Cost of Carwings?

[jsongster]

Most importantly... is there a way to splice into the presumably ethernet connection that their 2g system uses... in order to get wifi via 3g or 4g wifi tethering into the system.

Could a USB wifi dongle be attached somewhere under the dash that would allow that sort of access.

Basically is this clarion head unit and CANbus thingy extendable/modifyable at all?

I know about the folks talking through the diagnostic connector... but what about the back of the Clarion unit? Any updates available from Clarion... newer versions of the radio unit better than old ones?

P.S. nice that they have, so far absorbed the cost of it.

 

[Stanton]

Basically is this clarion head unit and CANbus thingy extendable/modifyable at all?

I know about the folks talking through the diagnostic connector... but what about the back of the Clarion unit? Any updates available from Clarion... newer versions of the radio unit better than old ones?

You're barking up the wrong tree: the modem in the TCM unit is the issue. My guess would be Nissan will offer a 3G/4G (4G would most likely last the life of the car) modem upgrade at which point they will re-start the subscription service. The question is: do they offer the modem upgrade for "free" when you sign a CW contract (kind of like a phone) or the reverse--continue to make CW a "free" service for us lucky Leaf owners IF you pay for the modem upgrade (and the ones who don't want/like it don't bother with the upgrade).

Either way, something has to happen between now and mid-2016 or so.

 

[pchilds]

Nissan has done nothing in three years to fix or improve CarWings. They can't even get the miles driven correct.

 

[Nubo]

I find Carwings to be a worthwhile feature. I just wish it was as quick, as simple and as carefree an experience as they portray in their advertising. Wouldn't THAT be nice! Click. Done. Sure looks easy, don't it!

Mystifyingly, instead of moving forward, they take backwards steps! Nowadays after I jump through the familiar hoops to get a few simple tasks implemented, I've got 8 or 9 ungrouped text messages to deal with....

We get these rare communications that seem to indicate they "get it" about owner complaints. Am I expecting too much for them to actually do something about them on a non-geologic time frame? Are they trying to capture the market on inertia?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Cost of Carwings; $0.00

several Seattle area LEAFers report receiving emails that Carwings will remain free for the time being

 

[palmermd]

Cost of Carwings; $0.00

several Seattle area LEAFers report receiving emails that Carwings will remain free for the time being

Yes, see Mike's post on Jan 29.

 

[Wennfred]

Cost of Carwings; $0.00

several Seattle area LEAFers report receiving emails that Carwings will remain free for the time being

I got the email also, extended to like 2016 or when the G2 phone system goes down.

Fred

 

[EatsShootsandLeafs]

Here's my Carwings rant: No, I will NOT pay for the current slow, unreliable system, no matter what. It is a veritable "antique" when compared with similar systems,

To give Nissan some credit - the system is (at the very least) 3 years old, which is an antique in technology terms. It was pretty cool when it first rolled out.

Not jumping on board with that. For me it's 18 months old and it's no better now than it ever was. It's horribly unreliable. Although "most" times it lets me do what I want, it doesn't always, and in any case it's very damn slow, unforgivably so in fact. Sending a command to a car to turn on should entail no more data than a simple text message. It should be able to do the entire round trip in under 10 seconds at the very most. We're talking pathetically small amounts of data, even on 2g or 1g or 300 baud modem. There's no need for it to take over a minute to get back to me with the current charge state. It's just absurd.

I think Nissan missed an opportunity with carwings. The navigation system should be able to use Carwings data and tap into something like google maps. That would be a killer function. The fact people even send locations to the thing is just a cobbled together necessity.

I think carwings has some value. I do use it sometimes, but I would not personally pay for it any more than $5 month at the most in its current incarnation.

 

[jsongster]

If it were up to me... the dash would have a space to slide a 7ish inch tablet in and securely hold and charge it. Google Maps is way better simply because it is constantly up to date.

Every car manufacturer bundling their own specific, locked in style of navigator and stereo is a waste usually. The UX of the Apple or Google tablets is far superior to any OEM.

Gimme a cheap AM/FM HD Radio built in with an amp and bluetooth/mini jack/USB input for everything else... the cd/MP3 player is even obsolete now. Gimme a safe place to mount my phone so I can see it while I use my bluetooth headset.

 

[thankyouOB]

Nissan just announced in an email that they are extending CARWINGS for no charge. How it applies to you may vary.
Here is the email:

Great news, LEAFer! Your CARWINGS1 subscription has been extended.

When you purchased your Nissan LEAF,® it included three years of complimentary CARWINGS—the innovative system that lets you communicate remotely with your car to check the charging status of your battery, set timers, turn on climate control, find local charging stations and more. To thank you for being among the first gas-free drivers, we've extended your subscription until further notice.

While we do anticipate CARWINGS being a paid subscription service in the future, you'll get at least 90 days' notice before your complimentary subscription expires.

We hope you're enjoying your 100% electric Nissan LEAF and that CARWINGS has become part of your daily driving routine. (And if you haven't tried it yet, download the app today for iPhone® or Android.™) If you have any questions about CARWINGS, please call us toll free at 1-877-NO-GAS-EV.

Keep Charging On!

 

[redLEAF]

Nissan just announced in an email that they are extending CARWINGS for no charge. How it applies to you may vary.
Here is the email:

Great news, LEAFer! Your CARWINGS1 subscription has been extended.

When you purchased your Nissan LEAF,® it included three years of complimentary CARWINGS—the innovative system that lets you communicate remotely with your car to check the charging status of your battery, set timers, turn on climate control, find local charging stations and more. To thank you for being among the first gas-free drivers, we've extended your subscription until further notice.

While we do anticipate CARWINGS being a paid subscription service in the future, you'll get at least 90 days' notice before your complimentary subscription expires.

We hope you're enjoying your 100% electric Nissan LEAF and that CARWINGS has become part of your daily driving routine. (And if you haven't tried it yet, download the app today for iPhone® or Android.™) If you have any questions about CARWINGS, please call us toll free at 1-877-NO-GAS-EV.

Keep Charging On!

Just received the same notice TODAY (10/1/14) so nothing has changed since this was posted back in February -- my 2012 car's delivery was end of Dec '11 so they still have yet to figure out what/when they plan to charge for it. I do like the ability to turn on the AC and/or heat remotely but the metrics on efficiency as everyone knows are kind of a novelty still, plus the response time is still on the slow side due to the older tech being used. As they offered 'free' charging to the newest owners appreciate the extension anyway ...