Map app location way off using carplay - please help!

[SJDisk]

Need Help! My son's 2023 Bronco (Black Diamond) has had issues with the map in Carplay for nearly a year. It worked fine initially, but now when he uses any map app on his phone connected to carplay, the location starts off okay then goes wonky -- putting him off course, on in the middle of fields and water, etc. He is 18 and we want/need him to have a functioning navigation app in his car. Same on my phone in his Bronco. This is dangerous. Our phones are fine, and work in other vehicles on carplay -- the issue is with his Bronco only. I read that when connected to carplay the location relies on the GPS antenna of the vehicle and if there isn't one, it uses the FM antenna. Is this correct? The dealership is just pointing fingers at Apple, but it is only in his car. They also said his vehicle does not have a GPS antenna because he doesn't have a nav system. Anyone have this problem and have a solution?? Thanks!

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[Lcubed]

it might be that his phone is located inside the vehicle at a location with poor gps reception or there's an noisy electronic device in the bronco 'jamming' the gps signal.

as far as i know, the iPhones use their internal antennas for GPS reception

does his phone has the same issue in your other vehicles?

does the bronco have any sound system modifications?

wired or wireless CarPlay?

 

[bassist]

Have you spent time drilling your immediate surroundings into him, as well as teaching him to navigate without the benefit of a GPS?

Over reliance on a GPS presents its own dangers.

 

[SJDisk]

Thanks for replies.

I am told that when connected to carplay, iphones do not use their internal

it might be that his phone is located inside the vehicle at a location with poor gps reception or there's an noisy electronic device in the bronco 'jamming' the gps signal.

as far as i know, the iPhones use their internal antennas for GPS reception

does his phone has the same issue in your other vehicles?

does the bronco have any sound system modifications?

wired or wireless CarPlay?

Thank for the reply.

I am told that when an iPhone is connected to carplay, that it relies on the vehicle for location. Seems like a major weakness, but that is what I am told. His phone location works fine in maps when not connected to carplay.

His phone does not have the same issue in my car. Same with my phone - works in my car but not his. It is defeinitely an issue with his vehicle.

There are no sound system modifications and it happens whether wired or wireless.

Thanks for any additional insight you might have.

 

[SJDisk]

Have you spent time drilling your immediate surroundings into him, as well as teaching him to navigate without the benefit of a GPS?

Over reliance on a GPS presents its own dangers.

Thanks, but he is fine navigating his normal local surroundings - i.e. he does not need a map for guidance. However, nobody is limited to driving where they are familiar and he (and anyone) needs map guidance when in unfamiliar areas or taking a roadtrip somewhere new. We purchased him a new car to have safety features and carplay for map guidance. Otherwise people put their destination in their phone and need to look at a small device for navigation while driving - which is clearly not a great (or safe) option.

 

[Lcubed]

i’d either 1) delete his phone’s carplay profiles on both the bronco and the phone, then re-add as wired only

or
2) have ford replace the antenna or head unit



i would do option 2 especially if other phones have the same issue in that bronco

 

[Daveh370]

Thanks for replies.

I am told that when connected to carplay, iphones do not use their internal

Thank for the reply.

I am told that when an iPhone is connected to carplay, that it relies on the vehicle for location. Seems like a major weakness, but that is what I am told. His phone location works fine in maps when not connected to carplay.

His phone does not have the same issue in my car. Same with my phone - works in my car but not his. It is defeinitely an issue with his vehicle.

There are no sound system modifications and it happens whether wired or wireless.

Thanks for any additional insight you might have.

Have you addressed this issue with your dealer? Might need a software update, or maybe it’s a bad unit?

Had a similar issue in my wife’s 2018 Exploder Limited. The factory navigation always showed the vehicle icon pointing sideways, and when using Waze, the GPS speed was inaccurate. A handful of times, in low cell service areas, experienced the same issue with the vehicle appearing to be off to the side, driving in a field, river, etc. Mentioned it a time or two when the car was in for service, but the dealer always claimed they could not replicate the issue.

