Kia Cars and CarPlay USB Issue
This year we changed cars to Kia. One of the expectations in any new car for us is CarPlay, Apple's in-car entertainment system. CarPlay is where the Apple OS is projected up onto the entertainment screen, and you can use Siri, play Apple Music, Podcasts, navigate with Apple Maps and generally live in the Apple world for your communications and sound.
Our experience at the beginning of 2023 started well, with CarPlay working as advertised in an EV6 and a Niro over a USB cable (note Kia do not support wireless CarPlay). But after a few months, CarPlay would disconnect randomly, and its connection time would vary between a few seconds or up to 20 minutes. Initially we looked at software- we updated the internal car entertainment system software to the latest version from the Kia website, and we already had updated the iPhone to the latest iOS 16.
The dealership took the car in and also looked at internal software updates, but due to the intermittent nature of the dropouts, they would sometimes hand it back thinking it was dealt with, only for the same issue to return within a day or two.
Finally, after a few months of exploring all options and persistence from us, Kia agreed to replace the USB port and cable, which leads to the back of the entertainment system. You can see this cable in this YouTube video. I had raised my doubts about the cable from the start, but Kia refused to explore this until all software options had been exhausted. In hindsight this was a bit of a waste of time.
Now just to emphasise here- the steps in this YouTube video did not fix the issue for us. We did follow them and it did help for a week or so, but the same issue came back, indicating that there was a fault in the cable, and moving it around a bit may have reconnected the parts, but it did not solve the underlying the problem. We would suggest you don't follow these steps as there's a danger of damaging the clips when removing the panel. But watching it shows the cable behind, which is a combination cable for data communication to the entertainment system on the dash, and provides power to charge your iPhone over USB.
The solution for us was a full replacement of this cable and port. This was finally done after about 4 months of pursuing this with the deanship and Kia Ireland. We learnt that this has now been done with a number of Kia models. Both of our 2023 Kia cars needed this replacement to get CarPlay to work, and this is an issue across the Kia range; not isolated to a specific car. We had the cable replaced on our EV6 and Niro EV, and we have heard of Sportage owners needing the same solution.
Kia are aware of this issue, and if you do have this persistent problem, push for a cable replacement and not weeks of fussing around with software updates and resets. Yes it is important today to be on the latest iOS 17, and the car to be up to the latest Kia infotainment software (details here), but for us the only solution was replacing the faulty cable.
Since the fix at the start of August 2023, we haven't had a single dropout.
Hands-on with Apple CarPlay
This week I have had the opportunity to try CarPlay, Apple's version of iOS for your car. It was remarkably easy to setup and use, and a major improvement to any in-car entertainment system. I was driving a 2018 Ford car (in Ireland) which comes with CarPlay compatibility.
Bear in mind that not all cars are CarPlay ready- my Ford was a 2018 model and came with a built-in touchscreen. This is not always standard in Ford cars- you may need to have a special add-on pack added to a new car to be able to use CarPlay. But all Fords with the touchscreen technology do include CarPlay as standard:
Setup:
Plugging an iPhone into the USB port on the central console brings up the following two screens on the 8" touchscreen:
Having chosen to continue, and agreeing to the conditions, you will see this on your screen:
The iPhone will ask you if you wish to accept the link (this question appears automatically) and then the CarPlay Home screen appears on the car touchscreen. In the future, plugging in the phone to the USB port always takes you to this Home screen.
Immediately, the experience is both reassuring and familiar- the touchscreen behaves like an iPhone or iPad; touching an app to open. It is simple and clear to use, with big buttons and large text. The Music app has all of your iPhone music, plus works great with an Apple Music subscription:
The emphasis is on big clear text and buttons. It was easy to tap when driving, to end a route map or to skip a song. The Ford screen is big, bright and easy to read. Here is an example of the Apple Maps app:
Given its position in the car, this is far better than using your phone on the passenger seat, or using a phone holder attached to your air vent!
The Phone app is also clear and easy to use:
I found that using CarPlay was easy- there was almost no learning involved as the icons match the iOS experience. My seven-year-old immediately took to it when she sat into the car- she tapped and scrolled with ease, rarely stopping to consider how to use the system.
By comparison, the built-in Ford Sync menus are very ugly:
This is what you see when you exit out of CarPlay- a typical car manufacturer's UI. For me the contrast was remarkable. I have been using the older Ford Sync menus in my 2013 Ford for the last few years and the contrast is a leap from analogue to digital. This system just works; it is friendly, familiar and easy to navigate.
However the relationship with the car is transformed, and I can see why car manufacturers would be uneasy. The driver's connection with the car moves in Apple's direction- this feels like an Apple experience, not a Ford experience. It is still a Ford Car, but your relationship with the Ford brand is pushed aside. When you get into the car you plug your iPhone in and you touch the Apple iOS-driven screen. Apple is riding on top of Ford technology- this is a remarkable leap for the driver and one that I love. But Ford have surrendered their ground to a third-party invader and that is both welcome and curious.