Nissan To Deactivate Key Features From Early EVs

Once again a misleading headline: No, Nissan isn't evil trying to force people to buy a new car (Edit: well maybe a bit, see replies). Those older cars rely on 2G connectivity, which is soon to be shut down in the UK, so they are sunsetting support for the features relying on it..

TL;DR: The 2G network they rely on is shutting down.

Well this isn’t really true. The 2G network won’t be shut down for another 6-10 years. They are using it as an excuse to turn off their servers and save some money without supporting people they have already taken money from.
- I'm not in the UK so I don't really know, I'm just saying the headline is misleading, and I'm just summarizing the article. Yes, I checked again, the article does mention the networks won't go down immediately, so maybe Nissan is a bit evil, or maybe there's something else the article isn't saying.
soon to be shut down in the UK,
In 5+ years. Seems a bit premature.
Maybe not evil but not exactly good either. It's a computer in a car, they could offer the owners to buy a replacement part that works on (n+1)G.
- And make it connect with an RJ-45 so you can swap out for a connection device for your own carrier instead of some stupid proprietary interface.
- True, but maybe not physically possible. I doubt that the 2G module is a separate piece of hardware
I think we already shut down most of the 2G and 3G in the USA, so those would already be offline here. It happened to my (gas) car already that was using the 3g network for its OnStar type service. But I had already disconnected it myself so it didn't matter
- I had one of the first OnStar versions that used a 3-watt analog cell connection (this was when cellphones were 0.6w on the high side). Damn thing had coverage in the middle of the west Texas desert when my cell phone couldn’t even find a tower for miles.
- 3G still exists specifically for stuff like this (though more for remote monitoring devices, since this is a consumer device requiring a consumer account, it doesn't work).
  It's just that as a consumer, you can't buy into 3G - there's no way to get service on 3G.
  One car in my family is 3G only, and reports a cell connection everywhere we go (it just can't use it).
  The oil/gas/pipeline (water) sector uses 3G monitoring devices all over the place.

Cars needing internet for functionality. What a great idea.

I mean, how are you supposed to accurately measure off peak times, and not sudden start charging millions of EVs all at once without some sort of connection?
- Through the WiFi-equipped EVSE. Or heck, give the car WiFi. Pretty much everyone has WiFi these days, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
- Is that even a feature that exists? For home charging you can do it whenever you want without internet, and for paid chargers they'll have their own Internet connection anyway.
- You could easily make it modular, that would've cost a dollar more, so that won't happen.

I hope when I next buy a car someone can't later decide I'm not allowed to use my windscreen wipers, or the seat position controls or whatever.

I honestly had been hearing great things about the Leaf as an affordable electric and was seriously considering a used one as my next car when I am going to be ready financially around august.
- Personally being an owner I wouldn’t buy one, there are plenty of other electrics that are great. I did buy a newer version and sold it very quickly to buy a better car.
  Don’t get me wrong I love my leaf and it has done 65k miles and is still going strong even at 11 years old, but they are really lagging behind in tech compared to others. It’s like they got to 2015 and just stopping developing. They use a rapid charger that is fast disappearing in the UK (chademo) so long journeys or a quick top up are getting harder. If you want a cheap car to do 40-60 miles max a day for commuting then they are a great deal and cheap to own and run. 2 pence a mile for home charging at night. But for more than that maybe spend a little more or look at a Zoe or something else.
  Their newer versions are expensive in comparison to competitors and to still be using the exact system as the 2012 models but with new body covering is just a bit sad. They were a front runner that just never kept developing.

It's because of the 2G networks being shut down. And this isn't specific to Leafs, it's all cars that used 2G for their data connection. This already has taken place in other countries, and I imagine Nissan no longer wants to support two versions of the app.

It’s the latter. The 2G network will continue for a long time to come. The shame is that even a late 2018 model still uses that old app too and uses 3G cellular. So they will lose their primary network service and fall back into the 2G network mode before the pre 2016 models lose their 2G connectivity.
- The 2G network will continue for a long time to come
  It's already gone in North America. China is aiming for 2025 (or already gone, depending on which Google result I click), and and it was gone in Japan a long time ago. Nissan sells more cars in each of those three markets alone than all of Europe. And 2G is already gone in many European countries. It makes no sense for them to keep it just for the UK market.

Considering the affected models, this is absolutely ludicrous. Those vehicles already suffer from diminished battery capacities, with some being around the 50% mark at this point, so to further corrode owner experience is ridiculous. Early adopters paved the way for the current spate of EVs so punishing them for this is outrageous. The article states 2G networks will remain live for almost another 6 years. Giving that reason as the cause of the loss of functionality is so disingenuous it is beyond belief. What a way to inspire confidence in your company...

This is the life of all early adopters. Being an early adopter you should know that end of life will come soon, and be painful, because they haven’t figured out how to end this nicely.

This is why I stick with old used cars, what it says on the tin is what I get and that won't change.

Right?
Though I'm sure if they can figure out someway to force subscription bullshit in there, they will.
- Fortunately it sounds like this doesn't actually affect any of the car's functions, just it's ability to interface with an app
With benefits (cheap, functional, easy to buy and get fixed anywhere) of big centralized production come, as people not warned of this by common wisdom can now see, some inconveniences.
I think it's normal.
Maybe in 20 years or so when everybody gets conscious and afraid of such dynamics, most things will be dumb, inefficient, expensive, but also more predictable and relevant for longer.
When I was a kid, it seemed cool to me that you can buy cheap things made in China from plastic. I thought the future is that everything will be cheap and easy to get, even if bad and made from plastic - the most important thing is, it's there.
Now the feeling is the opposite, well, I change (20 years older and no better), humanity also changes.
- When I was a kid, it seemed cool to me that you can buy cheap things made in China
  ....
  Now the feeling is the opposite,
  With age comes wisdom
Older cars are far more unsafe though, I witnessed a near head on accident just the other day and went to help the occupants so I got to see it up close
Both vehicles were about the same amount of fucked up, except one was older. I'd peg it as a 2000-2005. The occupants of the older one were pretty messed up injury wise, though they did survive. It had standard airbags.
The other vehicle, I'd peg around mid to late 2010's, the occupants walked away without a scratch, and their vehicle interior looked like a freaking bounce house
Yea, I'll risk some manufacturer taking away my heated seats in exchange for the higher vehicle safety of a newer vehicle
- That's a variable among brands and models of cars, largely.
  If the older car had been a different model, it would be a different outcome.
  My 2006 car has airbags all over the place, and they're of the variable-deployment variety... Becuase it's a brand/model that made their cars this way.
  Using "less safe" as a metric is kind of silly at this point. The safety of vehicles since the 90's is just unbelievable. I witnessed a head-on impact in about 1994, with one car that had airbags (so it was newer at the time, hut using airbags of that era, before variable-deployments tech). That driver walked away too - the car was clearly totalled.
  It really depends on the scenario. As a driver, you are the single greatest influence of safety in a car.
  As someone who's been driving for 40 years, I've had exactly 2 accidents - both on my motorcycle, from other drivers not seeing me. So there's the odds of being in an accident to consider too. And both of those situations I consider avoidable by me.
  None of my cars have been in accidents - I've avoided quite a few.

They really should make a easy path to update the 2g modem module to a 5g, but you know... Sales. Next thing you know car manufactures will be sunsetting support for an entire car because they no longer support updates to people with an out of date phone. So lazy and short sighted.

Does it vibrate when you plug it in tho

Key features about to make like that license plate and leaf.