UPDATE: Mazda announced late in November that they now offers CarPlay upgrades in the US across their lineup. Check out our update on the CarPlay retrofit for details.
Mazda’s now offering Apple CarPlay retrofits in both Canada and Australia for vehicles all the way back to MY 2014. But they’ve yet to release any similar plans for the US. When will this awesome retrofit come to US soil?
Mazda Canada Now Retrofits CarPlay in 6 Models
Back in September 2018, Mazda Canada announced that Apple CarPlay would come standard in all 2019 models (save the MX-5). Mazda also announced that, if you recently bought a 2018 Mazda6 or a 2019 CX-3 before the new production change, you can have CarPlay installed in your vehicle for $250 CAD – a steal for an OEM piece of equipment.
Mazda’s awesome CarPlay offerings don’t stop there though. They also announced that they’d offer Carplay for all existing vehicles equipped with the Mazda CONNECT infotainment systems for a cost of $443 CAD. While 2x as much as for the vehicles above, that’s still not a bad price for a dealer-installed piece of equipment.
Mazda first introduced their CONNECT system across their entire range in 2014, so if your Mazda is MY 2014 or newer, you’ve got Mazda CONNECT. This includes the Mazda3, Mazda2, Mazda6, MX-5, CX-5, CX-9, and CX-3 (itself introduced in 2016).
Will Mazda Offer This Retrofit in the US?
Unfortunately, in the US things are a bit different. Mazda has already announced they’ll include CarPlay in the 2019 CX-9, but they haven’t yet spilled the beans whether or not they’ll offer the CarPlay retrofit for all the models above.
With Mazda offering the upgrade in both Canada and Australia,we can only assume (or hope) it’ll eventually make it to the US. One good sign: Mazda itself admits that Mazda CONNECT is basically the same the world over.
We really can’t see any reason they wouldn’t offer this CarPlay retrofit in the US – unless they have a deep loathing for their customer base.
Mazda isn’t completely quiet on the home front though. As of November 2018, they have confirmed that they’re offering a CarPlay retrofit the 2018 Mazda6 – and for free!
2018 Mazda6 Owners Can Already Get a Free Retrofit
If you’ve already got a 2018 Mazda6 – you’re actually in luck! Starting in September, Mazda dealers across the US began offering CarPlay/Android Auto retrofits at no cost. The free retrofit is only available for certain trim levels, so if you opted for the Touring, Grand Touring, Grand Touring Reserve, or Signature, you’re good to go.
Mazda first announced this awesome deal back in a Julypress release. For the retrofit, you must bring your Mazda6 into adealer and the procedure includes both hardware and software upgrades and takesabout two hours to complete.
So if you’ve got a 2018 Mazda6 (of one of the trim levels above) but don’t have Apple CarPlay – go to your dealer today and get it for free!
Image Source: Courtesy Mazda Media Library
