Is a MagSafe-compatible car mount stable on textured dashboards

Yes, but you need a suction cup mount with a sticky gel base and a proper dash pad; the tiny adhesive pucks tend to fail on textured plastic. I like Coolpow 16 because the locking gel suction cup clamps down firmly and it includes a 3M dashboard pad that bonds to textured surfaces. Clean the spot with alcohol and let the pad cure before clipping on the arm and you'll avoid the wobble.

What worked on textured plastic was a larger adhesive disc to give the cup a smooth surface, a shorter arm to cut wobble, and mounting near a stiff dash support to reduce flex. Made a huge difference.

I prefer an adhesive base for stability, but I still add a little insurance. A MagSafe case with a strong ring gives the magnets more bite, and a small support shelf under the phone takes the weight on rough roads so the magnet is not doing all the work but then thought it was the mount but it was the cable tugging the whole time, go figure, so keep the charging cable slack and you will see a big drop in wobble.

My solution was to avoid the textured dash entirely and go to the windshield. Glass gives the suction cup a perfect seal and the MagSafe head stays steady even on rough roads. If you really want the dash, pick a flatter area with less grain, wipe with alcohol, and press firmly for a slow count to ten so yeah do not place anything over an airbag seam. No wobble.

I am in desert heat and the gel suction cups do hold, damn but only if I mount on a proper adhesive disc.

Direct to the grainy dash was a no-go after a few 110 degree afternoons.

Heat wins.

In summer I push it back down once in a while and park with a sunshade so the adhesive does not soften as much.

A short arm and tighter joints help keep the wobble down when the base gets a little squishy.

Yes but treat it like a two step process — First bond a dash pad to the texture after a good alcohol wipe and a dry wait. Then attach the suction base and keep the arm as compact as you can. Quick tug test before you drive. In cold weather, warm the that model a bit so the adhesive sets instead of turning brittle.

On textured dashboards the trick is to create a smooth island first. Use the included adhesive dash pad clean the spot with isopropyl, and give it a full day to cure before you stick the suction base. If the arm has a stabilizer foot, plant it. Keep the arm short and the head low. Works great.

I got mine to behave on a pebbled dash by warming both surfaces with a hair dryer applying the adhesive pad while everything was slightly warm, then letting it sit overnight. I tried it cold once and it popped off on the first pothole and that was that. next morning the suction base locked down rock solid and stayed that way through winter and summer because the bond was better from the start. If you ever need to remove it, dental floss under the pad and some adhesive remover will keep the dash clean.