Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
To change the radio while driving in Grand Theft Auto V, use the vehicle radio controls for your platform; the game-help material describes a radio wheel and a quick-change action, but there is no safe button combination to give for every GTA title and platform. Check the game’s Controls settings for your current setup. On PC, GTAV and GTA Online also have Self Radio, which can play eligible music files you add to the game’s User Music folder.
How to change the radio station while driving
In GTA, the vehicle radio is a listening option you select while driving. In GTAV, the official game-help page describes both a radio wheel and a quick-change action. It does not provide a fully legible set of button glyphs for every platform, so treat those as control concepts rather than a universal instruction to press one particular key or button. The applicable input depends on the game, platform, and control setup. The GTAV game-help page is a reference for that title, not proof that every GTA game uses identical controls.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
IRIPLEZO Grand Theft Auto V | $24.33 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition (Xbox One) | $23.50 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Grand Theft Auto V - Xbox 360 (Renewed) | $17.97 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Grand Theft Auto V | $39.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
![Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition - PC [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51fPlaA2F7L._SL160_.jpg)
|
Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Edition - PC [Online Game Code] | $29.98 | Buy on Amazon |
- Start or enter a vehicle in the game you are playing.
- Open that title’s Controls settings and find the vehicle radio or station-selection control. Use the listed input for your platform and current control scheme.
- Use the radio wheel or quick-change input if the game and platform provide it, then select the station you want.
- If the control does not respond, confirm that the vehicle is in a state where its radio can be used and that you are checking the controls for the correct game and input device. Do not assume a key listed for one GTA PC release will work in another release or on a console.
This is station selection, not a promise that every installment has the same stations, interface, or rules. The official GTAV material establishes the wheel and quick-change concepts; it does not document one series-wide control mapping. For the same reason, instructions for a PC keyboard should not be presented as instructions for a controller.
Play your own music in GTAV on PC
On PC, GTAV and GTA Online include Self Radio, a custom-music station. Rockstar’s instructions require music files without DRM in MP3, WMA, or M4A format. Put the files in the User Music folder under your Documents directory:
#1 Best Overall
- STUNNING VISUALS — Enhanced levels of fidelity and performance with new graphics modes featuring up to 4K resolution, up to 60 frames per second, HDR options, ray tracing, improved texture quality, and more
- FASTER LOADING — Quicker access to the action as the world of Los Santos and Blaine County load in faster than ever before.
- ADAPTIVE TRIGGERS AND HAPTIC FEEDBACK — Feel every moment through the DualSense controller, from directional damage to weather effects, rough road surfaces to explosions, and more.
- TEMPEST 3D AUDIO — Hear the sounds of the world with pinpoint precision: the throttle of a stolen supercar, the rattle of neighbouring gunfire, the roar of a helicopter overhead, and more.
- Please note that although this game is Region Free or Region Unlocked and will work on all systems, this is the European version and may differ from the local version in age rating, labeling or instructions.
DocumentsRockstar GamesGTA VUser Music
You can also put shortcuts in that folder that point to music folders elsewhere on the computer. This lets you keep the original files in their existing locations while making them available to the game. The supported formats and folder procedure are from Rockstar Support’s Self Radio instructions, last updated April 30, 2024. The article documents this PC workflow; it does not establish the same file-import feature on consoles.
Add the music files
- Choose audio files that are non-DRM and in MP3, WMA, or M4A format.
- Copy those files into
DocumentsRockstar GamesGTA VUser Music. Alternatively, add shortcuts in that folder that point to the folders containing the music. - Start the game, or use the audio-menu scan controls to make the files available to Self Radio.
- While driving, select Self Radio using the vehicle radio controls that apply to your PC control setup.
A file merely being present somewhere on the computer is not enough: it needs to be in the specified User Music folder or exposed there through a shortcut. A file in an unsupported format or protected by DRM also falls outside Rockstar’s stated requirements. The support instructions do not establish that every file with a supported extension will necessarily play; if a track is absent, check the folder, shortcut target, file format, and scan setting first.
Rank #2
- Includes the complete grand Theft Auto V story experience
Scan the folder and choose a Self Radio mode
Rockstar says the game can scan for music automatically at startup. You can also initiate a scan from Settings > Audio, with a choice of Quick Scan or Full Scan. The menu also controls how Self Radio plays the available tracks. The modes change the listening experience, not the file requirements.
| Mode | What it does | Useful when |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential | Plays tracks in folder order. | You want the tracks to follow the order represented by the music folder. |
| Shuffle | Plays tracks in random order. | You want a changing selection rather than the folder sequence. |
| Radio | Plays tracks randomly with in-game radio adverts and DJ banter between tracks; song skipping is disabled. | You want Self Radio to feel more like a broadcast station and do not need to skip songs. |
Rockstar’s description of Radio mode is explicit: it “plays through audio files randomly with radio adverts and DJ banter in between tracks” and “cannot skip songs.” That restriction is specific to the mode description; do not assume the other two modes have the same no-skip rule. If you need to skip tracks, select Sequential or Shuffle rather than Radio.
