HOW TO USE VOICE CONTROL
Difficulty Level: Novice | Time Required: 5 Minutes | Tools Required: None | Related Parts, Products, Services or Technology: A smartphone with Bluetooth®† or USB† connectivity, plus a properly equipped vehicle.
Voice control lets you use voice commands to control many of the features on your vehicle. There are different types of voice control options available, and each works a different way. Select your infotainment system† for instructions on how to use voice control.
Note: Sample images of infotainment screens shown for reference only. The system in your specific vehicle may look different and may not be equipped with these exact features. Refer to your Owner’s Manual for additional information.
If your vehicle has this infotainment system, you can use the voice assistant of your paired, compatible smartphone, such as Siri®† or Google Assistant,† when you’re in the vehicle. To use it, press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a short press will not work). This can only control functions supported by your phone (e.g., calling, calendar, texts, map apps).
USING YOUR PHONE'S VOICE ASSISTANT
Your phone must be connected through Bluetooth or the USB data port to use this feature.
To use Siri Eyes Free (iPhone devices) or Google Assistant (Android devices) on your phone:
1. Make sure your compatible phone is Bluetooth-paired with the system.
2. Press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a long press) or say your voice assistant’s hands-free prompt, such as “Hey Google.”
3. You’ll hear your phone’s prompt. After the prompt, say your command.
4. The types of commands you can use depend on your phone but may include:
- Checking your calendar for upcoming events or meetings (e.g., “What’s on my agenda?”)
- Setting reminders (e.g., “Remind me to call Julie tonight”)
- Playing music (e.g., “Play my workout playlist on Spotify”)
- Making phone calls or listening to voicemails (e.g., “Call Dad”)
- Listening to and responding to text messages (e.g., “Read my text messages”)
If your vehicle has this infotainment system, you have voice control features built right into your vehicle. Or, if you prefer, you can use your paired phone’s voice assistant (Siri or Google Assistant). You will either press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel or press and release the button, depending on the type of voice control you want to use.
VOICE CONTROL THAT IS BUILT INTO YOUR VEHICLE
Use your vehicle’s built-in voice control technology to make phone calls, play music and more.
To begin a built-in voice command:
1. To make a phone call, you’ll need a compatible phone that’s paired via Bluetooth or connected via USB. For full functionality, make sure your phone is connected and your contact list is downloaded.
2. Press and release the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a short press).
3. The audio system will mute, and the system will play a prompt (e.g., “Say a command”), followed by a beep.
4. After the beep, say your command. You can use everyday language to do so. Some vehicles also let you say partial names instead of full names (e.g., “Mike” instead of “Michael”).
5. Depending on your vehicle’s equipment, the types of commands you can use include:
- “Call Vanessa”
- “Play FM 96.3”
- “Play [album title]”
- “Play [artist name]”
6. To interrupt or skip past a prompt, press the PUSH-TO-TALK button as the prompt comes on.
7. To end your voice command session before it’s finished, press the END CALL button on the steering wheel. Or, simply say “Cancel” at the prompt.
8. To change the length of a prompt, on the touchscreen, select Settings > Voice > Prompt Length. Then choose the desired length: Long or Short.
USING YOUR PHONE'S VOICE ASSISTANT
You can also choose to use the voice assistant of your paired, compatible smartphone, such as Siri on iPhone devices or Google Assistant on Android devices. This can only control functions supported by your phone (e.g., calling, calendar, texts, map apps). Your phone must be connected through Bluetooth or the USB data port.
Alternatively, you can use Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™ to access your phone’s voice assistant.
To use Siri Eyes Free (iPhone devices) or Google Assistant (Android devices) on your phone:
1. Make sure your compatible phone is Bluetooth-paired with the system.
2. Press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a long press), or say your voice assistant’s hands-free prompt, such as “Hey Google.”
3. You’ll hear your phone’s prompt. After the prompt, say your command.
4. The types of commands you can use depend on your phone but may include:
- Checking your calendar for upcoming events or meetings (e.g., “What’s on my agenda?”)
- Setting reminders (e.g., “Remind me to call Julie tonight”)
- Playing music (e.g., “Play my workout playlist on Spotify”)
- Making phone calls or listening to voicemail (e.g., “Call Dad”)
- Listening to and responding to text messages (e.g., “Read my text messages”)
If your vehicle has this infotainment system, the types of voice control features it has depend on how your specific model is equipped. This system lets you use your paired phone’s voice assistant. Some models also have voice control built into the vehicle and may also let you use Alexa in the vehicle, if you prefer. You will either press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel or press and release the button, depending on what your vehicle supports and the type of voice control you want to use.
VOICE CONTROL THAT IS BUILT INTO YOUR VEHICLE (IF EQUIPPED)
If your vehicle has built-in voice control technology, you can use it to make phone calls, play music and more.
To begin a built-in voice command:
1. To make a phone call, you’ll need a compatible phone that’s paired via Bluetooth or connected via USB. For full functionality, make sure your phone is connected and your contact list is downloaded.
2. Press and release the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a short press).
3. The audio system will mute, and the system will play a prompt (e.g., “Say a command”) followed by a beep.
4. After the beep, say your command. You can use everyday language to do so. Some vehicles also let you say partial names instead of full names (e.g., “Mike” instead of “Michael”).
5. Depending on your vehicle’s equipment, the types of commands you can use include:
- “Call Vanessa at work”
- “Play FM 96.3”
- “Play [album title]”
- “Play [artist name]”
6. To interrupt or skip past a prompt, press the PUSH-TO-TALK button as the prompt comes on.
7. To end your voice command session before it’s finished, press the END CALL button on the steering wheel. Or, simply say “Cancel” at the prompt.
