Apple CarPlay GPS wrong location issue

Hello,

 


I bought a car with CarPlay functionality (RAV4 limited 2023). I am using it with an iPhone 13 pro under IOS16.4.1a (latest OS to date). CarPlay works except for navigation apps. When I use either Waze, Google maps or Apple maps, the location gets switched between the actual current location and somewhere 20-30 meters from the car. Therefore the GPS guidance doesn't work since the actual location is incorrect.

 

GPS apps on the iPhone works fine when not connected with CarPlay in this car. GPS navigation system from the car works fine when the phone is not connected.

 

I tried to start GPS apps first before connecting it to the car. It usually works for a few minutes (1-5 minutes) then the location is again off by 20-30 meters. I tried to start the GPS apps after I connect the phone to the car and I get the same result.


If I disconnect the phone, the car and iPhone GPS give me correct location. If I reconnect them, both give me the wrong location. When the car is not moving, the wrong location remains at the same spot even after I

disconnect/reconnect the phone. So it's not giving a random location. It's off by 20-30 meters.

Has anyone ever seen anything similar?

iPhone 13 Pro

Posted on May 2, 2023 4:40 PM

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Posted on Oct 3, 2023 3:27 PM

Update: With CarPlay in my 2023 VW Taos, the GPS will suddenly and unexpectedly show me to be in the wrong location. The error is several hundred feet to several miles. This is very dangerous when you are on a highlway and it suddenly tells you to turn on a road that does not exist. I updated my iPhone to iOS 17.0.2. It did not help. I have rebooted both the car system and the phone. It does not help. Most recently, this happened when I was parked in my driveway. I was connected to CarPlay. The map in the car AND on my phone showed the same WRONG location. I simply turned off Wi-Fi on my phone and immediately as the iphone disconnected from the car, the map on my phone switched to the correct location. Incidentally, my phone works fine with CarPlay in my Bolt.

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121 replies

Oct 16, 2023 5:33 PM in response to Letthecatin

Yeah, I guess you might be completely up to date then. In which case you might have this problem until their next software update ☹️. With wired systems you can usually work around the issue by disconnecting your phone from the car when the nav screws up (and continuing on your phone which should now show the correct position). But I don't know how difficult it is to disconnect on the move with wireless systems.

Oct 16, 2023 6:40 PM in response to Letthecatin

Yes it absolutely needs to be fixed. I checked to see if Android Auto users were having the same issue, which of course they were. However at the end of this thread I was interested to see an Android Auto team member say:

A software update has been released to fix this issue with GPS. Please reach out to the car dealership for the updates.

So it looks like Android were able to work with the car manufacturer and get a fix out. One can only assume Apple is doing the same. Although it is worth noting that this Android fix still took well over a year to arrive.

Oct 31, 2023 3:23 PM in response to J-Apple324

Do your phone maps show the correct position when not connected via CarPlay? If so, you need a car software update. Just remember that after your dealer has updated system & maps software, it might still show the wrong position. You will need to drive your car for a couple of miles for it to pick up the satellites again, after which the position should fix itself.

Oct 31, 2023 4:02 PM in response to Hch1946

That's bad. If your car is still under warranty then they should offer to replace the hardware, as software updates don't seem to be fixing the issue. That's what my dealer did when they thought the software updates hadn't worked. However for me the software updates actually had worked, but the car just needed to be driven a bit. So I ended up getting them to cancel the order for the new hardware unit.

Oct 31, 2023 7:55 PM in response to WombatAttack

RE: Wombat & Hch...


I'm experiencing similar in that when I totally disconnect from CarPlay, the location on my phone is correct, and (sometimes) when I'm connected to CarPlay it's wrong. I can connect wirelessly (WiFi) or wired (USB) (2023 VW GTI). I disconnect from WiFi CarPlay by turning off iPhone WiFi.


I made a change that seems to have helped and so I have a theory about the cause....


I changed my car's WiFi and Bluetooth name from the default of "My VW 1234" to something else. [note: your phone will attempt to use nearby WiFi and Bluetooth signals/network names to assist (cheat) with the location.]


One hypothesis is that the phone is using and confusing multiple same/repeated names of car WiFi hotspots or Bluetooth names. For example: if Google/Apple (some compiled and shared database) have picked up 10 or 100 different "My VW 1234" WiFi networks all with different locations, it may be that sometimes you are near one of those and so it is getting confused about the real location of that network.


