2023 Polestar Polestar 2 Complaint Log

Polestar 2 software version 4.2.13. While reversing out of a parking spot the rear camera briefly turned on, but after a second, the infotainment system crashed, with the screen shutting off. The infotainment system automatically rebooted after ~1min of driving. This system crash also temporarily disabled rear cross traffic alert and the parking sensors. Backup cameras are a federally mandated safety feature which reduce the risk of collisions when reversing. Without this safety feature, the risk of a collision increases.

The backup camera consistently fails and displays a "Backup Camera is Temporarily Unavailable" message. Polestar is only issuing a software fix for this on model year 2026 Polestar 2s and a solution has not been offered for over 8 months now.

Rear‑view camera intermittently fails to provide a usable image when shifting into reverse. Symptoms include delayed activation, black screen, frozen frame, or extremely choppy video. This results in intermittent loss of rear visibility and does not comply with FMVSS 111. The defect has persisted for several years despite multiple Polestar software updates and multiple NHTSA recall campaigns intended to correct the issue. The failure is reproducible and appears strongly load‑dependent. It occurs most often immediately after vehicle startup or when the infotainment system is busy with background activity such as app initialization, updates, or UI redraws. Under these conditions, shifting into reverse frequently produces no usable camera image. If I wait several seconds for the system to stabilize before shifting into reverse, the camera usually works, which indicates a resource‑contention or performance‑limitation issue within the Intel Atom–based infotainment head unit used in earlier Polestar 2 vehicles. The recall remedies have not resolved the defect, and the failure continues to occur under predictable, real‑world conditions. Because rear‑view camera activation is time‑critical for detecting pedestrians, children, pets, and obstacles, this ongoing defect presents an unreasonable safety risk. The repeated failure of software‑only remedies suggests the underlying cause may be hardware‑related. Newer Polestar and Volvo vehicles equipped with the Snapdragon‑based infotainment unit do not exhibit this behavior, which further supports the possibility of a hardware limitation in the original head unit. I request that NHTSA re‑evaluate the effectiveness of the current recall remedies and determine whether a hardware‑based fix is required to bring the vehicle into full compliance with FMVSS 111. This defect remains active despite multiple attempts to correct it and continues to compromise rear visibility and overall safety.

When put into reverse, display just shows Camera is temporarily unavailable. This is after the OTA update 4.2.13 that was supposed to fix the issue. Rear cross traffic braking is also unavailable at this time.

Constant camera issues. The rear camera only works half the time and when it does go it, it'll just cut off while driving in reverse. It's completely unreliable and dangerous. New update has affected the cars acceleration. Now when its below a certain degrees outside they changed it so the car can no longer accelerate at its normal speed and instead, barely responds when you hit the gas causing a multiple second delay before the car moves. It's incredibly dangerous and makes it impossible to move out of the way if needed in an emergency. Issue was reported and was told that just how it is now and there is nothing they can do about it. This is dangerous and not the vehicle I purchased.

Rear backup camera continues to not function reliably, even after updating to the latest firmware 4.2.13

After multiple software OTA updates due to previous NHTSA recalls, the rear backup camera consistently has issues to where the image of the rear of the vehicle cannot temporarily be displayed.

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.

Car rear camera constantly freezes, doesn’t appear or just stops during vehicle usage

-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.

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.

Backup camera becomes unavailable. This is after the latest update supposedly to fix the issue.

When reversing, the backup camera often displays "Camera is temporarily unavailable". This prevents me from safely backing up because there is poor visibility directly through the back window. This can easily be reproduced and replicated on any Polestar 2, and happens most frequently on startup of vehicle and backing up. This was already the subject of a recall that Polestar offered a software update for. However, despite the software update, it continues to happen regularly. I an updated to software version 3.6.4 and still get this problem.

Backup camera consistently fails to initialize when putting the car in reverse.

Specifically related to the two items checked above as the rear camera failing to come on when the vehicle is put into reverse software 3.6.4 was supposed to correct this issue, but it has since come back.

NHTSA Recall No. 25V-280 concerning rear camera. I have been getting the "camera is temporarily unavailable" display occasionally since late last year (2024). I had no problem with the rear camera before that. I received the above recall notice and took the car into the shop on Jul 7, 2025 for the software upgrade from 3.3.16 to 3.6.4. Since then, I am still getting "camera is temporarily unavailable" displays occasionally. The problem was not solved with this software upgrade.

