NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2022 Polestar Polestar 2. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
I took car to dealer to get latest software update version 4.2.13 since my car hasnt been received updates OTA. After the update, the cars accelerating from a stand still had a lag of almost 1 to 2 seconds which is dangerous. I went online to find out several polestar 2 owners complaining about the same issue. My car has the performance upgrade which has a 0-60 time in 4 seconds. Now after this issue, car is hitting 0-60 in under 6.5 seconds. I was in a situation yesterday where i backed out of my driveway and saw a car behind me coming in very fast, I floored the acceleration pedal and the car did not move until 1.3 seconds. This is extremely unsafe and needs immediate attention. Before this software update I had no issues in acceleration and have owned the car for over 2 years. Please help.
The backup camera continues to fail to turn on. The car will intermittently report “Camera is temporarily unavailable”. This persists for minutes at a time. I cannot figure out how to get the camera to turn on when this happens. It already received the OTA “fix” for this but it did not fix the issue.
The vehicle recently updated to software version P4.2.13 after this update the vehicle sporadically losses the ability to accelerate fully from a stop, it just creeps forward. When your truning onto a street from a stop, or forward at a srop sign or ligjt sometime the vehicle accelerates normally, but what seems like about 50% of the time it just creeps forward a couple seconds then takes off. You never know what it's going to do as far as acceleration. This is incredibly dangerous when turning/merging into traffic from a stop, its a roll of the dice whether the car will just creep forward or accelerate.normally.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Rear camera does not show up when vehicle is placed in reverse. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Inability to use rear camera presenting a larger risk to others while the vehicle is in reverse. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, this has been part of multiple recalls with an attempt to update through updates. Dealership advised it is a known issue an does not feel that Polestar will be able to fix this through an update but has not offered any other fixes. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No
The rear camera fails to display the image on the dashboard/screen with either significant delay or "camera temporarily unavailable". Safety is at risk as this would increase chances of crashing in setting with reliability on camera. This problem is reproducible. My vehicle has not been inspected yet. No warning lamps or messages.
Rearview camera lag then disconnect. Ceases functioning until restart.
The camera function occasionally will be unavailable, sometimes when the car starts up and other times in the middle of reversing, and the visibility is greatly reduced, posing a greater risk for any pedestrians. Looking at online forums, this seems to be a relatively common issue that is only solved with a reset of the car's infotainment system. However, it also seems like the processor that is running that infotainment system is underpowered and could be the source of the camera failing to work as frequently as it does. Also looking online it seems that there is a cpu upgrade that is available in Europe, but seeing as how the camera processing function is heavily handicapped and poses safety concerns, it should be recalled and upgraded to alleviate these issues.
BACK UP CAMERA DOES NOT WORK. VERY DANGEROUS
During reversing the rear view camera stopped functioning. Attempts to toggle the camera setting did not correct the issue. After years, this problem still exists and is unacceptable. When will the NHTSA enforce an actual fix from Polestar? The computer has insufficient processing power and RAM to reliably function and the cameras are included in that function.
Backup camera doesnt work sometimes
The back up camera on my 2022 Polestar 2 continues to malfunction while backing out on my garage and parking spaces. The camera will alternately switch to the 360 view, switch to the rear camera view and then go dark with a "Camera temporarily unavailable" warning. I have had close calls backing out of tight parking spaces with this safety issue. I have received all software updates but the problem continues. Polestar US claims that my vehicle is not subject to any open recalls but I thought that another software improvement was coming. I am on version 3.6.4 - thank you for your help.
I have had ongoing problems with backup camera, as does everybody else with this car. I was promised a fix in January and the camera is still not working correctly.
Backup camera unavailable: this happened often. Put the car in reverse and the screen goes black with error saying the camera is unavailable.
The backup camera continues to not load properly when starting the car, and displays a warning that the backup camera failed to load. There is no image on the inforainment screen, and there is limited visibility when backing up, which creates the risk of accidentally injuring or killing someone or something, especially small children. Polestar has released several software updates to try and address this issue after several recalls, but the issue is still present on the latest software version.
The backup camera is often times "unavailable" in this car when you put it in reverse, and rear visibility is essentially nonexistent when reversing without the backup camera. I've installed every available software fix for this and the system still does not work reliably, especially when you're in a rush, which is exactly when you need it most. Polestar offers a computer upgrade/replacement as a paid service (at least in Europe for now), they know that this fixes the issue, I feel like this should be part of a recall here in the USA.
