CarPlay and Siri Issues 2019 Honda Pilot

I think you might just have pinged the cause of problem. Your original description seemed to be shouting “problem with external connectivity” when I started reading down the thread, and I half remembered there could be an onboard WiFi in some Hondas. First point, CarPlay is simply an interface for remote operation of your iPhone. Second point, Siri has to connect to internet for most actions and the failure described is exactly what I would expect when Siri can’t see internet. I got a similar response recently when I was in a cellular black spot.

My guess from the various descriptions is the phone has managed to connect to/through the vehicle WiFi instead of directly using your iPhone calling plan’s data - and now for whatever reason the vehicle’s hotspot is not passing the Siri traffic back to Apple’s backend servers (could this be a trial data subscription expired?).

Smartphones will almost always use a WiFi connection in preference to cellular data because it is considered to be “cheaper” in the routing settings. I see a similar problem from time to time in my work environment, where a broadband router (with WiFi) has lost its phone line for DSL. Not only do they lose computer connectivity, but suddenly all the smartphones and iPads lose their internet access because they are still connected to a WiFi which has no outside connection. Fix - disable WiFi on the cellular devices until the DSL is restored.

One way to investigate this theory would be to somehow disable your phone’s ability to connect to the vehicle hotspot, so it is forced to use cellular data direct from the phone to your network - not through the vehicle’s service. Options for this seem to include simply turning the phone’s WiFi off in Settings (not Control Center), disabling the car’s hotspot (look in the car menus), set a password on the car’s hotspot, or if the hotspot already has a password, change the password and don’t tell your phone.

Hopefully this offers a few clues to help you find the underlying issue and get it resolved.

Spent yesterday at Honda Dealer. The dealer tech called Honda support and they verified it is a known issue in the software and they were working on a patch. Said they expected to have it completed by 6/15. Will not be a owner available system update. Would need to be done by dealer.

So here’s the deal. I’ve had this since December when I first bought the pilot. We have several new phones of various models in the family and access to several vehicles with CarPlay so it was easy to pinpoint the issue. And it’s not the phone. In addition to that I’m a bit of a pain and my dealer was anxious to find out the problem. You pilot comes with a small amount of free data from at&t. Once that’s used up they’re hoping you will buy more. If not, the CarPlay is supposed to use the data on your phone. However, according to someone in the know, high up in Honda Canada tech (remember I said I can be quite difficult and pushed for a response), the software isn’t automatically switching to your phone and keeps trying the at&t option. We’re quite disappointed as this was a big reason for choosing the pilot over the Toyota. So you can now, pay for the data, use your phone as a hotspot or wait for the update which I’ve been promised since about January was on its way.

It’s a bug not a feature!!

I’m having the exact same issue with a 2019 Pilot Touring. Siri will not respond and time out and detects no internet connection available. The dealership says this is normal.

The workaround is in the dealers / Honda Canadas opinion is to hotspot the phone so the vehicle can connect to the phone via wifi for internet to activate basic Siri functions.

Yes, this is of course ridiculous. Can you imagine the data charges for the things the car does on the internet outside of CarPlay?

If the vehicles entertainment system is connected to WiFi either home or a hotspot Siri works as it normally would in other Honda’s with CarPlay.

I have tested IPhone X, 8, and 8plus

It it should be of note that this issue doesn’t exist with 2017-2018 models.

Hi everyone! I eventually had to do a factory reset in my car. Even getting that to work was tough. Once I reset the system car play worked and still is working. I filed a complaint with Honda for the very poor service at the dealership. I had asked them to reset it when I took it in. Obviously it wasn’t done. Very disappointing

I had the same problem, after software update on my iPhone X, Carplay stopped working.

Solution:

Go to your car setting and do a reset to "FACTORTY SETTING" .

Except having to pair your phone again, nothing will change, but Carplay starts working. That simple

Last week my Honda did a software update, along with updating my iPhone to iOS 13... everything is working perfectly now. (2019 Oddysey Touring). Hoping others have same luck!

i just popped in and spoke with a service advisor at a Honda Dealer in Richmond Hill, Ontario re apple car play/Siri issue on my brand new 2019 Odyssey. He said they’re aware of issue, and as of today Honda does not have a fix for it yet. He told me to check back in, in about a months time.

I have been having the same issue with my 2017 Pilot Elite starting in June 2019. While using Waze it would just disconnect, I would unplug and plug it back in, and nothing. Totally aggravating. So, recently I thought the issue was with my phone connected via Bluetooth and being plugged in, so I turned Bluetooth off on my phone, and so far, no issues. *note, I haven’t gone over about 5 miles so I can not guarantee this will solve the issue. Could just be a coincidence.

While I don't have a Honda, I do spend a great deal of time here reading and responding to questions. I can tell you if you do a search here, you will find that Honda Pilots are notorious for difficulties in CarPlay. While it is the responsibility of the vehicle manufacturer to take CarPlay and deploy it correctly in their vehicles, and also to ensure the vehicle systems are updated to handle the latest version of the CarPlay software, it seems Honda is very reluctant to do that. I wish you luck with it. It reminds me of the issues many Subaru owners experience with just pairing the iPhone to Bluetooth in their vehicles. If you follow Subaru's manual steps, it will hardly ever work correctly, but if you attempt to access the phone with the buttons on the steering wheel without a device paired, it will force the system into allowing the pairing. Seems these vehicle manufacturers just want to try to sell you on getting all of the bells and whistles, whether they work or not.