'09 Voice Command Set

[brainguyus]

Two parter.....

1. Can anyone explain why the expanded voice command set for the Canadian vehicles is much richer than that for the American vehicles?

2. Is there any way a 'Yank' such as myself can enable the Canadian mode so I can experience the same benefits as my brothers and sisters to the North?

[teammcw]

I believe someone mentioned the reason it's not enabled is because of the delay between the longer phrasing... But not sure...

Anyway, I was a little pissed seeing the larger voice command set for the Canadians.... What's up with that?!

[Timmbo]

So what all do the Canadians get to experience that we don't? I didn't even know about this!

[teammcw]

If you have the manual handy (or you can view it on Nissan's website - http://www.nissanusa.com/pdf/techpubs/m ... Murano.pdf ) look here:

American Version, Pg 4-122 through 4-124, about 18 commands totalCanadian Version, Pg 4-134 through 4-140, about 77 commands total

Big difference.... Sucks for us in America

[brainguyus]

I believe someone mentioned the reason it's not enabled is because of the delay between the longer phrasing... But not sure...

Anyway, I was a little pissed seeing the larger voice command set for the Canadians.... What's up with that?!

Is they sayin' that us Americans speak worser than the Canadians? I reckun I speak as good or gooder!

I'm going to ask my dealer about this. Maybe there's a dip switch or software flag that can be flipped.

[teammcw]

From the other post, it seems as if the delay was the reason - we apparently "rush" and speak too fast, and the recognition wasn't as reliable as they had hoped... Errr... Okay... I guess Canadians speak much more slowly..

But, yeah, if you can check to see if it's a software enabled switch (hopefully), and not the way the hard drive/voice recognition software is installed at the factory, that would be nice.

I finally had the chance to get into the software diagnostics on my vehicle - it was fun driving to work with the rear view camera enabled the whole way. Pretty wild.

[brainguyus]

I finally had the chance to get into the software diagnostics on my vehicle - it was fun driving to work with the rear view camera enabled the whole way. Pretty wild.

How do you get into the software diag mode?

[teammcw]

Make sure the car is on and the audio system is turned off... Hold down the "Settings Button" while spinning the Volume knob about 40 or more clicks in one direction (doesn't matter which way). You don't need to be precise because once you pass 40, it will automatically go into the diag system. I'll just hold Settings and keep turning the volume knob as fast as I can, no need to count.

[brainguyus]

Well, the dealer was no help...

I picked up a new Versa for the wife on Saturday and spoke with the service manager regarding the Murano Canadian voice command set.He had no idea how to enable it, or even if it was contained in the current software. It could involve a full nav system reload which may raise other compatibility issues.

He recommended that I contact Nissan. I'll do that this week and update.

(BTW: That little Versa's a heck of a nice car!)

[teammcw]

Maybe you can get an answer for all of us. It would be nice to know why they chose to provide the Canadians with more capability, when all it is is most likely just additional software.

They get DRLs... doesn't really cost anything.They get better Voice Commands... doesn't really cost anything.

Maybe we should start buying the Canadian vehicles... save headaches trying to get what they already have.

[brainguyus]

I just called Nissan Corporate (1-800-647-7261) and was forwarded directly to the Nav Software manufacturer.

The person I spoke with said it's not possible to switch to the Canadian voice commands. To do so would require changing out the nav hardware as well as a full software reload. Strange?....I guess they store much of this in firmware.

I forgot to ask him why the US Nissans have a stripped down command set.

[Timmbo]

I just called Nissan Corporate (1-800-647-7261) and was forwarded directly to the Nav Software manufacturer.

The person I spoke with said it's not possible to switch to the Canadian voice commands. To do so would require changing out the nav hardware as well as a full software reload. Strange?....I guess they store much of this in firmware.

I forgot to ask him why the US Nissans have a stripped down command set.

Wow, nice work, we all appreciate the info!

[teammcw]

I wonder what could be different (hardware) that would add/remove voice commands. Seems to me that it would be software controlled. From what I remember, all of the voice data is loaded on the hard drive...

Maybe they just say that to prevent people from trying to clone/copy a Canadian drive... Or, maybe, because of the command base, the Canadian drives are larger? I think we have 30GB drives in the U.S. cars... 10GB free for Music Box, leaving 20GB for maps and voice...

Can any Canadian confirm the hard drive size in their vehicle? Or, if someone is brave enough, take an image of it and check the partitions and sizes? I would take the drive out of my vehicle, but am still waiting to acquire the service manual...

