NissanConnect EV / Telematics Hardware Update, for the post-2G world

[BrianHorne]

Any chance you can get a copy of that notice? I'm about to go in for the same change on a 2011 I just purchased and would like to know if the part numbers have changed from the part numbers listed earlier in this thread.

[Rat]

I got a call from the dealer this morning that the part had arrived. I don't know if I'm going in today, but I'll try to get a copy of the notice. Since the dealer originally told me they "always have the part in stock" and yet did not have this one, I understood that the new part for mine at least (maybe all three VIN ranges) was brand new, so would certainly be different from things posted here before.

[Rat]

I have a copy of the Service Bulletin which is captioned CUSTOMER SATISFACTION INITIATIVE 2G TELEMATICS HARDWARE REPLACEMENT dated November 30, 2018. Ref. No. NTB17-015b

It says TCUs are year range specific and cannot be interchanged. Those parts are all for the 2011 - 2015 range and listed as follows:
Built Date range part #
11/1/2010 - 9/19/2011 283B0-3NA1B
9/20/2011 - 11/30/2012 283B0-3NA2B
12/1/2012 - 9/30/2015 283B0-3NF2B

[Rat]

The saga continues... So I took the car in to replace the old (8 days old) part with the new one. Then I got a call, expecting for them to tell me the new part has been registered with Nissan and I can pick up the car. Instead they told me they put in the new part, but when they tried to register it with Nissan, they couldn't. Somehow Nissan NA wasn't able to recognize that part. So it's still not working. I'm leaving the car overnight hoping they can get it handled before I need it tomorrow. If they can't, I'll have to pick up the car as is and either give up and get a refund, or bring it in a 4th time.

Bottom line: I suggest waiting to get this done until your dealer has done a few of them successfully under the new protocol and new parts.

Edit 12/7: the dealer called me this morning and told me that Nissan (Tenn.) sent them an email saying it can take up to a week to register these new 3G devices. The dealer couldn't tell me whether it would spontaneously start working after a week or so, or whether I might have to bring it back in at that time. This sounds like a sitcom story arc or maybe comic strip. It would be funny if it were happening to someone else.

[Trolleydodger78]

Just thought I'd add my ConnectEV experience here. I bought a 2012 in November 2018. 3G was installed back in 2017. I installed the app and checked the owners portal website, but both weren't updating car data. After 2 weeks of phone calls with the Nissan Connect specialists (great customer service btw) and two visits to different dealerships (not great service), I was set to bring in my car for a third visit to have the software updated with NTB18-045A.

However, I happened to check the app again and it worked, but not all the time. After a few days of testing, I found out that the app was able to refresh data but only when the car was powered on or plugged in. I'm also able to remote start the climate control.

I would love to have the app work perfectly, plugged in or not, but bringing the car into the dealership and being without my car was starting to be a hassle. I was told that the software might already be up to date but they couldn't tell unless I brought it into the shop. And if it was up to date, it might be a hardware issue and that could take several days to do. Even then they might not be able to figure things out without getting in touch with the dealership that did the 3G install, who might not have the info they need because the install was done over a year ago, yada yada yada.

[Rat]

The good news is that my EV connect app finally worked for the first time. I was able to start the climate control remotely. The bad news is that it took three weeks, three trips to the dealer, three calls to/from the Nissan Connect EV people, and 15 minutes today and some bizarre car behavior before I was able to succeed. A very polite and helpful woman (Sierra) at the help line handled my second and third calls but was not able to get it working even after the new part had been installed and registered. She said my problem was being "escalated." That was two weeks ago. I never heard from her or Nissan again, but several tries to connect failed in the interim.

Today I tried again and this time I got a message screen I'd never gotten again. It told me to login to the car and it provided me with a "Nissan Connect EV PIN" and a "Nissan Connect EV Password." The message said these are unique to my telematics unit. They were both meaningless jumbles of letters and numbers, not based on my name or the car name or anything I chose. Fortunately during troubleshooting Sierra had walked me through to where the login screen is in the car, as I would never have remembered it from the one time (2011) I used it before. That screen in the car asks for a User ID and Password, not a PIN. I entered the PIN as a User ID and the password, and the car seemed to accept both. It made the "Connect to Information Center" announcement. I tried to start the climate control with the app to test it. I got an error saying it couldn't start the climate control because "the car may be running or plugged in" The heater won't run when the car is on now or plugged in? I turned the car off and tried again and this time it worked - sort of - the car charging lights started flashing as they do when you hit the dashboard button to kill the timer, but the climate control lights did nothing. I had only hit the "try again" button that popped up for climate control, not the app charging button. The car is on timer for overnight charging and I had NOT hit the dashboard kill timer button, either.

I plugged the car in and the lights showed that it was charging. I unplugged it to stop the charging and then plugged it in again. I tried to start the climate control again and it didn't work because it was plugged in. I unplugged the car and tried again with the car off and unplugged, and this time the app started the climate control. With the old Carwings 2G connection I could start the climate control while the car was still plugged in, so that the range wasn't reduced by using battery charge. Now that seems to be impossible and a big drawback, although for me it's not bad since I never need full range. I only use the Leaf for short trips. I don't like having to go out to the garage in my gym clothes when it's low 30s to unplug the car so I can heat it, though. I also don't want to have to start the car, log in, and then turn it off again every time in order to use the app, but hopefully that won't be necessary again. I also feel sorry for those who want to start climate control from their office while the car is plugged into the company charging station in the parking lot. I guess they have to go down to car and unplug it and stand by or sit in the car before starting it in order to get it to proper temperature. That rather defeats the purpose, IMO. I haven't tested the remote charging function since I only charge at home on time, and that works fine without the app. All I can say is that the new STU is not ready for prime time.

[cwerdna]

^^^
FWIW, w/the 3G TCU on my '13 SV w/premium, I can definitely trigger both remote climate control both when plugged in (still charging and not charging) and not plugged in.

As for your activation issues, yes, I went thru a whole bunch of problems once I got my 3G TCU installed. It's a long story and I have some old posts here about it. Involved at least one trip back to the dealer, a bunch of phone calls to Nissan EV support, etc.

[WetEV]

three trips to the dealer

Me too. However, the first two the dealer installed the wrong part, for a different year of LEAF, according to the Nissan help line.

Third one worked before I left the parking lot.

[cwerdna]

three trips to the dealer

Me too. However, the first two the dealer installed the wrong part, for a different year of LEAF, according to the Nissan help line.

Third one worked before I left the parking lot.

Per NTB17-015a, there are three different part numbers for 3G TCUs that they might install. See https://imgur.com/a/AYGltKA.

When I wanted to have the work done, one dealer wanted me to make two trips from the get go: one to determine which part was needed and order it, then another to install it. The second dealer (much further away, not convenient to get to, only has a 1 way shuttle but I like them better) had all the parts in stock. However, I still had issues (part was correct though) which I already mentioned.

[Rat]

FWIW, today I started the heater before going for an early morning run at the park. It worked perfectly the first time without the need to enter in a password. A Christmas present for me. For those of you in the South Bay Area, Rancho San Antonio was the emptiest I've ever seen it on a sunny holiday morning.