Nissan North America has announced its second voluntary service campaign for the all-electric Leaf since it went on sale in December 2010. 

Offered for free to all existing owners of the 11,000 Nissan Leafs that have been sold in the U.S. and Canada so far, the software update is designed to improve the functionality of the plug-in hatchback. 

According to Nissan North America Technology and Motorsports Communications Manager Steve Yaeger, the software update, while not mandatory, is recommended. 

“It’s something we strongly encourage everyone to do -- the upgrades are quite useful and improve the ownership experience,” he said. 

2011 Nissan Leaf Software Update

2011 Nissan Leaf Software Update

According to Yaeger, the software update will improve the accuracy of the Leaf’s on-board range indicator, as well as well as improve the connectivity between the car and Nissan’s Carwings telematics service. 

It will also add an additional safety feature designed to sound if the driver’s door is opened while the vehicle is not in Park. 

The software update will also improve time-to-full charging estimates, allowing Leaf owners to better gauge how long it will take their cars to reach a full charge using the Carwings smartphone applications and Carwings Internet portal. 

Existing Leaf owners should hear from either Nissan or their local dealer in the coming few weeks about the update, which can be carried out at official Nissan dealerships without charge to the customer. 

Nissan hasn’t detailed how long the update will take on individual cars, but based on previous experience we’d expect the speed of the update to vary from dealer to dealer and car to car. 

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