After driving 400 miles, I never start Google Maps without enabling these 7 hidden settings

While I love exploring places, I don't appreciate sitting on the driver's side and holding the steering wheel, especially for several hours. Even so, driving into new destinations can be challenging if you have to navigate long stretches or intersection-laden roads. The good thing is that I rely on Google Maps as a navigation assistant on Android Auto, or on my smartphone. After years of using it, and after recently completing an arduous journey of over 400 miles, I've learned which toggles to flip and which preferences to set before shifting gears and hitting the gas pedal. Download offline maps ahead of a long journey Pair them with offline music playlists The last time I had a long drive, it turned into an ordeal, though I learned an important lesson: always keep offline maps as a backup. We were a quarter of the way into the trip when we hit a long stretch of highway winding past a mountain range, and I regretted relying entirely on online navigation. Most of those paths had spotty cellular reception or none at all, so my Google Maps route was mostly frozen. I missed critical curve warnings and turn alerts because my location marker wasn't updating. The GPS tracking was also unreliable because of heavy, overcast cloud cover. This left me cruising much slower than usual, especially since I wasn't familiar with the terrain and had no heads-up on upcoming hazards. I realized that if I had downloaded the local maps beforehand, I could have retained basic voice guidance and turn prompts, which would have made a night-and-day difference during the drive. Downloading offline maps is quick. On your phone, launch Maps, tap your profile icon, and go to Offline maps > Select your own map. From there, you can drag the rectangle over the area you want to save. This zone can span a small spot or an entire province, though a larger area requires more storage space. When navigating offline, the app runs without real-time hazards, live layers, or incident updates, but it still preserves numerous points of interest and turn-by-turn distances. If you have YouTube Music or Spotify, you can also pair offline maps with offline audio tracks, which is practical when traversing dead zones. Turn on the traffic layer Get visual cues for bottlenecks ahead When passing through busy downtowns or heading to a stop in a dense city center, I make sure the live traffic layer is active on Google Maps. Although Google Maps isn't as proactive as Waze at rerouting around sudden slowdowns or corrections, keeping the overlay active gives you instant visual hints of congestion along your route. Moreover, it gives you an early warning when there’s an unexpected roadblock or, in some cases, can divert you to a clearer bypass. Green lines indicate free-flowing movement, orange or yellow signals sluggish travel, and deep red highlights bumper-to-bumper traffic. This proved exceptionally practical during a recent road trip, where a handful of stretches in Cebu were still undergoing road work and resurfacing. Seeing a thick red line ahead gave me enough warning to take an alternate route. You can toggle this on your Android Auto screen by navigating to Settings > Route options and selecting Traffic. Alternatively, you can switch this toggle within the mobile app before plugging your phone into the head unit and setting off. Create custom actions Trigger commands from the car display or with your voice Beyond standard Maps functionality, another handy option is Gemini actions. This utility is built into Android Auto rather than Google Maps, but it works seamlessly while navigating through Maps or Waze. Gemini actions let me build custom automated shortcuts that I can pin to the app drawer or trigger hands-free using voice prompts. The setup is flexible because it runs on the Gemini model, letting you connect features ranging from Google Workspace routines to smart home automations using natural language. I mainly use it to switch media queues, like issuing a single voice command to pull up a curated driving mix or launch direct routing toward a saved location. You can manage Gemini actions from the Android Auto menu in your phone settings. Launch Android Auto or search for it, go to Customize launcher, and select the option to set up a new shortcut. When configured, the dedicated shortcut icon appears in the car's launcher interface when Android Auto is active on your infotainment screen. You can also ask Gemini to run the command, which is often safer when your hands need to stay on the wheel and your eyes focused on the road. Specify your exact vehicle and fuel type Receive more tailored route suggestions For longer drives, I've made it part of my standard pre-trip checklist to choose the vehicle class and powertrain I'm driving. The app lets you choose between four-wheel vehicles and two-wheelers, and engine options include gasoline, diesel, hybrid, and electric setups. Setting the right vehicle matters when driving at varying elevations, as the routing algorithm factors in grades and fuel efficiency suited to your setup. For example, Google Maps might calculate an alternate route with steeper inclines if you are driving a diesel-powered truck. On the other hand, if you're driving a standard petrol vehicle, Maps tends to prioritize flatter roads to conserve fuel. The same logic applies if you are behind the wheel of an EV or plug-in hybrid, as the software will actively surface nearby charging plugs along the itinerary. To configure your ride, open the Google Maps app on your phone, tap your profile avatar, select Your vehicles, and choose your platform and fuel configuration. Enable dynamic notifications and Bluetooth beacons Get arrival estimates the moment you switch on the car In addition to the customizations, there are two hidden driving settings I always turn on. The first is Driving notifications, which immediately show estimated arrival times (ETAs) after I connect my phone to the vehicle via Bluetooth. This works alongside glanceable directions that display persistent travel times and work across different transit modes. Driving notifications reset or turn off when a trip ends or when you force-close the app, so double-check the toggle before driving off. Additionally, turning on Bluetooth tunnel beacons proves useful when passing through long tunnels or underground lanes. It improves position accuracy, as your phone actively locks onto nearby physical beacons. To check, go to Maps Settings > Navigation settings and scroll down to the Driving options section. Lower the voice guidance volume Keep prompts from overpowering your drive Most of the time, even on short local commutes, I like turning up the car speakers to a decent level to stay focused and engaged with whatever is playing. While I rely on spoken navigation to catch tricky exits and street alerts, having the prompts set to the loudest tier drowns out the background song or podcast episode. That becomes annoying on complex legs of a trip that trigger back-to-back instructions every few seconds. Over time, I've made a habit of dialing the voice guidance down to a gentler output or selecting the softest audible threshold. Leaving it locked at a milder tone creates a more relaxed driving atmosphere without losing turn awareness. To adjust this balance, go to Maps Settings > Navigation in your mobile app, select Sound and voice, and choose either Softer or Normal. Customize your vehicle avatar Give your on-screen route a personalized look One neat visual perk Google Maps has over Waze is how cleanly you can adjust your navigation icon. It's a purely aesthetic touch, but it adds personality to a several-hundred-mile trek and makes my drive livelier. The configuration lets you swap out the boring default arrow for different car models and choose a paint finish that matches what you are driving. The customization feature also accommodates motorcycles. You can change your vehicle avatar either through the mobile app or on the Android Auto dashboard while parked. Google Maps has everything you need to survive a road trip Google Maps has grown into a powerhouse navigation app (and in some cases even better than Waze) over the years, so it's not always best to rely on the default settings. Whether you're on a cross-country drive or navigating across town, running through these Google Maps core settings makes all the difference before you put the car in drive mode or shift that gear stick. Flipping one or two of these toggles can save you a hassle, as it has on my many trips.