Apple CarPlay problem with 2019 Acura RDX and iPhone X

I'm afraid to update to iOS 13 now. I've had pretty flawless performance for almost 7 months after I did a factory reset in the RDX. Zero disconnects, unless I mess with the cord, and everything working as intended with my iPhone X. Sounds like updating to 13 is a problem with the current version of the RDX software. On a different note, we just bought a Subaru Crosstrek and the phone works flawlessly on their version of Car Play, and way faster. Glad I paid $15,000 more for the RDX. They need to get this fixed and soon.

I called Acura client relations to complain about this CarPlay disconnect problem. I told them how we are getting extremely frustrated with Acura over this problem and they are going to end up loosing customers over it and money because of the class action lawsuit. The longer this problem goes on the, worse it will be for Acura. They said they are working on an Infotainment update that is suppose to fix it this winter, he said also that update is supposed to allow for Android auto.

[Edited by Moderator]

2 days ago I updated to iOS 13. The following day I connected my iPhone X to my 2018 Mercedes Benz the GLA. I noticed some problems connecting with the phone early on but eventually there seem to be a good connection for most of the day. At the end of the day during my last trip home, CarPlay simply did not show up on the screen when I Connected my phone. I called the Apple Help desk and was directed to upgrade to iOS 13.1.2. This patch supposedly contain to fix the CarPlay challenges.It did not solve the problems. Eventually the second person I spoke with suggested that I take the car to the dealership to check if it had the most updated firmware for CarPlay.Obviously this is very annoying as it means that I have to take the car to the dealership only to find out if the firmware is the most current.

When connected to the car there is an interface although it is limited. You do not see the CarPlay on the screen. Are you having similar problems with your car after upgrading to iOS 13? Late today a weird prompt came up on my screen which beard to be from Apple saying something to the effect that they recognize that there are problems with iOS 13 and they are working on it. That prompt disappeared and now I guess it’s a waiting game.

I too have tried different cables and resets. It has never fixed the CarPlay disconnect issue for me. I happened to be at my local Acura dealer today and they said they continue to get many owners complaining about the disconnect. They said the winter update is suppose to fix it. Although I must admit I have lost faith in their ability to fix this this since it has been going on for so long now. Well nothing to do but wait and hope the winter update fixes it. Meanwhile I just use the limited functionality that Bluetooth provides. The dealer said they would contact Acura to press them on getting the issue fixed. I can tell you I will never buy/ lease another car from Acura unless the get this fixed.

More information: After updating my 2019 Acura RDX's system, as recommended, Car Play became consistent. Instead of randomly cutting out, coming back, cutting out, it would consistently drop out after the first 4 to 6 minutes after plugging in, and remain off for about 5 minutes before spontaneously reconnecting itself. It would then stay on indefinitely. This was the pattern on eight consecutive trips lasting from 15 minutes to 90 minutes. Then, today, I updated the iPhone to iOS 13.2.2, and it connected and stayed connected on two consecutive trips of approximately 20-30 minutes each. This is not enough to say that it's no longer a random and intermittent problem, but it could mean that an improvement results from the combination of updating the Acura software AND installing iOS 13.2.2.

<< For those of us that are still having this CarPlay disconnect problems

please call Acura client support and let them now. That way they’ll

realize the problem still exists for some of us. >>

Absolutely. In my case, they assigned me a case number and a representative called me on the phone, offered suggestions, and kept in touch with follow-up calls. They do seem to be putting some effort into this.

Thanks for letting us know the 2020 RDX has the same issue with CarPlay disconnects. I was wondering about that.

As Leo mentioned please call Acura client relations and let them know. Leo’s video is great for demonstrating the problem. The more people that called the greater chance we have to get this fixed.

FWIW, after the recent update, and updating the iOS to 13.3, CarPlay on my 2019 Acura RDX will perform correctly a little less than half the time. When I start up and connect, it almost always works right (once in a GREAT while, CarPlay will be "Unavailable" at startup), but on a random basis it will suddenly disconnect and become unavailable after 4-6 minutes, and will spontaneously reconnect about 8-12 minutes later and remain on. I'm still playing with variables, such as turning off the phone's bluetooth before connecting. The few times I tried that, it worked right, but with a random intermittent problem it will be hard to assess whether it makes any difference until I go through many more cycles. I guess I should consider myself lucky that the problem is not as bad as what others have described, but I don't.

