How to Use Apple CarPlay in Your Honda
What Apple CarPlay Does
Available on select Honda models and trims, Apple CarPlay is a smarter and safer way to use your iPhone in the car. CarPlay takes the things that you want to do with your iPhone (5 or newer) while driving and puts them on your car’s built-in display. When you connect your iPhone to CarPlay, you can get turn-by-turn directions, make calls, send and receive messages, listen to music, and more.
CarPlay uses Siri Voice Control, so you can ask for what you want while you’re driving — allowing you to stay focused on the road. CarPlay even works with the built-in controls in your Honda — like a touchscreen, knob, or button.
Apple CarPlay Display on 2020 Honda Civic
How to Set Up Apple CarPlay via Cable
- Make sure your Honda supports Apple CarPlay
- Start your car, then make sure Siri is on.
- Connect your iPhone to your car with an Apple USB cable (off-brand cables may experience a disconnect issue) into the USB port in your car. The USB port may be labeled with a CarPlay icon or a smartphone icon.
How to Set Up Wireless Apple CarPlay
Newly available to Honda in 2021, wireless Apple CarPlay eliminates the need for a cord and automatically connects to your vehicle once you have it set up. To set up wireless Apple CarPlay:
- Go to settings on your iOS device.
- Select ‘General’ in settings.
- Select ‘CarPlay’
- From the CarPlay settings screen, if you have Bluetooth switched off, you’ll be prompted to turn it on, to ‘enable wireless CarPlay’.
- With your in-car stereo wireless CarPlay active/enabled, press and hold the voice button on your steering wheel or select the option in your stereo’s menu to begin the wireless pairing process between your device and the stereo system.
Use Siri with CarPlay
If your vehicle supports CarPlay or Siri Eyes Free, hold down the voice-command button on your steering wheel while you say what you need. If you aren’t sure where the voice-command button is, check the manual for your car or stereo.
How to Remove and Arrange CarPlay Apps
While using CarPlay, the display in your car will show available apps. To add, remove, or customize the order that the apps are in on your iOS device:
- Go to Settings > General, and tap CarPlay.
- Select your car.
- Use the add or delete icons to add or remove apps. Tap and drag an app to change the icon order.
Only apps that are supported by CarPlay will appear. If you have an issue with a third-party app, try to contact the app developer.
Get Help
If CarPlay doesn’t work like you expect, make sure that your iPhone has the latest version of iOS. After your iPhone is updated, follow these steps—checking CarPlay after each step:
- If CarPlay doesn’t activate automatically, look for the CarPlay logo on your car’s display.
- Restart your iPhone and your car.
- Make sure Siri is on.
- If your iPhone isn’t detected by CarPlay, make sure that CarPlay isn’t restricted. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, tap Allowed Apps and make sure that CarPlay is enabled.
- Go to Settings > General > CarPlay, and tap Forget This Car.
- Check your connection: Try connecting again with a different USB cable to a different USB port if you have one.
- If needed, install firmware updates. Check your car’s manual for more information.
If you still have issues connecting to CarPlay, contact Apple Support.
2 comment(s) so far on How to Use Apple CarPlay in Your Honda
My son gave me his iPhone 20 to replace my 7. The new phone pulls up maps on CarPlay in dark mode. I can’t see it with the sun shining on it. I finally found a little button that would change it to light but then it pops back to dark and the button is gone. Not sure if it’s just there when I first turn it on or what but I needed to stay on bright so I can see it
Hi Karen, that is likely a setting on your iphone and not with Apple CarPlay itself as your vehicle will inherit the settings of your iphone to forward to Apple CarPlay. If you’re still having issues, please contact your sales consultant for assistance with this matter.