[brainguyus]

I wonder what could be different (hardware) that would add/remove voice commands. Seems to me that it would be software controlled. From what I remember, all of the voice data is loaded on the hard drive...

Maybe they just say that to prevent people from trying to clone/copy a Canadian drive... Or, maybe, because of the command base, the Canadian drives are larger? I think we have 30GB drives in the U.S. cars... 10GB free for Music Box, leaving 20GB for maps and voice...

Can any Canadian confirm the hard drive size in their vehicle? Or, if someone is brave enough, take an image of it and check the partitions and sizes? I would take the drive out of my vehicle, but am still waiting to acquire the service manual...

Regarding hardware; The only thing I can think of is that the dealer mentioned that Canadian cars have a different speedometer. I don't know why.....I would guess that it should only be a cosmetic difference. If they do have a different speedo, how tightly it would be integrated into the software is anyone's guess. A larger hard drive is definitely a possibilty.

It would be nice to snag an image of the drive. I wonder what the drive format would look like and what OS would be able to read it. I doubt it's MS based (FAT32 or NTFS), otherwise our nav systems would bluescreen every 10 minutes.
Modified by brainguyus at 4:14 PM 5/20/2008

[teammcw]

Well, FAT32 is a fairly universal file system (supported by most operating systems and even proprietary devices). The CompactFlash reader supports it, so I would think that it is supported by the system.

The second I get the service manual, the car's coming apart (I think it's going to be 1 month ago, today, that I got it). As long as the file system isn't proprietary, which I would doubt - it would require a lot of development to do that - it should be easy to extract.

[brainguyus]

If you could get an image that would be sweet! I'd like to take a peek at the code myself. Hopefully it'll be fat32.

Keep us posted.

In the meantime I'm going to keep looking for detail regarding the hardware differences with Canadian models. I don't buy the 'different speedometer' response. I'm also leary of the Canadian models having a larger drive. If it's well written the additional comands shouldn't take up that much space, but again I'm only speculating.

I wonder where I can obtain a list of part numbers for both American and Canadian models?
Modified by brainguyus at 6:30 AM 5/22/2008

[tchgrif]

cold and the over use of flannel has been scientifically proven to make one speak slower

[brainguyus]

I just got the ’09 service manual. After a quick scan I found that all voice functions are controlled by the AV Control Unit which is located right under the display. The AV Control Unit also contains the hard disk drive.

The only lead I’ve found so far is that the VIN must be registered in the ECM. There is one digit in the VIN which refers to vehicle destination, U=USA N=Canada. The AV Control Unit communicates with the ECM for vehicle information. Could this be as simple as changing a ‘U’ to an ‘N’?

I’m still reading and I’ll post back if I see anything more concrete.

[teammcw]

Did you get a PDF version or physical? If PDF, could you post up the sections on disassembling the dash/console area to get the electronics out? I really still want to check out the contents of the drive.

As long as it's not some physical ASIC or PHY or something else that communicates with the ECM, and it's simply a software thing, or something that can be intercepted or hard-coded, then it should be easy once that information is in the hands of the right kind of people. If it's software, I can probably take a look at it, but if it's a hardware-hardware communication, then it might be a bit more difficult. Unless there's a pinout or communication spec in the manual.

[brainguyus]

Did you get a PDF version or physical? If PDF, could you post up the sections on disassembling the dash/console area to get the electronics out? I really still want to check out the contents of the drive.

It's in PDF format. Check my profile for email and drop me a note.

[teammcw]

Hmm.. Considering that the Canadian version has DRL (though I see no technical difference), and the updated command set... What would happen if you tell the dealer that you are moving to Canada, where DRL is required in every vehicle.

They must have something to "update" the vehicle, which might enable the blocked Canadian features. I was checking out the CONSULT III commands available (wish I could get my hands on one unit to test - $6k is out of my price range), and it looks like things like DRL and whatnot are set by a simple "enable/disable" thing...

And surprisingly, you use CONSULT III to load the map data onto the hard drive. Does that mean we will have to pay the dealers when a map update is available, or would that mean no update will ever make it to our car?But, there is absolutely no mention of loading anything else (e.g. separate Canadian set) other than map data... So I'm assuming it's all built into the same set.

[teammcw]

Well, this thread details the map updating... Yup, it uses CONSULT-III - and even the CompactFlash slot... It looks like the CompactFlash slot is not just a USB host device, but also a USB client device that can be hooked up to the CONSULT-III laptop via an adapter....

