Built-in voice recognition surpasses wind noise as the problem most frequently reported by new-vehicle owners, according to J.D. Power. The J.D. Power 2014 Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study released Aug. 28 notes that the number of new-vehicle owners complaining about voice recognition is larger than it was in last year's study, with 8.3 problems reported per 100 new vehicles in 2014; the figure was 7.6 in 2013. The voice-recognition problems customers cite most often relate to three built-in hands-free communication issues:

Doesn't recognize/misinterprets verbal commands (63%)

Doesn't recognize/misinterprets names/words (44%)

Doesn't recognize/misinterprets numbers (31%)

"Voice-recognition and device connectivity are often inherent to the technology design and cannot be fixed at the dealership, creating a high level of angst among new-vehicle owners," said Mike VanNieuwkuyk, Executive Director of Global Automotive at J.D. Power. "Problems such as wind noise can sometimes be adjusted at the dealership. With voice-recognition and connectivity problems, owners have had to learn to live with the shortcomings of this feature and instead rely on such work-around options as knobs and controls on the steering wheel and head unit to offset the core problem. Despite having alternative controls, this problem still negatively impacts owner satisfaction."