Toyota RAV4 Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Fast charging with wired CarPlay

Jump to Latest
1.9K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  FKHeath  
#1 ·
I found a great solution to the charging problem when using wired CarPlay in my 2021 Prime SE. The power output from the CarPlay USB port is so low my iPhone barely charges at all when in use. I experimented with an aftermarket wireless CarPlay adapter. This allowed me to fast charge my phone using the cigarette lighter adapter, but the wireless CarPlay was buggy, slow, delayed, prone to dropping its connection, and had poor audio quality.

I have been using this USB-C PD power splitter from Tindie and it works great. I get the reliability of wired CarPlay along with fast charging capability. One port plugs into the CarPlay USB port while the other plugs into a USB fast charger in the cigarette lighter adapter. Then a single USB-C to lightning cable charges my iPhone.

USB-C PD power splitter from Essence Engineering on Tindie
 
F
#3 ·
toyotadrift said:
The power output from the CarPlay USB port is so low my iPhone barely charges at all when in use
Click to expand...
DownhillToyoda said:
Yeah the power output of the usb a port is ridiculous.
Click to expand...
Not only is the power out of the USB-A ports low, they have overload protection and will completely shut off if your device tries to take more power out than can be delivered. Recently, I tried to charge my iPad out of the USB-A port and the port shut down, meaning the iPad never got any charge at all. I didn't discover that the iPad was not charging until I had completed my drive; very annoying, to say the least.

It is possible to swap out the USB-A ports inside the center console and the back of the console with OEM USB-c ports, they even come in backlit versions such as this:

Image


but I could never find out if the OEM USB-c ports actually have a higher current output.

There is a thread on the forum about swapping the USB-A for USB-c ports, but I can't find it right off.
 
Toyota RAV4 Forums
posts
1.1M
members
174K
Since
2004
Rav 4 World is the internet's largest Toyota Rav4 SUV and EV online forum community. Discuss towing, modifications, and more.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
4.3 General 4.3 Mechanical 4.5 RAV4 Hybrid (except Prime) 4.5 RAV4 Prime 4.3 Exterior