Did they fix the lock switch in 2015/16

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DanDietrich

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 18, 2014
Messages
47
Location
South Orange NJ
Hi all,
I have a 2014 Leaf, and I am still left fumbling for the door lock switch to unlock the doors at night. I know this was discussed back when I bought the car in 2014, so I am curious if they stuck a lighted switch in the car for 15 or 16. I remember it was discussed in this forum, where supposedly Nissan employees watched for ways to improve the car. It's a simple fix. Did they do it?
 
I sure hope so, I agree finding the door un-lock button is a MAJOR PIA in the dark! So much so that I disabled the automatic door lock feature so I wouldn't have to keep finding that button when dropping off or picking up multiple people in the dark. They have the power windows lock button lite but not(at least in my '12 and '13) the much more used power door lock button :roll:
 
With Leaf Spy Pro, you can configure the auto lock/unlock behavior.

IIRC, I have mine set to only auto-lock when going above 15 mph and disabled auto-unlock of all doors. I'm trying to reduce unnecessary wear/tear on the actuators since it seems like they might be a weak point on the Leaf.
 
cwerdna said:
With Leaf Spy Pro, you can configure the auto lock/unlock behavior.

IIRC, I have mine set to only auto-lock when going above 15 mph and disabled auto-unlock of all doors. I'm trying to reduce unnecessary wear/tear on the actuators since it seems like they might be a weak point on the Leaf.
+1 and you can do it without Leaf Spy Pro, the manual has instructions to do it only using the door lock button and key FOB.
 
Of all the stupid things Nissan has done is not light up normal things that need it, especially NOT light up SPECIFIC buttons that are lit right next to them!!
 
2016 SV: still not illuminated.

+1 on modify auto-unlock behavior to unlock when shifting into Park. Only thing that catches me now is if I forget to hit Park and instead hit Power, the car goes into Park automatically but doesn't auto-unlock the doors. Crazy.

Manual thumblock levers on the interior door release handles is likewise not obvious which way the are currently set. Most cars I've driven have a bright orange tab visible if unlocked.
 
You could probably superglue a plastic bead to the unlock button to make it stick out for tactile location, if you're not concern about visual appeal. If it is a black bead it would blend in better. (Just one of those small 1.5mm beads should do the trick just fine.)
 
Durandal said:
You could probably superglue a plastic bead to the unlock button to make it stick out for tactile location, if you're not concern about visual appeal. If it is a black bead it would blend in better. (Just one of those small 1.5mm beads should do the trick just fine.)
While one could certainly do that, I personally have to wonder why a company would produce a vehicle year after year with such a basic flaw :? I mean it couldn't cost more than illuminating the power window lock button, which gets FAR less use than the door unlock button.....
It's not a critical mass problem but it is one of those daily irritants for anyone driving the Leaf after dark, just sleighs me why Nissan doesn't correct it....
That said, again my simple fix to this design flaw is to simply make the doors so they don't automatically lock, if the car had an illuminated unlock button I would NOT have done this, but it doesn't and it's my work-a-round for Nissan's lack of foresight.
Does anyone know if any Nissan vehicles have an illuminated unlock button? that would be interesting to know :idea:
 
Oh, I agree, it should be illuminated along with the rest of the buttons. In fact, I find the illumination level for most of the buttons in the leaf to be too dark.
 
gshepherd said:
2016 SV: still not illuminated.

+1 on modify auto-unlock behavior to unlock when shifting into Park. Only thing that catches me now is if I forget to hit Park and instead hit Power, the car goes into Park automatically but doesn't auto-unlock the doors. Crazy.

Can someone clue me as to how to change the auto unlock behavior to Park instead of Off? I checked the manual, and it only gives the option to turn the whole system on or off, and 'on' mentions only unlocking when the vehicle is put into Park.

I do have LeafSpy Pro on iOS, but I can't recall seeing any options in there either.

Keith
 
Same for iOS version of LeafSpy Pro:

Menu -> Settings (gear) -> Service Screen (just below Model Year)

Exit Settings.

You now have a fifth screen you can slide (all the way to the right).

Door Lock/Unlock Settings allow you to make changes. Remember to tap the Change button to write your choices to the car.

