I suspect this ongoing confusion is possibly one of the reasons other manufacturers like Hyundai/Kia have been slow to adopt wireless car phone projection (for both Apple and Google) and also may now be why more and more manufacturers are walking away from it all together (see GM as the most recent and others have never supported it from the start).

The trouble of course comes when you connect to the hotspot and phone now thinks that's the proper connection to the internet and then your phone suddenly stops working because without paid hotspot service there is no where for the packets to go to. AA and CP use a 'hidden' wireless connection to the same hotspot, but the software in the phone is smart enough to know only to route the specific application information required to drive the display to the car.

In retrospect, it's klugdy.

 

Speaking of kludgy, I'm completely flummoxed by how to coordinate between the car, Car Play, the iPhone, and the Air Pods. Sometimes the music comes out of the car. Sometimes it comes out of the Air Pods. Once in a while it comes out of the iPhone.

Yesterday I made a call using Siri. Siri told through the Air Pods that it was dialing, and then when the other person picked up, the sound was coming from the speakers.

It seems like there should be a control on the Car Play screen to cast the sound to whichever device it is you want. For example, maybe I want to listen to music selected via Car Play but have it come out of the Air Pods because my wife doesn't like the Ramones.

???

 

For example, maybe I want to listen to music selected via Car Play but have it come out of the Air Pods because my wife doesn't like the Ramones.

Your wife doesn't like the Ramones?

 

For troubleshooting, I’d ask if this happens when the iPhone is using wired CarPlay as it does when wireless.

Like an iPad or MacBook, the iPhone determines where the audio goes. When I AirPlay a video on my TV via the Roku (Wi-Fi through the router), from all those devices I can choose audio from Internal Speakers, AirPods (Bluetooth), or the TV speakers (Wi-Fi). I also have my wife’s Bluetooth speaker and old Apple AirPlay (Wi-Fi) modules available. It seems to default to the TV or the last used audio.

In your case, the iPhone appears to be prioritizing system audio (Siri) to the Bluetooth AirPods. Do you also get dings for system events such as notifications there?

Wireless CarPlay uses Bluetooth to initiate a connection and for service discovery, but switches to a peer to peer Wi-Fi connection, typically on a lower traffic 5Ghz channel. Within the service discovery, the head unit’s capabilities, including audio, are shared with the iPhone. If all goes right, the iPhone should not choose the AirPods for audio. FWIW, headphone use is illegal in some states so that may be a factor.

I’ll leave you with one of my posts you liked as Helpful, just as a reminder.

https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/vw-hotspot-why-is-this-now-needed-to-connect-my-iphone-to-apple-car-play.16605/?post_id=307754#post-307754

 

I’d ask if this happens when the iPhone is using wired CarPlay as it does when wireless.

It does for me. And I can report that it happens with my wired earbuds (I use a splitter for power and headphones on road trips).

It seems to happen most often after receiving a call. The fix, if you can call it that, is to unplug and reconnect the splitter or tap the output selection button at the bottom of the phone screen, neither of which is particularly safe to do while driving.

—Eric

 

One thing I found on my 2022 is that if I switched between wired and wireless, it often messed up the connection. In my 2025 I use wireless all the time and have only occasional connection problems. And those connection problems also seem to be associated with my Air Pods.

Also it seems like if I approach the car with the Air Pods already in use, then the Car Play system (on the iPhone) prioritizes them. In other words, it does not seem to want to switch over to the car. And the opposite if I put them in after I get into the car.

Bluetooth is a crummy interface, is one thing. But also it seems like a case where Apple is trying to automate the user interface (good) but not providing enough user controls (bad). I would like to see that same kind of a connection manager on the Car Play screen.

Something like this, as on the iPhone:

 

Also it seems like if I approach the car with the Air Pods already in use, then the Car Play system (on the iPhone) prioritizes them. In other words, it does not seem to want to switch over to the car. And the opposite if I put them in after I get into the car.

It’s nitpicking, but the iPhone system services prioritized the Bluetooth device for the Music or Podcasts application before CarPlay was active.

What would be interesting is if you approached and started the car with the Ramones playing on your AirPods if your wife could join you in the car and play a podcast in CarPlay on the vehicle speakers.

 

Right, that makes sense. But then what if I want to listen to the Ramones on the car speakers after I get in? That should be an option. Or, what if I want to keep on listening to them on the Air Pods? That should also be an option.

 

I don’t disagree those would be useful options. It seems that before you either sit in the car or start it (not sure), you’re either going to have to get the Music app playing through the AirPods or kill the Music app and start it from CarPlay if you want it playing through the car speakers. Just a guess and I could be wrong.

 

Suggested Troubleshooting

If you’ve been listening to the AirPods in the car, and put them in the case where the iPhone doesn’t see them, does the Music app then play through the car speakers? Or do you have to kill the Music app on the phone and start it from CarPlay? Or does that even work?

What if you’ve been listening to the Music app on the speakers in CarPlay? Can you kill the Music app on the phone, deploy the AirPods from the case, and start the Music app on the phone to get it to play through the AirPods?
.

 

Yeah I need to make a list of the scenarios to try

 

The new version of iOS helps with one of the scenarios:

To keep audio playing in your AirPods when other devices connect, go to your iPhone's Settings, select General, then AirPlay & Continuity, and toggle on "Keep Audio in Headphones." This setting prevents audio from automatically switching to other devices like car speakers.

 

I fixed my CarPlay irritations. All of them. I bought a Beats Pill and a cell phone holder attached to the rear view mirror and deleted the car from the phone and vice versa. The sound quality isn't quite as good, but there's no response delay, no CarPlay deciding not to connect, none of that. The ID.4's big screen is for things in the car. The phone is for audio media and navigation. Now when I'm in motion and the ID.4 loses its sense of where it is, navigation is unaffected and I can wait until a safe stop to pull the fuse to re-set navigation and such.

SO much better.

 

Just be aware law enforcement can use any obstruction; a dashcam, GPS, radar detector, or even a dangling handicap pass, as a reason for a traffic stop and citation. The scented Christmas trees have become a common stop excuse.