I finally solved the mystery of Carplay not working with Mazda with my new iphone 12

Did anyone know that with ios 14, CarPlay does not allow you to use the car controller to click on the apps? Well I have only just figured it out today with my Mazda CX-3. Apparently you can only use the touch screen when the car is on Park mode. Previously anyone sitting beside me was able to use the controller even while driving or at the Traffic Lights while the gear was in Drive mode. Now if I’m alone driving and scrambling to search a destination, I will need to stop the car to use the navigation app.

Ah well.. I suppose it’s all for safety issues.