I currently have an iPhone X (now on the latest iOS update - 13.3) and drive a 2020 Acura RDX. I've had mixed results using CarPlay. When I first began driving the car, CarPlay wouldn't connect at all. Then I read the 'proper' method for connecting. The method is to allow the vehicle's infotainment to fully boot up (wait for the disclaimer to stop displaying) before plugging in my iPhone. By following that connection method, I was able to use CarPlay.

That is, I was able to use CarPlay until the most recent updates (both Acura's and iOS) came out. After updating both my car and my iPhone to the latest available, I suffer from the same frequent disconnection issues as others in this thread.

It's incredibly frustrating, and certainly is a distraction to driving. There are times I'm using Apple Maps to give me directions, so when the phone completely disconnects randomly, I am often forced to go far out of my way backtracking to the proper path.

I've ensured that I've followed all the recommendations. I use only Apple cables. I have fully updated my iPhone. I have fully updated my car's infotainment system. I connect my phone only after the infotainment system has fully booted. I have rebooted my iPhone (multiple times) to see if that corrects the issues.

Nothing has worked so far. It is infuriating.

josborne31--just for laughs, try disabling the phone's bluetooth just before getting into the car. I'm currently experimenting with that as a solution to my 2019 RDX issues, and it would be interesting to see if it works for anybody else. Also, when your CarPlay disconnects, is there a pattern? When mine goes out, it's almost always between 4 and 6 minutes after hook-up. Once I get past the 6 minute mark, it usually stays on. I'm wondering how unique that pattern is.

Update:

Yesterday I took my RDX to my dealer as instructed by ACURA Client Support.

My dealer was waiting for me, and they gave me an RDX 2020 just like mine while they tested my car.

My first conclusion, and may still change, is that the problem is not with the ACURA RDX, the problem is with MY ACURA RDX, as the loaner one, so far, has been flawless. 

Initially my dealer mechanic told me they were not able to reproduce the problem. They drove 20 min and had no issues. I told him before, and after his test that if it doesn’t happen after 5 minutes, forget about it, it will work until you turn the car off. This is important to explain.

I took two technicians for a ride, and they used an apple brand new cable I had for them (still unused), first trip no issues, second trip they were able to reproduce issue.

They now have my car, and I have the loaner, I am not sure what are they going to do to fix it (or if they will fix it), but I recommended everybody to call ACURA Client Support and drop the cars at dealers so they can see the problem. 

After 1 1/2 years of CarPlay drop outs, I tried using my Bluetooth connection for accessing my iPhone X apps. As I began playing music, I noticed that the sound quality was very different than via CarPlay. It was light & tinny sounding with little of the subwoofer that I love so much. So I quickly went back to suffering through CarPlay dropouts. This was about four months ago. Recently I had a service performed in which the infotainment firmware was updated. It did ZERO for the dropout problem, but it did seem to fix my Bluetooth audio problem. The audio is now the same quality as through CarPlay. So I’ve resigned myself to using Bluetooth when I’m using any of my maps or streaming apps so I don’t have to worry about dropouts in the middle of route directions. Believe it or not, this is refreshing for me because now I can use my apps with the same audio quality I was used to. Again, it’s sad that I’ve had such disappointing reliability from this infotainment system that I’m settling for a backup strategy. But now my urgency to trade in the RDX has been reduced. I might now actually wait until the end of my loan term to move away from Acura. What’s a done deal, though, is that I AM moving away from Acura forever!

Okay! so we are getting somewhere. Can you try to use the USB music more and for longer? Look for mal functioning, not just if the music will stop. For example, I noticed that with USB, after a few minutes, the music timer freezes, as well as the artwork, so the music will change, but not the screen anymore. Also, I can't skip a music after a few minutes, or even stop the music, it freezes. Can you check if the same happens with the USB stick? And of course, let us know If the system all freezes like when you use the Apple CarPlay.

Go to htthttps://acurazine.com/forums/

From there you can navigate to various topics; here's the link to the categories listed under "third generation RDX (2019+)":

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-rdx-audio-bluetooth-electronics-navigation-455/

There appears to be several related threads.

In addition to BPpark's comment, I'd recommend:

https://owners.acura.com/help/client-relations

This outlines various options available for communicating with Acura. If you are on Twitter, it might be wise to outline your concerns publicly. Also, my dealership highly recommended that I call their 800 number (800-382-2238).