EV System Malfunction Error

[paulm]

I've been having an issue with my car, since new, that sometimes after charging (on average I would say one in seven times, but there is no real pattern to it) the following error message appears:

It has been back to the dealer a few times, most recently for a week, and they say that the Nissan taskforce for Ariyas cannot find anything wrong. After the last visit, Nissan said that it was most likely related to my charger, which is a Rolec model, but as I was leaving the dealer I unplugged it from their charger and the same error message came up, so clearly that is not the case.

I've also noted that when I charge the car overnight it is sometimes the case that the car disconnects from the charger and then immediately reconnects - some nights it has disconnected and reconnected six times in a four hour period. However, there is no obvious link between the error message appearing and nights when the car disconnects multiple times. Here is an example from the NissanConnect App:

I wondered if anybody else had either seen this error message or has the disconnection issue occurring regularly when charging?

Neither of these actually causes any issue, my car charges just as much on nights that either of them happen as nights that neither do, so I am not too worried about it at the moment, but obviously the error message should not be coming up regularly and it eventually needs fixing. The dealer, who I have used previously, has been great, but they are very much in the hands of Nissan with Ariya issues.

[Envolt]

Like most Ariya faults. It is random and if its a technical computer related issue then unlikely the dealer will be able to fix it.
Dealers can only replace parts essentially and Nissan HQ as been very poor at providing or investigating fixes for anyone that has odd issues.
Did the dealer download the cars fault log (usually they say they do but they don't) and if so can they send a copy (probably no because they didn't) ? Dealer should have connected an OBD cable to a laptop for this to happen. Or you could try a cheap wifi OBD reader to see if anything shows up? (see other posts about this - if lost just say)
We did have this happen quite a few times (totally random and weeks apart) but even worse is when we used Pod Point charge points not only did it do this almost every time but the alarm went off constantly and it took hours to get a few kw worth of charging.
But lets see if we can figure it out as it may be a different issue.
This is a long shot because it shouldn't be the case however I just want to make sure this is unrelated as it something that has made me wonder.
Does your car do that lock/unlock/repeat clicking sound when standing near it with a key in your pocket?
When the car is charging - is the key inside the house but still within 1 to 7 meters of the car even if through a house wall?
Is it happening when its raining or the car is wet? As this can trigger the door lock and unlock on the door handle sensor causing charger to disconnect and reconnect.
Maybe there is a fault with the home charger itself and in addition the car has an issue thats separate. So if the home charger has an issue where its got a bad connection or software fault then this disconnection issue then flags up in the car (keep reading..). But then the car has a separate issue when it gets a charger disconnect from any charger and randomly throws an error. So it could be a double tricky one to resolve as primary fault is the car causing the error but the home charger is causing the disconnects assuming its not the cars lock/unlock system causing faults. Tricky..
Thats my thoughts for now - maybe someone else has some ideas.

[paulm]

Hi Envolt, thanks for your suggestions. I agree that it could be two interlinked issues. When I spoke to the dealer, they basically said that with this type of issue there was nothing that they could do except plug the car in and get Nissan to analyse it. As I said in my original post, they have been good with other vehicles I have had in the past, but this time it is out of their hands. They did say that they had downloaded the log and it had shown one fault code. It does surprise me that a "hi-tech" car doesn't keep more detailed logs when faults are generated. I would have thought that it would have logged which hardware component was involved in more detail and also which software subsystem generated the error message.

When I was leaving the dealer, I was convinced by what I had been told that it was the Rolec charger that was the issue, so it was helpful that when I disconnected it from their charger the same message appeared which suggests this was not the case - I'm just glad that I didn't take the suggestion of buying myself an alternative make of charge point. I did contact Rolec and they said that they can't see an issue with the charger, it is maintaining its connection to the mobile phone network and they can't see that it is cutting the supply to the car, they think the car is stopping itself charging. They suggested I take the charger out of its smart mode to see if that made any difference, but it hasn't.

I don't think it is key related, as I keep the keys in a Faraday box, which I tested last night based on your post and it does seem to work. Rain could potentially be involved, I will have to wait a few days until we get a dry night to see if that makes and difference.

For now, I have left it with Nissan to think about as it isn't causing any issue with the use of the car, so I'm not expecting any quick response. It could well just be a software issue, but if that is the case I would expect more people to be encountering it.

[Envolt]

Everyone thinks the dealers have this advanced 22nd century system that logs into this all new technology car and can show amazing stuff.
I have seen how it works and what it can show you. Its literally so basic and does very little. Its like they made this car in the 1990s in so many ways.
I am going to attach an image of the log using of this expensive Nissan dealer only equipment to show you all they can see and how it really doesn't help much which is why they typically won't show anyone when they ask. Leaving them to keep thinking they have magic software.

[paulm]

That is basic, I had assumed there would be more - not just a fault log, but a more general log of what the car had done. As you say, it looks like a log from the 1990s. I've used an OBD reader before so will have a look on the forum for threads about that and buy a new one and see what it reports to me.

[karltk1]

I used to get more comprehensive fault logs remotely from BMW through the on line site through freedom of information request. I just didn't understand half of the codes. Enough to workout any problems though. Compared to this car, it's far more advanced. Like you say it's stuck in the 90s. Lol. Mad for such a complex animal.

[Envolt]

When I had my BMW (a lot of them) - I used to have all the advanced readers for the laptop diagnostics and also got data dumps from BMW themselves that gave extensive diagnostic well above anything on this 90's Ariya. Even consumer units like CARLY show tons of data for a BMW compared to this.
I once took a CARLY diagnostic to go buy a second hand BMW for someone else and basically it told me the engine was toast and the dealer had cleared the fault codes earlier that day but CARLY saved the day.
BMW has quite detailed logs, extensive fault codes and offered tons of 'options'. Plus this was years ago.

[paulm]

Just a quick update to let you know I haven't got any further with this. The only new thing is that the error came up once when the car was left overnight but not plugged in to charge, after being driven the previous day, so maybe it is not actually related to charging.

[ashleycarr]

Can I ask what OBD "reader" you use and how you configure it to make sense to you driving an Ariya?

[jantonio1968]

Have had the same issue- EV System Malfunction Error come up on my new Ariya since taking delivery at the end of Jan 2024!
My car has been at Nissan dealership since but despite having supplied 3 videos on separate occasions of the warning coming up Nissan dealership can't replicate it.
Warning comes up and then disappears and leaves no error codes for Diagnostics to pick up.
Since taking delivery on the 31st Jan 2024 I have had the car a total of 2 weeks in my possession !! Its come to the point now that I have rejected my car and am waiting on Nissan to decide on either replace it or refund me the purchase price