Rank #3
- The biggest, most dynamic and most diverse open world ever created and now packed with layers of new detail.
- Grand Theft Auto V blends storytelling and gameplay in new ways as players repeatedly jump in and out of the lives of the game's three lead characters, playing all sides of the game's interwoven story.
- Grand Theft Auto V also comes with Grand Theft Auto Online, the dynamic and ever-evolving Grand Theft Auto universe for multiple players.
When to use Quick Scan or Full Scan
Use the automatic startup scan if you normally leave the same music files in place. If you have just added tracks or changed the folder contents and they are not appearing, run a scan manually from Settings > Audio. Rockstar provides both Quick Scan and Full Scan there, but its instructions do not define a guaranteed time difference or a specific rule for deciding which one to use. The practical check is whether the new files become available after scanning; if not, verify that they meet the format and folder requirements before changing other settings.
The Self Radio mode selector and folder scan are separate decisions. A successful scan makes eligible files available; the selected playback mode determines their order and, for Radio mode, whether in-game adverts and DJ banter are inserted. Changing modes does not fix a missing file that was never found by the scan.
Rank #4
- This Certified Refurbished product is tested and certified to look and work like new. The refurbishing process includes functionality testing, basic cleaning, inspection, and repackaging. The product ships with all relevant accessories, a minimum 90-day warranty, and may arrive in a generic box.
Why GTA Online station lists can differ
GTA Online’s radio lineup has changed through updates, so a station list published for one point in time should not be treated as a complete current list. Rockstar’s GTAV Title Update 1.52 notes document changes dated December 2020: one entry lists Still Slipping Los Santos and The Music Locker among stations added, while another December 2020 entry lists K.U.L.T 99.1 FM and Still Slipping Los Santos, alongside updates to Worldwide FM and FlyLo FM. The notes show that the offering changed; they are not a current, complete station directory.
That distinction matters when troubleshooting. If a guide names a station that you cannot find, its list may refer to a different update period or version. The update notes establish those historical additions and changes, not whether a given station is available in every later version, region, or mode. Check the current in-game selection for the build you are actually playing rather than relying on an undated list.
Best Value
- GRAND THEFT AUTO V When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber and a terrifying psychopath land themselves in trouble, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a city in which they can trust nobody, least of all each other.
- GRAND THEFT AUTO ONLINE Discover an ever-evolving world of choices and ways to play as you climb the criminal ranks of Los Santos and Blaine County in the ultimate shared Online experience.
- THE CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE STARTER PACK The Criminal Enterprise Starter Pack is the fastest way for new GTA Online players to jumpstart their criminal empires with the most exciting and popular content plus $1,000,000 bonus cash to spend in GTA Online - all content valued at over GTA$10,000,000 if purchased separately.
- This game will no longer support Windows 7 or 8 operating systems starting January 30, 2024.
San Andreas PC: what to check if the car radio is silent
A documented sound issue applies specifically to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on PC with a surround-speaker setup of 5.1 or more. Rockstar says vehicle radio music may be routed to the center speaker. With only two speakers, its support page says there may be no channel through which the music can be heard. Rockstar advises matching the PC speaker configuration to the connected speaker system and ensuring that a station is selected. The San Andreas support article, last updated April 14, 2024, also says to press Insert or Delete to switch stations in the context covered by that page.
- Check that a radio station is selected; Rockstar’s troubleshooting instructions specifically include this check.
- On the PC, set the speaker configuration to match the connected audio system. The support page’s issue concerns surround setups of 5.1 or more and radio routed to the center speaker.
- In this San Andreas PC troubleshooting context, try Insert or Delete to switch stations.
- If those steps do not resolve the problem, do not carry the center-speaker explanation over to another GTA game or platform. The cited support page documents a San Andreas PC case, not a series-wide sound rule.
The Insert/Delete keys are not a universal GTA station-switch shortcut. Rockstar mentions them for this specific San Andreas PC support case. Likewise, the surround-sound explanation should not be used as a diagnosis for a silent radio in GTAV, GTA Online, or a console version without evidence that the same issue applies there.
What the official instructions do—and do not—establish
The documented player-facing picture is straightforward: select an in-game vehicle station using the controls for the particular title and platform; on PC, GTAV and GTA Online provide a Self Radio workflow for eligible local music; and game updates can change GTA Online’s station lineup. The sources cited here do not describe the full technical audio architecture, nor do they establish a series-wide rule for whether music continues after a player exits a vehicle. Those details should not be inferred from the station controls or the San Andreas troubleshooting case.
If you are following instructions for a different game or platform, use the controls and audio menus in that release rather than transplanting GTAV PC steps. The reliable distinction is between standard in-game stations, which the player selects from the vehicle radio interface, and Self Radio’s documented custom-file feature, which Rockstar describes for GTAV and GTA Online on PC.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
