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Timi Cantisano
Published Feb 3, 2026, 4:11 PM EST
Timi is a news and deals writer who's been reporting on technology for over a decade. He loves breaking down complex subjects into easy-to-read pieces that keep you informed. But his recent passion comes from finding the best discounts on the internet on some of the best tech products out right now.
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Android Auto is one of those things that can make your life easier or harder, depending on how well it's functioning. But for the most part, Google has done a pretty good job of delivering a pretty solid experience thanks to new features and enhancements that come with updates to the platform.
With that said, it looks like some folks out there are running into issues with Android Auto right now, where the driving avatar disappears during use (via Android Authority). As you can imagine, that's a pretty big deal for some and can also be visibly jarring, especially if you're navigating the roads to an unknown place.
It's repeatable, which means it's avoidable
The somewhat good news is that it's a repeatable issue, which means it can be avoided. The driving avatar apparently disappears if the media player is adjusted to full-screen and then back to its split-screen view. Navigation will continue, but users will not have a visual vehicle indicator on the screen going forward.
Now, again, this isn't a huge deal, but it is going to cause quite a bit of confusion, and maybe even some frustration, the first or even second time this happens while on the road. Luckily, there's a way to fix and avoid this issue while Google does some digging as to why this is happening in the first place.
Once this problem occurs, users will need to close the app on the phone in order to get the avatar to reappear. If you're someone that keeps things simple and just uses the default arrow for their navigation icon, then you most likely won't ever see this problem. It seems to only affect those who select a vehicle as their driving avatar.
For the time being, there doesn't seem to be a fix in progress, but there is a workaround at the very least, as mentioned above. So, if you're someone who loves using a driving avatar, you'll have to make a change for now. The Reddit thread also suggests updating Google Maps and all associated apps and services.
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Tech insights about everything mobile directly from the Android Police team. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.It's not a guarantee that it will fix this issue, but like all software problems, some folks see results, while others do not. Just be sure to check in every once in a while. If there's a fix, we'll be sure to report it.
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