I would like to first say great web site & great info. I’m a new ’08 G35 Journey, Premium & Nav. System owner. I really like the car but was disappointed to learn the ’08 voice recognition system’s functionality was greatly reduced (downgraded), far less commands than ’07 model, or ’08 model with older system ver. My initial test drives were in an ’08 with the older (better) system, as well as when I did the final test drive (the car we bought), I asked specific questions and was told these commands required programming and would work once I complete the help, speaker adaptation function. I have since returned to the dealer for the “reconnect” (great feature/idea by Infiniti) and was now informed these commands were discontinued in ‘08. I guess the sales staff are being trained. For example, you can turn the climate control system on & off but can no longer set to a specific temperature. Similarly, you can turn the satellite radio on & off but can’t set to a specific station.

I did a search before I posted, I saw several posts but no answers. I’ve also logged a complaint with Infiniti consumer affairs. If they reply, I'll gladly post. Does anyone have info. as to Infiniti’s plans to fix this problem. I’ve done some other forum and blog research and I’m not the only 1 that dislikes this change. Any assistance or info. would be greatly appreciated.

 

yep im with you on that. I just got my survey from JD power in the mail and i wrote down that i am very unhappy with my navigation compared to the 07 because of the limited voice commands. You should be getting one from JD power as well so make sure you write that comment down about the navigation

 

Infiniti didn't notify anyone of the changes and were reflashing the systems at the port to the new dumb downed system. We had to call and find out what was up with it. They never changed the owners manual and there was supposed to be a 140 page insert which was never seen. It is just a software thing so if enough complain they may be able to reverse it.

We asked why and infiniti's claim why they did it was there were too many comments to JD's about the system being too dificult and I think they rushed to come up with a solution.

 

Very frustrating that Infiniti did this, but I guess the silver lining is that the commands still appear to be available on the hard drive (based on another's comments on what they heard from the Navi manufacturer) and that they simply need to be "unlocked" by some sort of reflash. Call Infiniti consumer affairs and lodge a complaint (I already did), then leave negative feedback in the JD Power survey when you receive it (I will). Like others said, the more people make a stink, the better the chance for a fix.

 

And didn't I see a post somewhere that said if we ever get an update to the hard drive navi system in our cars, that the update will automatically dumb down voice recognition to the dumb '08 standards? I have an early '08 with the full voice rec commands. Some I use alot, others not at all but at least I have the option either way. If navi upgrades take the vr away, it will really tick me off...

 

Hope they revert back to the full command list before I buy mine. I'm thinking of passing on the Nav if they don't. Sure do like that back-up camera though.

 

from infiniti


The 2007 Initial Quality Study (IQS) by J.D. Power and Associates flagged several areas of concern about the hands-free communication system. Some customers complained that their commands were not always recognized. Some also said that their phone system connections were lost or did not connect at all.

To investigate these problems, Infiniti dispatched engineers across the country to meet with sales consultants and customers. The engineers gathered feedback to understand the problems and to create remedies.

In some cases, they traced back problems to a lack of product knowledge. Some sales consultants had only a rudimentary understanding of the Voice Recognition system, so they were unable to comprehensively present it. Some customers acknowledged that they had little familiarity with the system while others were completely unaware at the time of purchase that their vehicle had Voice Recognition capabilities.

Although some customer issues resulted from a lack of education, other items required technical improvements. Based on the feedback, Infiniti has implemented the changes outlined here with the goal of improving results on the next IQS survey. Customers who buy during November, December, and January will determine next year’s IQS results, so make an effective VR presentation a part of all your deliveries


we need to do something about this

 

What are some of the commands that the 07' comes with oppossed to the 08' ?

 

There are two modes. The "dumbed down" default '08 mode and the "alternate command mode" which offers more commands like the '07 system as well as the ability to shut that b**ch up and keep her yammering to a minimum. You can switch to the alternate command mode by hitting the settings button and then scrolling down to voice recognition.

However, the alternate command mode still does not offer all of the functionality of the '07 system. As the OP said, using the AC mode, you can access things like climate control and radio functions but you can only turn them on and off, switch from radio to CD to iPod. You can no longer specify specific temperatures or specific radio stations. Weak...sauce. If anything they should have ADDED an option to increase or decrease fan speed. We're tech savvy people here man, tech savvy.

