NHTSA Investigation RQ25004

Loss of rear-view camera image

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received 109 complaints for rear-view camera failures on Model Year (MY) 2021 to MY 2025 Polestar 2 vehicles. On June 26, 2024, Polestar recalled certain MY 2021 – MY 2024 Polestar 2 vehicles for visualization issues during a backup event and failure to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111 (Rear Visibility) (Recall 24V-477). Specifically, Polestar stated that the rear-view camera “may have limited visualization, be inoperative, or function incorrectly when reverse gear is engaged, thereby affecting the driver’s rear visibility capability in a backing event.” Polestar proposed to remedy this condition via a software update to minimize an Infotainment Head Unit (IHU) graphical rendering limitation by shortening the retry times of the camera streams, as well as removing the rendering of the map in the driver display during backing events to release the graphic memory for the use of the rear-view camera. Subsequent consumer complaints to ODI reported continued rear-view camera outages in remedied vehicles pointed to limitations in Polestar’s 24V-477 approach, and, on April 25, 2025, Polestar filed a new recall to address the rear-view image visualization issues (Recall 25V-280). Polestar's stated remedy for this recall provided an additional software update intended to always maintain the high-speed signal connection between the Parking Assist Camera (PAC) and IHU, instead of toggling on and off by request. The update would also be designed to add a reset of the IHU video signal receiving hardware in case a synchronization error is detected, instead of just setting an error message. On June 21, 2025, ODI began receiving complaints from consumers whose vehicles had been remedied according to Recall 25V-280, but whose rear-view cameras were nevertheless continuing to fail in the same manner that they had previously. In July, ODI discussed the complaints with Polestar, which confirmed that their over the air software remedy for Recall 25V-280 did not correct the original issue. ODI is therefore opening this Recall Query to further evaluate the adequacy of Recall 25V-280’s remedy. To review the ODI reports cited in the Opening Resume ODI Report Identification Number document, go to NHTSA.gov.

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.