[Ducvet]

Hey everyone. I just picked u a 2012 escape limited that when phone calls come through, they are horrible sounding.

I think the left front speaker is bad ... or should I say worse. were they poor to begin with? This car was not from a kid trying to blow the windows out so I am surprised at the poor quality, should I consider the stereo itself?

 

[bangster]

Probably back in the day they sounded okay, I am going to guess there is something wrong with it/them. You should be able to do the walk around and see if it is a specific one or not.

If you don't have a moonroof or navigation, then you have the regular 6 speaker system (which in the limited is better than the XLS/XLT 4 speaker setup).

The speakers are just paper cones with pretty weak surrounds, but I have had them in a variety of 15-20 year old vehicles, I live in ambient temps that hit 110-115 and interior temps that easily reach 140 degrees, and never had any issues.

To do the walk around, be in a radio mode (AM or FM), press and hold the preset buttons 3 and 6 for 3 seconds, then release. It will make a sound out of each for about 1.5 seconds, and in most cases will show what speaker is being tested (like LF for left front). To exit just turn off the radio or turn the key off and open a door.

 

[Ducvet]

Bangster
Thank you for the test procedure I will try that out. The vehicle does have a moon roof so does this mean that it is the 4 speaker setup? The system can change to all speakers, drivers speakers or rear speakers besides the fader so not sure if that makes any difference.
I just tried the test and it does not play a tone the radio just plays so I used the settings to rotate between fading front and back as well as balancing left to right. It sounds worst out of the front speakers so I think I will start there. I assume the phone calls are played from the front speakers and that's why it sounds terrible .

I have a set of new pioneer ts-162 speakers I have owned for a decade or two and are still in the box so I may try digging in and see if they help.

 

[bangster]

If you have a moonroof, you should have the premium sound with 7 speakers (with a subwoofer in the rear compartment).

I am sure some new speakers will help. Round instead of oval speakers I think are better even if they don't have the same amount of surface area.