Infotainment system/screen crashing and connection issues with CarPlay

[Iain-Le-Roi]

Hi
I have a beach 6.1 2021 and I am having issues with the main screen/infotainnent. It used to always connect seamlessly to Apple CarPlay as soon as I started the engineer with a stable wireless connection. Now it can take 1-10 goes or never connnedt and also the whole system will crash and reboot often when trying to do it. I’ve done a software update on the unit and phone is always fully up to date. It behaves the same with other phones too so it isn’t a phone problem and rests of the phone and keeping finger on off and resetting doesn’t work either. Has anyone seen this before?

Thanks

 

[Tarquers]

Similar but wired CarPlay. system does not like the phone in the wireless charger and connected to CarPlay, crashes and needs a complete cycle of ignition to recover. VW dealer claimed that Apple do not support iPhones from 12 on. Not buying it at all but not sure where to go next!

 

[Iain-Le-Roi]

A cycle doesn’t fix mine. If I cycle the ignition I have to start again with it and again will take multiple goes if it eventually connects at all. It’s really frustrating. Connecting via wire is the same and only connects sometimes. I’ve tried factory reset of the system. Is there any other things to try that fully resets the unit or updates it?

 

[Iain-Le-Roi]

Other thing to mention is it worked for 12 months without issue with the same phone so I think it’s an update to the infotainment unit that’s caused it

 

[Johnny Rocket]

It's rubbish.

Make sure you have the WeConnect app installed on your phone, then ask the dealer to update the system to whatever's the latest software issue (they'll likely need a whole day (really), as they seem to do it over a dodgy dial-up to Wolfsburg).

Then keep your fingers crossed and pray.

It works OK for me on a first gen iPhone SE, although the response when dragging a map around is irritatingly laggy, but with my wife's iPhone 7 it pixelates and pitches and crashes with irritating regularity. She has even observed that it seems receiving a WhatsApp message may just tip it (yes!).

Good luck.

(our van was bought new Aug 2021, incidentally)

PS oh, and it always seems to want to offer a connection to phones whose names it has clearly stored but are not even in range, rather than offering you just those which are actually in the car!
However, if you go to the main VW screen (so NOT CarPlay) and tap Menu / Settings / Manage Mobile Devices, it will list the phones it knows, and you can then delete the ones you don't want to be there confusing the issue, or instead just hit the one you want and connect to it rather than trying to get it to select via the Apple CarPlay interface - this last manoeuvre has been by far our most useful find!

 

[Hawthorn37]

Our van is now booked in at VW Sheffield Van Centre to look at Apple Car Play (and fix the side door blind misaligned runners). Our CarPlay issue is that after about 15 minutes driving the screen becomes pixelated and buttons are unresponsive. At the same time, the phone becomes very hot - as if the comms are going ballistic. It happens with both our phones.

The disappointing news is that after explaining the issue, the dealers service rep said ‘Ah, that‘ll be a Carplay problem. We often find we can’t fix those.’ I explained that we can successfully run CarPlay on 2 other family cars (VW and Volvo) and that surely the issue is VW’s, not Apples, but that didn’t seem to hold any importance. I was asked to run any OTA software updates available, but none are available.

It’s booked in for around 3 weeks time. I will report back.

 

[Iain-Le-Roi]

Thanks for the replies.. I agree it definitely seems to be a be software issue rather than apple as I can use CarPlay fine in my wife’s car.

 

[Iain-Le-Roi]

It's rubbish.

Make sure you have the WeConnect app installed on your phone, then ask the dealer to update the system to whatever's the latest software issue (they'll likely need a whole day (really), as they seem to do it over a dodgy dial-up to Wolfsburg).

Then keep your fingers crossed and pray.

It works OK for me on a first gen iPhone SE, although the response when dragging a map around is irritatingly laggy, but with my wife's iPhone 7 it pixelates and pitches and crashes with irritating regularity. She has even observed that it seems receiving a WhatsApp message may just tip it (yes!).

Good luck.