8. To change the length of a prompt, on the touchscreen, select Settings > Voice > Prompt Length. Then choose the desired length: Long or Short.
USING YOUR PHONE'S VOICE ASSISTANT
You can also choose to use the voice assistant of your paired, compatible smartphone, such as Siri on iPhone devices. This can only control functions supported by your phone (e.g., calling, calendar, texts, map apps). Your phone must be connected through Bluetooth or the USB data port.
Alternatively, you can use Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™ to access your phone’s voice assistant.
To use Siri Eyes Free (iPhone devices) or Google Assistant (Android devices) on your phone:
1. Make sure your compatible phone is Bluetooth-paired with the system.
2. Press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a long press) or say your voice assistant’s hands-free prompt, such as “Hey Google.”
3. You’ll hear your phone’s prompt. After the prompt, say your command.
4. The types of commands you can use depend on your phone but may include:
- Checking your calendar for upcoming events or meetings (e.g., “What’s on my agenda?”)
- Setting reminders (e.g., “Remind me to call Julie tonight”)
- Playing music (e.g., “Play my workout playlist on Spotify”)
- Making phone calls or listening to voicemail (e.g., “Call Dad”)
- Listening to and responding to text messages (e.g., “Read my text messages”)
USING ALEXA BUILT-IN (IF EQUIPPED)
As another option, if your vehicle has Alexa Built-In,† you can use Alexa in your vehicle to access many of the same skills and features as Alexa in your home. You can even make it the vehicle’s default voice system. You’ll need a paid service plan to use it.
1. Find the Alexa app on your vehicle’s infotainment screen by swiping right. If needed, download it to your vehicle via the Apps icon on the touchscreen.
2. Follow the onboarding instructions.
3. Once Alexa is successfully activated, you can say things like:
- “Alexa, call Jennifer”
- “Alexa, how long will it take me to get to work?”
- “Alexa, play my audiobook”
- Other functionality from your linked devices or services (e.g., “Alexa, add paper towel to my shopping cart” or “Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights”)
If your vehicle has an infotainment system that shows a Google Assistant icon on the screen,† you can use Google Assistant to get things done on the road, hands-free. On these vehicles, you can choose to use available Alexa in the vehicle instead or use your paired phone’s voice assistant (e.g., Siri) if you prefer. You will either press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel or press and release the button, depending on the type of voice control you want to use. For Google Assistant and Alexa, you can also use a wake word.
USING GOOGLE ASSISTANT IN YOUR VEHICLE
For some types of voice commands, like phone calls, you’ll need a compatible phone that’s paired via Bluetooth. Make sure your phone is connected and your contact list is downloaded.
Here are the three ways you can get started with Google Assistant:
1. Simply say “Hey Google” inside of the vehicle.
2. You can also press and release the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a short press).
3. Or, you can tap the Google Assistant icon on the Home screen. Drag and drop the icon into your App Tray for easy access.
4. Then, say what you’d like to do. You can play music and make phone calls, adjust your climate controls, get directions, check the weather, control your compatible smart home devices and more. Examples include:
- “Text Alex ‘I’m on my way home’”
- “Turn up the volume”
- “Set the temperature to 70 degrees”
- “Navigate home”
- “What’s on my agenda?”
- “Remind me to pick up dry cleaning at 6 p.m. tomorrow”
- “Are the kitchen lights on?”
USING ALEXA BUILT-IN
As another option, if your vehicle has Alexa Built-In, you can use Alexa in your vehicle to access many of the same skills and features as Alexa in your home. You can even make it the vehicle’s default voice system. You’ll need a paid service plan to use it.
1. You’ll see an ALEXA icon on your infotainment screen.
2. Follow the onboarding instructions.
3. After setup, there are three ways to initiate a command, depending on how you set your preferences:
- Simply say “Alexa” inside of the vehicle
- Tap the Alexa icon on the Home screen
- If you opted to change the default for the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel when you set up Alexa, you can press and release the steering wheel button (a short press)
4. The types of commands you can use may include:
- “Alexa, call Jennifer”
- “Alexa, how long will it take me to get to work?”
- “Alexa, play my audiobook”
- Other functionality from your linked devices or services (e.g., “Alexa, add paper towel to my shopping cart” or “Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights”)
USING YOUR PHONE'S VOICE ASSISTANT
You can also choose to use the voice assistant of your paired, compatible smartphone, such as Siri on iPhone devices or Google Assistant on Android devices. This can only control functions supported by your phone (e.g., calling, calendar, texts, map apps). Your phone must be connected through Bluetooth or the USB data port.
Alternatively, you can use Apple CarPlay® or Android Auto™ to access your phone’s voice assistant.
To use Siri Eyes Free (iPhone devices) or Google Assistant (Android devices) on your phone:
1. Make sure your compatible phone is Bluetooth-paired with the system.
2. Press and hold the PUSH-TO-TALK button on the steering wheel (a long press) or say your voice assistant’s hands-free prompt, such as “Hey Google.”
3. You’ll hear your phone’s prompt. After the prompt, say your command.
4. The types of commands you can use depend on your phone but may include:
- Checking your calendar for upcoming events or meetings (e.g., “What’s on my agenda?”)
- Setting reminders (e.g., “Remind me to call Julie tonight”)
- Playing music (e.g., “Play my workout playlist on Spotify”)
- Making phone calls or listening to voicemail (e.g., “Call Dad”)
- Listening to and responding to text messages (e.g., “Read my text messages”)
For your security, please don’t include personal info such as phone number, address or credit card details.
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To find out if your vehicle has this feature, contact your dealer or refer to your vehicle’s equipment list. Please check your Owner’s Manual for more information about features.