HELP ME!!!

I just got my TLX with all the bells and whistles. Great car so far EXCEPT

1 - when making phone calls, the dial pad disappears. How am I supposed to check my voice mail or make any dial pad entries (e.g., dial 1 for service, 2 for customer support)?

2 - What the hell were they thinking that I am unable to add destinations to my navigation unless I stop the vehicle?

My salesperson claims it is for safety reasons... but letting me drive at 180kph is fine. Come on Acura... you are not my nanny. Let me decide for myself how I will use the technology.

Any Advice? Please do not say use the voice commands as the voice is useless.

I have been looking for the service hack to no avail.

 

You can enter a destination using voice commands while the car is moving.

 

The voice is a joke. Does not understand my commands, misses street names. Abysmal... and this is from someone who uses voice recognition software everyday to dictate medical reports...

 

I think you're asking way too much of your ~$35k car.

cars hardware is not on the same technical cycle as the tech hardware you use on a daily basis.

 

All I am asking for is a way to listen to my voice mail while driving or to enter an extension number when I make a phone call. I do not understand how Acura expects one to use a bluetooth phone connection but then gave to actually use the phone to enter an extension. I can not be the only person to have this issue???

 

Agree on all your frustrations regarding the "nanny cars" these days Dave.

I owned a 2007 TL and it was great to be able to input addresses without stopping or using voice.

Later I upgraded to the 2013 RDX where the nav's voice recognition was abysmal and I couldn't input anything without stopping. Hated it. Painful to put in numbers with that rotary dial.

2 days ago upgraded to a 2016 RDX, nav voice recognition works a heck of a lot better...not quite your phone's level though.

As to your 2nd point about entering extensions and voicemail codes after dialing a number...there should be a button somewhere that appears once the call is placed and connected where you can send touch tones. I have an RDX so can't tell you on the TLX, I can only assume it is very similar.

 

Do you have a heavy accent or impediment? I have a 2015, and while the voice commands aren't perfect, I find that the basic commands work pretty well.

I especially LOVE the ability to set a destination for the navigation by saying the entire address in one command. I had a Lexus before that required me to press the button and input each item (state, city, street, house number) separately, and even some current vehicle models still use that system.

 

FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS. Sorry to say it, but its for safety and just how shit it.

It soon to be federal law to not allow many things while driving

And voice command SUCKS. It works less than 10% of the time for me (not an exaggeration). I dont use it. Period.

 

That sounds like you have a defective telematics unit or something else wrong. Either that or perhaps you have a bad accent?

While the voice commands aren't perfect, they work for me most the time, and certainly a hell of lot more than 10% of the time. I input addresses by voice almost every day, and that works for me 95% of the time by saying the entire address in one command.

 

same issue here...
My 16 ILX premium had a Operation Restriction funtion I was able to turn off in the diagnostic menu allowing me to read text messages and enter navi address while on drive mode.
I was somewhat disappointed when I wasn't able to replicate the same hack on the 16 TLX.

I dont like voice command period. Not even on my phone. Wouldn't use voice command even if it works great. I'm more a "button guy" I like to get where I want to go by the touch of a button.
My only way around this is to store address to short cuts or the address book. TLX allows to search the short cuts and address book while in drive mode. If I go to a new place and I like the place, I store the address just incase I will want to re-visit. Now if you're entering a new address you need to use voice command or pull over. Me, I rather pull over unless I'm on a highway.

 

Ditto. The inability to manually enter tones for conference calls, voice mail, extensions, etc. bugs me too. My '14 Prius was similarly restricted. The only way to enter them is off the phone itself. Not easy when driving and trying to thumb dial in a bunch of characters, and having to toggle keyboards at times on the phone to complete the required digit entry.

Fortunately, one of the guys in my group at work figured out the syntax for a dial string into our conference bridge, and now we all use that method when setting up conference invites in Microsft Outlook calendaring. It shows up as a one click to dial highlight in the Outlook invite that shows up in the phone calendar. Includes pauses, tone presses, access code etc. But you still have to do it from the phone. It is much easier though than dialing all of the digits.

