atomarchio

I am finding this voice activated dialing to be pain. When I have the heat or AC turned all the way up, it never gets the command right. I have to scream out the commands 3 or 4 times to get this to work.

Does anyone else have this problem? Is this problem fixed in the RL or from a car made by BMW, Lexus, Audi, etc.

I like the bluetooth feature but this is getting ridiculous. Please let me know. Thanks.

bluenoise

I've never needed to turn the ventilation all the way up, but I suspect yelling isn't going to help. I have found that the system is quite sensitive and yelling may just clip the inputs and make it harder for it to understand. For me, the key is speaking conversationally and not trying to emphasize any particular words, etc.

Does it work all right for you if the blower isn't on high?

atomarchio

yes, but I have to turn the blower off for it to work. is this a function of the phone (Blackberry 7100G) or the car? Are there any adjustments that can be made inside the car?

bluenoise

I think it's strictly a function of the car. It establishes what you want to do and then controls the phone via Bluetooth to dial the requested number. I don't know of any adjustments, but it might help to turn your head toward the microphone (near the mirror) and speak normally.

atomarchio

Yes, I can turn my head towards the mirror and it does work better. However, I can't keep my eyes on the road and talk into the speaker at the same time.

Unless I have a particularly bad car, I think it's bad design. What's the point of hands free if I can't look at the road. So much for safety.

Looking into an RL now but I won't buy it if I have to deal with the same problem.

I am shocked it's not talked about more in these forums. it leads me to believe that most of the TL owners are not using it. Or they don't have problems and it's just me....

bluenoise

I never have the problems you're describing and I use it for about an hour a day at any speed, including freeway with the moonroof open. I'm actually amazed that it works as well as it does. Granted, the moonroof being open makes the conversation more difficult for both ends, but the HFL understands my commands.

When I was saying "turn toward the mirror," I meant just turn you head a little to the side, but not so much you're no longer able to safely see the road.

atomarchio

Turning my head a little to the side is not enough. I must be the only one having this problem.

Well it must be my car then, or the phone. I had a sprint T608 then switched to Cingular for the 7100G and I have noticed the volume much lower with Cingular. Although the t608 sprint constantly dropped the bluetooth connnecttion.

pikabb

You might want to try re-entering the the names into the phonebook. If when you originally spoke them in there was any backround noise (or if you were speaking unnaturally) it might make it harder to recognize them now. You can say "Phonebook, Setup, List" and it will read the names back to you so you can hear how they sound.

datmrman

Theres a suggestion that the fan speed should not be more than 2, otherwise the HFL may have trouble understanding.

Turn down the fan when you need to use HFL?

I set my AC to auto and have no problems with HFL.

bluenoise

I can't think of a time I've ever run my climate control on something other than AUTO, except when I've turned off A/C because it was not needed. Maybe I'd have troubles, too, if I ran the fan on HIGH, but the AUTO has always worked great for me at keeping the car comfortable.

atomarchio

That's because you don't live in Ohio.

If you lived in Ohio where it gets quite cold, the minute you got in the car you would turn the heat on HI and then set to auto once it got comfortable.

bluenoise

Though it's not as cold as Ohio, it was 38 degrees out this morning when I headed off to work. Blasting the heater fan before the engine warms wouldn't do me much good anyway, so I use the seat warmer to get me going. Once the engine is providing heat, the AUTO mode kicks the fan in pretty hard and gets the cabin warmed up nicely. It never occurred to me that I could run the fan even harder if I wanted as it seemed quick enough. In any case, it may help your HFL work better if you switch to AUTO when you make your call.

atomarchio

I understand what you're saying but I have to turn the heat or AC completely off to get it to work right. I've had the car almost 2 years and have tried on lower setting but it still does not work.

your_mom

Take it back to the dealer and get it fixed under warranty. Mine works fine with the heat or AC on.

weedeater

13F here. Still I leave it on Auto since it will not run the fan until the coolant is warm enough to provide heat. Then it will run the fan speed up as high as it needs. I actually end up turning it down after a while.


Have the dealer check the mike.

I also think that this system would work better if the mike was closer to one's head, like over the door. With any noise at all, the auto-level control makes you sound like you're sinking down a well.

carguyrob

I used to have problems with the HFL and voice activated dialing. I then decided to make the names a little more distinct and it helped a bunch.

Example: Instead of having it respond to "Call Jeff", I now say "Call Jeff Jones Cellular".

I re-entered in all my names with first name, last name and destination (work, home, cellular). It makes the enteries much more destincitive and it responds more accurately.

Give it a shot!

your_mom

Got stuck in traffic on the way home tonight and had some time to kill. I found that with the fan on maximum, I usually have to repeat the name twice. Turning the fan down one setting below maximum, the HFL understood the name 80 percent of the time on the first try. Lowering the fan speed one more time, the HFL understood the name 90 percent of the time on the first try, which is pretty much normal for my system. If you have to turn the HVAC off completely for the HFL to understand you, I think there is definately an issue with the HFL. Or you mumble.

WooBah

I guess this is one area where BMW excels over the TL. The TL' s navigation is much better, but not the bluetooth. I was in a friends 2006 330i and his bluetooth worked flawlessly, all by voice control. The sound was great on both ends. After he dropped me off I had him call me, so I could hear how he sounded on his end in the car, he was loud and clear.

So, I take it, the TL's Bluetooth is having some problems?

Rick Burke

I'm cruising this forum today as I've finally gotten to the point where I may just buy a BT headset and forget about using this TL feature (BTW, I have an '04 TL). I'm 6'-2" and drive with my seat all the way back. I suspect that with the inherent road noise (and I just replaced the crappy Bridgestones which has helped) and the distance from my mouth to the microphone, I simply have to shout to be heard. I have difficulty with voice commands, voice dialing, and overall sound quality during phone conversations. I am pairing a Cingular Treo 650 with all the latest updates for the phone.

I might take my car back to the dealer to see what they say. Maybe it is a bad microphone.

atomarchio

I no longer have the 04 TL but an 06 RL now and the voice quality is much better. Damn, it was loud in that car!

Another part of my problem is the crappy Cingular service as I also changed my cell phone to 7130E from Verizon.