GM’s New Infotainment System that Ditches Apple CarPlay Fails In Tests - Unsafe?

General Motors has decided that it wants to offer a built-in infotainment system starting in 2024 with its newest model, the Blazer EV. This new GM infotainment system will not allow owners and drivers of GM’s vehicles to use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. This is a controversial move, and the testers and reviewers have been awaiting the chance to try this system and report on what they experience. Early tests of the system by Edmunds and Inside EVs both resulted in an abject failure of the systems to work.

Edmunds Tests GM’s New Infotainment System And Reports Failure
The first report of trouble came from Edmunds News Reporter Nick Yekikian. Mr. Yekikian was testing a new Bolt EV with just 2,000 miles on the odometer. During his testing, he says, “...the infotainment display completely melted down.”

Mr. Yekikian detailed the exact nature of GM’s new infotainment system failure by saying that it became “stuck in an infinite loop of shutting off, turning on, displaying a map centered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and turning back off again.” The only way that the problem could be resolved was for him to pull over on the highway, shut the vehicle off, and restart the car. This cleared the GM infotainment system fault. And then it happened again in under an hour. 

To give the Blazer EV’s new GM infotainment system every chance to work properly, the team let the car sit off for a bit and then restarted it for a second time to see if GM’s new infotainment system would return to operation. Unfortunately, Mr. Yekikian says, “...we started the Chevy and were greeted with a blank infotainment screen.”

The infotainment system was just one of the many problems the test team at Edmunds said they experienced. GM’s dealer took the car, and they suspended the remainder of their testing. The dealer issued a list of many problems. Included in the list were:
-Radio (Head-up Display, General Electrical Malfunction)
-Radio (Invalid Data Received from Serial Data Gateway Module)
-Radio
-Radio (Ethernet Bus 2)

In its summary of the testing, Edmunds writes, “...we're stunned to see a list of problems this lengthy…”

Inside EVs Tests GM’s New Infotainment System and Reports Failure
The second report this week on failures of GM’s infotainment system came from Staff Writer Kevin Williams at Inside EVs. Mr. Williams provided a very detailed explanation of the failure that he experienced while testing GM’s new infotainment system. 

The first indication of trouble was when Mr. Williams tried to charge the new Blazer EV at one of GM’s own Ultium-branded DC Fast charging stations. Mr. Williams found the cord of the Charging station was difficult to use due to its short length. While he was repositioning the car so that the charger could reach the Blazer EV’s charger port, he noticed, “Each time I stopped, placed the vehicle in park, and exited, the Bluetooth would disconnect. When I’d quickly re-enter to reposition, the Bluetooth would reconnect.” This is a frustrating hassle, but it was also distracting and dangerous because, as Mr. Willaims puts it, the “Blazer EV’s stereo would blast the funky house and techno mixes…at maximum volume.” This was not a one-time safety issue. Mr. Williams says, “...it did that to me four times in the five minutes.”

Unlike with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which simply use the apps on your phone, individual apps need to be downloaded to the GM Infotainment system. Mr. Williams took the time to do so before he set out to test drive the Blazer EV. He reports, “I had my road tunes, and I installed Soundcloud and PlugShare on the car’s infotainment system. I was completely logged into the Google-based apps on the car, ready to give the system an honest try.”

After driving along normally for a while, Mr. Williams experienced another GM Infotainment system glitch. He reports, “...there was a quick pause in the Bluetooth audio, and then the whole infotainment screen went blank.” In addition, he says the heating, AC, and volume control icons on the infotainment screen went missing.

Mr. Williams attempted to repair the infotainment system while on the road. He used some online suggestions for the new Cadillac Lyriq’s infotainment system as his guide. The repair attempt failed. Mr. Williams says, “The infotainment screen said 'Android booting…' and stayed steady for a few seconds, and then it (and the gauge cluster’s Google Maps) flickered on and off for the next 30 minutes.”

Mr. Williams was on the road in an EV that needed charging. All EVs have the ability to direct the driver to the nearest available (and hopefully working) charger, but the GM infotainment system had failed. Mr. Williams says, “The reset had also removed the directions I needed to get to the Gallipolis fast charging station. To add insult to injury, there was no way to input directions again because the main infotainment screen wasn’t working.”

