New Nissan Leaf - Terrible Intermittent Static (Crackling) When iPhones are Connected to Apple Car Play

I recently bought a Nissan Leaf 2021 SL Plus. I love the car, except for one big issue. When we connect our iPhone using a USB cable to Apple Car Play we can get terrible static. I brought the car back to the Nissan dealer and the Service Manager of Boch Nissan South said that I would need to prove that this is happening by making a video. I have decided that I will start a log of Nissan's reactions as I start doing this. In this series of posts I will be keeping track of how well Nissan Service is.

This article details the communications I am having with Nissan around this issue. (Most recent first)

Visits to the Dan O'Brien Nissan Dealership - Culminating in a Find! on 9/16/2021

Dan O'Brien Service is a first class operation.  I brought my car in three times.  They updated my software and after the software update, I was able to reproduce the issue (See this short video on Youtube).

Finally during my third visit to Dan O'Brien, I was able to show Nelly the issue on Wednesday 9/15/2021.  Nelly is mechanic that has been working on my issue.  She texted me the following:

Good afternoon Marcel, this is Nelly getting back to you with an update. So I have done some digging and found that the concern you are experiencing with the static in the speakers, when phone is connected to USB, is a known concern that NISSAN is already aware of. I found numerous reports in our database and as of right now, this is under Engineering review, which means that they are not making any repair recommendation at this time. They are still trying to find a fix. As soon as I hear more about this, I will definitely let you know. Thanks for your patience.

Let's see what happens.  I have a call back into Beverly at Nissan Consumer Affairs with Corporate, (615)-725-7386.

 

Inbound Phone Call 8/30/2021 From Beverly @ Nissan Consumer Affairs (615 725-7000)

Beverly from Nissan Consumer Affairs called me and promised to look into the issue.  Beverley told me that I will be hearing back from her no later than Thursday 9/2/2021.

Phone Call 8/27/2021 With Nissan Consumer Affairs (800-647-7261 option 7)

I spoke to Brenda in the Consumer affairs division.  She opened a case for me.  A regional case manager will be getting back to me by end of day on Monday.

Opened Case 44600120

 

Phone Call 8/27/2021

As a follow-up, I also sent the email shown below to the Salesman who sold me the car, and he said he would forward the email to the Service Manager.

On Friday August 27th I called David Pari to get confirmation.  I got someone else at the Service Desk and he said he would relay the message that I would like confirmation that Dave received my email.

 

Email Sent Thursday August 26

Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2021 11:32 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Follow-up on my August 13th Visit to Service
Importance: High

Hi Dave,

I am following up on my visit of August Friday 13^th.  I had come in for service to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix the terrible static that I get intermittently when our iPhones are connected through the USB cable.  We have tried different cables, including a brand new Apple cable.  When I brought in the car, I spent 20 minutes with you and you told me that I need to prove that the static is occurring.  You told me to record this on video.

I have uploaded two videos to YouTube that you can watch:

Video 1: This video exhibits the issue really clearly  (39 seconds)

Video 2: This video exhibits the same scenario, but the phone is connected through Bluetooth.  This proves that the phone is not experiencing the issue (33 seconds)

Please confirm that you have received this email and that you can see the videos.
Let me know what the next steps are

Marcel Meth

 

Starting July 23rd: Thread of Text Messages with the Sales Department that sold me the car

