Where Did I Park My Car? Your iPhone Knows!

Apple Maps has been a close rival to Google Maps ever since Apple made some important changes. Now, Apple Maps has become a staple for iPhone and iPad users and rightly so. Apple Maps offers many features that make driving, walking, biking, or taking public transportation more seamless than ever. 

Talking specifically of features, you can find the Look Around feature in Apple Maps to get a 360-degree view of a location. Remember, it’s similar to Google Maps Street View. Besides, Apple Maps lets you enjoy 3D views of cities, get real-time transit information, find EV stations, share your ETA, and much more. 

However, there’s this one specific feature that caters to car owners. Yes, you read that right. Have you ever parked your car at an unfamiliar location and struggled to find it later? Sounds like a nightmare, right? Well, don’t worry. You should know that you can find parked car in Apple Maps on your iPhone. It’s possible with Apple’s parked car feature. 

How to Find Your Parked Car with Apple Maps on iPhone

For the uninitiated, the parked car feature uses Bluetooth or CarPlay. Now you must wonder how things work, right? Whenever you exit your car after unpairing your iPhone from CarPlay or its Bluetooth, a marker is usually dropped in the Apple Maps. This parked car marker can be handy for you to track down your parked car without any hassle.

While the parked car feature is handy for you especially when you are visiting a new city, you need to do certain things before to make this feature work. Here, we’ll walk you through every step you need to follow to find parked car in Apple Maps on your iPhone.

Step 1: Make sure your iPhone is paired to your car

First and foremost, you should ensure that your iPhone is paired to your car using Bluetooth or CarPlay in order to find parked car in Apple Maps. These days, most of the cars come with Bluetooth feature, so that won’t be an issue for you.

However, if you are specifically looking to pair your iPhone to a car using CarPlay, you should ensure your car has the CarPlay technology. Currently, CarPlay is available on 800 models across different brands, you can check the details here

Step 2: You should enable Location Services on your iPhone

Turn on Location Services
Image: YTECHB

Apple Maps works seamlessly when you have location services enabled on your iPhone. This enables Apple Maps to remember where you precisely parked your car. You can enable the location services on your iPhone by following the steps given below.  

  1. First, head to Settings
  2. Next, tap on Privacy & Settings
  3. Finally, enable the toggle for Location Services.

Also read: How to Turn Off Spoken Directions on Apple Maps

Step 3: Make sure the Significant Locations option is enabled on your iPhone

Turn on Significant Locations
Image: YTECHB

The Significant Locations feature allows your iPhone and iCoud-connected devices to track places you have recently visited. The feature has a similar function as the Google Maps Timeline feature. While the Significant Locations feature is usually enabled by default on your iPhone, you can confirm by following the steps given below:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Privacy & Settings.
  3. Next, tap Location Services.
  4. Then, tap System Services.
  5. Finally, check if the toggle for Significant Locations is turned on. If not, make sure to enable it from your end. 

Step 4: You must enable the Show Parked Location option on your iPhone

Show Parked Location iPhone Apple Maps
Image: Apple

Since you are looking to find parked car in Apple Maps, you must enable the Show Parked Location option hidden in the settings of Apple Maps. You can enable this option by following the steps given below. 

  1. Go to Settings on your iPhone.
  2. Next, tap Maps.
  3. Now, toggle the switch beside the Show Parked Location option as seen in the image above, and you are done. 

Also read: How to Use Apple Maps on Windows and Android [Easy Guide]

After doing all the above, you are ready to find your parked car using Apple Maps on your iPhone. As we mentioned earlier, you have to ensure that your iPhone remains connected all the time to your car while driving. When you exit or park your car, you’ll receive a notification from Apple about the location of the parked vehicle.

When you plan to return to the car, make sure to open Apple Maps and look for the parked car icon. Next, tap the icon to see a map of your parked car’s location. Finally, simply follow the Apple Maps navigation to head back to your beloved parked car. 

Also read: How to use multi-stop routing in Apple Maps on iPhone [iOS 16]

How to Find Parked Car in Apple Maps on iPhone Without Bluetooth

While most modern cars have Bluetooth, it’s still possible you are using an old model that lacks this feature. In that case, you have to try a quick trick to be able to find parked car in Apple Maps on your iPhone. Please make sure to go through the following steps very carefully.

  1. First, open Apple Maps on your iPhone.
  2. Next, zoom into your location by tapping the arrow or compass icon.
  3. Then, tap the Blue icon.
  4. When you are ready to go back to the location where you parked your car, simply find the dropped pin and tap on it.
  5. Finally, you can tap on the Walking icon and get directions back to your parked car in Apple Maps.

Also read: How to use Apple Maps on Windows [Official Method]

Why is My Parked Car Not Showing Up in Apple Maps?

If you can’t find parked car in Apple Maps, it’s possible that your iPhone wasn’t connected to your car while driving. If not, you must check whether you have enabled the Location Services and Significant Locations on your iPhone. In addition, you must turn on the Show Parked Location option from the Maps settings to find parked car on your iPhone.

Well, we have come to the end of this guide where we discussed how can you find parked car in Apple Maps using your iPhone. It’s possible that sometimes you may forget where you actually left your car if you are in a rush, but Apple’s parked car feature is always there to rescue you. If you know someone who often forgets where they parked their car, make sure to share this guide with them, it can be a lifesaver for them.

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Rishaj Upadhyay

Rishaj has been writing professionally for over four years with a passion for Android and all things tech. He likes to always be up-to-date on the latest news in the industry and write about it. When he is not writing, you can find capturing landscape shots, listening to podcasts, and more.

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