IllustrationCar rear camera constantly freezes, doesn’t appear or just stops during vehicle usage
2023 Polestar Polestar 2
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2023 Polestar Polestar 2 do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 114.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Polestar 2 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 2 of 114 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Back Over Prevention. Review the 88 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Visibility/wiper. Review the 7 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
1 crash reports0 fire reports1 injury reports
What owners actually said
114 reportsDespite a recall, rear camera does not activate when putting the car into reverse. This poses immense safety risks as the rear of the vehicle is poorly visible from the driver seat and mirrors when backing up. I have previously noted this instance a few months ago after the recall for this issue, and yet the issue is persisting.…
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Despite a recall, rear camera does not activate when putting the car into reverse. This poses immense safety risks as the rear of the vehicle is poorly visible from the driver seat and mirrors when backing up. I have previously noted this instance a few months ago after the recall for this issue, and yet the issue is persisting. There are no warnings or indicators of an electrical or other problem. I have not taken this in for servicing for this problem. But this issue is reproducible every time getting into the car and putting it into reverse, on the center display where the cameras would display, an error message appears, again, exactly as occurred prior to the recall. In summary, despite recall, rear view cameras/backup cameras do not properly work when putting the car into reverse to reverse.
An ongoing issue with Polestar 2 vehicles has been its unreliable rear camera. When reversing, the rear camera does not always engage, leaving either a blank space on the dashboard screen or sometimes the phrase “Rear camera currently unavailable”. This continues to occur despite software updates from the manufacturer.
-The rearview camera fails intermittently when gearshift is placed in reverse and when the car drives in reverse. -Passengers and pedestrians are at risk of collision due to restricted view around vehicle. -I have not reported the problem to the dealer or manufacturer because they are well aware that this problem exists, althoug…
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-The rearview camera fails intermittently when gearshift is placed in reverse and when the car drives in reverse. -Passengers and pedestrians are at risk of collision due to restricted view around vehicle. -I have not reported the problem to the dealer or manufacturer because they are well aware that this problem exists, although they claim it was remedied by software updates. -I have not had my vehicle inspected by anyone to date, but will do so if the problem is not effectively addressed soon. -There is a warning message at the time the vehicle is placed in reverse that the rearview camera is temporarily unavailable. -The problem, and the error messages, have been recurring for months. -In addition, as a result of the software changes, the vehicle radio and Google maps fail intermittently.
The back up camera repeatedly fails, and does not work, when I put my car into reverse.
Infotainment system continues to be intermittently unresponsive. Today, the system was totally frozen which made it so heat/air conditioning could not be controlled, no sound for turn signals were present, and backup camera was not functioning.
Rear camera does not work quite often and I get a message that the system the rear camera is unavailable. This is a safety hazard when reversing the vehicle. Polestar stated that the new software they released a few months back would fix this but it did not fix it at all (software version 3.6.4)
I received the NHTSA Recall No. 25V-280 and had the vehicle updated to Software 3.6.4 in July 2025. Following this update I still have issues with the rear camera while the vehicle is in reverse. This includes 1) the camera not available with the system showing this error, 2) the camera not available with the screen continuing t…
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I received the NHTSA Recall No. 25V-280 and had the vehicle updated to Software 3.6.4 in July 2025. Following this update I still have issues with the rear camera while the vehicle is in reverse. This includes 1) the camera not available with the system showing this error, 2) the camera not available with the screen continuing to show content not related to the camera, and 3) when the camera is available there are refresh issues that cause interrupted visibility concerns.
The rear view camera does not always work when putting the car into reverse and gives a "Camera Unavailable" error. My car is on the latest software revision which was supposed to resolve this, but it is still occuring. With the very small rear window, having a 100% working rear camera is imperative.
The reserve camera shows unavailable after the recall software update. My car is on 3.6.4 and camera unavailable happened twice in one day.
Official recalls
425V615000 · Back Over Prevention:software
Sep 15, 2025
Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2021-2025 Polestar 2 vehicles. The rearview camera image may not display when the vehicle is placed in reverse.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A rearview camera image that does not display reduces the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Owner letters were mailed June 4, 2026. Owners may contact Polestar's customer service at 1-800-806-2504. Polestar's number for this recall is RP1069. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall will be searchable on NHTSA.gov beginning April 20, 2026. This recall replaces previous NHTSA recalls 24V477 and 25V280. Vehicles previously repaired under those recalls will need to have the new remedy performed.
25V280000 · Back Over Prevention:software
Apr 25, 2025
Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2021-2025 Polestar 2 vehicles. The rearview camera image may not display when the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A rearview camera image that does not display reduces the driver's view of what is behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will update the vehicle software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 20, 2025. Owners may contact Polestar's customer service at 1-800-806-2504. Polestar's number for this recall is RP1056. Vehicles in this recall that were previously repaired under 24V-477 will need to have the new remedy completed.