(our van was bought new Aug 2021, incidentally)

PS oh, and it always seems to want to offer a connection to phones whose names it has clearly stored but are not even in range, rather than offering you just those which are actually in the car!
However, if you go to the main VW screen (so NOT CarPlay) and tap Menu / Settings / Manage Mobile Devices, it will list the phones it knows, and you can then delete the ones you don't want to be there confusing the issue, or instead just hit the one you want and connect to it rather than trying to get it to select via the Apple CarPlay interface - this last manoeuvre has been by far our most useful find!

Yeah, I’ve deleted the old phones and removed mine and re-added etc.

I’ve had the pixelation thing happen too but that seems to have gone away now.

I’ll contact my dealer but don’t hold much hope.

 

[GrahamB]

Following this with interest, and I have discussed in another thread. I have connection glitches from time to time but the most infuriating thing is the pixelation/screen breakup which ruins googlemap nav after 15mins. As others have said, this is after an initial year or so of it all working fine. I suspect a VW update has caused a connection issue.

 

[GrahamB]

Following this with interest, and I have discussed in another thread. I have connection glitches from time to time but the most infuriating thing is the pixelation/screen breakup which ruins googlemap nav after 15mins. As others have said, this is after an initial year or so of it all working fine. I suspect a VW update has caused a connection issue.

PS it happens on both wired and wireless connection.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

PS it happens on both wired and wireless connection.

Think it’s a Apple iPhone update that causes the issue. Seems common on some VW’s. There are various chats that come up on google searches but no real solution.

 

[Hawthorn37]

PS it happens on both wired and wireless connection.

Agree - same as ours. Annoyingly, even when not using CarPlay, and using the VW nav, if the phone is linked, any phone actions interrupt the nav. So now we have to delete the phone for VW nav., and that means phone calls are disabled. It’s not good!

Also for 10 months it worked almost flawlessly, and now useless. In Sept we did notice that Waze sometimes discoloured, but it remained active. I can only assume that the vehicle based software has an issue. I’m guessing the Apple Car Play software is provided by Apple to VW? I can see this being like an enigma wrapped in riddle.

 

[GrahamB]

Think it’s a Apple iPhone update that causes the issue. Seems common on some VW’s. There are various chats that come up on google searches but no real solution.

I dont think so. There are too many reports of CarPlay working from the same phones on others vehicles. It looks much more like a VW issue to me.

 

[Iain-Le-Roi]

I dont think so. There are too many reports of CarPlay working from the same phones on others vehicles. It looks much more like a VW issue to me.

Yep. Mine works fine in two other cars annoyingly

 

[Hawthorn37]

Yep. Mine works fine in two other cars annoyingly

Likewise.

 

[Johnny Rocket]

It's rubbish.

Make sure you have the WeConnect app installed on your phone, then ask the dealer to update the system to whatever's the latest software issue (they'll likely need a whole day (really), as they seem to do it over a dodgy dial-up to Wolfsburg).

Then keep your fingers crossed and pray.

It works OK for me on a first gen iPhone SE, although the response when dragging a map around is irritatingly laggy, but with my wife's iPhone 7 it pixelates and pitches and crashes with irritating regularity. She has even observed that it seems receiving a WhatsApp message may just tip it (yes!).

Good luck.

(our van was bought new Aug 2021, incidentally)

PS oh, and it always seems to want to offer a connection to phones whose names it has clearly stored but are not even in range, rather than offering you just those which are actually in the car!
However, if you go to the main VW screen (so NOT CarPlay) and tap Menu / Settings / Manage Mobile Devices, it will list the phones it knows, and you can then delete the ones you don't want to be there confusing the issue, or instead just hit the one you want and connect to it rather than trying to get it to select via the Apple CarPlay interface - this last manoeuvre has been by far our most useful find!

How very strange . . . . hot on the heels of this recent flurry of correspondence and experience / frustration-sharing I received a call from my dealer yesterday (were their ears burning) asking if I could bring the van in for some recall work 'which can be done whilst you wait'. I said fine, but asked what the recall was for, and the lady said someone would phone me.

First thing this morning the service manager called me to say that " . . . in fact, errrrrr, there are THREE updates on recall, plus an over-the-air update", which they proposed to do at the same time.

