The first mod I made to my 2023 Ford Maverick truck was to add wireless Apple CarPlay. I was a bit shocked that a modern-day vehicle sold in 2023 didn’t have it, but I guess Ford had to cut costs somewhere. Even with the Lariat package. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution.

I picked up this Carlinkit 5.0 2air CarPlay Wireless Adapter ($70 at the time of this post), plugged it in, connected my iPhone to its bluetooth signal and that was it. I get into my truck, and within a few seconds my phone connects to it and I have CarPlay with no wires.

To make the install look even more clean, I bought this short $7 90-degree USB cable to replace the one that came with it. The benefit here is that the cable sticks less out of the front of my center console, making it look less “there”.

I wrapped the cable around the adapter, put a small strip of 3M automotive tape on the back of it, and stuck it underneath so it’s out of the way in the back. The only thing visible is the cable on the front, going back.

For those of you who, like me, had a most difficult time getting the adapter to stay stuck to the underside of the dash, here’s what I did. I tried nano/alien tape, 3M automotive tape, and even velcro. Nothing would keep it held up. It’s too slippery! So I grabbed a small piece of sandpaper and roughed up the surface (you can’t see it so why does it matter), cleaned it good with isopropyl alcohol, and it hasn’t come off since. I ended up using velcro so I could easily remove it and put it back should I need to.