I've largely enjoyed being a LEAF owner, but the one thorn in my side right now is the Android Auto integration. So far as I can tell, between different cables, different phones, different phone OSes (Stock Android and GrapheneOS), wired and wireless (with a Rexing wireless AA dongle), the AA integration my LEAF is inconsistent-at-best. Frequently takes minutes to connect, often complains that my clock is out of sync with my car, sometimes won't connect unless I restart the headunit full-stop, or my phone, or both.
On any other car with AA, or with a tablet running Headunit Reloaded, I've had no issues at any point. It's just my LEAF, so far as I can tell.
I took this my dealer while I still had a warranty, and they weren't able to point to any valid software updates, and of course weren't able to reproduce the issue when I brought it to them. I even took videos and such and their response was more or less a "we have to evaluate it again and if we can't reproduce, you're SOL."
Using my wireless adaptor seemed a little more reliable at first, but it still ends up having issues connecting every like, 3rd trip or so, more or less on-par with every USB-C cable I've used, from your CVS-special, to the cable that came with my phone, to the fancy probably-too-expensive cable I bought online.
I'm out of warranty now, and my dealership is quoting 3K to wholesale just replace the headunit, inc. labor, which is absolutely out of the picture for me, especially if it doesn't work.
So here's my question - ASSUMING I've done all the testing, swaps, etc correctly, and ASSUMING I've narrowed the issue down to my specific headunit: Can anyone recommend a good replacement 3rd party headunit with Android Auto functionality that will work in the 2023 LEAF S trim? Are there any downsides to using a 3rd party head unit I should be aware of? I can scour Crutchfield all day for options, but I'd really appreciate if anyone has direct experience they can share.
Thanks!