You've guessed it, "Can we have the car for a bit longer, you see it's unlikely we'll get it all done in a day?", to which I said 'Yes, fill your boots'.

I took a photo of the work sheet, which lists an ECU update, an infotainment one (hurrah!), and one for the 'OCU', which I think must be a vehicle control unit. I don't know the purpose of the over-the-air one.

These recall / updates have all appeared since the van was in for a complete update of anything needing it on 14th Nov last!

I'll let people know what happens . . .

 

[Hawthorn37]

How very strange . . . . hot on the heels of this recent flurry of correspondence and experience / frustration-sharing I received a call from my dealer yesterday (were their ears burning) asking if I could bring the van in for some recall work 'which can be done whilst you wait'. I said fine, but asked what the recall was for, and the lady said someone would phone me.

First thing this morning the service manager called me to say that " . . . in fact, errrrrr, there are THREE updates on recall, plus an over-the-air update", which they proposed to do at the same time.

You've guessed it, "Can we have the car for a bit longer, you see it's unlikely we'll get it all done in a day?", to which I said 'Yes, fill your boots'.

I took a photo of the work sheet, which lists an ECU update, an infotainment one (hurrah!), and one for the 'OCU', which I think must be a vehicle control unit. I don't know the purpose of the over-the-air one.

These recall / updates have all appeared since the van was in for a complete update of anything needing it on 14th Nov last!

I'll let people know what happens . . .

View attachment 104418

Encouraging! The Sheffield VC told me that they’d need the van for a complete day as updates tend to take a while.

I did more on-the-road tests this morning. For CarPlay, it stayed stable so long as I didn’t select Google Maps. I drove for about 20 minutes with CarPlay on Telephone, Calendar, Messages, and Podcasts, and all was normal. Then I selected Goggle Maps and within 2 minutes it was completely pixelated, and I couldn’t go back to the other apps.

I also tested driving with the phone on a cable, and just on Bluetooth, and the outcome was the same if using Google Maps - pixelated within a few minutes. Each time I stopped, and turned off the engine (and infotainment), CarPlay was reset. I could then use Telephone no problem.

The final test was inconclusive, trying to use Apple Maps, which kept up, but it was a short journey. One to try again.

 

[Cwcltd]

I drove from Hereford to Keswick today and the whole Infotainment system was problematic; the sound would stop first, the screen would go blank, then it would start up, only to crash 5 minutes later. Then the ACC stopped working, accompanied by warning lights telling me various tail lights weren’t working (They were). I’m going to drive without CarPlay for the next few days and also speak to VW Hereford in the morning and see what they advise.

 

[Hawthorn37]

I drove from Hereford to Keswick today and the whole Infotainment system was problematic; the sound would stop first, the screen would go blank, then it would start up, only to crash 5 minutes later. Then the ACC stopped working, accompanied by warning lights telling me various tail lights weren’t working (They were). I’m going to drive without CarPlay for the next few days and also speak to VW Hereford in the morning and see what they advise.

Sounds worrying. I‘ve no direct experience of this, but a number of forum members have reported such errors being caused by wiring being nibbled by rodents.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

I never had any trouble with Apple CarPlay for first year, then about November screen started pixelating on Google maps. Switching the screen off and back on would cure it.
Recently problem seemed to go away and I drove from Mansfield to Snowdonia with no problems on Google maps with Apple Music playing. Phone was on cable.
Coming back today screen pixelated, I switched screen off and back on which cured pixelation but no music through van speakers although I could hear it playing on phone.
Pulled into first lay-by, switched ignition off and on and everything was back to normal. Twenty miles on same problem. Took phone off cable but same problem further on on Bluetooth.

 

[Iain-Le-Roi]

Seems a really common problem so VW should be all over it. Let us know how the updates go at the dealers

 

[Hawthorn37]

I never had any trouble with Apple CarPlay for first year, then about November screen started pixelating on Google maps. Switching the screen off and back on would cure it.
Recently problem seemed to go away and I drove from Mansfield to Snowdonia with no problems on Google maps with Apple Music playing. Phone was on cable.
Coming back today screen pixelated, I switched screen off and back on which cured pixelation but no music through van speakers although I could hear it playing on phone.
Pulled into first lay-by, switched ignition off and on and everything was back to normal. Twenty miles on same problem. Took phone off cable but same problem further on on Bluetooth.

