Is anyone having trouble with this?

When I pull the voice switch, the computer says "Say a Command" I say navigation mode, it doesn't know what I am talking about. When I say Climate Control, it doesn't know what I am talking about. I said Point of Interest the other day and it told me about a French Restaurant. I asked the service manager and he said it has to learn my voice. I thought that was just to brush me off.

The only thing the voice seems to recognize is when I say Phone. Then I say phone by name and then the name. That seems to work great. I noticed that the nav knows my voice for the phone by name feature since you need to input the name using your voice when setting up the phonebook.

I also had trouble finding a Wal-Mart in New Jersey. I know it is there but the navigation could not find it. Only when I started using the "Show me a List" feature did I start to get anywhere.

I would like to use the voice recognition part.

Am I doing something wrong? Can anyone suggest something?

 

Voice Command is kinda iffy, I think that you might want to try some of the alternate commands.

For instance I tend to say 'POI on' and 'POI off' instead of 'Point of Interest,' the recognition seems to work better that way.

Also for climate, I would say '70 degrees' instead of some other command. My experience with my Tablet PC voice command over the years has shown that it recognizes numbers and short syllables far better than longer phrases.

Also if it bugs you, supposedly the 'say a command' prompt can be turned off but that's fine with me.

 

By far the only worthless and extremely weak electronic gadget in the lexus is the voice recognition. The nav is awesome though.
I would think they have it down by now since the 5th gen voice recognition is aweful.

I don't use it that much anyways...it's much faster pushing the buttons.
It is nice when you're holding a hamburger in one hand, a drink in the other and steering with your knees that the voice recognition is a MUST j/k

BMW's voice recognition is much better.

But like enigma said, you have to say it a little slower with the proper commands. I believe the list of commands are in the manual??? It has nothing to do with learning of your voice.

 

Really ?? Anyone know how ???

 

In the ES 350 Gen V system, to eliminate it go to the Setup menu, apparently you can change it to just a beep instead of the "After the tone, please say a command." I'm guessing the LS 460 works the same in that regard.

 

Yes it can be turned off in the LS460 also. Its in the user menus so you don't need to go the the dealer service to have this done. I don't recall the specific menu to start with but it may be in the NAV owner's manual or just look through the menus. If you don't find it easily then your salesperson may be able to do it for you.

 

The key to a successful voice recognition is speaking normally - not yelling, not getting too close to the microphone, etc. and don't speak artificially or like a computer. Speak conversational. There is no learning by the unit involved whatsoever. If you say "I'm hungry" (A valid, but undocumented command) in a casual manner, restaurant icons will appear and the system will respond "Showing nearest restaurant icons".

 

To turn off the voice prompt, press the menu button next to the Nav screen then "Setup" then set "Voice recognition guidance" to the off position.

I use the voice recognition for selecting an Audio source (avoids having to cycle through the various Sat inputs) and dialing phone numbers. I have found it to be quick and accurate.

 

You probably are not using ANY valid command. They are in your quick guide. "Navigation Mode", " Climate Control", Point of Interest" are invalid commands. Your're not even close to speaking the language it uses. I would highly recommend you read the manual and the quick guide throughly until you understand how to use the voice recognition.

 

I only had 2 gripes about my '03 LS430, and one of them was the Voice recognition system.

Even using the correct commands, it rarely understood what I was saying.

A 2006 BMW, on the other hand, understands me almost all the time. And not just on pre-programmed words, but also on words that I create when I name a navigation point. As a software developer, I'm impressed.

This is a software issue, and Lexus really needs to address this. I'm sorry that they apparently didn't fix this in the LS460. Maybe by 2008 when I get my LS600hL......

On the OTHER hand, the Lexus control system is so excellent that you don't really HAVE to use the voice control system much. In the BMW, the iDrive is so awful (Not difficult, as some find, just very slow and diverting from attention to the road), that I end up using voice much more often.

The touch screen is a joy to use, with instant response and a clear logical layout.

One thing I use frequently on the Lexus, which is impossible with the BMW, is the "Mark" touch button. Very handy when I drop my wife somewhere and need to be able to find my way back an hour later. On the BMW, it's several un-clear screens away, and by the time you've found it, you've often moved away from the exact location.

HBH

Btw, the other gripe was the hesitation in the downshift. Surly this can't be an issue with the CVT on the LS600hL.

 

With an *8* speed auto the LS460 still hesitates?

 

Good question, I've read here that it does.

On my '03 LS430, it was most noticeable when accelerating from around 15-30 mph under about 3/4 acceleration.

Often, there would be no throttle response for up to a second. On several occasions, I had to abort "Merge with traffic" attempts because of this.

I don't know for sure if this is still an issue on the LS460.

HBH

 

I haven't noticed anything like that. Although if I decide to pass someone I usually mash the pedal to the floor. And it kicks down a couple of gears and throws me back in the seat with it's response. I hardly use 3/4 throttle.

 

^^^
Hehe I do that sometimes

 

You can also push the voice button and then say HELP or push the HELP button on screen. This will give you a fairly detailed listing of the most common valid voice commands and with which system it will work.