Dealing with a finicky car can be frustrating. For some, it’s a warning light that won’t turn off. For Christoffer Hellenes, it’s a toll assistant feature that refuses to stay quiet.
This persistent problem with his Nissan Leaf has left him questioning how something seemingly small can feel so big when left unresolved.
Hellenes’ Nissan Leaf has a flaw that makes every drive an annoyance. As he approaches a toll road, a loud female voice chimes in with, “Toll station ahead.”
It doesn’t matter that he’s already disabled the toll assistant feature. The alert interrupts his radio or podcast every time, according to Boosted.
A Programming Error
Attempts to fix the problem have been unsuccessful. Nissan’s dealership has tried resetting the function, updating the car’s software, and tweaking settings.
Nothing has worked. Hellenes even experimented with reactivating and deactivating the assistant before each trip. The issue always returns when the car is restarted.
“It’s likely a programming error,” said Bjørn Georg Sørensen, the manager at the Nissan dealership Mobile Jarlsberg.
He acknowledged that multiple repair efforts haven’t solved the issue, confirming that the bug shouldn’t exist.
This problem seems unique to Hellenes’ car. Nissan Norway’s communications manager, Stian Thrane, stated that the company hasn’t encountered this error in other Nissan Leafs.
“Something is clearly wrong with this vehicle. This shouldn’t happen,” he explained.
Nissan offered Hellenes NOK 10,000 (£800, CAD 1,350) as compensation for the inconvenience.
But he’s not happy with the proposal. “That is way too little,” he said. “Nissan tells me it’s a minor issue. But if it’s so minor, why can’t they fix it?”