Marcel Wrote:   Couple of things to know:   When I use the micro USB connector we get intermittent extremely bad static while talking in the phone.  I think we may need to get the connector replaced.  How do I go about doing that without losing my car for a long period?   ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote  Let me chat with service regarding this. We have been booked up solid but let me see when we have some openings! Ill get back to you shortly   ——— Marcel Wrote:   Thank you   ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote No problem!   ——— Marcel Wrote:   JT I am trying to figure out. a pattern and identify the issue exactly.  Then I will reach back out and setup an appointment. .  I'd like to minimize my travel down there.    ———- (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote Absolutely Marcel let me know   ———- Marcel Wrote:   Anthony & JT,   I have been trying to diagnose the terrible, but intermittent static that I get in the car when I connect either my iPhone or my wife's iPhone through either the regular USB connection or through the USB-C.    I have tried using several wires and the issue has not gotten any better. We can also use our phones in our subaru Forrester and there is no issue when we use apply play.    I believe the root cause is a bad connector in my new Nissan Leaf.  The issue usually arises when we are driving.  So just plugging the phone in while we are stationary will not exhibit the problem.    Can we make an appointment to leave the car with you , and have it looked at thoroughly. I would like to get the problem fixed the first time.    - Marcel   ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote I am sorry to hear that! I will talk with service tomorrow to book an appointment to have that issue diagnosed. I will let you know when our earliest appointments are! I will reach out to you tomorrow.   ——- Marcel Wrote: Looks like other people have experienced this issue. See the response on the Leaf Owners Facebook page       Anthony,   I am getting more responses saying people have the same issue.  I would like to make sure this issue gets resolved. I believe that It will take a patient mechanic to troubleshoot and repair.    There is a lot of information and complaints about this issue   https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251545686   ———- (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote   I am sorry to hear that! When is your earliest availability to bring your leaf into our service department   ——— Marcel Wrote:   Best for me is to bring the car in    Over the weekend and leave it until the issue can be found and resolved.    Do you have loaners?   ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote We unfortunately do not have any loaners. Most likely we can diagnose the issue while you are here. If there is any further work that needs to be done the situation can be assessed at that point. We first need to diagnose the vehicle   ——— Marcel Wrote:   Can I come there at 2:30 tomorrow and wait?   ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote Let me check with service to see if we have any openings. I will get back to you in a moment   The earliest opening we have for a diag is fri -13th at 9am. Please schedule time out to make it as we will have our cert tech for leafs on it   ——— Marcel Wrote: Ok. I will take that.    ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote Perfect, when you come in please drive it into our service drive garage doors. An advisor will be there to greet you and assist you. We have wifi if you need to do any work while you are here.   ——- Marcel Wrote: Hi Anthony,   In case you or people in service are not familiar with the static issue, I am including some screen shots from a question I posed in the Facebook group "Nissan Leaf Owners USA".    As you can see there are numerous people experiencing the same issue and this would be a great opportunity for Boch Nissan to be a hero and figure out the root cause.          Just a note, we own a Subaru Forrester with Apple Car Play and our phones work just fine. No issue at all.    ——- (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote Our service department will be doing a diagnosis and we will have more info for you. Until our service department takes a look we will not know what route to take. More info once you bring it in. Enjoy your weekend Marcel   ——— Marcel Wrote: great   Anthony,   Can you please put the new floor mats in my car when I bring it in on Friday?   ——- (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote Of course    ——- Marcel Wrote: Hi Anthony & TJ,   I wanted to let you know that I am in touch with Dave the service manager about the static on Apple Car Play when using my phone.    If you have an email address, I can keep you posted. Below is the email I just sent to Dave.  I am hoping that Nissan will provide satisfaction.    Hi Dave,   I am following up on my visit of August Friday 13th.  I had come in for service to troubleshoot, diagnose, and fix the terrible static that I get intermittently when our iPhones are connected through the USB cable.  We have tried different cables, including a brand new Apple cable.  When I brought in the car, I spent 20 minutes with you and you told me that I need to prove that the static is occurring.  You told me to record this on video.   I have uploaded two videos to YouTube that you can watch:   Video 1: This video exhibits the issue really clearly  (39 seconds)   Video 2: This video exhibits the same scenario, but the phone is connected through Bluetooth.  This proves that the phone is not experiencing the issue (33 seconds)   Please confirm that you have received this email and that you can see the videos. Let me know what the next steps are   Marcel Meth     Here is a link to video 1   https://youtu.be/Xnza4w8y04Q   ——- (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote Can you forward all correspondence to my email as well - some of your message is not showing in our system here   ——— Marcel Wrote: Yes.  What is your email?   ——— (508) 504 9485 Nissan Sales Wrote [email protected]