[Hagence]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone is having issues with their Apple CarPlay malfunctioning on Apple Maps. It doesn’t matter whose phone I hook up to my car, the Apple maps and Waze are all over the place. The dealership doesn’t seem to know anything about it though I’ve read on some other forums that this may have been an issue a couple years ago as well.

 

[Drexlex]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone is having issues with their Apple CarPlay malfunctioning on Apple Maps. It doesn’t matter whose phone I hook up to my car, the Apple maps and Waze are all over the place. The dealership doesn’t seem to know anything about it though I’ve read on some other forums that this may have been an issue a couple years ago as well.

"All over the place" is a bit vague. Are you talking about the "drift" issue discussed here?

 

[FKHeath]

Hi. Just wondering if anyone is having issues with their Apple CarPlay malfunctioning on Apple Maps. It doesn’t matter whose phone I hook up to my car, the Apple maps and Waze are all over the place. The dealership doesn’t seem to know anything about it though I’ve read on some other forums that this may have been an issue a couple years ago as well.

The wandering GPS issue is well known and widely discussed on this forum.

Recently, I rented a Chevy Malibu when in California, and the Malibu had the exact wandering GPS issue as my RAV4, thus I concluded that the problem is in the phone or the app you are using, not the car.

 

[Indiana Driver]

The wandering GPS arrow with Apple CarPlay is frustrating. I think there’s a GPS in both the car head unit and the phone and they battle it out with each other, causing the issue. I think that some IPhone updates fix the issue for a while and then it comes back again with new phone updates.

 

[Hagence]

"All over the place" is a bit vague. Are you talking about the "drift" issue discussed here?

Yes the drift issue. It puts me in yards, lakes, buildings 2 blocks over and is concrancy rerouting me. I have to have my work phone often running in the car as well since it’s not plugged into the Rav it functions properly.

 

[FKHeath]

The wandering GPS arrow with Apple CarPlay is frustrating. I think there’s a GPS in both the car head unit and the phone and they battle it out with each other, causing the issue. I think that some IPhone updates fix the issue for a while and then it comes back again with new phone updates.

When using a phone for navigation (Google Maps, Waze, etc) with CarPlay, all the radio is doing is displaying what the phone is sending it. The radio GPS is not involved.

 

[Indiana Driver]

When using a phone for navigation (Google Maps, Waze, etc) with CarPlay, all the radio is doing is displaying what the phone is sending it. The radio GPS is not involved.

Well, we have a 2023 with the JBL head unit and when we had the Toyota subscription that came free for a period after purchase, the mapping system through Toyota worked perfectly and when we use an IPhone by itself (not hooked into the car) it works without a problem too. You’d think that hooking the phone through CarPlay would just mirror the image on the phone, but it doesn’t always work that way - it’s maybe 50/50 if it’s going to be accurate and you not get the wandering arrow and constantly changing route adjustments. Maybe the last generation of head units worked better with showing CarPlay maps.

 

[Hagence]

When using a phone for navigation (Google Maps, Waze, etc) with CarPlay, all the radio is doing is displaying what the phone is sending it. The radio GPS is not involved.

That’s what I had thought as well until my son borrowed my car and called me in a panic wondering what the hell was wrong with my maps in my car. So at that point I knew it had to be some kind of a Toyota apple car play translation issue.

 

[Drexlex]

When using a phone for navigation (Google Maps, Waze, etc) with CarPlay, all the radio is doing is displaying what the phone is sending it. The radio GPS is not involved.

But the car's GPS antenna is involved. And it appears the communication of that information from the radio to the phone is corrupted. As soon as the phone is disconnected from the car, the location displayed on the phone becomes correct. Reconnect it, and both the phone and the car display the wrong location. Isn't that right?

I saw one report where the user physically disconnected the car's GPS antenna from the radio in order to force the phone to use its internal GPS resources, and that gave correct results on the phone and car. This is unfortunately not an easy test to perform, but after some 5 years of dealing with this problem across multiple car makers and Apple phones, one would think the error would have been isolated by now. Especially since it does not occur with Android phones, which simply proves it can be done.

 

[Indiana Driver]

But the car's GPS antenna is involved. And it appears the communication of that information from the radio to the phone is corrupted. As soon as the phone is disconnected from the car, the location displayed on the phone becomes correct. Reconnect it, and both the phone and the car display the wrong location. Isn't that right?

I saw one report where the user physically disconnected the car's GPS antenna from the radio in order to force the phone to use its internal GPS resources, and that gave correct results on the phone and car. This is unfortunately not an easy test to perform, but after some 5 years of dealing with this problem across multiple car makers and Apple phones, one would think the error would have been isolated by now. Especially since it does not occur with Android phones, which simply proves it can be done.

You are correct - the exact same IPhone connected and unconnected yields different results for the mapping. I swear that some Apple updates fix the issue, but then they send out another one that messes it up again.

 

[Hagence]

But the car's GPS antenna is involved. And it appears the communication of that information from the radio to the phone is corrupted. As soon as the phone is disconnected from the car, the location displayed on the phone becomes correct. Reconnect it, and both the phone and the car display the wrong location. Isn't that right?

