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

cwerdna said:

The funny part is that the implementation apparently won some awards or some people thought it was actually good...

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Okay, 2 of those were from 2011 when it was truly somewhat of a new thing, and likely the reviewers were merely shown a demo and didn't actually experience the pain and frustration of actually using the app on a daily basis. And the only real competition in that category was whatever app Chevy had for the Volt (and while I don't know what their app looked like then, I can say that in 2015 anyway it was only marginally better than the Nissan app).

The 2013 one is a bit more concerning.

But here we are almost 6 years on from those awards and has any new functionality or capability been added to the base apps? Even if only supported by newer model year vehicles?

annabel398 said:

Just had my Leaf in for its 30K check, and the service manager said Nissan will be offering the upgrade and is asking the customer for a "co-pay" of $199. He also said they don't have parts yet. No mention of a monthly fee.

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I just had the 3G TCU replacement done on my 2015 Leaf yesterday, so I can share some details.

My tech showed me the bulletin they give the dealers on this repair/replacement, which included the pricing. For 2015 models it's free (indeed, my replacement yesterday really was free). For 2014 and earlier, there's a copay of $199.

The tech said Nissan didn't release the details of the replacement to the dealers until November 16th, just two weeks ago. I'd had quite a hard time over the last several weeks trying to get information about this, but I guess that explains it.

In my area (Orlando, Florida) AT&T had already stopped 2G service when I bought my 2015 Leaf, so none of the NissanConnect EV / CARWINGS features ever worked for me. But after yesterday's replacement, they finally do. There was no mention of a monthly fee, and my app is working now, so I assume Nissan has decided to continue offering the service for free.

jlouder said:

annabel398 said:

Just had my Leaf in for its 30K check, and the service manager said Nissan will be offering the upgrade and is asking the customer for a "co-pay" of $199. He also said they don't have parts yet. No mention of a monthly fee.

Click to expand...

I just had the 3G TCU replacement done on my 2015 Leaf yesterday, so I can share some details.

My tech showed me the bulletin they give the dealers on this repair/replacement, which included the pricing. For 2015 models it's free (indeed, my replacement yesterday really was free). For 2014 and earlier, there's a copay of $199.

The tech said Nissan didn't release the details of the replacement to the dealers until November 16th, just two weeks ago. I'd had quite a hard time over the last several weeks trying to get information about this, but I guess that explains it.

In my area (Orlando, Florida) AT&T had already stopped 2G service when I bought my 2015 Leaf, so none of the NissanConnect EV / CARWINGS features ever worked for me. But after yesterday's replacement, they finally do. There was no mention of a monthly fee, and my app is working now, so I assume Nissan has decided to continue offering the service for free.

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Does the app seem to work better (faster? more reliable?) with 3G?

What does "$200 copay" mean? As someone looking to buy a 2013, but not wanting to spend a lot on a new telematics unit, is this a one-time fee of $200?

I was at the dealership yesterday and the salesmen hadn't heard anything from Nissan yet. Didn't ask the service department or management or push it very hard though.

oak said:

What does "$200 copay" mean?

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I think he/they used the term "copay" to mean that the total cost is greater than $200 and Nissan is assuming some of the cost themselves. It sounds like the service itself is and will continue to be free.

jlouder said:

annabel398 said:

Just had my Leaf in for its 30K check, and the service manager said Nissan will be offering the upgrade and is asking the customer for a "co-pay" of $199. He also said they don't have parts yet. No mention of a monthly fee.

Click to expand...

I just had the 3G TCU replacement done on my 2015 Leaf yesterday, so I can share some details.

My tech showed me the bulletin they give the dealers on this repair/replacement, which included the pricing. For 2015 models it's free (indeed, my replacement yesterday really was free). For 2014 and earlier, there's a copay of $199.

The tech said Nissan didn't release the details of the replacement to the dealers until November 16th, just two weeks ago. I'd had quite a hard time over the last several weeks trying to get information about this, but I guess that explains it.

