn't work in the first place...

If your Leaf has the 4G radio and you have a reliable Internet connection, a 4G Microcell would work in theory. :?

 

[LeftieBiker]

My friendly not-so-neighborhood Leaf Salesman is looking into this. Interestingly, he already has one other Leaf driver with what he says is a similar problem...

 

[fester]

Have to look into a 4G microcell. A conventional "booster" in the valley won't work as the hills are around 500'. I can get calls thru wi-fi no problem. But my 22' leaf needs the "straight from the tower" signal to work. I have a good Router, GPS signal can be received (probably need an external antenna, but doable. Of course this is all a moot point if Nissan isn't continuing the service...

 

[knightmb]

Have to look into a 4G microcell. A conventional "booster" in the valley won't work as the hills are around 500'. I can get calls thru wi-fi no problem. But my 22' leaf needs the "straight from the tower" signal to work. I have a good Router, GPS signal can be received (probably need an external antenna, but doable. Of course this is all a moot point if Nissan isn't continuing the service...

I tested this a while back when 3G went dark, Nissan was blacklisting based on VIN, so even if your Leaf had a good signal, the app wouldn't work anyway. Annoying for those that went through the same thing with 2G. The app only supports those Leaf that have the 4G radio, which is probably only the 2018 and later models.

 

[LeftieBiker]

This depressing news is about 2 weeks old now, but here it is: Nissan is now admitting, in their latest sales pitch email for Nissan Connect, that they are indeed ending the free version for Leafs made after MY 2020. There are two versions being offered , "Premium" (IIRC) for about $17 a month, and "Select" for about another $10. They are (or were) offering a 25% discount, for a "Trial period" ending next Spring, to subscribers of Sirius/XM who agree to automatic billing. I have been unable to find an official list of what features are included with each "level" so I don't even know if the less expensive one has remote climate control access. This is real, and anyone with a post-'20 Leaf who still has remote access for free will be losing it soon. '20 and earlier Leafs will likely also lose it in the near to middle future.

I very reluctantly decided to signup for "Premium" for the Winter, and... my car still comes up as a glitch, with instructions to call them. Nissan really plays the A-Hole card with impressive consistency...

 

[Lew]

This depressing news is about 2 weeks old now, but here it is: Nissan is now admitting, in their latest sales pitch email for Nissan Connect, that they are indeed ending the free version for Leafs made after MY 2020. There are two versions being offered , "Premium" (IIRC) for about $17 a month, and "Select" for about another $10. They are (or were) offering a 25% discount, for a "Trial period" ending next Spring, to subscribers of Sirius/XM who agree to automatic billing. ...

This really begs the question I've had from the start as to what's the real connection between Sirius/XM and Nissan Connect. Based on readings here and elsewhere, I figured it was just a marketing ploy from Sirius for their obviously dying satellite-based market so I cancelled Sirius/XM with some trepidation and get "OK" Nissan Connect service generally. (I have generally lousy cell reception at my garage and barely decent service where I work). The ~10-20% times it doesn't work seems could be excused by either weather or the generally low expectations I've come to have for how well Nissan supports their online services. If someone knows a real technical tie-in of Sirius technology and Nissan Connect, please educate me...

As I have a 2019, I have been encouraged to join (pay) but (as of last Wednesday - 11/22/23) still get remote stats and start of climate control via the app. I'll be watching here for others' experiences though...

 

[GerryAZ]

Remote climate control is still working on my 2019. I never activated the optional EV Connect services through SiriusXM because I did not want the security risk of remote door locking/unlocking or geofence functions for valet parking. The basic functions of EV Connect use the cellular network while the optional (advanced) features use the satellite network. I do subscribe to the SiriusXM audio and traffic functions.