I have a 2009 RX-8 Grand Touring with factory bluetooth hands free. Has anybody else had issues with people not able to hear you at highways speeds? From what I understand, the microphone is in the center of the dash where the center speaker is. Has anybody made any modifications to the factory microphone to improve the situation?

For me the hands free is awesome in that I can hear just fine and it is very clear...but I find myself leaning towards the center dash and yelling so that the person on the other end can hear...this gets a little tiring.

I'd love to hear if there is a creative solution to the issue. Please don't give me crap about driving while on the phone.

 

Why the hell would we give you crap about driving while on the phone? What the hell is bluetooth for?!!? Kudos to you for using it!

Don't think we have a whole lot of 09 owners on here yet. Certainly not any that have had issue with their mic and have already made modification to it.

 

it could simply be poor design. I'd report it to your maz dealer. Could be a recall already or might need one or could be defective.

 

I don't think it is defective as it works fine when I'm sitting still. I think it is just poor placement...the 8 isn't that quiet at highway speeds, especially in TX where all roads are concrete. I think moving it up to the A pillar on the drivers side would improve it greatly by putting it closer to the driver. I was hoping someone else had already tackled this and would make it easy on me...I'm better at following instructions than creating them

 

Just got mine today to replace my aging 2004. Will pair and check it out tomorrow.

 

I would appreciate knowing your experience.

 

guess what I mean that is that it could be a poor design and if it's a new feature to the 8, then it's untested to the public market under that design and might need adjusting (not something you should really have to do). Complain to your dealer that, in its current state, it's unusable on the highway b/c the microphone position or sensitivity.

You might not get anything done right away, but you'll be giving them feedback on the poor design which could help move them to a recall or redesign for future models.

Also make sure your ACC is turned on. To me the sensitivity of the mic should go up as you increase speed, just like the stereo volume goes up with speed (when ACC is turned on).

Just suggestions though Reporting it to the dealership as a poor design or problem will help the car out itself.

-derek

 

That took forever! I finally had some time to pair my phone and I am having the opposite problem. They can hear me fine at speed, but I cannot hear them. Volume cranked to 45+ makes it audible! Going in for service Tuesday and I will have them take a look.

 

See if adjusting volume settings on your phone does anything? Or maybe there's an actual bluetooth volume setting on your phone?

 

I have this same issue but both ways. People can't hear me at highway speeds and I have to crank the Bluetooth volume to 45-50 to hear anyone on the thing. Can that be adjusted?

 

Has anyone been able to solve this? I was thinking of trying to locate the mic location and move it to the a-pillar.