Make sure all windows are closed when you ask the car something. Any small bit if background noise will distort your voice to the mic.
I find the voice recognition to be a joke. I've tried to use the training function and that doesn't work properly either. One thing that does work well and with consistency is moving the temp up or down by simply saying "70 degrees" or whatever temp I want. The technology is certainly there. I have a Motorola V710 and am continously impressed by its' voice recognition capabilities. It understands just about all my commands and never needed to be "trained."
Not only do I have a terrible time with the voice commands, I have a horrible time with the entire navigation system. If I program an address in another city and get on the Interstate, the navigation system wants me to exit at every exit along the way. So if there are 50 exits between the cities I'm traveling to, it will ask me to exit 50 times! I am fairly comfortable with computers, I use them all the time, but this is the one instance where I'm just not getting it. The system may have some problems, but I tend to think the real problem is with me. Alan
Don't get me wrong. I like my Prius and I am selling MDX. I think Toyota is far behind the nav and voice technology compare to Honda/Acura. I have far better success with my wife's Acura. I think the reason is that each nav screen only allows certain voice commands. So Acura system only has to guess from a few commands. On the other hand, Toytoa accepts far too many commands so you must say it exact. System has too many to guess. I find my self using the voice command more often in my Acura then in Prius. Actually zero for Prius. If Toyota is reading this, please copy Honda's nav system. It's way way better.
I'm glad you brought this up. On our trip earlier this month - I told Dora "I Have to Pee" She promptly responded with "Showing Coffee Houses" How did she know coffee is a diuretic? She's such a smart girl!
I found a very good list of Prius voice commands, along with Alernate Voice Commands with the same function, at http://www.vfaq.net/docs/Prius_NAV_Voice_Commands.html. I have found using this list that some of the alternate commands work better, while with others the primary command works. Just gives you more options! Mike Tideland Pearl
:iagree I asked to suspend guidance and got Chinese restaurants... tried again and got the temp changed... sometimes I think the lady is preoccupied or something... I really try speaking in the same tine... but after the third or fourth wrong response to my request I get testy.. Bob Andersen
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alcor\";p=\"107761)</div> By chance, do you have "avoid freeways" enabled? Regards, Kevin in Oh-hi-o <><< http://KevinArnold.US/
I find that I get a higher success percentage with the AC either off or set to a very low fan setting. I suspect that the voice recognition is easily susceptible to the audio muddling of the AC system. I also find that it help to speak with authority, a clear but commanding voice, delivered at natural speed. Don't try to over annunciate. And, as said before some phases have better success rates than others.
Prius suffers from a gender conflict; the voice is female but the “ears†male (or could be “the mother in law from hellâ€).