Hi [r/CarPlay](r/CarPlay)! I'm the solo dev of WrenchTime, an iPhone app that reads live OBD2 data from a Bluetooth adapter and shows it as gauges right on CarPlay.

After my last post, many of you asked for more customization and better performance, along with other things not related to this sub. Here's a preview of 6.9.0 gauges called “Impact”, not released yet.

The 6.8.0 shipped with:
- A new polling algorithm, written from scratch: on my BMW 420d with wireless CarPlay, live readings are now 300% faster, both in the app and on CarPlay
- Tested with a Vgate iCar and an OBDLink MX+
- Customization: Tourer and Circuit gauge styles, a color per vehicle, and a CarPlay grid you arrange yourself
- Custom signals (PIDs) on CarPlay too, with alerts and your own gauge scale

No account, no server: everything stays on your iPhone and your own iCloud.

CarPlay gauges are part of Pro (free trial, or a €39.99 one-time lifetime unlock).

Supported adapters and details: https://wrenchtimeapp.com/obd2-app-iphone

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6749767537?pt=95766871&ct=Reddit-CarPlay&mt=8

What would you want on the CarPlay screen next?

I'm looking for a good wireless carplay adapter around 30 dollars. (Preferably support for both AA and carplay)

Any recommendations?

I just wanted to share with folks that as of now, the iPhone 18 Pro does not work with this unit. I visited a local radio store and after nearly 2 hours of trying both USB ports, resetting the phone, trying various cables, cables with dongles, and updating the firmware, nothing worked.

So unless Sony updates the firmware or Apple update CarPlay, I think you are stuck if you have this combination.

As a result we went with a wireless dongle and it works at the moment but the hardwired approach is done for. Shame!

Hi all, been having this strange behavior of late with car play.

I have (as far as I know) everything set to dark mode all the time.

But have I missed a setting because the menu bar appears white most of the time.

Only very late at night does it change to dark like I want it to be all the time.

Does anyone know how to fix this please, as far as I know it’s only been behaving like this since 27.0.1.

Thanks

Hey guys, has anyone had problems with their Waze voice sound levels?

I am using the Iphone 14PM and whenever i use Waze on Carplay the voice directions are really soft. Switching to my wife’s Iphone 16 PM the sound is a lot louder.

So far I can’t find any settings for sound that is different between our phones that could cause this discrepancy. All the settings seem to be the dame for both our phones.

Anyone experiencing something similar?

I’m using the free version of Proton VPN with CarPlay and it never connects to my Bluetooth CarPlay adapter. When I disconnect from the VPN my CarPlay will start up and then I can reconnect Proton and it’ll work fine.

Just wondering if someone knows how to avoid the disconnecting and having to reconnect the vpn for it to work?

I am running iOS 27.2 on an iPhone 18 ProMax. Earlier this week I updated to the latest version of iOS. No problems whatsoever. This morning CarPlay refuses to connect and the CarPlay settings have completely disappeared from the Settings menu on the iPhone. When I search for the CarPlay settings, it appears in the list of search results, but nothing happens when I select it. It’s like CarPlay has completely disappeared from the software. Doesn’t appear in Settings, doesn’t appear in ScreenTime, and doesn’t appear anywhere else.

Some further context is that I have two devices in the car with me. One of the devices I have disabled CarPlay on because I use the other iPhone as a dashcam. I have had zero issues with my setup for the past year until today. When I try to go and enable CarPlay on the dashcam iPhone, it too doesn’t show CarPlay settings or CarPlay in screen time. ScreenTime doesn’t even show CarPlay as a blocked app on the dashcam iPhone despite me having it setup that way for the past year.

This makes absolutely no sense to me. I am proficient with iOS (been learning to develop apps) and have never seen such a strange issue like this before. I am stumped by this and I’m wondering if anyone else is having the same issue.

I also connect using a USB cable in a 2023 Lexus that doesn’t show any available updates for the car.

SOLVED: With the latest iOS update ScreenTime options were rearranged. Under the old way specific “apps” could be blocked, like CarPlay. However under the new update CarPlay is considered an “other feature”. That explains why when I was looking for blocked apps, nothing was appearing as blocked.

I originally had CarPlay disabled on my second device so that when I had both plugged in they would not fight each other. However, the latest update seems to have taken the settings I had applied to my second device and applied them to all my devices. Essentially, I had to reapply my individual device settings to all my devices again. The odd part is that I updated a couple of days ago and it worked fine yesterday. So, I’m not even 100% sure it was the update. What a pain in the ass Apple…

I built TalkClok- a fully customizable Briefing that talks to you:

Your weather, your traffic, your calendar, your tasks - and so (!) much more.
Just drive and listen. Comprehensive, totally customizable yours and up-to-date, always intelligent and natural.

