Check out townhall talk on edmunds, lots of 2008 owners are getting pissed about Infiniti deleting voice commands from Navi on the 2008 G, without notice...the website says it has this feature, but I guess not, anymore. Glad I got the 2007.

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Classification: EL07-039
Reference: ITB07-042
Date: November 9, 2007

2008 G35, G37, QX56; INFINITI VOICE RECOGNITION SYSTEM UPDATE

APPLIED VEHICLES:
2008 G35 Sedan (V36) with Navigation System
2008 G37 Coupe (CV36) with Navigation System
2008 QX56 (JA60) with Navigation System

SERVICE INFORMATION

The Applied Vehicles listed above had a running change to the Infiniti Voice Recognition System.

The newer system has a simplified "Standard Mode" (which is the default mode) and an "Alternate Command Mode" for the more advanced user.

Many of the same features of the early system are available on the newer system, although some commands related to the following functions are deleted from the newer system.

System Commands related to the following are deleted in the newer system:
Navigation Specific POI names
Specific map zoom (scale values)
Phone Numbers spoken as groupings (i.e. 17 stated as "seventeen")
Audio Direct satellite radio stations
Radio presets
Direct tuning frequencies
Direct CD track numbers
Climate Control Direct temperature settings (60 – 90 degrees)

Any vehicle built after the following VINs and Dates has the newer system:

Model: G35 Sedan 2WD
VIN: JNKBV61E(*)8M 201809
Date: August 30, 2007

Model: G35 Sedan AWD
VIN: JNKBV61F(*)8M 251895
Date: August 30, 2007

Model: G37 Coupe
VIN: JNKCV64E(*)8M 106576
Date: August 30, 2007

Model: QX56
VIN: 5N3AA08(**)8N 904804
Date: September 28, 2007

 

yup we're getting a lot of bad feedback (especially from me) about their doings.... but hey I still got a job to do.

there is stil voice recognition -- you just can't say as much stuff as teh 2007's.

 

Right, to be fair, there are still some voice commands, but they eliminated a LOT of useful features, POI, temperature adjust, etc....

That is really stupid.....was there some problem with the commands? Mine work fine, can't understand why they would screw all the 08 owners over....

 

There has to be some sort of patch/update that Infiniti can release to resolve this issue, no? I'm guessing it should be a relative cheap fix given that the program already is in place for the 07's. Can any of the dealer reps on this forum help out with this? Who do we call at Inifiniti corporate to pursue this further?

The car rocks otherwise!

 

it affects vins earlier than stated...my vin is 201379 and I have the NEW commands

 

Seems like they took out all the most useful commands. Im sure if people complain enough they will give them back.

 

For what it's worth, I called Infiniti consumer affairs and formally lodged a "complaint" regarding the deletion of voice commands. The service rep she stated that she was not aware of any updates or patches (no surprise there) that would add back the missing commands and that this was the first time she had heard about this issue. She will forward the complaint/file on to Inifiniti's engineering/mechanical department for their review. It's unclear if I will get a response from them, but the rep indicated that the more people who call and complain, the better the chance that Infiniti does something to resolve the issue. I encourage all other 08 owners who have an interest in having the missing voice commands returned to call and lodge similar complaints (800-662-6200).

By the way, the rep also mentioned that writing a letter might be helpful, although it would likely be reviewed by the same people. But it would be interesting if we could get some sort of digital petition going.

Again, if any of the dealer reps on these boards can help out it would be much appreciated! My calls to local service departments regarding this issue have not been returned.

 

my 2008 g35x was built in August and has the additional voice options - so there was a short period when the 2008 had the commands. odd.

 

I'm confused... isn't the ALTERNATE mode, identical to the `07s???

 

no....

the new version starts w/ her saying "would you like to activate navigation, audio, climate, or help?" or somethi9ng like taht. i got pissed off and made her shut up w/ the alternative mode. either way Infiniti knows people are unhappy and I hope they'll fix this issue. Infiniti was way beyond the system compared w/ acura and lexus---- not we're just like everyone else's voice control -- not much use of it

 

From what I've read, it was because Infiniti was getting points off of the JD Power surveys from new owners due to the car being "too complicated."

I've asked about putting the 07 program into the 08 (https://g35driver.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189886), but didn't get much response on it.

Hopefully a dealer rep can comment. I was thinking of hitting up Jason as he seems to be a knowledgeable guy who's good at tinkering.

 

Could it be that Infiniti changed suppliers? An 08 that I was checking out at a recent auto show seemed to have a much faster response to voice commands -- noticably faster than my 07.

 

The voice commands were reduced from thousands to about 50.

Makes it MUCH better at recognising commands, especially with voice adaptation on. Also, for the less technologically adept (aka folks that dont like computers, people who dont use technology every day, etc), the new system is much easier to use because it tells you what to do.

All of the FUNCTIONALITY is still there, just disabled, or accessed differently.


However, the grapevine tells me that the old commands will be making a return, making the navigation less user friendly, but much more powerful.


For the record, I prefer the 07 nav system myself.

 

why they do this

 

I was reading my Owners manual and it seems the voice recognition wasn't changed for Canadian models. I looks like only down here in the states. I hope something comes out to change this back. There are somethings that you cannot access at all. You can say climate control but it just turns on, you can't adjust the temperature nor can you tune to radio stations only turn on the radio.