GymW

If you are occasionally forgetful, need to make an appointment, plans change etc., and attempt to use IVR (Interactive Voice Recognition) while driving, which it is intended for, not having it work properly can result in much frustration diverting attention from the road and leading to distracted driving much like texting does. Example: The other day I was driving to doctor appointment at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) clinic site. I was a bit late due to a phone call, and had neglected to enter the destination before I started driving and wanted to use Navigation to show me arrival time and traffic. So I activated IVR and asked it to find the site. Instead it gave me a list of South American and Latin restaurants. I attempted to do this several times, but each attempt resulted in a different list but never the right one. As such I got frustrated and distracted, almost running off the road onto the sidewalk. It never did work so I forgot about using it and 'winged' nit, Many times when dialing by name from my contact list it lists, unlabeled fax numbers, and leaves out some company entries from the list when I need to dial one. The examples could go on and on but I will stop here. Additionally I have yet to discover a list of available commands for the system, so unless I have repeatedly used a command or it is one of the few on-screen, I have to guess. At least half the time I am wrong. This leads to distraction, and...distraction. It does not recommand a very useful command - Detour. My old Garmin does. Their is no Medical catagory - only hospitals. However there is a category for dealerships which allows me to find all the Ford and Chevy dealers in the area. Go figure.

greg3852

I'm really not trying to be rude here, so please don't take it that way.

Lexus provides a product that does certain things. It works. It works for millions of other people. Is it perfect? No, neither is Siri and Apple has tons of money to get it perfect if it could.

So because you can't get it to do what you want it to do, YOU get distracted and almost drive off the road but that is Lexus' fault? That honestly doesnt make sense. You chose to drive while trying to use the voice system. You spoke to it. You got distracted and almost drove onto the sidewalk.

PULL OVER BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEONE ESPECIALLY A MOTORCYCLIST.

I'm sorry but I don't need to die because you cant figure out how to enter a destination on your navigation. Grab your manual and look it up. If it's not in there, I'm sure the people in the RX forum can help, but in no way shape or form is your inability to use a feature of the car a NHTSB issue or a Lexus issue. Honestly I'm kind of shocked by this.

Without knowing you, could it be an accent issue? Do you speak clearly or have any speech impediments? Again, I don't mean to come off harsh, but it is astonishing to me that you would report something like this when it is your extremely dangerous distracted driving causing the problem. Pull over and use the system. If you are late then that is also your fault not Lexus.

SW17LS

The voice recognition sucks. It sucks in all cars. Literally, all of them. I've ridden in cars of all makes with people who have struggled to use the voice recognition. Google it, it's so common there are a ton of funny memes and videos on you tube, etc.

It's not a safety issue. What did we ever do before we had voice recognition? It's not a required feature and your complaint to the NHTSA is a waste of time. Simply pretend your car doesn't have voice recognition. That's what I've done with all of my cars I've owned with voice recognition from a variety of makes. The feature on all of them was worthless.

Plus, you have a 2015 Lexus. You have Lexus Enform. Simply reactivate the subscription to that and use the destination assist to enter destinations when driving. That works great since there's a live operator on the other end of the line.

I have had 4 Lexus vehicles with voice recognition and 4 vehicles from other brands with it. Sucked on them all, but it's absurd to me that functionality of the voice recognition system could in any way shape or form cause an accident. If you are so angry at the system that you would loose control of your vehicle you shouldn't be on the road until you have your anger in check.

Dr. Jekyll

iTrader: (1)

You're not being rude, just being honest. Safe and attentive driving is solely the operators responsibility. In no way shape or form is Lexus or the NHTSA in charge of your vehicle when you are behind the wheel. Like the saying goes these features are "nice to have not have to have".

GymW

This will be my last comment on this subject as it seems to have taken on a life of its own and in my opinion is deviating off the subject when my point was to in a sarcastic way, to point out the shortcomings of Lexus IVR. First of all,

I'm of the opinion that if a company cannot design a product to work properly, it should not be release much less marketed as a feature. Next, why have IVR if it is not for the purpose of using when driving? Next, my 2 years older Garmin Nuvi, priced at less than $300 exhibited superior features, and much more accurate IVR than the Lexus that I paid significantly more for. All the above in this paragraph are facts, not suppositions. Next, it is true that it is not Lexus. fault that I got distracted. But it is Lexus' fault that released a product that by the way it 'works' triggers that distraction; just like a mobile phone does not cause distraction, but does interact with in a way that can trigger distraction. That is why it is against the law to use them hands on in Ca. How ever that does not stop 13% of them from doing it.

To Dr. Jekyll: While I only am speaking for the area I live in, and what I observe, why are so many motorcyclist so hell bent on killing themselves? Where I live a significant number of them, conceivably a majority of them, run stop signs, wear minimalist safety equipment, speed, do not stop at red lights or stop signs when making right turns, weave in and out of traffic, do wheelies, avoid intersections with lights, by using gas stations as detours, 'dive bomb' exit and on ramps, speed around cars waiting for pedestrians, wear dual ear headsets, etc. Around here is is like many of them are participating in the Darwin Award Challenge. Frankly I'm in favor of those participating in this Challenge, win it but not at the expense of the injury or death of other drivers!

And no I do not have a foreign accent (everyone has an accent whether they realize it or not), or a speech impediment.

Additionally if you have read my initial comment on this, it could be titled: '" If the Lexus IVR system is not working for you and causing distracted driving, disable the damm thing. The core issue with this is that I really want it to work properly and keep trying and hoping it will get to that point sometime. That leads to frustration, not anger. Lexus Enform is active, but using it is time consuming and requires 'hands off wheel' intervention.

Bottom Line: I expect better performance from Lexus. After all; they go to great lengths to market it,

*EOL*

SW17LS

Bottom line is voice recognition technology is nowhere near what it has to be in order for it to be a meaningful feature in a vehicle. If you're disappointed in Lexus, you need to be disappointed with every carmaker because nobody has it any different.

As for Lexus enform, what is difficult? You hit the destination assist button, you're connected with an operator. You tell them where you want to go, they download it to your nav screen. If you think it's difficult you're not using the right feature.

If you want to stop complaining and start putting some effort into learning how these features work you'll be more satisfied.