However, long-time Android Auto users certainly know that the experience with Google Assistant isn’t always the most refined, as the digital assistant misbehaves in the car when you need it most. This is what happens today in some cars running Android Auto.
Several users discovered that setting up navigation to a contact’s address no longer works with voice commands, as Google Assistant doesn’t recognize the comment or can’t find the address in the database. Users claim the address is already mentioned in the phonebook, so if you open the contact sheet, you can find the destination saved on the device, but Google Assistant can’t extract it to use the information for navigation.
Everything worked correctly until recently when telling Google Assistant to “navigate to [contact name]” launched Google Maps and configured navigation to the contact’s address.
Many people believe Google Maps is the culprit, but I think the Google app is to blame. Like on Android devices, the Google app powers the Google Assistant integration on Android Auto, so it’s responsible for hands-free interaction in the car.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear what version might be causing the trouble, but if you recently updated the Google app and it can no longer configure navigation to a contact’s address, you should try to downgrade to the previous version. The glitch happens on Android Auto 12.x versions and Android 14. Google says it needs more information from users before starting an investigation, and it’ll be interesting to see how widespread the glitch eventually becomes, especially since the botched update is now rolling out to devices.
The error affects Android Auto wired and wireless, so the connection method doesn’t matter. Some users claim Google Assistant occasionally conducts a web search for a random address based on the voice commands and configures navigation to an address it finds online—it’s typically a business’ address, so double-check your route to make sure Google Maps gets you to the right destination.
Meanwhile, there’s not much you can do, albeit downgrading the Google app can help. The Android Auto version doesn’t seem to improve the behavior, as the glitch has also been confirmed in the latest updates released by Google. The search giant typically ships Google app updates every few days, so fingers crossed that it resolves this glitch impacting Android Auto voice commands before it hits more users.