[elasticmedia]

I lease a 2017 Bolt for 2 weeks now, and have found CarPlay only barely functional. I use it with my iPhone 5s running the latest Apple software and run Phone, Navigation, and Pandora. I am under the assumption that I should be able to click on the 3 apps on the Bolt screen to change the active app. What happens instead is generally nothing. I click on the CarPlay home button and nothing happens. If I am on Navigation and I want to go to Pandora, it may change or more likely it will do nothing. The only way I can get it to be usable is to start up Pandora on the phone then go to Maps and enter in an address and Go. Then the screen will typically display the route, but to get another destination, it is much more reliable to enter the address on the phone than to pretend that the Bolt screen will allow a change. On a few occasions I have been able to display the Pandora stations on the Bolt screen, but generally it doesn't.

I would love to hear about other people who find the system great and extremely functional. Is my experience typical or an outlier? If it is an outlier, is it my phone or the car? If it is the car, how can I get it fixed? I actually took the car to the dealer to update the software: I was really hoping this would solve the issue, because I really liked the idea of the Bolt taking over my phone.

 

[borkbork]

works great for me. only way to tell would be to use a different phone or a different car and see what happens.

 

[LooseBolt]

CarPlay wonky. I have a iPhone 8+. Sometimes it's great, some times not. Overall, I use it all the time, it's better than not using it, but I'm still disappointed. It seems to have issues switching between apps and the onboard radio. I use Audible and Overcast quite a bit and if one is on I sometimes have to unplug the phone and plug it in again to switch apps. If I'm listening to the radio, have to switch the radio off to get an app to launch. Similar issues with navigation. Sometimes I can use Siri to launch maps and all is well other times nothing. Siri integration is also wonky. The only thing Siri consistently gets right is making phone calls and reading texts.

I've no idea if this is an Apple problem or a GM problem as this is the only CarPlay system I've used. But I've used it one three different GM vehicles now with about the same level frustration with all of them. I just find it an annoyance, but for the wife who is much less tech savvy, this is a real problem.

Ron

 

[CallMeBoltDriver]

No problems here. When using maps, I always type in the address on my phone screen as its easier. When you hit the Apple car play map icon, the map app on your phone comes to the foreground. Unlock your phone, search for your destination, click start, then lock your phone.

I'm not a big texter, but didn't have any problems when testing. The car reads a text to me then asks for my response.

I don't normally have carplay on though. Prefer to have waze up with my phone in the cup holder connected by Bluetooth. You can send texts or initiate calls by voice using Siri and the bolts voice button.

 

[Sperling3]

No problems with CarPlay here. Most of the issues often come down to the quality of the cable you are using. I would suggest getting a new cable, either an original Apple cable or another high quality cable. Some of the cheaper/low quality cables are only good for charging the phone and little else.

 

[MDBolt]

No problems with CarPlay here. Most of the issues often come down to the quality of the cable you are using. I would suggest getting a new cable, either an original Apple cable or another high quality cable. Some of the cheaper/low quality cables are only good for charging the phone and little else.

+1 on this. I started out with a 3rd party cable and CarPlay was pretty wonky. Used the one supplied with the 8 Plus, it was night and day. No issues at all. Holding down the physical home button on the Bolt will bring you back to the CarPlay interface if you were previously on FM/XM. Also, opening any app that has audio (Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, etc) will automatically override any other ongoing audio and switch to that source.

 

[borkbork]

i do have one issue with carplay - if you have navigation open, and shift into reverse, when you shift back into drive, the infotainment system takes you back to the home screen instead of carplay. i have a feeling that's a GM thing and not a carplay thing though.

 

[max]

It has been much better (CarPlay) since my iPhone 7 upgraded to 11.4.

 

[CallMeBoltDriver]

Looks like I may become a carplay fan after all....

"CarPlay is getting an update in iOS 12. It will finally support third-party navigation apps, including Waze and Google Maps. That's huge news for drivers like me who prefer Google Maps over Apple Maps. Previously, drivers could only use Apple Maps, which isn't always as accurate — in my experience — as Google Maps."

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/04/ios-12-best-new-features.html

 

[Sean Nelson]

No problems here. When using maps, I always type in the address on my phone screen as its easier.

I use Android Auto, so I'm not sure if the functionality I'm about to describe is available with CarPlay, but I assume that something similar is possible:

Rather than having to type in a destination, I just say "OK Google... Navigate to <address>". Much easier!

