Tanner Marlar is a career-long journalist covering the automotive techincal industry. From the best and worst infotainment systems to ground-breaking innovations in the automotive space, Tanner has all the information you need. In his spare time, Tanner runs his own photography business, capturing motorsport memories at tracks across the country.
We all know that an Apple CarPlay-capable screen can make any old car feel like new, and that the platform adds a level of usability that makes it hard to live without. Just ask some of the companies that tried to break away from CarPlay in recent years, like General Motors. However, that doesn't mean that it's without its faults. It certainly has some small software quirks that can be maddening.
But did you know that most of those little software hiccups can actually be fixed with some minor setting tweaks? Even random disconnects have a few basic remedies, and good dashboard customization can make your life all the more comfortable. From making sure your CarPlay navigation lands on the right app to handling a few audio-ducking bugs that can interrupt the vibes on a long road trip, there are a few things you should try out before eyeing a new set of wheels.
Your CarPlay connection keeps dropping
Your car and phone shouldn't have commitment issues
I hate to be the one to tell you this, but if you're constantly experiencing random disconnects between your phone and infotainment display, the loudest voices in the room might be right. It's time to go wired. In my last car, this was a huge issue, to the point that I'd turn off wireless CarPlay and use a wired connection instead. A million factors can contribute to a random disconnect, but at least half of them come down to the handoff between your phone and the infotainment display.
However, what cable you choose matters just as much as anything else. The USB-C cable must be data-capable and high quality. If the wired connection won't work, you may need to remove your vehicle's data from the phone entirely and restart. Your car's infotainment software could also be out of date, but the wired connection is still the best bet for stability.
Your navigation keeps interrupting your music
Nothing brings down the vibe like "turn right ahead"
My biggest pet peeve is bad audio ducking because it really comes down to poor sound engineering. My disdain runs so deep that, on every map platform I use, I mute the voice-over alerts. This inevitably leads me to miss a few turns, but in my opinion, that's a small price to pay to keep my sweet tunes from being interrupted at every turn (quite literally).
You can certainly turn the voice-over volume down, which helps, but it still cuts hard into whatever else is playing over the speaker system. That didn't quite cut it for me, either, so I dove into my settings. Did you know, for instance, that you can adjust Apple Maps spoken directions and tendencies? I've turned my voice-over volume down and adjusted the alert settings, so I get fewer cut-ins. Now I miss far fewer turns, and I can listen to the full chorus of "Sister Golden Hair" uninhibited. Life is pretty good.
CarPlay keeps opening the wrong app
Everyone has their favorites, including your iPhone
You've been there. You have your favorite navigation app, but you have to click through three different CarPlay screens to reach it. Wouldn't it be nice if CarPlay didn't always open to the same two apps? What if I told you that was the easiest fix on this list? You'd be elated, you say? Might you pledge your fealty to me and my new CarPlay empire? Wonderful.
Well, you can sort of fix this by reordering your apps themselves, first and foremost. On your iPhone, simply hit Settings > General > CarPlay > [your vehicle] > Customize. Removing the apps you don't use is the best way to clear this up, but even then, some apps can be set as default CarPlay apps, and some can't. A quick look should give you the answer for each individual app.
Your CarPlay dashboard is cluttered and confusing
Times Square shouldn't fit on a 12-inch screen
Some of the most random apps, from LLMs to Pizza Delivery services, have CarPlay apps. Who would have thought? Imagine my surprise when I scrolled too far on my own screen and found the Domino's app, of all things, sitting on my dashboard. This can clutter your CarPlay dashboard with useless apps. The solution? Actually, the same as the last suggestion. Reorder or remove apps you simply don't use or need. You can't really customize your car's screen in the same way you can your phone, either.
Why? Because your phone's screen needs to be customized to maximize all of your apps. But your car's screen? That purpose gets flipped on its head. When customizing your car's screen, you need the most important information readily available so you can quickly find what you need without distracting yourself from the road. Removing this kind of clutter from your dashboard will help with that.