2021 Polestar Polestar 2 driver assistance & safety tech problems

Related recalls

• Recall 25V615000Sep 15, 202527,816 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

  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.

  Risk: 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.

• Recall 25V280000Apr 25, 202527,816 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION:SOFTWARE

  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."

  Risk: 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.

• Recall 24V477000Jun 26, 202425,825 vehicles
  BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA · 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."

  Risk: 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.

What owners say

1. Filed Jun 24, 2026TXDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Center entertaiment touchscreen which provides visiblity for the rear camera as well as the backup sensors and A/C controls for front defogger went is completely blank. Polestar2 logo appears, but no longer boots. This causes the rear camera to be completely useless.

   NHTSA complaint #11746309 · source
2. Filed Jun 16, 2026CACrashDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Well backing out of a parking space at the grocery store. My rear camera failed to activate even after several times trying to get the camera to work. I decided to try and back out by just looking over my shoulder, but could not see through the back window and collided into a shopping cart. None of the advanced systems activated no object detection, no camera and no collision warning.

   NHTSA complaint #11744618 · source
3. Filed Mar 29, 2026CADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   An update was applied last year to fix the reverse camera issue. The issue remains, sometimes the camera is unavailable, it the camera goes in to 360 degree mode. Happens about once a week or every two weeks

   NHTSA complaint #11727818 · source
4. Filed Mar 16, 2026MNDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Polestar has issued two recalls and claims they fixed the reverse camera issues with a software update, but they have not been remedied. When reversing, the camera screen will still often go blank, freeze, or stutter. I am not confident that the picture I'm seeing on the screen is a real time depiction of the view behind me or is simply frozen. This presents safety issues where the screen may have frozen or gone blank just before someone runs behind the vehicle, and the…

   NHTSA complaint #11724680 · source
5. Filed Mar 8, 2026NCDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   2021 Polestar 2, consistently the rear back up camera fails to display. In my case the issue did not occur until my car was updated past 3.2.8. The issue is caused by extremely dated hardware. The processor, and memory are insufficient for the more modern software that is being released. I also believe this is why my car will slam on the brakes in reverse when there is no object behind the car while I am reversing. Polestar has released a IHU hardware upgrade in other…

   NHTSA complaint #11722842 · source
6. Filed Jan 21, 2026WADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   I am reaching out to bring to your attention an urgent issue regarding the backup camera in the 2021 Polestar 2. The backup camera frequently fails to work when the car is put into reverse or, even more concerning, it intermittently cuts out while backing up. Given the limited visibility when relying solely on the rearview and side mirrors, this malfunction poses a significant safety risk. The inability to see small children or obstacles behind the vehicle without the aid of…

   NHTSA complaint #11712423 · source
7. Filed Dec 11, 2025NJDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   Intermittently, when shifting into reverse, the rear camera does not work, with error stating that the camera is unavailable. Dealer states there is no fix.

   NHTSA complaint #11704442 · source
8. Filed Dec 9, 2025FLDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   When the car is put into reverse the rear camera activates and then goes dead. There is no image from the camera and an error appears on the screen saying camera is temporarily unavailable. There have been multiple recalls on this issue and the updates have not resolved the issue. My car is on software 3.6.4

   NHTSA complaint #11704119 · source
9. Filed Dec 5, 2025CADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

   The backup camera on my 2021 Polestar 2 has never functioned reliably. It frequently fails to activate when the vehicle is placed in reverse and instead displays an error message. This is a manufacturer defect. Although the vehicle was recalled for this defect and I had the recall repair performed, the issue persists. The repair did not fully resolve the problem, and the backup camera continues to malfunction intermittently. Reduced Rear Visibility: Without a functioning…

   NHTSA complaint #11703206 · source
10. Filed Dec 5, 2025NYDriver Assistance & Safety Tech

    The back up camera constantly fails to turn on. It appears to be a known defect of the car. Service centers seem to have no fix for the issue.

    NHTSA complaint #11703151 · source
11. Filed Dec 4, 2025CADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

    ever since I bought the vehicle, I would often get an alert when putting into reverse that the rear reverse camera "Camera is Temporarily Unavailable". I did have the recall linked to this issue executed on the car. While the issue occurs less, it still does occur.

    NHTSA complaint #11702979 · source
12. Filed Oct 15, 2025MADriver Assistance & Safety Tech

    The backup camera does not function about 50% of the time. Polestar did issue a OTA software update that I have installed several months ago (software version 3.6.4) but the issue has not really improved. I was hoping that another update might be issued but so far, nothing. I should note that it is not just the backup camera, the entire infotainment has been very buggy and laggy as well but the backup camera is a real safety issue while the rest is more of an inconvenience.

    NHTSA complaint #11693648 · source

Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation public data. Complaints are submitted by owners and are not verified by NHTSA or by us; a complaint does not prove a defect exists. View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov Methodology