Dealership gives up on TCU, suggests I replace the unit?

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cthedan

New member
Joined
Jan 8, 2020
Messages
4
Hi all, first time poster here, I hope I've searched for this topic well enough before posting. I thought my circumstances were somewhat unusual, but I'm probably wrong.

I bought a used 2016 Leaf about a month ago and haven't been able to get it communicating with my phone through TCU/Owner portal, due to a message about the TCU and updating it.

Nissan corporate told me to take it to a dealership and that my TCU had already been updated in the past, but seemed to be non-functional.

Dealership had it for a week while coordinating with Nissan Techline and concluded I need to replace my TCU for about $400, which I don't think is worth it. Not sure if this matters, but it seems they were attempting to verify functionality by asking it to update charging station locations. They also tried resetting the unit by power cycling it through fuse manipulation.

I tried removing the vehicle and re-adding it to my owner account, but that didn't work.

Any advice? Thanks so much, friends.
 
The new tcu dont function propertly, i replaced mine on 2017 for the 3g one and since then had nothing but trouble, i finally gave up and I stopped trying, even if you get a new one you will get nothing but trouble, the good thing is i sold my leaf months ago and im glad i did.
 
I recently got a used 2016 SL and the TCU didn’t work. Thankfully the dealership nearby was able to fix it. I’m my case, they probably disconnected the 12v accessory battery to reset it. Is there another dealer you could go to and get a second opinion?
 
I have a 2018.
I had trouble at the beginning. They replaced the TCU under warranty.
I would not spend $400 on it.
 
I have a 2017 SV that I bought in August and the TCU has never worked for me.
On the menu screen there's a little icon of a gray car near the top with a diagonal red line through it. I worked over the phone with Customer Service and once they learned of the lined out car they said it had to be serviced by the dealer.

The nearest LEAF-capable dealer wants $176 for initial diagnosis, so it's not happening.
 
Yeah that's pretty ridiculous. I didn't have to pay anything to have my TCU restarted. Unless there is something wrong with the unit and it has to replace it, shouldn't cost anything!
 
css28 said:
I have a 2017 SV that I bought in August and the TCU has never worked for me.
On the menu screen there's a little icon of a gray car near the top with a diagonal red line through it. I worked over the phone with Customer Service and once they learned of the lined out car they said it had to be serviced by the dealer.

The nearest LEAF-capable dealer wants $176 for initial diagnosis, so it's not happening.

Isn't a 2017 still under warranty?
 
LeftieBiker said:
Isn't a 2017 still under warranty?

It should be, if the 3 year 'In Service' date anniversary didn't arrive before the issue was first documented.

If it's still under warranty, tell the dealer to pound sand and make it work.
 
Lothsahn said:
LeftieBiker said:
Isn't a 2017 still under warranty?

It should be, if the 3 year 'In Service' date anniversary didn't arrive before the issue was first documented.

If it's still under warranty, tell the dealer to pound sand and make it work.

Traditionally, telling someone to "pound sand" is what you do as you are walking away from them, or it's what they tell you as they refuse to do anything for you. I think that this situation is more a job for "Stop sniveling and get your ass in gear!" ;)
 
Lothsahn said:
css28 said:
I have a 2017 SV that I bought in August and the TCU has never worked for me.
On the menu screen there's a little icon of a gray car near the top with a diagonal red line through it. I worked over the phone with Customer Service and once they learned of the lined out car they said it had to be serviced by the dealer.

The nearest LEAF-capable dealer wants $176 for initial diagnosis, so it's not happening.

Isn't a 2017 still under warranty?

I doubt it--it has ~60k miles on it.
 
At 60 K miles, the car is out of warranty.

you bought it used, and this problem is just like another "as is" issue on a used car. Nissan is not responsible.

I would say... F____ it, and not even bother trying to fix something that has always given owners trouble.

The important thing is that the rest of the car is good.
 
powersurge said:
At 60 K miles, the car is out of warranty.

you bought it used, and this problem is just like another "as is" issue on a used car. Nissan is not responsible.

I would say... F____ it, and not even bother trying to fix something that has always given owners trouble.

The important thing is that the rest of the car is good.

I'm good.
 
Thank you so much everyone for your replies. I'd been impatiently checking for replies in the week after I first posted and kind of forgot. But look at all this help! Anyway, still won't work and like people suggest, probably not worth the $400.

The biggest drawback for me is not being able to precool the car in California. : ( :( : (
 
It sucks when the TCU doesn't work. In my case I was lucky, it just needed to be restarted, so I didn't have to pay to have it fixed. In the 2013 Leaf my mom has, I had the TCU upgraded and that was $200. I wouldn't pay more than that. So, you might as well wait a couple of years for when AT&T shuts off the 3G network. I'm sure we are all going to have to pay to upgrade the unit again if we still want to use the app.
 
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