Banque Nationale du Canada - WTH?

[Baba Booey]

So I'm driving to the Wells Fargo Center in Philly and decide to use the Nav just in case there are any traffic warnings. I spent at least 10 minutes trying to get Entune's voice recognition to understand the words "Wells Fargo". I didn't know the street adress off the top of my head - other than it is on Broad Street, of course.

After finally recognizing "Wells Fargo", Entune did not recognize "Center", and so it listed every Wells Fargo bank in the greater Philadelphia area as a possible choice for my destination.

Realizing the error of my ways, I decided to ask for directions to "Lincoln Financial Field" in Philadelphia, PA where the NFL's Eagles play, which is next door to the Wells Fargo Center. I tried a conversational American annunciation, my best coal region accent, the Queen's English, my best Rainman impression, and finally Entune recognized my request.

It asked me which "Banque Nationale du Canada" I wanted directions to. WTF? No music playing, no HVAC fan on, no windows open. Just my daughter and me trying to get this stupid POS to understand a simple voice command. The worst part is that it acts like this all the time. To make matters worse, the option to manually enter an address into the NAV was grayed out and would not function, which happens more often than not.

Is this POS system completely useless or am I just unlucky?

FWIW, my phone's voice recognition program has no trouble understanding my commands 99.9% of the time.

 

[1engineer]

Stop. Enter address. Get to address. Simple.

 

[Baba Booey]

Stop. Enter address. Get to address. Simple.

Stop on the Schuylkill Expressway to mess with the POS nav system? No thanks.

How about providing technology that is equal to a 1st gen iPhone? Simple.

I paid for a Nav system with voice recognition technology. How about Toyota pays me a refund? Simple.

 

[08runnertjb]

Toyota does many things well. Navigation may not be their highpoint. My Google maps app on the S5 still out navs my entune. That said, I've never had a vehicle where factory nav didn't suck. That includes a loaded up 2014 powerwagon for which I traded to get my trail. No regrets.

 

[KidVermicious]

Do you want a Stifler? Because this is how you get a Stifler.

 

[Swacer]

If it makes you feel any better, the voice recognition in our Lexus NX and IS (both 2015s) work like crap as well.

 

[mgreen6616]

Navigation in my VW - Sucked so I used my iPhone that was mounted right next to it.

2016 4Runner - Tried the voice navigation with my family in the car...we all got a big laugh and I went straigt to Waze on my iPhone. I have used it that one time only and doubt I will use it for anything but a speed limit check again.

It sucks that it doesn't work right and it sucks that they nanny you and don't let you enter a destination while moving but in reality almost everyone used their phone now anyway and Google Maps and Waze are developing their apps for users that are two orders of magnitute larger in number than a car manufacturer so it only makes sense.

I knew all this when I got my 4Runner and just looked at Nav a part of the whole Entune package. I mean it wasn't really even an option.

 

[mnofpeace]

you tried all that...why not just speak clear 'Merrrikan'

always works for me...




but thats just because my regional Japanese is a little rusty...

 

[Angelo]

Do you want a Stifler? Because this is how you get a Stifler.

Thanks for the coffee out the nose.

 

[JayceeP]

Damn Quebecers....

 

[Midnight Anvil]

You said you were driving and the screen was grayed out. This is normal. Touch screen goes inactive over like 3mph. Its sounds like you thought this was a flaw, or error, with the system. Not being rude but did you not know that it was supposed to do that?

You could also spend the few minutes it takes and go through the "Voice Training" on the system to help it better adapt to your speech patterns. I don't remember where it is in the menu and but it should be there under settings. IIRC this actually makes a huge difference.

 

[Bourbonator]

I've driven across the country three times. I made frequent stops at random climbing crags. My Toyota nav never let me down, even on small logging roads in rural America. Don't know why you'd want to go somewhere without first knowing where you're going. If you have a general idea where you're headed, you can use the map - zoom in, recenter, zoom in, etc. Until you've found your destination visually.

Voice recognition is still hit or miss on the newest devices, no clue why you think you'd get better results from Toyota.

 

[Baba Booey]

I've driven across the country three times. I made frequent stops at random climbing crags. My Toyota nav never let me down, even on small logging roads in rural America. Don't know why you'd want to go somewhere without first knowing where you're going. If you have a general idea where you're headed, you can use the map - zoom in, recenter, zoom in, etc. Until you've found your destination visually.

Voice recognition is still hit or miss on the newest devices, no clue why you think you'd get better results from Toyota.

If you read my post, you will see in my first sentence that I specifically turned on the Nav in order to receive traffic updates. I knew exactly where I was going. I have been there many times, and I know several different routes to get there.

Voice recognition is still hit or miss? Really? Have you owned a smartphone designed within the last decade? Ever heard of Amazon's Echo? Even young children have no problem using the voice recognition technology on phones and other devices today.

The problem with using a phone for directions and traffic updates while driving is that it uses up your data. These programs generally do not use a lot of data, but it all adds up. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother with Toyota's decades-old tech.

This site never disappoints. Toyota craps the bed, and all the fan boys come out in their defense.

Congratulations?