My info system restarts sporadically while driving

This happened twice today within an hour - once while displaying map and the other the energy info screen. The screen went to black, power cycled, played the startup sound, paired with cell phone and asked if I wanted to connect to carwings. This is not the first occurance either but first time for twice in a day. Any suggestions what the problem might be - besides the obvious Carwings?

Maybe low voltage? I would check the 12-volt battery... The inverter doesn't run all the time, just as needed.

Could it be temperature related? I'm driving with no heat and the outside vents open to keep the fogging down. It was 28-32 today. Happened again tonight on the way home - this time I was paying more attention and it seemed to happen after the Carwings went from Connecting to Center to Downloading.

I've had it happen every now and again, but not very often. Maybe 3 or 4 times in the year I've had the car.

A loose power connection or fuse?

this has happened to me 2-3 times. no other issues. did not reset any dash info so, was essentially a 5 second detour to nowhere on the road of life.

interesting. I've not had the pleasure of this experience. Does the radio turn off during this event or just the display? Start-up sound?...is the dash display rebooting as well or just the center console display?

TaylorSFGuy said:

This happened twice today within an hour - once while displaying map and the other the energy info screen. The screen went to black, power cycled, played the startup sound, paired with cell phone and asked if I wanted to connect to carwings. This is not the first occurance either but first time for twice in a day. Any suggestions what the problem might be - besides the obvious Carwings?

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I've had this happen but once while I have owned the car. It essentially is a reboot. I just chalked it up to one of those "enduring things" that the car does from time to time...

TomT said:

I've had this happen but once while I have owned the car. It essentially is a reboot. I just chalked it up to one of those "enduring things" that the car does from time to time...

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would that be "endearing?"

i chalk it up the peculiarities of software controlled hardware. spontaneous reboots happen on my droid every once in a while. now it does not happen often and it did not happen on basic phones i had years ago. but those basic phones did not do much. my droid does quite a bit and more than willing to put up with an unplanned reboot every now and then as long as it does not happen often and since droids auto save everything, if it happens in a middle of an email or text, you dont lose a single character

I might have had it happen once in 6 months.

If it happens frequently on your LEAF, so that it might be possible for the Nissan engineers to experience the problem, you might offer to help them find this (apparently elusive and under-reported) problem.

AT LEAST, it looks like everybody should call CS (and some dealer's service department) to report the happening, EVERY time it happens.

Only with frequent reported occurances will it get any attention.

In the meantime, gather (document) more of the symptoms.

No, the choice was intentional since it is one of those things that you just endure... :lol:

I haven't had my EVO Android phone do that yet, though...

DaveinOlyWA said:

TomT said:

I've had this happen but once while I have owned the car. It essentially is a reboot. I just chalked it up to one of those "enduring things" that the car does from time to time...

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would that be "endearing?"

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There is a differece between an open system and a closed one. I've had an iPhone since the original in 2007 and have not experienced any unexpected reboots. I've had a GalaxyS droid for a year now and it has done it twice. Reliability is something that you sacrifice a little of in order to make it more open. I like both phones, and there are advantages to each.

With regard to the car, it is a closed system and I'd expect it to not have any reboot issues. I would think there is some sort of logger built into the OS so that if you take it to a knowledgeable technician they could look up some error codes and help find the bug.

I am guessing the Leaf system its closed. As far as IOS stability , it might be better than other options but it its far from flawless. The percentages we see not due to users error/education is not significant between platforms

DaveinOlyWA said:

I am guessing the Leaf system its closed. As far as IOS stability , it might be better than other options but it its far from flawless. The percentages we see not due to users error/education is not significant between platforms

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Could the fact that the info system is running on Windows Embedded Automotive 7 have anything to do with the system restarting?

I think it has more to do with Clarion!

BrainDonor said:

DaveinOlyWA said:

I am guessing the Leaf system its closed. As far as IOS stability , it might be better than other options but it its far from flawless. The percentages we see not due to users error/education is not significant between platforms

Click to expand...

Could the fact that the info system is running on Windows Embedded Automotive 7 have anything to do with the system restarting?

Click to expand...

DarkStar said:

Maybe low voltage? I would check the 12-volt battery... The inverter doesn't run all the time, just as needed.

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This is not true, and you are using incorrect terminology. The inverter is what takes the DC from the battery and makes 3-phase AC for the traction motor, it runs whenever there is traction torque or regen demanded. There is another device, which is inside the rear metal casting behind the traction inverter, but it is called a DC-DC converter, or just "converter", and it runs 100% of the time the car is ready or while charging (anytime the main relays are closed). It does vary it's output as a function of the 3-stage algorithm to insure the 12v aux battery is properly charged, and it's also temperature compensated. It never shuts down under normal conditions, and effectively powers all the 12v systems in the car.

My first guess would be software problems as others have mentioned, second guess would be a loose connection in a connector, and thirdly would be a loose connection inside the unit.

If it gets worse, it's likely a physical problem and you should have it replaced under warranty.

-Phil

Ingineer said:

... If it gets worse, it's likely a physical problem and you should have it replaced under warranty. ...

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Twice in one day sounds bad enough to me...heck twice a week would probably have me insisting the dealer fix the problem. Mine has NEVER rebooted like that...I'd take the bad boy in.

Happened to me for the first time in 6 months owning my Leaf. I was actually on the speakerphone (with 511 - automated traffic information) and suddenly, the center screen went blank and the call cut out. I was on a quiet street, going slow, so I could watch it. The screen flashed a few times, then the splash screen appeared (I have the startup sound turned off so I don't know if it would have played). After that, my call continued! I was rather surprised that it was able to hold the Bluetooth connection through the reboot.

My car has done this maybe 4 or 5 times in one year. I have removed the unit, and it has done it since, so I might tend to rule out loose connections (although, obviously, there could be external power / wiring issues).

In 14 months of ownership, it has now done it three times and based on what was happening - or not happening - at the time of the reboot, I'm pretty sure it is software issues.

TonyWilliams said:

My car has done this maybe 4 or 5 times in one year. I have removed the unit, and it has done it since, so I might tend to rule out loose connections (although, obviously, there could be external power / wiring issues).

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