Failure of backup camera to display. This is a persistent problem that remains, despite having the latest software. I have a video showing the camera not working, that the vehicle is in reverse, and showing software version.
The screen was already running slowly, I placed the car in reverse to exit a parking space. Instead of displaying the backup camera, the IHU rebooted and there was no backup camera view or rear cross traffic information available. Audible turn signals and exterior speakers were also impacted. I believe the issue was the IHU rebooting due to low memory,. There was no accident, so nothing to inspect, but you are welcome to send somebody out to look at the car. Safety? There was no rear camera view, none of the usual sounds while backing up, and there was no rear cross traffic alert. As the problem was transient, it has not been reviewed by a service center. The vehicle has not been inspected. The only symptom (which is consistent with past similar issues) was a very slow IHU / center screen before the uncommanded reboot.
The polestar 2 continues to be unsafe. When reversing the rear camera freezes up always, and takes minutes to stop lagging, being very unsafe when backing up onto a busy road out of the driveway. One pedal drive glitches and fails to brake when letting off the foot, another safety concern. TCAM and connection issues, my IPhone 16 constantly drops Bluetooth to the car, and when it drops connection it takes a hard reboot to the car for it to connect again. Front suspension knocking and clicking sound. When turning the front struts knock, and when stopping you hear a clicking noise. Polestar sold me a vehicle with a bad 12v battery that went kaput only a few months into ownership. When the 12v battery died I was locked out of my car. Polestar roadside assistance was inept and scratched my garage leaving permanent damage.
Polestar has not provided a remedy for over six months. This is a major safety issue during back up and has almost caused accidents already. The issue is the recall of the backup camera.
Rear camera not available, even after latestsoftware upgrade.
While driving, the center display screen has shut off and remains to be unfunctional. This screen is the primary way any collision warnings and rear view video. This car is not driveable and extremely unsafe without the display screen as there is almost no rear view visibility without it. The rear view video did not always work beforehand either, but this makes it completely unfunctional.
My door latches keep freezing when the temperature is below freezing. Its 27F here in Ohio and my rear doors are frozen again. The door itself isn't frozen - the latching mechanism is. Sometimes they're frozen so they won't latch when you close the door. Nothing happens. Today, they're stuck closed. I couldn't get my daughter out of the car for daycare. She's in a carseat. I think this is a pretty big safety issue. What if there was an accident, a fire or drowning because we can't get out of the car? Google suggests that this is a known issue on some models of Volvo and Polestar vehicles. A recall was issued for some Volvo models, but not the Polestar 2. I also read that Polestar will only replace the door latches under warranty. Doesn't seem safe to me
The backup camera constantly fails, for 10+ minutes at a time and will just state that it is unavailable. This is quite challenging in urban environments. Polestar said it was fixed through a software update but the issue continues to come up frequently without warning. Yesterday it stayed unavailable/broken for 20+ minutes in the rain while I was driving with my kids which made it very hard to see/park.
Air bags sensors are flagging in the vehicle polestar has failed to provide a adequate solution for faster service. Polestar has 2 locations one in California and the other in Arizona. The issue is I am in Las Vegas and have made several calls to Polestar service advising that my airbag sensors are flagging that they will not deploy in case of a accident. You can not get a service appointment between these 2 locations because they are booked up for months and months. I am stuck with a recall and now a airbag issue that will not be repaired no time soon at no fault of mines. So in short I have a car that is not safe to drive but I'm responsible for my auto loan.
I am reporting an ongoing safety-related malfunction with the rear camera and infotainment system that occurs several times per week and has been reported to Polestar previously, without resolution. When shifting into reverse, the rear camera consistently fails to display. The screen shows a “Rear camera unavailable” message, followed by a blank screen. Attempting to resolve the issue by shifting between drive and reverse, switching screens, or restarting the vehicle does not restore camera functionality. In multiple cases, parking the vehicle, exiting, and attempting again still results in a non-functional camera. After receiving the most recent recall update, the problem worsened significantly. Prior to the update, the issue occurred intermittently. Since the update, the rear camera fails to display approximately 95% of the time when shifting into reverse. This problem presents a substantial safety hazard by removing rear visibility during normal operation and parking maneuvers. Software updates have made no improvement, and the malfunction remains unresolved. I request investigation and remediation, as this is a persistent safety defect affecting normal vehicle operation.
Reversing camera is unusable. When shifting into reverse the reverse camera can black out or freeze. More commonly after the last software update the reverse camera has been lagging about a second behind the actual car location leading to severe disorientation.
