CarPlay GPS Ford Sync 3 Accuracy Problem with Waze

SUMMARY:

I figured it out. If you unplug the GPS antenna from the radio, the error does not occur. The problem is, if you have factory navigation on your radio, then the factory nav will obviously not work without the GPS antenna.

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What I figured out is that if I plug my phone into CarPlay, it will use the GPS antenna from the radio instead of using the GPS antenna from my phone. For whatever reason, that scenario was causing the speed to be off by about 10 mph when I was doing 60. When I unplugged the GPS antenna from the radio, then Waze used the GPS from the phone instead.

Interestingly, there was a GPS antenna plugged into my radio, even though I do not have factory navigation on my radio. So for me, unplugging the factory GPS antenna is not an issue.

If you have factory navigation, maybe try using a different GPS antenna. Someone with factory navigation would have to test that theory though. GPS antennas are available on Amazon for around $10-$15.

Seems there is some sort of compatibility issue between the iPhone and the Ford GPS antenna. That said, it used to work perfectly up until a few months ago, which makes me wonder if the GPS “rollover event“ had something to do with this. Maybe someone smarter than me knows... https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/04/gps-rollover-event-on-april-6-could-have-some-side-effects

Anyway, hope that helps.

And, apologies for any typos...I typed this with thumbs from the passenger seat of a bouncy car and I’m too car ick to proofread. :-/

Folks, this is a problem with the Ford SYNC 3.0 head units and has nothing to do with iPhones, CarPlay, or Waze, and thus must be corrected by an update form Ford. It's just because of the way CarPlay (available only on iOS) sources GPS information from the head unit when available, we see it with Waze when connected to a SYNC 3.0 head unit via CarPlay, because Waze, unlike the other major navigation apps, shows your actual speed based on GPS.

The good news is that Ford has started rolling out an update for SYNC that is reported to correct this issue. As I understand it, it is currently available at Ford dealers for select years/models/trims/countries (that I guess have passed testing already?) and will likely be available for other configurations at dealers and/or the self-service Internet-based update (both Wi-Fi and USB) soon. I would recommend contacting either your local Ford dealer or Ford SYNC's support for further details.

Hey johnnabholz,

Thanks for the great information. I understand you're having issues using some features while using CarPlay. I'd be happy to help out.

From the details you've provided, it sounds like you've isolated the issue to CarPlay and I'd suggest using the Get Help section of this article below:

How to use CarPlay with your iPhone - Apple Support

Cheers!

I'm having the exact same issue, same 2018 F150 also. IPhone X. I'm positive it was working prior to me upgrading my Sync the other day. Did you recently upgrade your Sync also? I've ran across several posts from other sources, Non-Ford related as well without any solution.

Same problem here.

CarPlay GPS was working beautifully with my iPhone XS and Ford C-Max Energi. Then, yesterday, my location and heading were inaccurate enough to force me to pull over the side of the road so I could figure out what was going on. Both Apple Maps and Google Maps affected, so seems like it is the core location service.

Hope this is a software issue that gets fixed ASAP.

Contact Ford. The head unit needs to be updated. Changes were applied recently to the Global GPS system to account for drift of the magnetic pole. The nav unit in the car is probably using an old database that does not account for the change. When you plug the phone into the head unit, it gets GPS data from the head unit instead of the phones own built in GPS.

Your original post was interesting when you say everything was fine until you did your Sync update, which is a Ford update. That may help them narrow this down, and may identify there is an issue with the Ford Software with CarPlay, since everyone is reporting the phone works, the vehicle works, but connecting the two is when the issue begins.

Its definitely a Ford GPS issue. I have two Fords and the Waze and Google Maps speed/position inaccuracy started at the same time in both vehicles. There was no update to the SYNC 3 software during this time. The issue only happens in Carplay. My understanding is that if the vehicle has a GPS (they all do now) then Apple Carplay uses the vehicle GPS for position and velocity information. This is the information that is inaccurate.

It is my understanding that the GPS clock time rolled over on April 6 2019. I suspect we will find that this is the root cause.

I also recently discovered this on my 2016 F150. Location is generally accurate, but when running Waze through Carplay, my speed within Waze is generally about 7-10 MPH faster than my speedo reads. I have also noticed that periodically, when I pull up the native NAV system in my Sync3 unit, it will display no GPS in the lower left corner of the map - and that's without my iPhone plugged in. So I have to believe as stated above, that it is an issue with the built-in GPS in the vehicle, and the app relying on that (or reverting to cellular data in its absence).

This is a known problem with Ford Sync 3, which reports incorrect GPS position and/or speed to navigation apps using the CarPlay integration. When Waze is run as a native app on its device, it uses that device's GPS for location and speed information and works fine, but when connected to a car via CarPlay, CarPlay sources location and speed information from the car's head unit (I guess the idea is to save on a little bit of data?). Further, Apple does not provide any kind of options to choose whether to get your location information from the device or from the connect car's head unit, so we're at the mercy of Ford providing us with a patch (which there is none, as of now), and hoping that it can be fixed with a software patch and not an expensive hardware replacement.

Same exact problem. I wonder what would happen if you unplugged the GPS antenna from the Ford radio and relied on the GPS from the phone... in other words, would the GPS data from your phone go to CarPlay...or would it simply not work because there was no antenna plugged into the radio. Note: I do not have Ford nav, so nothing in the radio should be dependent on the Ford GPS. Theoretically anyway. Think I’ll try this.

I have found that CarPlay is the issue with my 2016 Ford F-150. I am going to check with my OLD iPhone 5 and see if it is also having the issue as it is running iOS10. When I contacted Apple they say they believe it is on the FORD side and I have recently tested CarPlay in my 2019 Pacifica without issue. The problem has to be with how SYNC 3 is processing the CarPlay interface. The Chrysler Pacifica displays my speed exact without any problems which surprised me as I was set on it being an iOS problem.

I have tested my old iPhone 5 and it has the same problem as the iPhone SE. I am running iOS13 on my iPhone SE, iOS12 on an iPhone 7 and they also have the problem so the issue has to be on the Ford side as all the devices I mention have ZERO issue in our Chrysler Pacifica. Now we just need Apple to work with Ford to correct it as there has to be some partnership there for Ford to sale vehicles with Apple CarPlay installed.

I have been trying to resolve this problem for about year . Google maps, Apple maps, Waze and Sygic all have the same issue! I did manage to get Waze to work via Sync3 AppLink but the iPhone got extremely hot and would crash after a while. My sync 3 unit has the latest firmware and My iPhone 8 has the latest iOS 13. With the recent IOS13 upgrade that Apple has done to CarPlay, I was sure that this issue would be resolved but unfortunately not! What you need to know is that android auto google maps and Waze works perfectly on my sync 3 and the android phone runs a lot cooler. I also pursued the possibility of the gps antenna of the sync 3 being the problem but according to the engineers at sygic, they say that it is the phones gps antenna that does all the work. So what’s difference. On the phone it works fine but when plugged in to Sync3, the tracking goes crazy!

i am an iPhone fan I would love to have this issue resolved! Meanwhile I will be using Android Auto