CARWINGS Ends December 31st 2016

[nerys]

not confusing at all. the 2g network access was simply cheaper. (remember you don't pay monthly for it)

what pisses me off is they won't give me a wifi option. a way to DIRECTLY interact with my car over wifi.

this is what I want. then I won't need their service "at all" I can just leave a freedom pop phone in the glove box. 500mb a month is effectively unlimited for this kind of usage.

 

[garsh]

not confusing at all. the 2g network access was simply cheaper.

Look, it makes sense that they used the 2g network. What doesn't make sense is that the hardware only supported 2g. Chips supporting 2g and 3g were available at the time, and I can't imagine that incorporating one would have raised costs by much at all. Then this issue could have been solved with a simple software update.

 

[nerys]

Ohhhhhhh now that is a good point.

 

[KK6PD]

I called Glendale Nissan this morning, Monday 12/12/16, they have the Telematics unit in stock, made a reservation for 1pm Tuesday 12/13/16. I will let you all know how this went!!!

 

[KK6PD]

OK, here it is Tuesday, I called Glendale Nissan, guess what, yesterday I was told they have Telematics Units, today, oh no, we don't have them.... god I really HATE these bastards..........
Now it seems I have to order my own parts...and was quoted a price of $280.00..... really, what about the $199 mentioned in the letter...
Looking for a better service dept..... guess I need a Tesla!

 

[Valdemar]

OK, here it is Tuesday, I called Glendale Nissan, guess what, yesterday I was told they have Telematics Units, today, oh no, we don't have them.... god I really HATE these bastards..........
Now it seems I have to order my own parts...and was quoted a price of $280.00..... really, what about the $199 mentioned in the letter...
Looking for a better service dept..... guess I need a Tesla!

I like First Nissan in Simi Valley, if that's within your driving distance you may have better luck there. But as always, YMMV.

 

[baumgrenze]

Do I understand correctly that when the 2G connection no longer works, the 'start-up' request to 'approve the connection' will still be an irritating 'feature' every time I start my 2012 (12/7/11 delivery) Leaf?

Perhaps a software/hardware guru can comment on how this 'feature' was implemented. If it is just a few lines of code, it would be a good way to maintain brand loyalty at my house for Nissan leaf dealers to upgrade the software to disable the 'nag screen.'

My Leaf is a retiree's 'shopping car' that nearly flawlessly covers 90+% of our miles driven on an 80% charge. The car just recently clocked over the 23,500 reading on the odometer as we entered year 6 of use.

I said 'nearly flawlessly' because my other beef is the relative ease with which a pot-hole can destroy the sidewall on a tire and require an expensive replacement, including a tow as the car includes no jack and/or spare. I suppose my grandfather groused about the unreliability of the tire/tube combination on his first Model-T relative to the durability of the steel tires on his very reliable horse-drawn buggy.

 

[kieranmullen]

Have you thought about getting roadside assistance?

I towed a vehicle from 1 hour away (Honda) and after getting the trailer and dealing with that hassle and my wife waiting. It would have been better to get roadside assistance.

Do I understand correctly that when the 2G connection no longer works, the 'start-up' request to 'approve the connection' will still be an irritating 'feature' every time I start my 2012 (12/7/11 delivery) Leaf?

Perhaps a software/hardware guru can comment on how this 'feature' was implemented. If it is just a few lines of code, it would be a good way to maintain brand loyalty at my house for Nissan leaf dealers to upgrade the software to disable the 'nag screen.'

My Leaf is a retiree's 'shopping car' that nearly flawlessly covers 90+% of our miles driven on an 80% charge. The car just recently clocked over the 23,500 reading on the odometer as we entered year 6 of use.

I said 'nearly flawlessly' because my other beef is the relative ease with which a pot-hole can destroy the sidewall on a tire and require an expensive replacement, including a tow as the car includes no jack and/or spare. I suppose my grandfather groused about the unreliability of the tire/tube combination on his first Model-T relative to the durability of the steel tires on his very reliable horse-drawn buggy.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thanks for the reply.

The first time was at mile 7 on the odometer. The dealership picked up the car and, with some considerable encouragement, Nissan eventually paid for the replacement tire. The second time was at ~8750 miles. AAA provided the tow and removed the wheel with the damaged tire. I bought the new tire and paid the mounting and reinstalled the wheel using a Prius scissor jack. I probably would not try that again, it was not a very stable arrangement.

Once again:

Does anyone know how complex it would be to shut down the startup nag screen?

One fine day an owner with legal training may manage to make a case that trying to close the screen with the car in motion caused a collision and that Nissan was complicit, especially once the nag screen no longer serves any purpose.

 

[JasonA]

It's not really a defect in materials or workmanship, I don't think. It still works,

Well it is a defect, that's why it DOESN'T WORK anymore :lol: and they are asking you to bring the vehicle in so THEY can fix it and make YOU (the owner) pay for their (the designer/maker's) mistake :roll:

I won't as I have my new 70D and the RavEV. The Leaf is about to be put up for sale with the Brusa all spiffed out.

