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

Just called both of the dealerships in my area. Neither knew what I was talking about. They both told me to just wait for the second letter.

For those of you who have already gotten your replacement unit, is the software the same crappy software as before? Does it look and function the same way it used to? Is the only change the upgrade to 3G service? I might not upgrade if that is the case. I don't use the wireless connectivity that much but I would love a better user experience for music and phone calls.

I too just called my local dealer to schedule the recall update and the Telematics upgrade. The recall was part was fine, but he was clueless about the NissanConnect Telematics issue. So clueless that I am convinced he knows nothing about it. Even when I told him that the update is because of the 2G issue and it will cost me, and it is not a recall... It was as if I went back in time to the 1970s and was explaining GIDS to a stranger. Ah well

IBeLeaf2 said:

Well...
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.

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After my TCU was replaced, I didn't have to do anything special. But prior to the replacement, the dealership wanted to look at my car and get some numbers off the Carwings info screen. And the day before my replacement appointment, someone from Nissan (not at the dealership) called and asked me to go out to my car and read those same numbers to them. I couldn't get clear details what was happening, but they said my dealer would need the old numbers in order to swap the TCU.

Maybe your dealer missed a step? I was also my dealership's first replacement, and there was a lot of confusion about what service I was wanting to be done leading up to me finally getting the TCU replaced.

Far behind promised schedule, Nissan begun to contact affected LEAF owners yesterday and, as we found out this week, is offering to replace the TCU on 2011-2014 LEAFs for $199., The procedure, which will take a few hours, will leave customer’s cars with the same credentials and login information for NissanConnect EV (formerly CARWINGS) as before, and should restore full functionality to cars whose telematics systems would otherwise go dark on December 31, 2016. W

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From: With 24 Days Left to AT&T 2G Shut-Off, 2011-2014 Nissan LEAF Customers Offered $199 3G Telematics Upgrade - Transport Evolved
https://apple.news/AhCvkCphXMzKQoNclktWJDw

I just called my dealer who was absolutely clueless about this. I gave them the recall campaign # and the FP# (whatever that is) and they weren't able to find any information that way.

They suggested I call Nissan directly.

The customer service rep I spoke with at least was aware of the campaign, but all he could tell me was:

• He confirmed the "co-pay" is $199.
• They expect letters to go out before the end of this week with upgrade information
• Once I receive my letter, my dealer should have the parts on hand.
• I mentioned that I've recently moved, so whatever assumptions they have about who MY dealer is are probably incorrect, but apparently this is not a concern (?)
• There is no way for me to request my dealer to order the part now so I can be assured the part is on hand and I can proactively schedule an appointment.
• When I pointed out there are only a few more weeks left in the year, he re-assured me that it should not be a problem (?!?!?!?!)

Perhaps Nissan struck a deal with AT&T to delay taking 2G offline (and yes, I'm aware that several of you have reported it's already offline in some areas), but I seriously doubt that this is going to be a very smooth transition.

bpnugent said:

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.

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Just stopped at my local dealer. Some cars already have 3G in them. You can check by going into menu, carwings, carwings settings, down arrow, unit ID information. If TCUID starts with 2012-1, or anything other than 2012, it is already 3G and requires no update. If TCUID starts 2012-0, it is 2G.

I am ok with $199 to upgrade and would do so as long as there is no monthly charge. Any monthly charge and i am out. I wish they would fix 3rd party api as the app really truly sucks. A 5 second operation takes minutes. I just want to turn on hvac and now i habe to open app and wait and wait and wait and wait for it to sync. Then i have to tap the hvac tab and again wait and wait and wait and wait then tap to turn on the hvac and again wait and wait and wait.

It truly drives me nuts sometimes. When 3rd party apps worked i literally swiped left on my watch tapped start hvac and was done not even 5 seconds. My phone would log into car wings and do what was needed to start the hvac.

Apparently the new system wont let this work.

I am beginning to wonder if removing the old unit,that is now on the cusp of being obsolete, would create problems...

Does anyone know where it is? Maybe I can unplug it and see what happens....

My guess is I am out on telematics and will let the rare time I use the online features go... Nissan's temporal data base can be maintained with one less sample.

We can use the BT LeafSpy to see what is going on with charge status which is good enough for many....

The only feature i use is turning on the hvac.

nerys said:

I wish they would fix 3rd party api as the app really truly sucks.

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nerys said:

Apparently the new system wont let this work.

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I don't think the 3rd party API is "broken" (although technically it's not a 3rd party API, it's just THE API)...probably your 3rd party APP is to blame. LeafManager continues to work like a charm for me and is a one button press on the widget to turn on HVAC.

??? Thats the app!

What the hell. It refuses to work for me! ???


Ahhh not the same app. Mine seems to have been updated. I will have to try again. I had given up months ago. (Leaf notification)

DNAinaGoodWay - my Leaf is a 2013 SV with a TCU ID of 2012-99006... So, I suppose that means mine is 2g and will thus require the upgrade?

Went to the dealer yesterday (same one that has done everything on my Leaf since Day 1, including battery pack replacement) and here's what happened:
1) They "pulled" the TCU for pics to send into Nissan for modem replacement (took about 1 hour)
2) The cost is $199 (I have a 2011) and that's it: the service will continue (free) as it has since Day 1.