What component or system failed? The backup camera regularly fails to show the view behind the vehicle, with the message "camera not available". This appears to be connected with an overloaded / underpowered computer / IHU. Safety is put at risk because the rear visibility is limited when the backup camera is not functional, and the failure is a distraction to the driver. The dealer has seen the problem but says another firmware update to fix it might be coming at some point. The vehicle has not been inspected by anybody else, because it's a model/year-wide known issue. There were no warnings prior to the failure. This has occurred on many dates, including today.
What component or system malfunctioned: Rear auto brake, but the underlying issue may be the underpowered processor / IHU Is it available to inspect? Only if you want to visit me in North Carolina, but you're welcome to look at the car. How was the safety at risk? After leaving a parking space (with a fairly tight exit), and placing the car in Drive and driving forward, there were two instances where rear auto brake activated (Despite driving forward) and caused sudden deceleration of the vehicle. Safety would have been at risk if this happened on a busy street; there were no damages or injuries because this happened on a quiet residential street with no traffic. Reproduction - has not been reproduced at all, it was a one-off. Reported to others - not yet, but I do plan to report it to the manufacturer. There were no warnings prior to the failure.
Started car and put in reverse. Back up camera stops working mid reversal.
Backup camera only works about 50% of the time. It frequently gives “camera unavailable” error
When putting the car in reverse, the rear view camera often fails to display, instead popping up a message reading "backup camera temporarily unavailable." This happens half or more of the time, and it has continued to occur despite installation of the latest version of the car's operating system (3.6.4) that was pushed to resolve the most recent recall for this problem.
Rear view camera lags badly and will freeze when putting the car into reverse. Almost backed into a pole due to lag of the camera
Malfunction: Rear cross traffic alert, due to delayed processing by the underpowered IHU (so really likely an IHU issue) Safety put at risk: Alert received after cross traffic had already passed (due to said delayed processing) Reproduced by dealer: No, it's random and seems related to time since IHU reboot Inspection: No Warnings prior to failure: Nope, other than the IHU being more sluggish than usual Has happened on multiple dates, incident date is an approximate most recent. This has happened with the current 3.6.4 software.
The vehicle was charging from 11% of charge from a DC fasts charging station. The car was locked and charging. When I came back out to the car, I noticed it had stopped charging at 76%. I then tried to start the charge again and the car just showed an error. I then tried the 3 other available chargers (1 of the 4 was in use by another car), and the car did not charge at any of them—showing that same error message. When I proceeded to try to drive the car this time, I received an error message on the dash stating: "Propulsion system Service required". The car would not shift into drive after this message showed up. After some time (around an hour if not less), the car did let me shift into drive and it moved, but the error still showed in the car's status page.
My car's cameras are now unavailable. Whenever I enter Reverse gear or maneuver close to an obstacle, the camera screen appears with the message "Camera temporarily not available." This condition was persistent tonight throughout a trip where I parked three times, and each time the camera failed to work. I need to reverse into my parking space at home due to its location on a busy road, and this was not possible to do safely tonight. Backing out onto the road later will be even less safe.
Rear camera malfunction. When putting car into reverse, the rear camera screen showed an error saying the camera was unavailable. Putting the car back into drive and then reverse again did not resolve the issue. Changing screens then back to the camera did not resolve the issue. Parking, leaving the vehicle then trying again did not resolve the issue. Issue was only resolved with a system restart.
Back up camera failed when trying to back out front parking
Rear backup and 360 camera state system is unavailable.
The back up camera doesn’t work even after there was already a safety recall. It Constantly crashes and says “camera not available. The issue has been happening for months. Polestar has failed to address the issue even though they claimed that an earlier software update should have fixed it.
Backup camera becomes not available when backing up multiple times.
What failed? There have been a couple instances of the screen (IHU) rebooting while just driving down the road. This temporarily disables the HVAC (including defroster) and turn signal sounds. It is unclear which ADAS functions are impacted. It is available for inspection upon request, if you visit me in NC. How was safety put at risk? Disabling the defroster could cause the windshield to fog up quickly, and the distraction of the IHU rebooting could cause the driver to focus on the issue instead of the road. Safety related ADAS functions may also have been impacted, that is unclear. This has not been confirmed or reproduced by a third party, it has only happened a couple of times and is fairly random. If I had to guess it's an OOM (out of memory) condition in the IHU caused by an under-spec'd IHU plus a memory leak somewhere. Has it been inspected by anybody else? Nope. Where there any warnings? The IHU was more sluggish than usual, but there were no other warnings.