If the new owner wants it, more power to them.

But in my mind... Goodbye NIssan... I hope you are reading this...

 

[baustin]

It's not a defect, and it's not a mistake. The radios in the cars still function just fine. The problem is AT&T wants to use the spectrum for more profitable customers, and is turning off the 2G service. Nissan has been paying for the connectivity, and went with the cheapest option available. They are only doing the 3G upgrade, because they have to, since there are no longer any 2G connectivity options available. And again, they are going with the cheapest option available, only upgrading to a 3G radio. The Telematics data is still important to Nissan. They chose an option and price that will get the most people to upgrade. We will go through the same thing all over again, when AT&T decides to shutdown the 3G service to use that spectrum for more profitable customers.

 

[baumgrenze]

The Telematics data is still important to Nissan.

I don't find it in my interest at all.

I hope there are many owners who share my view and that Nissan is forced to backtrack.

Once AT&T 2G service is gone, the nag screen at start-up serves no purpose. Why can't we be given an automatic bypass to the console display?

 

[lpickup]

Once AT&T 2G service is gone, the nag screen at start-up serves no purpose. Why can't we be given an automatic bypass to the console display?

Likely because the attitude of most auto manufacturers is that once they stop producing a given model year, they put it to bed and don't turn back unless it's some kind of safety issue. Even this upgrade was probably something they didn't want to do, but were ultimately forced to offer at least an upgrade path lest it become a complete customer relations debacle.

Clearly they worked out whatever legal requirements they thought required the nag screen on every boot up in late 2012 when they started producing the 2013 model year. But to them, going back and updating, verifying and rolling out new software (even software that is probably mostly written as it is part of 2013 and beyond model years) is simply not something they would ever consider doing (and maybe they even outsourced that, so going back and getting it re-written would be a considerable expense to them).

I actually understand that somewhat. Nissan is not a software company. We are used to dealing with software that has periodic updates pushed out to us automatically. To compare that model to Nissan is unfair. They likely put the final wraps on the software for a given model year and then lock it away, while the development team goes off to work on their next project. To bring back something that has been end-of-life'd is a huge deal, even if the change is minor.

However, while I understand that model, it's time for car makers to advance to this century. As Tesla has shown, the software running in the car CAN and SHOULD be treated as something more dynamic. Customers will expect that new level of response, and as long as you plan for that kind of development model, you can make it work.

 

[Levenkay]

<..abridged..>
However, while I understand that model, it's time for car makers to advance to this century. As Tesla has shown, the software running in the car CAN and SHOULD be treated as something more dynamic. Customers will expect that new level of response, and as long as you plan for that kind of development model, you can make it work.

Beautifully well said, all of it!

 

[kevintylernelson]

If anyone is interested, I started a petition to make Nissan cover 100% of the costs for this 2G upgrade. We the consumers should not have to pay for Nissan's poor and greedy manufacturing decisions. They went the cheapest route, when they knew damn well 2G was a dying technology.

https://www.change.org/p/nissan-mot...the-costs-for-the-leaf-ev-2g-cellular-upgrade

 

[cwerdna]

I'm working on a replacement.

Details in January.

Edit: The replacement will use T-Mobile.

Still working on it? I didn't think you had a Leaf anymore.

As I posted in another thread, there's this:
T-Mobile Throws a Lifeline to AT&T’s Stranded 2G IoT Customers with Free SIMs and Service
https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/att-2g-iot-lifeline.htm.

Not sure if Nissan Connect does more than 50 megs/month of data. And, not sure if just swapping out the SIM would work. An APN name might need changing and I don't recall if the driver/can do it.

 

[SageBrush]

I'm working on a replacement.

Details in January.

Edit: The replacement will use T-Mobile.

Still working on it? I didn't think you had a Leaf anymore.

As I posted in another thread, there's this:
T-Mobile Throws a Lifeline to AT&T’s Stranded 2G IoT Customers with Free SIMs and Service
https://newsroom.t-mobile.com/news-and-blogs/att-2g-iot-lifeline.htm.

Not sure if Nissan Connect does more than 50 megs/month of data. And, not sure if just swapping out the SIM would work. An APN name might need changing and I don't recall if the driver/can do it.

The T-mobile "lifeline" will have an as yet undisclosed monthly subscription fee.

 

[nerys]

And its highly unlikely to be a token amount.

 

[mikesus]

Local dealer is refusing to do the work unless I give him the account info for nissan. Anyone else run into this?

 

[mikesus]

Called nissan and basically they refuse to do anything without giving out that info. So much for privacy...

*UPDATE*

DEALER insisted wife had to go enter credentials, but she got a call that "it's done"

So much for "its impossible for them to replace it without the credentials"