Crazy stuff...

Here's the link that shows what you must do to update the maps. That's sort of not cool. We spend $190 to order the update, which is simply a license number which we provide to the dealer.... Dealers spend a one time fee of around $350 per CONSULT-III machine (or maybe for all) to get the hardware and updated maps.... In any case, the map publishers are definitely making money off of this deal.

Link to Map Update Instructions

[brainguyus]

What would happen if you tell the dealer that you are moving to Canada, where DRL is required in every vehicle

This is going to be my next trick. I'm going to call corporate next week and see what they say. I'll probably get some canned response but let's see what happens.

I also couldn't see any difference in hardware between US and Canadian cars.

I was checking out the CONSULT III commands available (wish I could get my hands on one unit to test - $6k is out of my price range)

I'm checking out other packages that may be able to do this using only a laptop. I want to take a closer look at 'OBD II' and something called 'Conzult'. I think both of these support the CAN protocol. There are several others as well.

And surprisingly, you use CONSULT III to load the map data onto the hard drive. Does that mean we will have to pay the dealers when a map update is available, or would that mean no update will ever make it to our car?........We spend $190 to order the update, which is simply a license number which we provide to the dealer.... Dealers spend a one time fee of around $350 per CONSULT-III machine (or maybe for all) to get the hardware and updated maps.... In any case, the map publishers are definitely making money off of this deal.

That definately bites!...explains why I couldn't locate the dvd drive. That's pretty tricky marketing, calling it a DVD 'based' Nav System.


Modified by brainguyus at 11:09 AM 6/27/2008

[teammcw]

I looked into Conzult - it won't work for us, or any newer vehicles that require Consult II or Consult III.

I'm hoping that someone lives nearby and answers my request for using Consult III to try a few things. I'm also asking my friends around here to see if they have any friends/family working at Nissan repair shops.

If I win the Lotto or something, I'll probably order one

[brainguyus]

If I win the Lotto or something, I'll probably order one

....Save the trouble and just go to Canada for a new Murano!

BTW: Make sure you play the PA lotto. You have a better chance since NOBODY in PA ever seems to win the PA lotto.

I've been searching for diag tools as possible alternatives to Consult III and it occured to me that the people who develop this software are also a valuable source of information.

I found this one which seems to be pretty good (if it'll work on a Murano).http://www.autoenginuity.comI sent them an email regarding functionality of their product with a Murano, and if they knew anything about USA -vs- Canada Settings. It's worth a shot....

[teammcw]

Well, assuming that the AutoEnginuity software can actually allow reprogramming commands to be sent, then it looks good... If it's just going to read the states, and be passive, then dammit - so close, yet so far.

From their Nissan module page:

Nissan BCM Command list that includes DTRL

And they have screenshots of the software running against a Murano '05

If this works, then hell, this is cheap(er)... Looking at the Order page, the base software is $250, and you add the Nissan specific activation code for $100....

[teammcw]

Not sure if this is the pot o' gold, but something's been bugging me...

The BCM can have things programmed manually (using CONSULT III) based on specific vehicle configuration... These 2 stand out:DTRL (With / Without)AV C/U (With / Without)

Could the "AV C/U" be what we're looking for? AV Canada/US? Maybe that's what we need to have changed? Anything else that C/U could stand for when referring to the AV system?

Page BCS-5...

[NEVERMIND - AV C/U STANDS FOR A/V CONTROL UNIT]

As far as the AutoEnginuity goes, with the Nissan module, it has the "EnhancedBCM" command thing, but I don't know if that's just temporary, or will it write... If you happen to find out, report back.

I know that the AutoEnginuity thing can make some permanent changes... These guys are using it, along with CONSULT III, and UpRev Cipher to make changes to the Nissan Titan.

[teammcw]

Hey Jim:

Have you heard back from AutoEnginuity yet?

[brainguyus]

Hey Jim:

Have you heard back from AutoEnginuity yet?

Yes, I was going to post this and the results of my Canadian "fishing" trip at the same time.

AutoEnginuity won't fully support the '09 Murano for another year.

I called one Canadian dealer so far, claiming I was re-locating to their area. The service manager said they can set up DRL, but he had no idea what it would take to switch the command set. He said he would look into it further once I brought the car in.

I still want to try a couple more dealers before I give up.

It seems as if Nissan has this info locked up in a vault somewhere.