Thanks for the updates. I did sign up for the cheapest Guardian subscription just to see if the voice recognition feature would start working again and it took it about a week and now the navigation functions as it did when I purchased the vehicle.
Based upon my limited research it seems that the voice or microphone button on the 12" display should function without the subscription; in fact, I spoke with one employee at XM Guardian and they told me that I did not need the subscription to enable the full functionality of the navigation system including the microphone; however, it seems that perhaps it is needed. I suppose somewhere there must be voice recognition software so that when a person clicks on the screen microphone the system is able to understand the commands. Of course, it is possible that it could be contained within the vehicle's computer(s)??
I would like to find someone that actually knows how the system is suppose to function, given that I never used any of the APP based free features of Guardian during my one year free trial other than I did click on the display microphone button and I did type in addresses so that the system would display routes. I also agree with the comments that others have made: the vehicle was not cheap, and clearly the sales folks nor the manual explain how the system actually functions, i.e. that some of us need to buy a subscription. I thought I read somewhere that there is a five year navigation subscription or something and I believe that I have seen that on the display.
To Gary and Mb7640, do you each have the 12 inch display unit?
Thanks!