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Sorry not that this helps your situation at all, but I thought it was interesting. One of our vehicles at work has a weird issue with the Android Auto. Every now and then the map location will start freaking out and it thinks I'm in Japan... It's pretty funny, other than the fact that it will switch back and forth repeatedly and get pretty annoying.

 

[BigSkyBronco]

Sorry not that this helps your situation at all, but I thought it was interesting. One of our vehicles at work has a weird issue with the Android Auto. Every now and then the map location will start freaking out and it thinks I'm in Japan... It's pretty funny, other than the fact that it will switch back and forth repeatedly and get pretty annoying.

Think of how much you’ve saved on airfare!

 

[Dover157]

Sounds like the bronco has a bad satellite antenna. By chance does satellite radio have problems? I think it uses the same antenna for GPS. Is located on top of the rear roll bar. Maybe check and see if it’s been damaged and if not see if the dealer can test it.

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

Think of how much you’ve saved on airfare!

IKR!

 

[Ducati1098]

They also said his vehicle does not have a GPS antenna because he doesn't have a nav system.

All Broncos have a GPS antenna regardless of options.

 

[UncleBrad]

Sounds like the bronco has a bad satellite antenna. By chance does satellite radio have problems? I think it uses the same antenna for GPS. Is located on top of the rear roll bar. Maybe check and see if it’s been damaged and if not see if the dealer can test it.

Even if the problem is on the Bronco side (and I doubt that it is) it wouldn't be the antenna. The antenna is just the transducer; the signal strength would be the issue in that case. The actual coordinates are determined by the software based upon the received stream, and either that info is available or it isn't. Another thing: how about those Bronco's not equipped with navigation (like my BB?)? When using wireless CarPlay or Android Auto, can we expect Ford to provide GPS info via bluetooth to our smartphones? I don't think so. My bet is that this is an Apple smartphone issue that is specific to that vehicle. There is the phone placement, as someone else pointed out. Also, are USB cables being used? If so, are the same ones being used in the vehicle where CarPlay DOES work? Does this problem happen both with using wireless and via USB cable?

 

[Dover157]

Even if the problem is on the Bronco side (and I doubt that it is) it wouldn't be the antenna. The antenna is just the transducer; the signal strength would be the issue in that case. The actual coordinates are determined by the software based upon the received stream, and either that info is available or it isn't. Another thing: how about those Bronco's not equipped with navigation (like my BB?)? When using wireless CarPlay or Android Auto, can we expect Ford to provide GPS info via bluetooth to our smartphones? I don't think so. My bet is that this is an Apple smartphone issue that is specific to that vehicle. There is the phone placement, as someone else pointed out. Also, are USB cables being used? If so, are the same ones being used in the vehicle where CarPlay DOES work? Does this problem happen both with using wireless and via USB cable?

Well the fact that you can see the location of the vehicle on the ford pass app when it’s parked proves that all broncos have GPS receivers in them even if you don’t have onboard navigation. My 22 BD does not have nav and when it was at the dealership for a week I could see which parking spot it was in and actually watched it move from a parking spot into the shop once when I randomly opened the app. Happens with multiple phones wireless and wired from what I read. If it’s using the phones GPS placement should not have much if any affect on a vehicle with a plastic or cloth roof. Unlike other modern vehicles with heavy reinforced steel roofs the bronco does not provide much of a faraday cage effect. You are most likely correct that the issue is in the processing module or software I was simply pointing out something that the OP could actually do a visual check of themselves. To me it would make sense for phone based nav to use the signal from the vehicle GPS as it in theory a better antenna with a clearer signal. One way to test could be to disable CarPlay on the phone and see if the phone itself shows accurate location in that vehicle by itself.

 

[5111]

Not that this applies, but I had a similar issue with one of my F150's after I put bigger tires on it. Even though I was using the GPS, it was using the truck's steering and odometer to figure where I was when moving. The GPS only worked on startup. It was a feature that was supposed to help you keep navigation in big cities or in the mountains without a clear view of the sky. I'm pretty sure Ford has ditched that program now. However, the way I fixed it was to disconnect the battery for a few minutes. It seems like the truck then recalibrated the system and it would work fine. You could always try that.

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