Also one Cannot create a speed dial for conference cbridge access as the access codes vary for each call, and we do a ton of conference calls ever day.

Maybe Calendar integration in the TLX could be a useful option if done well.

Of course, none of this was an issue back in 1962 when my Dad piled us into the Rambler Ambassador for a road trip.

Working and driving were two separate things. I sometimes wish they still were.

 

I do NOT believe any of this "for your safety" crap. If Acura was concerned about safety then there would be a limiter on speed.. Is it safe for me to drive 180km/nr?

Also, the system allows me to use a dial pad to dial a single number but then disallows me from entering an extension number. Idiotic at best.

I should have the right to enable or disable any options that i choose. It should be my choice and I should not be constrained by the lawyer at Acura who are only concerned about legal liability. There should be an option somewhere that allows me to turn on all features and makes it clear that use while driving is unsafe and that Acura has no liability if I (the driver) does something stupid.

 

Just because you don't believe, that doesn't make it not so. We have a huge problem today with distracted driving and people texting and using cell phones while driving. It can be deadly for you and for the innocent people driving on the road.

You don't have the right to do what you want, and driving is a licensed privilege. The auto makers have liability and thankfully some degree of common sense. Jist because the car isn't bubble wrapped, that doesn't mean they shouldn't take some prudent steps. Based on comments, it's obviously warranted.

 

Neil, while distracted driving is a major issue, the way Acura designed the system does not help rather it will make things worse.

1 - having to use a cell phone to click on extensions
2 - people using acura link to send locations to the car while driving because that works but direct entry does not.
3 - certain features work while others do not - there is minimal logic in what is enabled versus disabled.
4 - Who says I do not have a right to do what I want.... I can drive 200km/hr into a brick wall... Where is the prudence in that.. who requires these high speeds? Why do the car makers not limit that? Because if they did, people would not buy the car. YET with new technologies they deem it appropriate to limit me.

So.. I respectfully disagree with your comments, There is little if any common sense in automakers.

 

I'm not saying that Acura (or any car manufacturer) has perfect solutions or that the BT and nav in the TLX isn't without negatives and issues.

Having said that...feel free to disagree, but the fact is that all car manufacturers have to limit their civil liability, and you have criminal statutes that limit what you can do. Sometimes the two of these align, as in the TLX only having the ability to read or reply to a text via voice commands while driving. Sometimes they don't, since you can drive 120 mph and start a multi-vehicle crash if you choose to do so. In either case, the criminal statutes limit what you can do and your license to drive can be suspended for violations.

From the manufacturers POV, they have lawyers who tell them what the lowest hanging fruit is and where they can easily limit potential civil liability through software and by disabling capabilities that are not necessary or are dangerous on their face.

I hope you agree that texting and driving or inputting a nav destination from the keyboard while driving is dangerous and illegal. You should not do it, and do not need the ability to do it. These types are limits while moving are in no way unique to Acura or the TLX.

 

Neil, I fully agree that texting and driving is criminal. I also agree that drinking and driving is criminal. That is not the issue.

The issue is that car companies should not be turning off features because of their fear of civil liability. I would argue that car manufacturer are still at risk - by turning off features and then for a driver who gets into an accident because they use a phone because those features are turned off will sue. A savvy lawyer will argue that the manufacturer has a partial liability because the attentional demands would have been reduced to some degree by enabling the in-car nav system.

Again, a car company should have a screen (which they already do) that indicates that if I turn off features and do something stupid, the manufacturer is in NO way responsible.

By your logic (re: car manufacturers have to limit their civil liability) then every car should have a speed limiter, have a breathe analyzer, and should have any other feature that should limit distraction. In fact, even listening to a radio (worse at high volume) has been show to reduce attention while driving, yet I do not see any manufacturer limiting the volume - car stereo is a big seller!!

my 2 cents.

dave