this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2025
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I ran into this with my 2013 Kia Sorento ICE (which was subsequently totalled. :( )
When you replace the on-board infotainment system, there's an interoperability package that has to be installed to make sure the existing functions of the vehicle continue to work.
Think of it like a translation layer, everything on the dashboard that went through the old system, has to be hooked up to the new system. Also complicated by steering wheel controls.
When it was all said and done, I had the full array of cameras that I wanted (turn signal cameras are amazing!) and everything worked...
Except the one little button that changed the interior lighting. It was forever stuck on red.
Now, for an EV, it's essential everything work properly. I can totally see GM shutting that down.
This is kind of like the complaint about EVs not having AM radios... yeah, there's a reason for that!
https://www.autosinnovate.org/posts/blog/not-cheap-a-3.8-billion-fix-for-am-radio-in-evs
Putting your vehicle main control inside the head unit is absurd to begin with.
Right, not sure why the steering wheel controls would even come into play. Android auto and Apple car play units from 2014 that I bought can directly accept the industry standard steering wheel controls cars use. I was able to use this stereo in a Honda from 06 and a Subaru from 2015. There are also wireless adapters for cars that didn’t have the feature from the factory. If it broke it was a conscious decision.
I got the head unit changed in my Subaru . In the Subaru, the systems that the Head Unit controls (entertainment system, backup cam, Sat NAV) are totally separate from critical systems. So everything the head unit controls can fail and the car will still work.
And you're right, there's an interface/translation layer . In my case the guy used an iDataLink Maestro. It seems the only thing the iDataLink company does provide interfaces that allow head units to talk to car computers, so that the Head unit manufacturers don't have to bother.
I'm not sure such separation is common in EVs.
In their case they're using a variant of Google for automotive, so enabling apple carplay and android auto is literally a checkbox on GM side
They're doing extra work to disable it because they want to render the car worthless when after a few years when the os is outdated and the user doesn't pay a subscription for maps