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Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Oh, man, sticking with Android Auto really is a huge challenge. While many people bought a Google Pixel specifically for a first-party experience on Android Auto, not even this setup guarantees a flawless feature set.
This is precisely what’s going on right now for some Android Auto users who installed the Google Pixel update shipped in March 2026.
These users claim that going back in apps with the physical button in their cars no longer works, and Android Auto regularly freezes after pressing certain buttons. All these cars lack touchscreens and come with control knobs and physical buttons, and for some reason, the March Google Pixel update broke down the input support.
“Since the update, the ‘Back’ button does not function at all in any application, YouTube Music suffers frequent freezing following inputs or switching to/from Maps, and freezes whenever a message notification is interacted with,” someone explains in a message posted on Google’s forums in late March.
The issue has since been confirmed by many other users who discovered the same problem in their cars. Because the issue only affects physical controls for Android Auto, only certain brands are affected, such as Mazda, Audi, and Mercedes. Vehicles with touch-capable screens aren’t impacted by the glitch, and no input issues have been reported when the Android Auto connection is powered by a Google Pixel phone.
The issue is being reported with Android Auto wired and wireless, so the connection method doesn’t seem to be making a difference.
Users claim that the only change that happened on their devices was the March Pixel update, so it’s not an issue related to Android Auto but to the phone itself. All Google Pixel models that received the March update are affected, including even the Pixel 6.
While rolling back is possible, the process isn’t by any means convenient and easy to do, and users are currently stuck with the broken back button and the occasional freezing. Google has already confirmed that it’s looking into reports, but there’s no ETA as to when a patch could go live.
“I’m having the same problem with my Pixel and Mazda. I was requested to send in bug reports after I reported this issue above. And I have been sending in reports. I hope others are doing the same. Seems like that’s the best thing we can do to get this resolved,” someone said in April.
While it’s unclear if Google has already shipped a fix, someone says in a post this week that the back button is again working in their car. The May update isn’t yet available for the Google Pixel, so it’s unclear what changed and whether everybody else got this fix.
Meanwhile, Google has recently shipped Android Auto 16.8 beta, and a production version is expected next week.