Infotainment System Electrical Problems – Reasons and Solutions

Whenever you have a problem with the infotainment system, you can still drive your car. But it's unlikely you will get a lot of pleasure from driving. The problem is that the vehicle won't play music for you, you won't get access to a lot of various settings including sometimes even climate settings.

In this article, I want to tell you about the infotainment problems that can be triggered in your vehicle for various reasons. I will also give you links to more detailed articles so that you can check what exactly causes the problem in your case and how you can solve it by spending as little money as possible.

Infotainment glitch problems

One of the most common issues with the infotainment system is the glitch. For example, you can see that the screen is being pressed like by a ghost or something. You don't touch anything but the screen makes choices and navigates the menu.

A more common problem is when the screen is stuck on the boot image and doesn't move on to let you enter the system. So, the infotainment is just unusable and you need to learn how to reset everything manually. One of the variations is when your screen keeps restarting on its own.

In a lot of modern vehicles, you may experience a situation when the infotainment screen won't turn off even when you press the button or cut off the power. This will certainly drain your battery.

Infotainment glitch problems highlights:

• Reasons:overheating, electrical damage, software problems, connection issues
• Quick fix:manual restart
• Price forrepair:$150 - $800
• Time forrepair:1 - 3 hours
• Howcommon:quite common for modern cars
• DIYrepair:sometimes possible

Music problems

When music doesn't work in your car, every trip becomes boring. Over 90% of people regularly turn on music in their vehicles.

So, there are cases when your car stereo won't turn on even though it has power. In some vehicles (like the Silverado), music problems are way more common than in others due to the infotainment system architecture. I've written about the Chrysler 200, Jeep Cherokee, Lexus IS250, and several other vehicles specifically in terms of their radio problems.

Also, the Corolla has a lot of common issues with the power supply to the infotainment unit. If there are power issues with the radio, check the fuses and wiring first. But it can be an issue with the way you check the power supply.

Music problems highlights:

• Reasons:power supply, software, radio issues
• Quick fix:check the fuses and wiring
• Price forrepair:$50 - $350
• Time forrepair:0.5 - 1.5 hours
• Howcommon:not that common
• DIYrepair:possible

Resetting the infotainment system

One of the most efficient fixes for problems with the infotainment system in your car is just to reset it.

The question is how can you reset this system? Well, it will differ for various car brands and generations. First of all, check if your driver's manual says how you can reset the screen. For example, Volkswagen and Audi's manuals always have a dedicated part of the text saying about the buttons you should press for a quick hard reset.

But there are other brands like Mazda that you will need to research more online. It's especially complicated to reset the Bluetooth connection for pairing and re-pairing your phone or other device to the infotainment system.

Resetting the infotainment system highlights:

• Reasons:glitch, dead screen, freezing
• Quick fix:look in manual, pull the fuse, disconnect the battery
• Price forrepair:$0 - $150
• Time forrepair:0.1 - 1 hours
• Howcommon:very common
• DIYrepair:possible

Screen problems with the infotainment system

In most cases, when it comes to infotainment problems, we'll be talking about the screen not working properly. I had this issue with the MMI system in Audi and described the fixes in my article.

You should keep in mind that the fixes in these articles may also cover other screens in your vehicle like the climate control screen or dash screens if you have them in your car.

One of the common reasons people come to this site is the black screen. It doesn't always mean that the infotainment isn't working. Sometimes, the problem is with the fuse or power supply to the system.

In Mercedes vehicles, it's a very common thing that infotainment develops software problems. After a hard reset, the problems are usually gone. While in Ram and other Stellantis cars, overheating of the system is the common reason for problems.

But the record holder in this problem is Volkswagen. I once had to deal with the Tiguan infotainment issues and spent 4 hours to just find the reason why it wasn't working properly. Unfortunately, even making the list of common issues with the VW screen would take me days.

Also, I've written about the Silverado and its infotainment system issues. These are much easier to find and solve than the VW problems.

Screen problems highlights:

• Reasons:screen death, connections, physical damage, high voltage, glitch
• Quick fix:reset the system, check power, check fuse, check wiring
• Price forrepair:$0 - $1,000
• Time forrepair:0.5 - 3 hours
• Howcommon:quite common
• DIYrepair:possible

Touch screen problems

It's very common for modern cars to develop issues with the touch screen. I've also written several articles to try and find the solutions that you may try on your own.

Unfortunately, if the touch screen itself is broken, there is no way you can find a DIY solution. But often it's a glitch and resetting the infotainment system is the best solution. At least, you should try this step before you pay money to any repair shop or dealership.

Guess which brand is the most common among complaints of car owners. Right, Volkswagen is the "leader" here again. Also, the Chevy Mylink system has a lot of complaints and it's not that easy to fix the problems that it can sometimes develop.

Some Ford cars are also prone to this issue. Fortunately, resetting the system often helps you solve the problem for literally zero dollars.

Touch screen problems highlights:

• Reasons:touch screen death, glitch, freezing of the software
• Quick fix:reset the system
• Price forrepair:$0 - $1,000
• Time forrepair:0.2 - 2.5 hours
• Howcommon:very common
• DIYrepair:sometimes possible