That's what worked for me.
 
gshepherd said:
Same for iOS version of LeafSpy Pro:

Menu -> Settings (gear) -> Service Screen (just below Model Year)

Exit Settings.

You now have a fifth screen you can slide (all the way to the right).

Door Lock/Unlock Settings allow you to make changes. Remember to tap the Change button to write your choices to the car.

That's what worked for me.

Worked like a champ. Thanks.

(In hindsight, I'm surprised I hadn't heard about or noticed that feature before, but I also didn't have the service screen enabled. The Park -> Unlock is definitely the way it should work)

Keith
 
Thanks for all of the responses. I guess all of that talk a few years ago about Nissan engineers monitoring these boards was just talk. I get that they can't snap their fingers and make the car bigger, or double the range, and stuff like that. This would have been a simple small fix that they could have done easily.
Why does this matter? Because electric cars have to compete as cars, too. I love my Leaf, but I have noticed that in many areas of design it falls short of Honda's and Toyota's that I have owned. I will be looking at a new electric car in a few years, and Nissan has not won me over yet.
 
DanDietrich said:
.....I love my Leaf, but I have noticed that in many areas of design it falls short of Honda's and Toyota's that I have owned. I will be looking at a new electric car in a few years, and Nissan has not won me over yet.
+1 the Leaf is my first Nissan vehicle(purchased a new Leaf and used Leaf) and like you I like the car but Nissan as a brand hasn't won me over. In fact I frequently say to myself, I wish Toyota made a new EV I could purchase. I've owned a couple Toyotas in the past and have been very happy with both design and reliability, not as much with Nissan. Little quirks/problems I've had with my Nissan I just never had with my Toyotas, and one was even a Scion which at the time was kind of Toyotas cheaper line. That said if Nissan came out with a decently designed EV van/suv I might give them another chance but not because it had the Nissan name on it, just because it was the vehicle I wanted and no one else could provide it.
I really get the impression with the Leaf, Nissan did all the changes they are going to do with the '12 into '13 model year where they did correct some of the first generation quirks. My guess is the bulk of changes we'll see now on the Leaf will mainly have to do with range to compete with the upcoming 200 mile EVs and of course fixing any safety issues that may arise. The thing I don't understand about Nissan is why they keep coming out with concept cars.....I mean the car market is a dying market, most people are moving onto suvs and such, why wouldn't they want to tap into that market instead of tying their hopes onto a dying market :? almost like they want the EV market to fail so they could say they tried......
 
I went into this thread wondering why it's considered a problem :?: :? :?:

Then I realized I've driven 61,000 miles with the lock settings set to non-defaults :lol: Every time I see another person with a Leaf, their lock behavior seems strange to me, and they'd always love me to tweak their settings (which I do).

Door button behavior: lock/unlock all doors
Auto-lock: on at 15 MPH
Auto-unlock: shifting to P, all doors

It just makes more sense to me, working in a day. I usually lock and unlock my car exclusively with the outside door button and "P" shift button. Probably thousands of cycles through the same routine... walk up to car, beep/unlock with door button, drive, unlock when I hit "P", beep-beep/lock with the door button. Someone needs to get in? Beep the door button. Dropping someone off? Come to a stop and hit P. Passenger doesn't even need to fumble for the lock button. :)

Should be the default, IMO.
 
FalconFour said:
Door button behavior: lock/unlock all doors
Auto-lock: on at 15 MPH
Auto-unlock: shifting to P, all doors

And now for something completely different:

Door button behavior: lock/unlock all doors
Auto-lock: shifting out of P
Auto-unlock: power off

I've had it that way since the beginning. Just because I put the car in Park doesn't mean I want the doors unlocked; it also avoids the lock pulsing every time you accelerate from a stop. The dealer set it up for me using Consult.
 
Stanton said:
it also avoids the lock pulsing every time you accelerate from a stop.

Hm? No, the "over 15 lock" only activates if the doors are all unlocked (by lock/unlock button or by "P" unlock). Definitely not every time you accelerate. :lol: That'd be super irritating.

I just don't want to have to completely power-off the car to unlock the doors. In this way, when dropping someone off (fairly regular occurrence), I only have to stop and push P - which is a safe thing to do anyway.

Can't really argue with preference/opinions, though. We all like what we get used to, as long as that functionality meets our needs. :cool:
 
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