The only twist is they gave myself (and another Leaf owner there at the same time for the same thing) a delivery estimate of 6-8 weeks, at which time I come back and they do the modem swap. We will see if it actually takes that long; I assume this is one of those things where they have to "match" the modem to the car/account so the wireless service will work.

Plugg said:

DNAinaGoodWay - my Leaf is a 2013 SV with a TCU ID of 2012-99006... So, I suppose that means mine is 2g and will thus require the upgrade?

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Mine is 2012-99043****

Got a call into them, no reply yet. Original information came from paper work they gave me, official Nissan instructions.

They're really making a mess of this thing.

At dealership now. Leaf tech says that if it's 2012-1 or higher, 2012-2, 2012-3, etc, it's 3G. So 2012-9 is 3G. If it were just my car, I might believe that, but since yours is a '13, I'm skeptical. Think I'll call another dealer and maybe customer support and get other info. Mine still works at least. The app gives me weird error messages that don't seem to matter as they go away with a click and I can still connect to the car.

One week after starting the process my net Telematics control unit (TCU) is now working. Here is a summary of the week.

Thursday - Called dealer to set up appointment for ODS/OCS recall. Asked if they knew anything about 2G/3G TCU replacement. Was surprised they said yes! asked them to order parts.

Monday - Got a call saying parts were in. Set up 3 hour appointment for Tuesday to do both recalls/updates. Unlike others have reported I never was asked for any info ahead of time. But this dealer is where I bought the car new and had battery checks done so maybe they had all they needed on record.

Tuesday - They finished an hour early. Wanted me to know about OCS update and that the "seat belt off light" would would be on more. Didn't seem to think there would be anything different due to the TCU change.
I didn't actually test the TCU until I was on the road. Should have tested it right away. Tried to update charging stations as a quick test once I got on the highway. Didn't work. Got off highway and pulled in a parking lot to try. Signed in to register car, accepted agreement and tried again. No connection. Got error code B02. Had to get to my next stop so figured I'd try later at home.

Tuesday PM, Wednesday - Back and forth with dealer. Suggests bringing it back or wait and see if it fixes itself. Using LeafSpy and Repair manual AV page 577 (additional service when replacing TCU) I determine that the new TCU isn't registered with AT&T yet. Suggest this to Nissan and they say don't bring it back let's wait.

Thursday - Try updating stations in car again and it works! Try to start heat remotely from laptop and it doesn't work. From phone, still doesn't work but I get a message saying I need to register car before using app. Go thru registration process in car again and everything starts working.

My best guess as to the source of the problem? I live 35 miles from the dealer and they are at the edge of AT&T's coverage. I apparently am in roaming mode most of the time.
I think it just took a couple days longer for the TCU's sim card to be recognized out here in the countryside. But maybe it was something else. Beats Me, just glad it's working and I don't need to hear "You CAN just go out and turn the car yourself like the rest of us" any more.

DNAinaGoodWay said:

At dealership now. Leaf tech says that if it's 2012-1 or higher, 2012-2, 2012-3, etc, it's 3G. So 2012-9 is 3G. If it were just my car, I might believe that, but since yours is a '13, I'm skeptical. Think I'll call another dealer and maybe customer support and get other info. Mine still works at least. .

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I just braved the cold to check the TCUID in my 2013 SL which was 2012-9901
By this, I should have the 3G.

I was in for service Tuesday for the recall and replacing the dead 12v battery. Service writer came to me with a printed list of the recall notices for my car, and one was for the $199 Ugrade. So, I am wondering. I have to go back soon when they get the part needed to replace the sensor, so I will follow up.

Thing is, I am not going to pay for the update since my car lease expires in April.

DNAinaGoodWay said:

At dealership now. Leaf tech says that if it's 2012-1 or higher, 2012-2, 2012-3, etc, it's 3G. So 2012-9 is 3G. If it were just my car, I might believe that, but since yours is a '13, I'm skeptical. Think I'll call another dealer and maybe customer support and get other info. Mine still works at least. The app gives me weird error messages that don't seem to matter as they go away with a click and I can still connect to the car.

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I made calls today as well. I first called Nissan and then the dealer. I was pleasantly surprised that they both told me the same thing for the first time in 3+ years... They both said that I would need the 3G replacement. Nissan said the new TCU should be in stock and the dealer confirmed they already have it. They both said it was a one-time $199 cost with no paid service subscription required. The dealer said it was a 2-hr repair visit and offered to get me on the schedule.

Catch is that mine still works as well. On the far off chance that I do have a 3G TCU and they're all just confused, I think I'll just wait till the New Year and see if it stops working. If it does stop working and the temps remain in the 30's, I will most likely suck up the cost in order to restore my pre-heating and checking my charge from indoors!!

The TCU that I asked my local Nissan service to order came in and I got a call this morning as I was driving to work so I diverted to them and got a ride to work. Mine is MY2015 so it is free but I will let you all know after the update if it works better than the old one that only worked in a few of the places I would like it to work.

DNAinaGoodWay said:

At dealership now. Leaf tech says that if it's 2012-1 or higher, 2012-2, 2012-3, etc, it's 3G. So 2012-9 is 3G. If it were just my car, I might believe that, but since yours is a '13, I'm skeptical. Think I'll call another dealer and maybe customer support and get other info. Mine still works at least. The app gives me weird error messages that don't seem to matter as they go away with a click and I can still connect to the car.

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I was told that only the 2016's (and newer) have a 3G modem and only the 2015's (and newer) are "free".