If your Android Auto application looks washed out or hard to see, or otherwise goes wonky in your VW, you’re not crazy. According to drivers, the problem is related to the media card album art (and position)/progess bar/control icons and so on creating a washed out background that makes white text more difficult to read without focusing.
What users are seeing
Owners report an image window that looks washed-out next to the rest of the UI. Tracks names, artist information and transport controls—all mostly displayed in white—suffer for legibility on the kind of light, whitened wallpapers Google likes to show off. That symptom is uniform across apps like Spotify, YouTube Music and Audible because Android Auto’s visual layer is governed by the media template of Android Auto, not by the individual app.
Crucially, the effect is isolated. You will still get the normal contrast for changelists, map and launcher tiles, status icons etc… This gives confidence that it isn’t something earlier in the render (i.e. preMediaSurface), or display calibration.
The most likely cause: a light theme filter bug
Speculation in the community is that something with the new theming for Android Auto and how it interacts with media on the background ensured was broken. Independent APK teardowns by Android developers have found code that lets you re-enable the old media background behavior; rather than strict Material You color blocks in the player, it can show a blurred version of album art behind the controls. That reintroduction seems to be accompanied by a lightening filter meant for daytime.
Here’s the kicker: it appears that filter is tripped any time Android Auto starts in Day mode, and not when a full light theme encompasses the rest of the interface.
The effect is a media panel that has been brightened twice — once through the blur and again through the overlay — resulting in a washed out effect. However, when users open Android Auto in Night mode, the filter is turned off and media card becomes normal opposite contrast.
That’s consistent with several Android Auto community posts on Reddit, where users report being able to reliably reproduce the issue themselves by switching to Day mode before connecting.
It also falls in line with what you’d assume from a theming regression: small, component level change ripple that doesn’t affect the rest of your UI chrome.
Why it’s important for visibility and safety
Hard-to-read text against a too-bright background is more than just a superficial annoyance. The W3C’s WCAG 2.0 guidelines suggest even higher contrast for body text: at least 4.5:1 in most cases. A lightened media surface with white typography may not meet that standard, especially when battling sun glare. Anything that requires additional glances, a squint or two will amplify distraction, a concern echoed by safety advice from organizations like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Common solutions for quick checks and temporary fixes
Launch Android Auto in Night mode. Many vehicles change between Day and Night versions based on their head lights or sub-light settings. If your vehicle has the option, turn on headlights or set it to night display mode before plugging in your phone so that Android Auto starts up with Night mode. Users state that the media card appears to be OK when it starts this way.
Set theme to dark manually, if possible. Some builds have an open Setting, on android auto that governs more than maps. Choose both or automatic, and then reconnect.
Toggle Day/Night after launch. If the display looks like it’s washed out, change between Day and Night on your car’s display to force Android Auto to refresh its theme pipeline. The media panel recovers its contrast in several reports when the toogle is activated again.
Restart Android Auto. Disconnect, force stop Android Auto on your phone and reconnect the cable or start wireless mode again. This is not the cure for the underlying cause, but should reset the media surface status.
How to tell if you’re affected
Open the media app you prefer and stare at its player card: if the album art appears washed out, whites don’t look bright and sharp, or text is difficult to read against a background; congratulations! You’ve been infected with this bug others have described.
There’s also an A versus B button to make your daytime and nighttime start comparisons quick. If contrast is restored in Night mode, the light-theme overlay is your suspect.
What’s next from Google
There is every indication that this was a regression related to recent theming work, which means it’s a fixable feature rollout on Google’s side and does not need app-by-app updates.
If you get hit, send feedback through the Android Auto Help Community or Google’s issue reporting tools and let them know that the issue happens only when you start in Day mode. Engineers can then use screenshots from the two modes to diagnose how the filter is behaving.
You’ll just have to wait for a patch, but in the meantime, leaving Android Auto in Night mode or using dark theme whenever you can is your best workaround. It isn’t perfect, but it produces much-needed legibility — which is what you’re after when taking notes on the go.