- Some Android Auto users report Google Maps losing the car icon when switching back to split-screen mode.
- Navigation still works, but the car marker disappears until Maps is force-closed on the phone.
- Several users say switching back to the default blue arrow icon may stop the issue, at least for now.
Like many people, I like to replace the blue arrow with a car avatar when navigating with Google Maps. It’s just a bit of fun customization because you don’t really need any icon at all — you know that your position is anchored at the bottom-center of the navigation screen. Still, it’s familiar to have my position marked in this fun way, so I can imagine it must have been strange for some users who have recently seen the car icon vanish completely when using Google Maps on Android Auto.
The issue popped up in a recent Reddit thread on r/AndroidAuto, where one user described a repeatable bug: if the media player is in full-screen and they switch back to split view, the car icon simply disappears. Navigation still works, but there’s no visual indicator of the car’s actual location. Force-quitting Maps on the phone brings the icon back for the user, but only until the next time it happens.