We were driving on the highway at 65 miles per and the driver side front windshield trim came off. The windshield is the original manufacturer windshield. The vehicle now has significant wind noise and—more significantly—allows water to leak into the cabin and damage sensitive electronics.
Backup camera can fail to start when putting car in reverse. When backup camera does start, it can also suddenly stop during active reversal so that the driver is then reversing with zero visibility. All car audio can stop or suddenly fail to start in the car. This impacts sensors, blind spot warnings, etc. Driver is reliant and conditioned to hearing these sensors for lane keeping, safety, turn signal sounds, etc and without this - driver can dangerously assume there are no issues. Issues have been reproduced and confirmed by dealer, dealer has attempted to fix this and there have been multiple recalls by NHTSA as well - but nothing has fixed this issue yet. No warnings, no messages before any failures.
My vehicle is a 2022 Polestar 2. For model years 2025 and below within the State of California, Polestar does NOT include the drive shafts (from electric motors to the wheels) as part of their 100K drive train warranty. And for model years 2026 on-wards within the State of California, Polestar will include the drive shafts (from electric motors to the wheels) as part of their 100K drive train warranty. Mainly due to a new propulsion law in California. For those with model years 2025 and below, a RECALL for known defective drive shafts should be granted as Polestar has revised parts for the rear left and rear right drive shafts. I believe the new shafts are now on the 2026 model. My vehicle is covered up to 50K miles, and I am now a few hundred over this, I have asked for goodwill on their warranty coverage but I am not receiving any response from Volvo Marin (this is Polestar Marin's service dealer). I also attempted to contact Polestar Support and they told me to reach out to the dealer, but they have been very unresponsive with several emails to the Service Director. Symptoms - during deceleration, a ticking sound can be faintly heard by the rear wheels. It sounds like the wheel of fortune ticking sound. Issues - when a driveshaft breaks, the vehicle immediately loses power and will likely stop moving, accompanied by loud clunking or grinding noises. At higher speeds, broken pieces can fly off and cause significant damage to other components or the road, and a broken driveshaft can also lead to loss of control, affecting steering and braking. Some thread in the forums: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
First off, I should say that I generally love my Polestar 2. I've enjoyed owning it. However, I the infotainment system performance is dangerous. The incredibly slow time to open apps and the lag in response to inputs forces a driver to split attention between the screen and the road for far too long. For example, after clicking on Google Maps it may take 3-4 seconds to load, an additional few seconds to be ready to accept inputs (such as an address), a few seconds to return search results, a few seconds to respond to a tap on a location, and a few more seconds to load directions. All told it can be 15-30 seconds to load directions, even for saved locations. The issues are most noticeable with Maps given how often I use them. But there are also lags in vehicle controls, such as climate, radio controls, and other apps like Amazon Music. As best as possible I use the infotainment system before I start driving or while I'm stopped at a light. Sometimes I will pull over to avoid distraction. But there are times when that isn't possible (such as freeway driving). But it shouldn't be this hard. Or this dangerous. You should not be forced to split attention for this long between the screen and the road. Unfortunately, voice controls are similarly slow and unreliable. I try to use OK Google when possible but even here I have to split my attention. After saying "OK Google" it can take several seconds to load and I have to watch the screen to see when it's ready to listen. And then it responds to commands at best half the time with lags or failures for command that should work "Navigate to location X" or "Play Musician Y on Amazon Music". You then have to go back to the slow manual inputs on the screen. This goes beyond an inconvenience to a danger. This is a known issue and Polestar has not taken steps to resolve it. I believe they should for all Polestar 2 owners.
Recurring rear suspension clunking/rattling over bumps compromises handling/control. Authorized dealer (Volvo Cars Marin) failed to repair after 40+ days out-of-service and 2 attempts. Noise documented in videos; dealer now delays service 33+ days. Safety risk during turns/emergency maneuvers.
Rear camera not available message and blank screen whenever car is placed in reverse. Update to software made no improvement.
Chinese made EV that does not comply with US standards of having a functioning backup camera. Every day my backup camera has been failing with the same error 'Camera is temporary unavailable'. This is even after the latest software update that was supposed to fix the issue.
Rear camera routinely does not work and says unavailable when reversing.
COMPONENT: BACK OVER PROTECTION When placing car in reverse, rear camera comes on slowly. Intermittently, the rear camera will go out while backing up and the message “Rear camera temporarily unavailable “ appears on the infotainment screen. Update to 3.6.4 has not rectified the problem.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026