In my area (Orlando, Florida) AT&T had already stopped 2G service when I bought my 2015 Leaf, so none of the NissanConnect EV / CARWINGS features ever worked for me. But after yesterday's replacement, they finally do. There was no mention of a monthly fee, and my app is working now, so I assume Nissan has decided to continue offering the service for free.

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Great first post, thanks for the information and welcome to the forums.

jlouder said:

annabel398 said:

Just had my Leaf in for its 30K check, and the service manager said Nissan will be offering the upgrade and is asking the customer for a "co-pay" of $199. He also said they don't have parts yet. No mention of a monthly fee.

Click to expand...

I just had the 3G TCU replacement done on my 2015 Leaf yesterday, so I can share some details.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the update!

jlouder said:

annabel398 said:

My tech showed me the bulletin they give the dealers on this repair/replacement, which included the pricing. For 2015 models it's free (indeed, my replacement yesterday really was free). For 2014 and earlier, there's a copay of $199.

Click to expand...

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Erm... there are no "2014 and earlier LEAFs" AFAIK, certainly not in the US, and very likely nowhere else either. My LEAF is #1333, delivered April 2015, and it's a 2015 model year.

But, it's good news indeed that it's free for 2015 MY, and better, that there is no monthly fee; I'll be calling my dealer ASAP!

oak said:

Does the app seem to work better (faster? more reliable?) with 3G?

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I don't think it's any faster. My only experience with the app is with a 3G modem, but it's taking about 30-40 seconds to refresh a screen that shows the car's range and state of charge. From what I've read here about people using the app in the past, I don't think this is any improvement.

oak said:

What does "$200 copay" mean? As someone looking to buy a 2013, but not wanting to spend a lot on a new telematics unit, is this a one-time fee of $200?

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I did think that term was a little unusual. But both the tech and the paperwork from Nissan he showed me used the term "co-pay" to describe the $199 the customer would have to pay if the Leaf is older than a 2015 model year. It's a one-time fee. My guess is that since other things they've published said Nissan would help with the cost of the replacement, this is just another way they're saying that $199 isn't the total cost of the replacement, but it's all the customer will have to pay.

aqn said:

Erm... there are no "2014 and earlier LEAFs" AFAIK, certainly not in the US, and very likely nowhere else either. My LEAF is #1333, delivered April 2015, and it's a 2015 model year.

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I'm really confused about what subtle distinction you are making here, given I drive a MY2013 LEAF.

jlv said:

aqn said:

Erm... there are no "2014 and earlier LEAFs" AFAIK, certainly not in the US, and very likely nowhere else either. My LEAF is #1333, delivered April 2015, and it's a 2015 model year.

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I'm really confused about what subtle distinction you are making here, given I drive a MY2013 LEAF.

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I'm confused too. Her profile says:

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2010 3:59 pm
Delivery Date: 30 Apr 2011
Leaf Number: 1333

I suspect it is a case of a really dry sense of humor, or perhaps indicating an attempt to convince a dealer that they are driving a MY2015 LEAF to get out of paying the co-pay!

lpickup said:

I suspect it is a case of a really dry sense of humor, or perhaps indicating an attempt to convince a dealer that they are driving a MY2015 LEAF to get out of paying the co-pay!

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Wouldn't be the first time humor went over my head on this forum

GetOffYourGas said:

jlv said:

aqn said:

Erm... there are no "2014 and earlier LEAFs" AFAIK, certainly not in the US, and very likely nowhere else either. My LEAF is #1333, delivered April 2015, and it's a 2015 model year.

Click to expand...

I'm really confused about what subtle distinction you are making here, given I drive a MY2013 LEAF.

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I'm confused too. Her profile says:

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2010 3:59 pm
Delivery Date: 30 Apr 2011
Leaf Number: 1333

Click to expand...

lpickup said:

I suspect it is a case of a really dry sense of humor, or perhaps indicating an attempt to convince a dealer that they are driving a MY2015 LEAF to get out of paying the co-pay!

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Actually, it was only a case of rampant senility. My apologies to all who were confused. I was wrong. It's been a while since I took delivery of my LEAF and just got the dates crossed up.

