iPhone (iOS18) often fails to switch Bluetooth audio devices – anyone else seen this?

Ever since I updated to iOS 18, my iPhone often fails to switch bluetooth audio devices. Mostly this means that after I have used my AirPods at the health club (and then put my buds in their case) it does not connect to my Toyota Prius speakers. And after I have used them in my car (and then left the car parked for a few hours), the phone will not connect to my AirPods.

I expect it to connect automatically when I get in the car (it always did before) and to switch to the AirPods when I take them out of the case.

To recover from this, I go through a couple of cycles of:

  • Turn BT off in settings and then back on.
  • Select the desired device manually in BT settings.
  • “Connection failed”
  • Turn Bluetooth off and back on.
  • Select desired unit.

It usually works after two iterations. And other times it works fine.

Has anyone else seen this?