Here is where the safety problem arises. Because Mr. Williams was on the road in an EV that had to charge, he had to find a charger. He resorted to using the phone in his pocket. As he describes it, he “hastily plugged the address into my phone, and perched the phone near the vents, navigating to the DC fast charging stations via the tiny screen of my old iPhone.” 

The weirdest part of the infotainment failure came next. Mr. Williams was on the phone with Inside EVs’ editor in Cheif Patrick George, when a second call came in. “It appeared that the act of using call waiting shocked the infotainment back to life. Suddenly, everything was working again.” We wish we could stop here and tell our readers that the problem simply went away, but Mr. Williams reports, “I had driven more than two and a half hours away from Gallipolis before the infotainment screen died again in the same way as it had before; complete with flashing for 20 minutes, then finally settling on a blank screen.”

Mr. Williams eventually found a charger and plugged in. However, the charge failed. His charging app reported the charge had been completed, but in fact, the Blazer EV had not charged. Mr. Williams summed up his experience by saying,  “A glitchy infotainment is an ignorable problem, but now it was clear that this thing had a mechanical issue that goes deeper than Google Maps not working.” Mr. Williams was left stranded after 28 hours of testing the Blazer EV, due in large part because the infotainment system failed numerous times. He suspended his testing. 

Ironic Reason GM Gives For Quitting on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
It is pretty obvious that GM wants to install its own native infotainment technology system that does not simply piggyback on your phone’s apps and data plan because it wants to have owners on the hook for subscription plans. GM’s infotainment requires a telematics system to operate. That system comes with a data plan that GM will cover for a limited time. Then, the owner/driver will have to subscribe to keep the infotainment system functioning properly. TechCrunch reports that GM is counting on subscriptions to bring in billions in revenue. 

GM says this is not why it opted to let Google design an infotainment system for its cars starting with the 2024 Blazer and going forward with new models. Rather, GM has told the press that safety is the reason it opted to switch away from a method that everyone loved (particularly Apple phone owners).

Tim Babbit, GM’s head of product for infotainment, told Motor Trend, that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have “stability issues” that result in bad connections, poor rendering, slow responses, and dropped connections. Furthermore, when CarPlay and Android Auto have said glitches, drivers may become distracted by looking at their phones again and, worst of all, taking their eyes off the road.

As a professional vehicle tester who also tests aftermarket Apple CarPlay and Android Auto systems, I can agree that there are imperfections in the operation in some cars. However, I have not had problems with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay in GM’s vehicles. In fact, in my testing this year of the older GM infotainment system in the GMC Canyon, I reported, “The infotainment system of the 2023 GMC 4WD Canyon Denali the best system in its class. It has a great 11.3” touch screen of the perfect size. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are wireless and, in our testing, worked smoothly and quickly. Paired with GMC’s head-up display and driver information display behind the wheel, the system was as perfect as we could imagine one being. Your phone charges wirelessly as you drive.”

In my earlier report for Car Talk earlier this year, I said the following about the Bolt EUV, which Car Talk selected as the Best EV of 2023. “The Bolt has an infotainment system that is among the best in the automotive business. It offers wireless Android Auto and Apple Car Play that worked flawlessly during our multiple testing weeks. The touch screen is easy to use and modern without being overly flashy for the sake of it.”

AAA Says Apple CarPlay and Android Auto Proved Safer In Testing Than Built-In Systems
The odd thing about GM’s safety angle is that AAA did a study of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay that compared the distraction levels of the phone mirroring systems to built-in systems by multiple automakers. The evidence-based conclusion that AAA came up with is that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were less distracting. Therefore, arguably safer. 

These two tests from highly respected outlets staffed by experts will not and should not be the final word on GM’s new infotainment system. Many other outlets have had limited wheel time in the Blazer and have not reported any infotainment failures. However, since Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are almost universally loved (and free), it is GM’s responsibility to prove to the world that they have designed a better mousetrap. We look forward to faithfully reporting on GM products in the future if we are lucky enough to test its vehicles. As a reminder to our readers, far from being biased against GM products, your author named the Chevrolet Bolt EUV as the Best EV of 2023 overall. 
 

Image of Chevrolet Blazer EV infotainment system courtesy of GM

John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.