WASHINGTON — Voice recognition (or lack of it) is among the top complaints drivers of late-model vehicles have, according to J.D. Power.
Its 2016 Vehicle Dependability Study says among owners who indicate having experienced a voice-recognition problem, 67 percent say the problem was related to the car not recognizing or misinterpreting, voice commands.
The complaints are based on surveys of original owners of 2013-model vehicles.
Ranking right up there with voice recognition complaints is Bluetooth connectivity. J.D. Power says among owners with connectivity complaints, 53 percent said their vehicles didn’t find or recognize their mobile devices.
And J.D. Power says the frustration with onboard technology doesn’t go away over time. Usability problems reported during the first 90 days of ownership are still bothering owners three years later in ever-higher numbers, while at the same time the penetration of these features continues to increase.
“Consumers are continuing to struggle with it, and even consumers who are on their second or third vehicle with these systems are still having problems,” J.D. Power’s Dave Sargent tells WTOP.
“Vehicles are increasingly being designed to use voice recognition, consumers want to be able to use it, but often they find it simply doesn’t work they way they want it to and they will just give up and stop using it completely.”
Ambient noise in a moving vehicle, competing voices from kids in the back seat and placement of the microphone are among challenges for dashboard voice recognition systems.
Voice command features are supposed to reduce driver distraction, but the technology’s shortcomings may actually be having the opposite effect.
“Automakers have a responsibility to make these systems work to keep drivers’ eyes on the road,” says Russ Rader at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“If voice recognition fails and becomes frustrating, it’s not going to make using these features while driving safer,” Rader says.
The auto industry is investing heavily in the next wave of automotive technology: Self-driving cars. But if you can’t trust your car to “call home,” accurately map your route, or fetch your play lists, how will automotive consumers ever embrace the idea of cars driving themselves?
“If some existing technology doesn’t work they way they expect it to, then to say, ‘Hey, you can take your hand off the wheel and the car will do everything for you,’ it’s a leap for consumers,” Sargent says.
That said, a lot of the safety technology that is laying the groundwork for autonomous driving does work well. Blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and automatic braking proved to be effective and reliable.
But consumers are not embracing all crash avoidance technology.
“Lane departure warning is not proving to be effective, likely because false alerts are annoying drivers and they are simply shutting the feature off,” Rader says.
See how every vehicle scored in the new J.D. Power’s Dependability Ratings & Awards.