I thought the app up 8 years ago, now it was time to totally rewrite it, with everything that is now hot and state-of-the-art > All Apple APIs, reliable, crystal clear, customizable, accessible, Siri, CarPlay and whatnot.

Here's the AppStore link
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/talkclok-talking-alarm-clock/id1413717325

It works like perfect in CarPlay with Siri - so i thought you might be interested.
Ask me anything, or check the pages.

https://www.talkclok.com/

Hey everyone! I’m not sure if there was an update or something but one day my CarPlay stopped showing icons like it usually does. I noticed it for messages where usually the initials showed above a person’s name if they’re favorited, but now it’s just blank air. Also with my Google Maps, the icons that usually show for saved locations like home are also just blank. Do I need to reset or update something? Any advice is much appreciated! I have a 2019 Toyota Camry if that helps.

This is for Carplay. I dual posted and that is a key piece missing from my (uneditable) title.
Since upgrading my iPhone 15 pro to iOS 27 the touchscreen in CarPlay has been flaky. Sometimes works sometimes not. This part of the screen works, that part does nothing. Change screens and different parts work.
Anyone else seeing inconsistent behavior?
Using it wireless.

I have my phone connected to the cable but it won’t let me use carplay my phone is up to date and it was working perfectly fine a couple days ago need help asap

Hi! I have a 2015 VW Golf 7 GTE with an AUTOABC aftermarket CarPlay screen.
A white border appears around the screen. It disappears a few seconds after turning on my parking lights, but stays permanently when I disable automatic headlight detection.
The seller thinks it might be an iOS issue.
Has anyone experienced this or found a fix? Thanks!

After upgrading my iPhone 16 to iOS27 I realised a few widgets had disappeared in CarPlay. The one that stood out for me was Spotify (Recently Played).
It was no longer on screen, nor was it now on the list of Widgets available to add/remove via my phone - Wasn’t on the hidden list of incompatible widgets at the bottom of the screen either.

Long story short, I’ve had to delete the app from my phone and reinstall it. Having to re-download my offline media (sigh) is the only drawback but the app has reappeared in my available widgets..

Hopefully this might help somebody out there who has a lost widget since the update. Completely delete the app from your phone, and reinstall.

Settings - General - CarPlay - MyCar - Widgets

Hi there,

Yes, after market systems are bound to fail. But before I change it I wanna see if it's fixable.

Recently I changed phones, same sim. The system has slowly started to glitch in it's audio, and freeze the screen until it fixes itself.

It happens at random intervals, I was of the assumption that it could be other cars that interfere with my connection but that wasnt it.

Any ideas?

Is there an easy way through any of the navigation apps, whether Apple, Waze, or Google, to determine stops that are along the route you are currently on. For example, if I’m looking for the next truck stop on the route or Starbucks or anything. I can’t stand when the nearest rest stop or suggestion is 0.5 miles behind me. I feel like I’m missing a setting somewhere

Does anyone know how I can get google maps or Waze on my digital dash virtual cockpit on my MK7.5 GTE ADVANCE 2020 without changing the head unit? I saw that people can do it for MHI2 versions but that’s expensive to replace from an MST2. Was wondering if there is some update or something I can do to add it? PLS LMK!!!

Installed SW train version:
MST2_EU_VW_PO876D

Installed SW MU version:
0876

Part number:
3Q0035874C

sometimes it connects within seconds, sometimes i have to keep turning on/off bluetooth/wifi.

everything i’ve read says i just need to restart my phone or infotainment system, but i feel like there’s a simple fix that i just don’t know about; something im doing wrong.

anyone else have an issue like this and figured it out?

when i leave my house, my car is still connected to my home wifi. do i need to drive far enough away for it to disconnect and then connect to the dongle?

i’m brand new to this so im sorry if its a common question. thank you!

oh also, when Carplay DOES work, my bluetooth says it’s connected to my car but not the dongle. this seemed backwards to me but that’s what it says when it happens to work.

Hey hey everyone,

So I drive a 2013 fiat 500s that came with a regular car radio built in. I had this CarPlay set I bought off Amazon for my father (his android phone was just slightly too old to use it) so I decided to make use of it for mine :).

Issue is the drain on the battery. I was taking my lunch breaks in my car, listening to my music on the set and just kinda vibing out. I’m still new to driving so I made the dumb mistake of leaving my headlights on as well, this paired with the CarPlay set drained my battery and I needed a jumpstart 😂.

I’d love to keep using it cause the maps and Bluetooth are so convenient, so I was wondering if anyone would have any recommendations for portable battery packs or other power sources I could use to keep my car battery safer?

I’m looking for carplay recommendations for my 2013 Toyota Camry with 208K miles that I will keep until it quits.