All I really want is for the Voice command system to work for all of us.

The whole reason for it is safety.

It is 2013, other car companies have had this working acceptably for years...........

 

I sent an email to MINI. Lets see what happens..

 

Don't expect anything. I went around and around with my dealer and Mini customer support and didn't get anywhere. Doesn't look like it's coming back.

If you get anywhere make sure you post it here. I would love to hear what they had to say.

 

OK you guys...

I have some very interesting information direct from MINI USA.

I sent them an email on the week end and a very nice lady called me today.

This is what she said:

All 2013 MINI vehicles with the basic Voice Command System (non connect or NAV) have had their Voice Command Systems disabled.

She left me on hold for several minutes and when she came back:

She said these systems can be reactivated...

She asked me if I would like her to call my dealer?

She placed me on hold and within a few minutes was back with, "The dealer will call you right away".

The dealer called in less than 10 minutes and said that in order to reactivate the Voice system the car needed to have a complete re-program. That process would take a full day to do.

He said that I could leave my car for the day and use a loaner.

I asked about my wife's new Clubman, she is picking it up today and he said they didn't have enough time today, he would schedule it.

I'm guessing that the Voice Command System is the same as it was in her 2011 Cooper so I will be very happy with that. Not great but it works..

Andy

 

Andy,
That is great news but I need to see it to believe it. Could you please post back after you have had yours done and let us know how it went and if anything else changes on the car other than the voice commands working.

Thanks for the information and good luck with your re-programming. I can't wait to hear how it went.

Also, do you have any specific contact info for someone at Mini Corporate? I've already talked to my dealer and they said it couldn't be done. If someone at corporate can tell them how to do it then it might just happen. Thanks again.

 

Will do....

 

subscribed! I want to see if this will get resolved.

 

Can I have the lady you spoke to from Mini USA's number. The one person that called me was lost about the whole issue.

 

Her name was Stacy. Didn't give a last name.

She was very nice.

Not sure how many folks man the phones..

I plan to make an appointment for sometime next week.

I'll post to let everyone know how it goes..

Andy

 

subscribed

 

Well, if it's true then color me completely impressed by MINI's willingness to do it.

 

It looks like this is for real! I emailed my dealer a couple of days a go with the info Andy provided and they got back to me last night. There was a Bulletin released last week about Voice Commands being deactivated. I attached the Bulletin.

I have an appointment scheduled for next Tuesday. I'll post back when it's done and let you know how it went.

 

I scheduled my car for April 5th. They will give me a loaner for the day. There is no charge for this reprogram.

Andy

 

Checked with my MA today and have been told their dealership has had no such bulletin : (

 

print it and take it with you

 

For those of you who are having success could you indicate where you are located/dealership? After no success with my MA I went directly to the service department at my dealership and they are adamant that there is no such fix (and that this is no longer a feature for the non-connect cars). I'm located in Massachusetts.

 

My dealership is in Appleton, Wisconsin (http://www.miniofthefoxvalley.com)

Did you show them the Bulletin I attached to a previous post? How can they doubt that? The only possible loophole would be when your Roadster was produced. If you look at the Bulletin it only covers cars produced until July 2012. Even with that what can it hurt for them to perform this service.

If they still refuse I would call Mini USA and have them contact the dealership. Maybe they'll listen to the home office. Going forward I would be looking for a new dealership

 

I live in Palmer, Massachusetts and my dealer is New Country MINI in Hartford.

As posted above I have scheduled April 5th.

I'll let you know how it went that evening..

The service rep says it's a major re-program..

All I can say is fingers crossed...

Andy

 

I hate to disappoint everyone but I just got my car back from the dealer and the re-programming did not work. Here are the technical details. The technical bulletin (attached above) only applies to cars that have the 6FC and 6NE options. 6FC is the MINI Boost CD radio which I do have. 6NE is associated with MINI Connect, which I do not have. If you do not have MINI Connect you have option 6ND which only gets you Bluetooth connectivity and no voice commands.

 

Just had a conversation yesterday with MINI USA about this and they didn't know of a fix but referred me to my dealer for any info on service bulletins. I talked to my SA today while I was in for my maintenance plan oil change. He said that he didn't know of any fix for vehicles without MINI Connect but he did some research while I was there and said he could find nothing. He said, as far as he knows, there is no plan to fix this for existing vehicles but that some other form of voice activation may appear on new models in the future. I read on another thread here that there is a plan to have some form of Connect as standard equipment in the future. Maybe that is the future model fix???

 

Any updates on this? My dealership (Peabody, MA) is now saying there is a retrofit and will need my car for the entire day to do the update. Sounds like the same fix as above which didn't work. I'm curious if anyone has had success?

 

Well,

I took my car in on Friday the 5th to have the voice command system reprogrammed.

1. When I went in at 4:30pm the service rep said they reprogrammed the computer and the voice command system still didn't work.

2. He said that the ULF module was not installed at the factory resulting in "option code 6NE not possible".

3. He said he would talk to the shop foreman on Monday as he was not in, to see if the ULF module could be retrofitted.

4. Monday came and almost went with no call. I got an email from the service rep asking me to fill out the customer survey when it came out and how important it was to put in the highest grades.... I responded to the email with "I am waiting for you to call me". He called less than 10 minutes from the time I pressed send. He said the shop foreman needed to look at the wiring diagram from vehicles with and without the module to see if a retrofit could happen. He would call me back on Tuesday.

5. Tuesday at 4:00pm I get a call from the service rep saying that the car came through from the factory without the wiring necessary to do the retrofit.


So, bottom line No, it appears it can't be done, or can it?


Why BMW who has some of the finest vehicle electronics in the world can't seem to figure this out?

Why voice commands in a base model 2011 Cooper work, not great but they work?

Why MINI decided to take out the phone commands in the 2013 models?

In a world where many states have laws requiring hands free cell phone use.

Is this a safety issue?

Seems to be many different answers to each of those questions so...


I should have known better

Andy

 

i got my 2011 scheduled in for thursday. Printed the TSB and will be presenting it to service writer.

 

Like you, I don't understand why BMW/MINI can't get this right. My SA cited the fact that smart phones were all different and are constantly changing as one of the reasons they can't seem to make voice activation work properly. As I have said previously, I was considering a CM for my wife but for several reasons (the lack of response from MINI USA to my complaint about this issue not being the least of them) I decided not to get one and went with a Cadillac SRX instead. The Cadillac CUE system certainly doesn't have any problems working with my wife's Galaxy S2 or my HTC Amaze 4G Android phones and also with her iPod.

WAKE UP, BMW/MINI!

 

So update on my 2011. The previous software update disabled the voice activation. I just got confirmation from the dealer the newest update re-enabled it.