I saw one report where the user physically disconnected the car's GPS antenna from the radio in order to force the phone to use its internal GPS resources, and that gave correct results on the phone and car. This is unfortunately not an easy test to perform, but after some 5 years of dealing with this problem across multiple car makers and Apple phones, one would think the error would have been isolated by now. Especially since it does not occur with Android phones, which simply proves it can be done.

This is 100% correct. The problem I’m sure is in the head unit of the Toyota since I can disconnect and the phone is fine. Anyone else connects to my RAV4 and their directions become corrupt.

 

[FKHeath]

So at that point I knew it had to be some kind of a Toyota apple car play translation issue.

When in California recently, I rented a Chevy Malibu. I had the exact same wandering GPS issue as I have on my RAV4. Thus I concluded that it must the phone and not the car with the problem; same problem, two different cars. Can anyone explain why the same problem would occur on two different cars, but with the same cell phone?

I saw one report where the user physically disconnected the car's GPS antenna from the radio in order to force the phone to use its internal GPS resources, and that gave correct results on the phone and car.

For the 5th generation RAV4, the radio can easily be removed (five to ten minutes) and the GPS antenna disconnected. This thread shows how: (43) Cheap Audio Plus 8" Display Upgrade with Corolla Radio | Toyota RAV4 Forums

 

[Drexlex]

When in California recently, I rented a Chevy Malibu. I had the exact same wandering GPS issue as I have on my RAV4. Thus I concluded that it must the phone and not the car with the problem; same problem, two different cars. Can anyone explain why the same problem would occur on two different cars, but with the same cell phone?

Perhaps the CarPlay software supplied by Apple to CarPlay head-unit licensees has a problem.

For the 5th generation RAV4, the radio can easily be removed (five to ten minutes) and the GPS antenna disconnected. This thread shows how: (43) Cheap Audio Plus 8" Display Upgrade with Corolla Radio | Toyota RAV4 Forums

I hope someone does the test to verify if it is corrupted GPS data causing the problem. I can't do it as I'm Android based.

If the test confirms the communication error is fixed by relying solely on the phone's GPS, would it be an effective workaround or are other important features lost?

 

[FKHeath]

would it be an effective workaround or are other important features lost?

There are a few other things that use your GPS location, the SOS button is one. When you press that button, then the operator at the other end can see your location to send help. The stolen vehicle locator would also need the car location.

 

[Drexlex]

There are a few other things that use your GPS location, the SOS button is one. When you press that button, then the operator at the other end can see your location to send help. The stolen vehicle locator would also need the car location.

Those are indeed important features. And I guess it would also kill my favorite one -- find my car!

ETA: Then again, if the system registers the car's location at the time it is last parked, while the phone was inside with its GPS is working, it ought to show up at that location in the app afterward. Maybe this would also be true for the SOS function? But there's no doubt the ability to track the stolen car would be lost.

 

[FKHeath]

Those are indeed important features. And I guess it would also kill my favorite one -- find my car!

ETA: Then again, if the system registers the car's location at the time it is last parked, while the phone was inside with its GPS is working, it ought to show up at that location in the app afterward. Maybe this would also be true for the SOS function? But there's no doubt the ability to track the stolen car would be lost.

The map app on my iPhone (I call it Apple Maps) shows the location of my parked car. Don't need the Toyota app or other car hardware/software to do that.

 

[Drexlex]

The map app on my iPhone (I call it Apple Maps) shows the location of my parked car. Don't need the Toyota app or other car hardware/software to do that.

Heard about that. It's a thoughtful feature. Google Maps does not do that unless you manually "drop a pin".

 

[462478]

Is the phone in your pocket or in a place that doesn't have a good view of the sky? I noticed that if my phone is in my pocket, the GPS antenna in the phone doesn't get a great signal since your body is blocking a lot of it (water is a GREAT blocker of radio waves, and your body is made up of over 60% water). When I put my phone in my cup holder, the signal is perfect. It also seems to work pretty well when in the cubby area on the wireless charger as well.

 

[Hagence]

Is the phone in your pocket or in a place that doesn't have a good view of the sky? I noticed that if my phone is in my pocket, the GPS antenna in the phone doesn't get a great signal since your body is blocking a lot of it (water is a GREAT blocker of radio waves, and your body is made up of over 60% water). When I put my phone in my cup holder, the signal is perfect. It also seems to work pretty well when in the cubby area on the wireless charger as well.

Mine is always on the holder in the open and still malfunctions 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[FKHeath]

Is the phone in your pocket or in a place that doesn't have a good view of the sky? I noticed that if my phone is in my pocket, the GPS antenna in the phone doesn't get a great signal since your body is blocking a lot of it (water is a GREAT blocker of radio waves, and your body is made up of over 60% water). When I put my phone in my cup holder, the signal is perfect. It also seems to work pretty well when in the cubby area on the wireless charger as well.

My cell phone works good no matter where it is. For the most part, it is on my belt clip and low, next to the seat belt latch. If I need to see the screen, or charge it, it is on my dash mount.

Most navigation programs don't rely on GPS satellite signals exclusively. They also rely on triangulation from cell phone towers, but mostly they rely on the internal (to the cell phone) inertial navigation system (gyros, and accelerometers).