Yes, that’s pretty much our experience too. Back in September it happened a few times, but we could recover it. Now it’s all the time, and once pixelated it needs a hard reset (engine off).

 

[Johnny Rocket]

How very strange . . . . hot on the heels of this recent flurry of correspondence and experience / frustration-sharing I received a call from my dealer yesterday (were their ears burning) asking if I could bring the van in for some recall work 'which can be done whilst you wait'. I said fine, but asked what the recall was for, and the lady said someone would phone me.

First thing this morning the service manager called me to say that " . . . in fact, errrrrr, there are THREE updates on recall, plus an over-the-air update", which they proposed to do at the same time.

You've guessed it, "Can we have the car for a bit longer, you see it's unlikely we'll get it all done in a day?", to which I said 'Yes, fill your boots'.

I took a photo of the work sheet, which lists an ECU update, an infotainment one (hurrah!), and one for the 'OCU', which I think must be a vehicle control unit. I don't know the purpose of the over-the-air one.

These recall / updates have all appeared since the van was in for a complete update of anything needing it on 14th Nov last!

I'll let people know what happens . . .

View attachment 104418

My four (!) updates done today - will report.

 

[Hawthorn37]

For those interested in this problem, I did a few tests today - ready to take our van to VW in 2 weeks so we can be specific about the mode of failure.

Test 1. Conditions: Driving with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: Display becomes pixelated within a 3 minutes, and will not clear even if another app is selected. The screen clears only if the engine is turned off and key removed, then restarted.

Test 2. Conditions: Engine turned on with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected and a route started, but vehicle stationary. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test.

Test 3. Conditions: Driving with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected but a route NOT started. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test.

Test 4. Conditions: Driving with CarPlay on, and Apple Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test.

Test 5. Conditions: As Test 4, Driving with CarPlay on, and Apple Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test. Then, Google Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: the screen pixelated within 3 minutes.

Test 6. Conditions as Test 2: Engine turned on with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected and a route started, but vehicle stationary. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test. THEN van driven with Google Maps still working. Outcome: the screen pixelates almost immediately.

So the conclusion I’ve arrived at is that CarPlay becomes unstable when using Google Maps, whilst using route navigation, and when the vehicle is moving. So the fault is something to do with the Google positional data. Each time the infotainment screen pixelates, my phone becomes very warm, as if it’s working very hard.

 

[edocali]

For those interested in this problem, I did a few tests today - ready to take our van to VW in 2 weeks so we can be specific about the mode of failure.

Test 1. Conditions: Driving with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: Display becomes pixelated within a 3 minutes, and will not clear even if another app is selected. The screen clears only if the engine is turned off and key removed, then restarted.

Test 2. Conditions: Engine turned on with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected and a route started, but vehicle stationary. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test.

Test 3. Conditions: Driving with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected but a route NOT started. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test.

Test 4. Conditions: Driving with CarPlay on, and Apple Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test.

Test 5. Conditions: As Test 4, Driving with CarPlay on, and Apple Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test. Then, Google Maps selected and a route started. Outcome: the screen pixelated within 3 minutes.

Test 6. Conditions as Test 2: Engine turned on with CarPlay on, and Google Maps selected and a route started, but vehicle stationary. Outcome: Display remains clear for the 10 minutes of the test. THEN van driven with Google Maps still working. Outcome: the screen pixelates almost immediately.

So the conclusion I’ve arrived at is that CarPlay becomes unstable when using Google Maps, whilst using route navigation, and when the vehicle is moving. So the fault is something to do with the Google positional data. Each time the infotainment screen pixelates, my phone becomes very warm, as if it’s working very hard.

Assuming your iOS is up to date and GMaps is up to date too, I'd try a GMaps removal, iPhone shutdown and restart, use CarPlay fo 10 mins using AppleMaps, then reinstall GMaps.
I use CarPlay and a mix of AMaps,GMaps,Waze on my T6 Cali and my car and have at time experienced quite a few Waze bugs, but no issue with the other two navigation apps