Carplay / Directions Voice Volume

[stemplar]

Over the last few weeks we've had our Ranger enlisted as a family-hauler to attend some of the kid's extracurricular activities and to go to some fun events with tailgating. Those trips invariably ended with me driving home while the others get a head start on their beauty sleep. Each night I used apple maps via carplay for directions, and when the directions are verbally read aloud they're way too loud for a cabin-full of mostly sleeping people. Each time the voice started I quickly turned the volume down to a more reasonable (by my subjective definition) level, and thankfully that doesn't affect the volume of my music I was listening to. However, the next time it reads a direction it's back to the standard volume that's too loud.

Today while warming up the truck I poked through the vehicle and settings menu hoping to find a setting to define the default carplay volume or something, but I didn't find anything. I also read the owners manual, but as for volume, they just point out the volume knob and which direction to turn it for increased or decreased volume, and same for the +/- buttons on the steering wheel.

Am I missing something? Our cars going back 20 years (long before carplay, but with built-in nav) had separate volumes for directions (and post-2017, for carplay) and another for music, and each is "remembered" when adjusted with the volume controls. Seems weird to be able to adjust the volume at all when it just shouts at me a block later anyway.

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[03GeeTee]

Have similar issue but I use Google maps via CarPlay. When Google maps pops in to give me verbal directions, it's almost too quiet. But when Siri pops in to read a text I just received, she's loud AF.

 

[kevin65]

Over the last few weeks we've had our Ranger enlisted as a family-hauler to attend some of the kid's extracurricular activities and to go to some fun events with tailgating. Those trips invariably ended with me driving home while the others get a head start on their beauty sleep. Each night I used apple maps via carplay for directions, and when the directions are verbally read aloud they're way too loud for a cabin-full of mostly sleeping people. Each time the voice started I quickly turned the volume down to a more reasonable (by my subjective definition) level, and thankfully that doesn't affect the volume of my music I was listening to. However, the next time it reads a direction it's back to the standard volume that's too loud.

Today while warming up the truck I poked through the vehicle and settings menu hoping to find a setting to define the default carplay volume or something, but I didn't find anything. I also read the owners manual, but as for volume, they just point out the volume knob and which direction to turn it for increased or decreased volume, and same for the +/- buttons on the steering wheel.

Am I missing something? Our cars going back 20 years (long before carplay, but with built-in nav) had separate volumes for directions (and post-2017, for carplay) and another for music, and each is "remembered" when adjusted with the volume controls. Seems weird to be able to adjust the volume at all when it just shouts at me a block

 

[kevin65]

adjust the volume while CarPlay is speaking.

 

[stemplar]

adjust the volume while CarPlay is speaking.

Thanks for the tip, but I already did that as mentioned in the OP: "Each time the voice started I quickly turned the volume down to a more reasonable (by my subjective definition) level, and thankfully that doesn't affect the volume of my music I was listening to. However, the next time it reads a direction it's back to the standard volume that's too loud."

 

[natethegreat42]

So, if the truck volume knobs aren’t lowering it - I did find that if you want to change it from your phone there are three options: Soft, Normal, and Loud. At least with iOS 26.
In Settings you would go to: Maps > Spoken Directions > Voice Volume.

 

[snowman3]

So, if the truck volume knobs aren’t lowering it - I did find that if you want to change it from your phone there are three options: Soft, Normal, and Loud. At least with iOS 26.
In Settings you would go to: Maps > Spoken Directions > Voice Volume.

That is what I'm aware of. Not sure about apple or google maps inside the actual app, but I think Waze app can set high/medium/low.

 

[stemplar]

I think the issue I'm having isn't a new one at all for Ford. The "prompt volume" as it's called defaults to volume level 7 and can be changed while the prompt is speaking, but resets to 7 for the next prompt. I found references to people complaining about this going back several years in f150 forums and other places too. As mentioned here and in those other threads, a workaround of sorts is to go into the phone's app (be it apple Maps, or google maps, waze or whatever) and set the volume to whatever they call their "hi, medium, or low" options for audio out (out being relative to the phone, which is effectively the Ford's audio input), but on the Ford side the prompt volume will always reset to 7 for every prompt.

 

[pablo94sc]

Google maps volume is in the app settings. I'm sure carpet is the same.

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