After I changed the Bluetooth and WiFi car network names, I have not experienced this issue. I drove around through some locations where I had trouble previously and it was working very well.


The other day I was really having trouble and it was putting me over 1/2 miles away from actual location. Guess what was near the wrong location?? .... A VW dealer!! hmmm....


I have not called a VW dealer yet but I'm planning to do that if I notice this happening again.


Apple Tech Support also collected a lot of debugging logs from my phone too so maybe they will figure something out.

Nov 2, 2023 5:42 PM in response to sealclas

I found a solution that fixed the issue with my CarPlay. It appears that the map app had never properly updated previously and was using an old format and graphics display.


1) Delete your phone profile from your vehicle then do a forced reboot of your vehicle's system. You'll need to find the instructions for your specific vehicle make;

2) Delete the maps app from your phone;

3) Delete the CarPlay profile from your phone for the vehicle (settings, general, CarPlay). From the list under "My Cars" tap your vehicle profile/name and select "Forget This Car";

4) Do a forced reboot of your phone (in quick succession tap volume up, volume down, then press and hold the power button for approximately 15-30 seconds until the phone restarts;

5) Reinstall the maps app;

6) Pair your phone with your vehicle.


These steps have resolved the issue with my vehicle's CarPlay. In addition the map display is now showing an updated graphics display.

Nov 2, 2023 8:45 PM in response to jhferguson5

RE: jhferguson5


Thank you!


Was that for Apple Maps or Google Maps app? What exactly were you seeing as far as the format and graphics (which is really not what this thread is about)? How can I tell if there is a difference in the graphics before and after?


Here's the thing... I was experiencing exactly the same location issues with both the Apple and Google maps. Do you suspect that fixing one will fix both? I failed to check my car's native navigation maps at the time I was seeing a severe case.


It would be interesting to figure out which of those steps is the one that's the key (since there are two main steps that may be it -- 1. removing the maps app and reinstalling, and 2. removing the CarPlay profile from the iPhone-Car setup and adding it back.)


Nov 3, 2023 6:07 PM in response to blackmonolith

I no longer think that's the real problem/solution (what I had previously said about the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth names).


Today I noticed the inaccurate location issue and I switched my phone to Airplane mode so that it wasn't connected to the car at all. I brought up the VW native Navigation maps and it was showing the same inaccurate location as when it was connected a minute before.


So now I believe my real issue is with the vehicle's native GPS location getting distorted. Likely due to various obstructions like trees, clouds, smoke, etc.


While using CarPlay, the vehicle's own GPS location is used in the CarPlay maps (both Google, Apple maps, Waze etc.) and not the location originating from the phone. This location propagates back to the apps on the phone itself. So, even if the phone would have provided a more accurate location, it doesn't matter and CarPlay (in my case at least with a VW) uses the vehicle's location.


I'm not sure if this is realistically fixable... I saw that some folks had gone to a dealer for a Infotainment software or hardware updates. I tend to think that won't make much difference.

Nov 4, 2023 5:20 AM in response to jhferguson5

Based on what I'm reading, and my spouse's experience it seems this solution is inconsistent at best. It's still working for me, but did not work for my spouse (we both have VWs); maybe I lucked out even if it ends up being temporary. I spoke to the dealership and they been receiving a lot of calls lately about this. There is a firmware update which they are applying, though in a couple cases they had to replace the navigation module. I have an appointment Wednesday; wish me luck.

Nov 4, 2023 5:25 AM in response to J-Apple324

I was using Apple Maps. I just gave an update below that the steps I took have inconsistent results. It's still working for me at the moment but that luck may run out.


As far as the map display improvements, I've seen significant improvements in detail and display vibrancy, so I do think that my maps app had not updated properly previously. I realized it when I noticed the difference in my spouse's map display compared to mine.


I'm taking my vehicle to the dealership Wednesday for a firmware update.

Nov 4, 2023 10:54 PM in response to jhferguson5

Thanks for the updates. I'm still seeing some GPS maps location issues so I'm going to call the dealer Monday. It does seem like it's common with VWs (and Ford and BMW).


Today (Sat.) my car switched time zones from Central to Mountain. I manually set it and then it still overrode it back to the wrong zone. 🤨 I'm guessing that's a DST glitch. I guess I'll know more soon.

Apple CarPlay GPS wrong location issue

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