Forgive me please but if that woman tells me to please continue on the road one more time I am going to implode! I find her voice fairly annoying but the fact that she interrupts my music which is fine if she has something relevant to say, is too much for me when she says please continue following the road. I called the dealer and they said there are no other voices available. Is that possible? More annoying features: She also tells me to turn left when I am supposed to turn right sometimes. I have found this to be the case at Stanford University. 3 times now she has told me that I am at my destination when the destination was no where in sight. Please tell me I am not alone with this problem. Lori
The voice is fixed by language and country. If you want a different voice, try one of the other languages and see if that´s more to your liking. Regarding incorrect directions, in most cases, the system is only as good as the map data provided. A few days ago, in driving from Portorož towards Triest, the car (I was driving an F01 730d) took me off the main highway and made me circle around and then get back on. It happened two days in a row. I don´t really know if this was the fault of the map data or a faulty algorithm but it was a bit frustrating.
The car is only 6 months old so there is no reason for it to give me incorrect directions. Also, she keeps saying "please continue following the road." What else am I going to do???? I have a portable Garmin which is about 5 years old but I wanted something built in so it couldn't be easily taken out of the car. What a waste of $2100.
In general, yes, there is no (good) reason. If the error is confined to one location, then it´s probably a database problem, not a problem with the unit. Since you didn´t specify whether this is a one-time issue (or one-place issue) or common occurance, it´s impossible for anyone to make an informed judgement here.
I used to be on a BMW Nav yahoo list and people posted instructions on how to change the voice and instructions. The voices are just wave files so you can substitute your own voice or someone else's. It is rather involved.
Trust me Steven, it´s not possible. There is no way of changing this. iDrive and the MOST bus are more or less unhackable.
DVDs contain data, no code. The voices themselves are integral to the CCC or CIC. There was a great article about a year ago about how BMW chooses the voices for different languages and cultures incidntally.
Unfortunately, the BMW magazine is not fully online. If I recall correctly, they had interviewed several of the people who record the voices as well.
Last Night I put my old handy Garmin back in the car and gave it the same instructions as the system on my 2008 335i. I went from Marin County in California to the Convention Center in San Jose. I was working at the Auto show there. I want my $2100 back from BMW. The Garmin took me straight there. The BMW took me off the freeway, then back on which I did not do. Then when I got to San Jose it took me around at least 1 extra mile on surface streets and then said "You have arrived when the Convention Center was no where in sight. The Garmin told me I will find my destination on the right in 200 feet and it was perfect. I'm sorry but if that **itch tells me one more time "PLEASE CONTINUE FOLLOWING THE ROAD" I don't know what I will do. Why does she keep saying that?
Maybe your satnav is having its period. Having a separate GPS unit is almost always the smarter choice.
Is there no sound control? The only integral nav system with which I am familiar is the one in my '02 Jaguar. I can turn the voice off. I also have the choice of (I believe) every language they offered. I know I can choose between American and UK English as well as every major European language (French, German, Italian, Danish, Swedish, etc.). They are all 'women', but I have no problem with that. It's kind of nice to be able to have a woman telling you where to go, ignoring her, and not having the end result be: "Well, to hell with you! I'm not giving you any more help!" In fact, this may be where your problem lies. Men are used to ignoring women and frankly, we get some perverse pleasure out of doing it. I love that benign English babe in the Jag who never yells at me. I can see where it wouldn't hold the same fascination for a woman.
Ursula, the Beast of Buchenwald! Jon-Jon Spyro-Gyro says: Heh! When we first switched a BMW press car from German to English---how easy is THAT when you can read the iDrive settings?!---we were enchanted with the British turncoat we dubbed Ursula, the Beast of Buchenwald. In those days it wasn't just "Continue following the road." It was the lack of the word "turn" or "corner"; she would say, "Take the next . . . on the right." We found ourselves yelling at the screen: "Take the next WHAT?!" The TomTom 920 I had until its theft actually let you download different voices for a price; I think I wound up with the Irish lass. But their human voices couldn't voice street names; only the AI synthetic could do that. And that unit wasn't foolproof, either; it misdirected me on the way to Oktoberfest somewhere in Pennsylvania, luring me into downtown Scranton. Believe me, you don't want to be lured into downtown Scranton.