 

[zhuneycutt]

I use it all the time with my 8+. I works but is quirky. Most of the time it will not automatically start CarPlay after leaving the car and leaving my phone plugged in the car will default to radio or whatever. I'll have to navigate to CarPlay and go from there. Also, when using podcasts I'll exit the car and leave the phone plugged in and then in a few mins i'll come back and start the car and hit play on the podcast and nothing happens. Open up the phone and i'll have an error saying "cellular data is turned off". When it clearly isn't. I have to kill the app and restart it to get it to work. Also, with Amazon Music it has a hard time scrolling through all my artists and albums, It just won't generally list anything past G.

 

[ricardocabesa]

I have a 6S+ and ACP works perfectly in a 2017 Corvette-no issues since Day 1,so maybe it's a Bolt issue.

 

[MDBolt]

i do have one issue with carplay - if you have navigation open, and shift into reverse, when you shift back into drive, the infotainment system takes you back to the home screen instead of carplay. i have a feeling that's a GM thing and not a carplay thing though.

I tried this out this morning after reading your post. It didn’t do it for me. When I went back to L the screen was still on Maps. For what it’s worth, I’ve never done any updates on the Bolt yet, and my iOS version is 11.3.1

 

[MDBolt]

I use it all the time with my 8+. I works but is quirky. Most of the time it will not automatically start CarPlay after leaving the car and leaving my phone plugged in the car will default to radio or whatever. I'll have to navigate to CarPlay and go from there. Also, when using podcasts I'll exit the car and leave the phone plugged in and then in a few mins i'll come back and start the car and hit play on the podcast and nothing happens. Open up the phone and i'll have an error saying "cellular data is turned off". When it clearly isn't. I have to kill the app and restart it to get it to work. Also, with Amazon Music it has a hard time scrolling through all my artists and albums, It just won't generally list anything past G.

I’ll try this out later, but for me I have to unplug my phone when I leave the car since I use my phone a lot at work. Interestingly, I’ve found that whenever I plug back in, the Infotainment system automatically shifts to CarPlay from FM, and it instantly opens the app that I was listening to prior to unplugging. I agree with you on Amazon Music. I just use the phone interface instead of the infotainment screen.

 

[Albemarle]

I have no issues with Carplay, except it didn’t let me use Google Maps. We find Google Maps better enough that I have a phone holder on the dash to navigate with it. The announcement that Carplay will work with Google maps is great. The directions are very clear and if you change routes, it doesn’t bother with ‘recalculating’, it just instantly adjusts. Love it better than even our Garmin GPS.

 

[CallMeBoltDriver]

I use Android Auto, so I'm not sure if the functionality I'm about to describe is available with CarPlay, but I assume that something similar is possible:

Rather than having to type in a destination, I just say "OK Google... Navigate to <address>". Much easier!

Siri tries to be helpful with navigation, but my conversations with her usually go like this:

"Navigate to 1000 Silverstream Rd" (5 miles away)

"Ready to go to 1000 Silver Stream Rd" (500 miles away)

"No. Navigate to 1000 S I L V E R S T R E A M Rd"

"Ready to go to 1000 Silver Stream Ct" (1500 miles away)

...

 

[Sean Nelson]

Siri tries to be helpful with navigation, but my conversations with her usually go like this:

"Navigate to 1000 Silverstream Rd" (5 miles away)

"Ready to go to 1000 Silver Stream Rd" (500 miles away)

This is why I usually give addresses as "1234 Main Street in Vancouver".

I've also found that imitating the GPS system's weird pronunciation choices or sounding a strange name out phonetically often help. For example, when navigating to Gaglardi Way (pronounced by locals as "Ga-lard-ee" I tell the system to go to "Gag-lard-ee" instead.

 

[ai4px]

I had issues with teh USB port in the Bolt. GM replaced it, all good. Seems the plug wiggles and it disconnects.

 

[Puregsr]

I had issues with teh USB port in the Bolt. GM replaced it, all good. Seems the plug wiggles and it disconnects.

Really? I'm having same exact problem, was yours replaced under warranty? What did they replace exactly?

 

[ai4px]

Really? I'm having same exact problem, was yours replaced under warranty? What did they replace exactly?

They replaced the snap in USB plugs with the integrated audio jack. Of course when they snapped it in, it kept popping out and that required a 2nd trip to make it stay snapped in.