As for why these things weren't explained to you folks, all I can say is that your salespeople were ill informed although I can't say it's 100% their fault. The only reason I knew of the major changes is because I'm on the forums and hit up sites like Nissannews.com for updates every now and again. The "product knowledge training" provided at NNANET is pretty useless. With that being said though, it's still the responsibility of the salespeople to brush up on their product knowledge. I'm sure the majority of salespeople cheat on the "tests" and read over the minute year to year changes only to have it bite them in the *** when a customer goes "how come my '08...?" and the salesperson's only response is "that's not how it is on the '07."

 

Does everybody get the JD Power survey? If so, how long after my purchase should I expect to receive it?

 

Wow, sounds like Nissan (er, Infiniti) overreacted just a bit there. I think a better appraoch would have been to up the sales person training and not dummy down the system

I did send messages to Infiniti via the technical "contact us" part of the web site. That didn't get me anywhere, since all I got was a really badly worded response that I think simply pointed me to the dealership:

Dear XXXXXX,

Thank you for contacting Infiniti North America, Inc. and allowing us the opportunity to be of assistance.

In order to obtain information regarding which parts/issues are covered under your limited vehicle warranty, please contact your local Infiniti dealer and schedule an appointment, as the dealer is in the best position to diagnose the issue and advise what is, or is not covered under warranty.

In regards to your concern,I do recommend to contact a local Infiniti dealership in your area for more technical information.
Unfortunately, Infiniti Consumer Affairs does not present deappreciation values to costomers only dealers do. Prices vary from dealer to dealer.
Infiniti does not provide any particular information of repairs and maintainence.

If you have any further questions and/or comments, please feel free to contact Consumer Affairs at (1-800-647-7261).

Thank you for allowing me to be of assistance.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXX
Consumer Relations Representative
Nissan North America, Inc.

Since that didn't seem to get me anywhere, I will call the number and express my happiness with the car and dealership but my concern about the reduced command set.

Also, I just took a call from the "Infiniti Inner Circle". It was a short survey, seemingly to tes whether the dealer (salesperson) set up my first service visit for my 3 month/3,750 mile service visit. Sounds like Infiniti isreally pushing hard for these appointments.

Anyway, I used the call as an opportunity to express my concern about the reduced number of commands. The girl on the phone didn't seem surprised by my comments, said she would forward my comment to the dealership (I wonder if she really just rolled her eyes and filled in the answer about the 3 month/3750 service visit). I probably would have had more success getting a free logo coffee mug...

 

Yep. I sent an email and got the same "worthless" form letter. At least they responded, I also emailed the dealer and have yet to hear from them. Call 800.662.6200, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Eastern, Infiniti Consumer Affairs and log a complaint. The more people that complain maybe they will realize what a stupid move this was. The nice lady said she would investigate and get back to me by tomorrow (1/24), I'll post an update. My biggest issue is that I asked the salesman specifically about these features (I noticed some features didn't work on the car I was buying but worked in the '08 models that I test drove. The salesman said these features would work after I complete the help, speaker adaptation function, as well as the manual referenced these features. Disappointing!! I'm going to give Infiniti a chance to correct the wrong before I judge them but so far I'm disappointed.

 

I just got off the phone with consumer affairs and she started laughing as I mentioned it. There's been many reports about this so lets keep it coming. Hopefully they can work out all the glitches and give us an update.

The dealer I bought it from still demos the older system and the sales guy showed those features without letting me know that it was different. I only found out when I test drove the g35 at another dealer.

Denise

 

The Service Advisor that managed my steering column noise fix was surprised when I mentioned my disappointment with the redction in voice commands. He said I was the first to have complained and that he was aware of people with the 2007s that complained about the number of commands. Go figure...

 

I called to follow-up w/ Infiniti Consumer Affairs yesterday. The nice lady stated she only worked the west coast and implied there would be a recall to correct and that many, many people had complained. It wasn't just the G's but all Infiniti models. She stated someone from my country's region would call. I was feeling confident Infiniti would correct the problem. The lady responsible for my region called the next day and stated per her Regional Mgr. (assume East Coast) Infiniti would do nothing to correct this problem, compensate or other. I reminded her of the pages in the '08 manual that referenced these functions, as well as the salesman stated they would work, they only needed to be programmed via the voice learning process. She was not very nice and stated I had no further recourse with Infiniti and if had a problem contact the dealer. Wow this is disappointing!!