Charging problems and battery lifespan have already ‘flattened the curve’ when it comes to EV take-up in the rush to Net Zero with the 2035 ICE vehicle ban looming on the horizon. If you’re still thinking about the positives and the negatives, Nissan has inadvertently come up with a solution to help make your mind up. When the 2G network is switched off, owners of older EV Nissans will discover that the app which helps control remote functionality will stop working on August 1st 2024. That’s because these cars use only 2G technology. The BBC has the story:
The firm says the app – which allows remote control of functions such as heating – is stopping because the U.K.’s 2G network is being switched off.
Owners of Nissan Leaf electric cars have accused the firm of “dumping its pioneers” after it announced its app would stop working for older vehicles.
But customers have reacted with anger, telling the BBC they did not expect it to be withdrawn.
Experts expect the issue to affect more electric vehicles as the market grows.
Around 3,000 Nissan Leaf and e-NV200 cars made before 2016 are affected by the app being withdrawn.
These older vehicles are fitted with 2G control units which communicate with the app.
Luckily, the cars themselves won’t grind to halt (unless the battery goes flat of course). Some functionality will remain. According to Nissan:
Owners will, however, still be able to use key features such as Climate Control Timer and Charging Timer directly from their car’s Navigation System.
That’s good then. Sort of. But the prospects are much more ominous. It seems Nissan could be setting a precedent:
Dr. Benjamin Gorman, a senior lecturer at Bournemouth University, said Nissan “really should have built in some kind of backward compatibility” so that the car could still connect by plugging in a phone or through Bluetooth, adding that “it is bad design”.
But he said, in the future, other electric vehicle owners could also see their software eventually lose functionality as technology moved on and companies stopped issuing updates.
He also pointed to broader trends within the industry, such as some car manufacturers starting to charge a monthly subscription fee for access to extra features such as apps.
Time to start looking for a 1970s Ford Cortina? No tax, no MOT, no Ulez issues, and no chance of some geek at the manufacturers switching features or the whole car off remotely. What’s not to like?
Worth reading in full.
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Welcome to Cuba without the good weather/food.
Wish I had a grey Cortina
Whiplash aerial, racing trim
Cortina owner no-one meaner
Wish that I could be like him
“Had a love affair with Nina in the back of my Cortina
A seasoned-up hyena could not have been more obscener
She took me to the cleaners and other misdemeanours …”
(h/t Ian Dury)
Good point- how could I forget one of the great English poets of the modern era.
You ask Joyce and Vicky
If candyfloss is sticky
You should never touch a candle
If you don’t know where it’s been
The jackpot is in the handle
Of a normal fruit machine
Used to drink with a group where one of the girls always ordered a rum and ribena, but here name was not Nina.
Great idea, Sallust.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202308221064332?sort=relevance&make=Ford&model=Cortina
Poor things. Won’t be able to ring up their beloved car and whisper sweet nothings into its receptor in the middle of the night.
Snigger.
“No tax, no MOT, no Ulez issues”
Really? Why?
Classic cars are exempt.
Wait – DS is linking to BBC articles?
I accidentally clicked the link, for gawd’s sake!
Have some sympathy, DS!
It’s a strange thing, smart meters use 2g connectivity because it is widespread and provides sufficient bandwidth for low data rate applications like these.
From what I know, UK 2g networks are not due for retirement until the mid-2030s.
I can’t see vehicle manufacturers updating their hardware as that would be a considerable effort to put it all through compliance testing for EMC etc.
yes, it is 3g which is going, and old phones like I have will still operate on 2g
Some UK networks have no 3g left now, EE turned off the last 3g sites a couple of weeks ago.
The last set of 3g sites provided about 2% of EE’s total data bandwidth, but used 35% of the total electrical power. There has been a lot of progress in improving the efficiency of the power amplifiers used in the base station radios, this was rolled out in the various 4g LTE systems but retrofitting it to 3g was not cost effective with that equipment approaching retirement.
Bit of a storm in a teacup this. The app only controls certain remote functions, nothing vital. No different to any other car rather than being specific to EV’s – albeit I get the point that ‘modern’ cars with over-reliance on cellular connectivity are essentially built with their redundancy built-in
Just a little worrying that the manufacturer can turn off your car if they want to!
Could this become a thing to control your journeys I wonder?
Of course this may be possible, and indeed it has been demonstrated by hacking into cars with permission.
Ultimately it’s going to come down to the public telling the technocrats where to get off, aided by a pair of large pliers if necessary.
Net Zero is the LAW——–Pretty soon your petrol or diesel car will be breaking the law. Yet when this tyranny came into law in 2019 no questions were ever asked and no vote ever took place. ———–YOU WHAT?—– How can this be?
My crystal ball predicts a class action against Nissan – [perhaps on the basis of unfair terms in consumer contracts?]