My LEAF is a 2011. There is such a thing as a 2013 LEAF. I am not crazy. Honest.

Back to your 2G, 3G, 4H, etc. discussion.

lpickup said:

My LEAF is a 2011. There is such a thing as a 2013 LEAF. I am not crazy. Honest.

Back to your 2G, 3G, 4H, etc. discussion.

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I just recently joined after lurking (and learning) for 2 years. But I couldn't resist a response here as I also have been trying to add 4 years to dates lately.
Seriously though, the exchange highlighted the generous attitudes I've seen though out MyNissanLeaf. Thank you all.

Now a report. After calling "Nissan Leaf Support" on 11/30 and having them tell me there is no info yet on the 3G upgrade, I had an email from my dealer. They want to schedule an appointment for the OCS finally.
Asked if they knew about the Telematics unit (on the 16th they hadn't) and said I'd like to get both done in one visit. They now do know and thought they could get the part in a week or so.
So now I wait again. At least up here in Maine the 2G is still working as well as ever.

I'll post more when it happens...

When I saw the latest update to this thread, I called my local Nissan service department to see when I could get mine. Found out that they wait until you ask for it, order it, and when it comes in set up the appointment to install it. I have mine on order.

BillHolz said:

When I saw the latest update to this thread, I called my local Nissan service department to see when I could get mine. Found out that they wait until you ask for it, order it, and when it comes in set up the appointment to install it. I have mine on order.

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I called my local dealership and they had no idea what I was talking about. I called the Nissan EV Customer Support Team and they told me that it's still not available. I was hoping to get both this and the OCS recall done on the same day (and time it with my second free battery check), but it doesn't seem like it's happening.

EVFuture said:

BillHolz said:

When I saw the latest update to this thread, I called my local Nissan service department to see when I could get mine. Found out that they wait until you ask for it, order it, and when it comes in set up the appointment to install it. I have mine on order.

Click to expand...

I called my local dealership and they had no idea what I was talking about. I called the Nissan EV Customer Support Team and they told me that it's still not available. I was hoping to get both this and the OCS recall done on the same day (and time it with my second free battery check), but it doesn't seem like it's happening.

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I got called today. They have the Telematics unit in (just ordered it last Thursday). Set up the appointment for tomorrow to get both it and OCS put in.
Be persistent, it has been reported here and other places that dealers were given info about it on Nov. 16th. Perhaps there is another dealer close by you could call?

Thanks for the update! Would you confirm the price once the install is complete?

I read here about $199 copay. Is there also a subscription fee, or is that free?

Bob

I called my dealer today, and (after calling me back an hour later) the service guy quoted the $199 co-pay and said they needed to order the parts (3-5 days). In an interesting twist, they said that they needed to inspect my MY13 before ordering the parts, as if they need to confirm what hardware is in my car to know exactly what the replacement hardware is. Prior to calling me back, he wasn't sure whether this was a software or hardware update, so this must be rolling out to them pretty recently.

Well...
Just got back from the dealer. $199 is the total cost.
Here are some details,
Invoice says:
Recall campaign PC449 Telematics unit customer co-pay $199
FP# 283BO-6NF2A
Total parts and Labor $0
Misc charge $199
Total Invoice $199
There was no mention of any ongoing fees

Now to the bad news. When I left the dealer the display showed that I had signal. But when I tried to update stations or subscriptions (google send-to-car) under CarWings menu I get "The connection to the center failed(B02)" on the display. After a few tries the connection icon went away completely. LeafSpy showed a DTC of U1A05 000A TCU USB Comm AV-199. which when reset didn't help and hasn't come back.

I have contacted dealer and they are supposed to get back to me. But in the mean time, looking at the manuals I see that one very important step for installation is:
"Contact ATX help desk to notice the termination of replaced TCU and connection of new TCU. (VIN is required)"
I wonder if there is a delay or if some glitch has occurred?
Anyone else have a problem or have to do anything special to make the new TCU work?
I have re-accepted the user agreement.

This is the first TCU the dealer has replaced.