Surface Duo2 and Android Auto NOT working properly

I have an alpine iLX-F259 Halo 9" head unit that worked flawlessly with my Samsung Note 9 running android 10.

When I try to set up the Duo 2 (android 11) I get a message on the head unit to follow instructions on phone screen. Phone screen says unlock to continue. When I unlock the phone, It gives me a message to continue setup on the head unit screen. The problem is the screen is blank. No icons, nothing.

I finally started poking around on the head unit screen to see if there was any tactile response, and at some point I touched the right spot and it came to life and I got the android auto screen to come up.

However, its still not working properly, not stable, switching between apps screws up the head unit screen, all info isn't displayed correctly and stuff.

On the google play store, there is a note under the android auto app that says "This app may not be optimized for your device" So ya, that pisses me off.

I would like to know other user experiences with the surface duo2 and android auto. Thanks.

update 08 Dec 2021 - Surface Duo 2 received a firmware update yesterday (build 2021.923.272 not sure if that changed but thats my current version - dec 1 security update). Also, several key apps updated thru the play store. As of now, Android Auto seems to be functioning properly. I have only used it once since the Duo2 updated, but everything looks very promising.