If you’re having trouble with Google Maps rerouting forever on Android Automotive, you’re certainly not alone. Several Polestar owners and at least one Honda driver complained that the navigation app keeps searching for a new route in the middle of the drive, making navigation impossible.
A discussion thread on reddit started by a Polestar 2 owner also includes a video highlighting the bug, indicating that Google Maps navigation is active when the rerouting glitch occurs.
Several other users confirmed a similar behavior in their cars, although it looks like the glitch is not exclusive to Polestar models. More cars could be affected if they are fitted with Android Automotive units.
While at first glance the behavior is similar to the one of a GPS connection error, users explain in the reddit thread that GPS isn’t jumping when parked or when Google Maps is not running. Several Polestar owners reached out to dealers to investigate, while someone says they switched to CarPlay and Apple Maps.
Oddly, the issue appears to be going away on its own after a while.
“This has happened to me before, really no idea why, but it did eventually go away on its own,” a Polestar owner explains in a post on reddit.
The Google Maps glitch appears to be caused by an update that enabled the Gemini experience on Android Auto. Gemini is Google’s new AI-powered assistant that replaces Google Assistant, offering deeper integration into the navigation experience and more advanced capabilities.
However, the rollout of Gemini has so far been plagued by multiple problems, especially on Android Auto, where users reported app crashes, random disconnects, and the assistant not being able to run basic tasks, like making phone calls.
It’s unclear if Gemini is indeed the culprit, but someone says they managed to got Google Maps up and running correctly by clearing the cache and the data of the app from Settings > Apps > Google Maps.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot happening in the Google Maps and Gemini spaces these days.
First, Google Maps is getting a major update that enables the immersive navigation mode in the United States. This new mode includes highly detailed maps with trees, sidewalks, and see-through buildings and overpasess for a more realistic experience.
Second, Gemini is becoming the default choice for Android and Android Auto users, with Google announcing the end of Google Assistant in September. The downgrade to Google Assistant is still possible right now, but going back to the previous assistant will no longer be allowed once Google introduces this change.
The search giant has yet to respond to calls for an investigation into this Google Maps rerouting problem, so if you discover a fix, make sure you share it with the rest of the world using the comments box below.