24V477000 · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera; Equipment:electrical:infotainment:software
Jun 26, 2024
Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Polestar 2 vehicles. The Infotainment Head Unit (IHU) software may prevent the rearview camera image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: A rearview camera image that does not display decreases the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Polestar has released an over-the-air IHU software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 9, 2024. Owners may contact Polestar customer service at 1-800-806-2504. Polestar's number for this recall is RP1016.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Equipment:electrical:infotainment:software
Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Polestar 2 vehicles. The Infotainment Head Unit (IHU) software may prevent the rearview camera image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera image that does not display decreases the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Polestar has released an over-the-air IHU software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 9, 2024. Owners may contact Polestar customer service at 1-800-806-2504. Polestar's number for this recall is RP1016.
Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Polestar 2 vehicles. The Infotainment Head Unit (IHU) software may prevent the rearview camera image from displaying. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Consequence: A rearview camera image that does not display decreases the driver's visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Polestar has released an over-the-air IHU software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 9, 2024. Owners may contact Polestar customer service at 1-800-806-2504. Polestar's number for this recall is RP1016.
23V476000 · Suspension:front:control Arm:lower Ball Joint
Jul 12, 2023
Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2023 Polestar 2 vehicles. The front left lower ball joint may have been incorrectly installed, allowing the control arm to disconnect from the steering knuckle.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The control arm disconnecting from the steering knuckle can cause a loss of steering, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect and replace the ball joint fastening bolt as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 10, 2023. Owners may contact Polestar customer service at 1-800-806-2504. Polestar's number for this recall is R10245.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
1RQ25004 · Loss Of rear-view Camera Image
Opened Jul 9, 2025 · Closed Aug 28, 2026
Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera
On July 9, 2025, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened Recall Query (RQ) 25004 to investigate and review the effectiveness of the remedy for Recall 25V-280.Polestar initiated Recall 25V-280 to address shortcomings in the remedy for Recall 24V-477, which intended to address rear camera outage conditions. Consumer complaint traffic reporting rear-view camera outages after receiving the remedy for 25V-280prompted the RQ opening. On July 7, 2024, Polestar initiated Recall 24V-477 to address issues with the rear-view camera display in certain Model Year (MY) 2021-2024 Polestar 2 vehicles. According to Polestar, this failure was due to a memory allocation error in the IHU. To address this error, the remedy, provided by an over-the-air (OTA) software update , shortened the retry times of the camera streams and removed the rendering of the map in the driver display during backing events to release the graphic memory for the rear-view camera. On April 25, 2025, Polestar initiated Recall 25V-280 to address similar issues with the rear-view camera display in certain MY 2021-2025 Polestar 2 vehicles. The recall remedy consisted of an OTA software update intended to correct a synchronization error between the Parking Assist Camera (PAC) and the Infotainment Head Unit (IHU). The updated software would maintain the high-speed signal connection between the PAC and IHU, instead of toggling on and off by request. ODI has received two hundred seventy-five (275) Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ) alleging failure of the rear-view camera to display after receiving the remedy for Recall 25V-280. Consumers reported that the rear-view camera failed to display once the vehicle was initially placed in reverse, as well as losing the rear-view image while the vehicle was traveling in reverse . Failure to display the rearview image will reduce the driver’s visibility in a backing event, increasing the risk of a crash. On July 18, 2025, ODI sent Polestar an Information Request (IR) letter requesting data for vehicle production, field incidents, and any modifications related to the backup camera and its software. ODI also requested information pertaining to Polestar’s internal assessments, problem resolutions, and their assessment of the alleged defect. On September 15, 2025, Polestar issued Recall 25V-615, which sought to remedy the failure of Recall 25V-280. Polestar acknowledged that the prior remedy was insufficient and that further engineering analysis would be required for final software development and validation. Polestar worked with its supplier (Volvo) and began validation of the new software in February 2026. On April 20, 2026, Polestar released the remedy for Recall 25V-615 via an OTA software update. The update provided general stability improvements to the operating system, as well as bug fixes for the rear-view camera. Since the deployment of the 25V-615 remedy, ODI has received only 3 VOQs alleging a rear camera outage, yielding a complaint rate of 0.01% for Recall 25V-615. ODI assessed the conditions that led to the 25V-280 remedy failures and the countermeasures deployed to prevent recurrence in vehicles that received the remedy for 25V-615. To measure its efficacy, ODI analyzed materials produced by Polestar in its responses to ODI’s July 18, 2025, IR letter and additional materials Polestar furnished in response to email requests and a technical meeting in 2026.ODI also reviewed information Polestar provided in response to another IR letter NHTSA sent on March 25, 2026, requesting additional information related to the decision-making process for correcting the remedy failure of Recall 25V-280. On June 10, 2026, at the request of ODI, Polestar presented a technical briefing of the remedy for Recall 25V-615, which included both completion rates and remedy failure counts. ODI has monitored the remedy for Recall 25V-615 since April 2026 and has observed the failure rate to remain low. ODI is closing this RQ following manufacturer action in the form of Recall 25V-615. The Agency will continue to monitor the remedy and reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances. To review the ODI reports cited in the Closing Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.