I've had my RL for almost a year now, and all along I've thought the Nav couldn't take street numbers by VR. After all, when you get to that point in setting a destination, the screen shows the numbers as if you have to use the controller knob.

Now, I never could figure out why it couldn't do numbers by voice to complete an address, when it takes numbers for other reasons.

Turns out I'm watching the DVD that came with my new MDX, and in the Nav section it says you can speak the numbers. Damn if you can't! I ran right out and tried it in both the MDX and the RL, and sure enough it works. No more "knobbing" the numbers!

Old dog, new tricks.

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I've been doing that form the beginning. Set a complete destination without ever touching the knob.

 

Yep, GoHawks is correct. You can say the street name as well. The trick is to NOT say the ending (Drive, Road, Avenue). Just say the main part. The system comes up with a list of matches. It almost always has my street right on the top. Sometimes it's #2. Then just say "1", etc. to select the street.

 

Is the order State, City, Street, Number. For city, Houston (home) always comes up as default choice. How do you choose this without usinf select knob? I do say Houston but nothing ever happens when I say it.

 

This is what I do to set an address "hands free";

- Say "Menu"
- System responds "How would you like to set your destination"
- Say "Address"
- System displays a screen and asks how you want to set teh destination
- Say "City". (I have worse luck if I try and go right to the street name)
- System displays a screen that shows your home city and a box titled"Say City Name"
- Say the city name
- System responds with a list of cities that it thinks match what you just said.
- Say the number coorespnding to the city name on the list (1, 2, etc.)
- System then asks you to say the street name
- Say the street name and pick the right one just like you did with City
- System asks for the street number and displays the scroll wheel pick list
- Say the number one digit at a time rather then using the wheel

 

Say "Selecty Current City" If you say "Houston" it will take you to a subordinate screen with choices of cities similar to and including Houston. Just an extra step.

 

It's worth pointing out that some nav systems (like the one in Infiniti vehicles) require you to say the EXACT street name, including any prefixes or suffixes. For example, you can't say "Main" (like in the RL) and get a choice of Main Street, South Main, Main N.E., etc. Instead, the system will simply say invalid address. You must know the exact name and say all of it or you get zilch.

That drove me crazy with my former Infiniti M45, and I notice the new '07 G35 is the same way. Problem is, many people don't give you the whole street name ("it's at 3300 Elm"), and even the phone book often shortens names, as do ads in papers and magazines.

Hooray for Acura for giving us that shortcut and making life easier!

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Geez - here I go again!

I just found out on the MDX forum that our Nav can call out street names of upcoming turns. All this past year, I've accepted that the RL's Nav couldn't say the street NAME, but just say, "Take next left turn", or whatever.

Now I learn if you set the Guidance level to "Maximum", the Nav lady says "Turn left on Elm Street". Wow. There's text-to-speech in there and I didn't even know it.

Those snooty Infiniti guys who think their Nav is so awesome are just soooooo wrong.

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Wow, I did not know that.

 

Mine must have been set to "MAX" from the beginning because it always said street names. Doesnt always pronounce them correctly but it tries real hard

By the way Mike, how's the MDX working out for you? I'm still on the fence whether I'm ready to move away from mini-vans yet. Took a look at the top end 07 Ody this weekend (Touring Edition). Very nice compared to the 02 Ody I used to have. Has everything you'd find in the MDX except shawd and BlueTooth. It even had some things I didn't expect like Active Noise Cancelation, auto dimming mirrors, INTEGRATED front and rear bumper sensors, electric tail gate, , etc. All for MSRP $39k. Plus they have a lease special going which brings the payment probably into the low $500's. Draw backs; you don't look as cool in a minivan, much less power, slightly inferior suspension, braking, etc.

 

I'm enjoying the 'X so far ... I've got maybe 2,500 miles on it, and it's a nice ride. Never had a minivan before, and the only other "SUV" I've had was a Lexus RX300 a few years back.

The MDX continues to please me with a really nice interior, comfy seats, a good ride and lots of the goodies I've come to rely on after owning the RL ... great BT, the world's best Nav, NavTraffic, and little things, like the fact you don't have to turn the cruise control on everytime you start the car like with most others.

If it had the RL's keyless system it wold be almost perfect.

If you are going to be toting kids in the third row, you'll find getting back there isn't as easy as in some SUV's ... the rear passenger-side seat does spring forward, but it doesn't dump forward like some do, so there's a relatively narrow space left to get through to get to the back. Okay for kids, but harder for big people. But the third row is best left to kids anyway.

Overall, I really like the MDX.

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agreed. If it had keyless start it would be a much easier decision. I've test driven one and I agree, they ride great.

 

I keep finding out new things about the nav as well. My favorites are find the nearest fast food restaurant, or whatever. And I didn't know about the speech recognition on the street and address names until a couple of months ago, (6 months after owning the car). I'm sure I'll discover some new features as time goes on.