Reversing camera still says "Camera is temporarily unavailable" intermittently even after the recent recall software fix.

I updated my car to software 3.6.4 in order to resolve an issue where the backup camera fails to display. Despite completing the update, the camera showed the same error message this morning and failed to display at all as I backed out of my garage. This is a serious safety issue and I need it to be fixed.

Backup camera display fails with “Camera Unavailable” notification most days. When the display does work, it flickers, resets, freezes. This also interferes with park-assist display. Sometimes even forward and/or 360 view freezes as well. OTA software 3.6.4 installed in early June DID NOT did not improve or resolve this issue.

Backup camera continues to have issues even after the previous update which was supposed to fix it. It has improved with the new update but has given the "camera is unavailable" message twice now, July 6, 2025 and july 12, 2025.

Even with latest software update (3.6.4) I continue to get rear backup camera unavailable errors

After the most recent OTA software update to v3.6.4, I am still experiencing the back up camera not available error message. I have no visual aid of the blind spots behind vehicle, to assist with manually looking out the rear window.

Infotainment system crashing post most recent software update causing main dashboard to stop showing information and make critical information difficult to see because of washed out background. Malfunctioning Components: Infotainment system. Available for inspection. Safety Risk: Difficulty seeing speed, unable to see warnings Dealer: No Inspection: No Warnings: No

The vehicle stopped playing interior sounds, including indicator “clicks”; alerts like collision avoidance, parking collision warning, etc; as well as radio. A hard reset of the infotainment system was required to restore functionality. The issue continued through multiple times “turning the vehicle off” and starting again. Malfunctioning Component: Infotainment system. Available for inspection. Safety Risk: No advanced audio warning indicators that emergency action may be taken. Reproduced by dealer: No Inspected: No Warnings: No

Rear camera does not come up about half the time even on newest update when reversing

When go into reverse, the rear backup camera is unavailable. It pops up a message that it is temporarily unavailable, but the rear camera image does not appear during the time I am in reverse. Sometimes the view switches to the 360 view instead. This problem does not happen every time. Polestar software update version 3.6.4 is suppose to fix this issue, but the problem still remains.

The rear view camera displays a message of “camera is temporarily unavailable” when shifting into reverse to view the rear camera. This issue was NOT alleviated with the most recent update

My Polestar received the software 3.6.4 from Polestar for the rear camera issue recall. However, the rear camera is failing to display and I am receiving “camera is temporary unavailable.

The rear parking camera occasionally fails and says "Camera Temporarily Unavailable" when backing. Polestar pushed out a software update (3.6.4) that was supposed to resolve the problem. It honestly seems worse and more frequent now. The Polestar's design has a limited rear window so as a driver I am more dependent on the backing camera.

Rear view camera intermittently displays “camera is temporarily unavailable” message when backing up. Vehicle doesn’t have the best rear view visibility through the window, so I rely on the rear view camera more than in other vehicles. This is still occurring after installing the 3.6.4 update, which I’m told was supposed to address this issue.

Periodically, at random, the backup and 360 degree camera will not engage. The camera icon on the main display will illuminate to indicate that it is on but the display will not show the camera feed. Vehicle software had been updated to P2 3.6.4

THe back up camera does not function properly about 50% of the time. I will get a blank screen with Camera not available. This has been getting worse with each update sent out by Polestar.

The rear camera fails semi-regularly. It is unpredictable when it will occur. This might happen as soon as the car starts—to reverse out of a parking spot—or it might occur after driving for a while. It will also sometimes fail despite the other cameras working (front camera, 360 cameras). Sometimes, cycling through the cameras will fix the issue—if rear fails, put the car in park, cycle to front camera, 360 camera, front camera, 360 camera, and then rear camera—and this might resolve it. Sometimes exiting the car and re-entering it (basically, turning it off and on) will reset the camera. Sometimes rebooting the console will work (hold the reset button for 30 seconds and wait for the center console to reboot). But many times, nothing will work. Simply turning the car off for a few hours will be the only thing that resolves the issue. My car has had the update that was supposed to resolve the issue but the issue persists. I think the frequency has gone down but it still occurs semi-regularly. I would conservatively estimate that it occurs at least 1-3 times a month. It is also not unusual for the center console to simply stop working. That is, no function works: radio, bluetooth, navigation, any of the cameras. The center console just crashes on boot and is not recoverable—30 second reset does nothing—until the car is turned off a left for a bit. The last time this happened was 7/10/2025. I would say this occurs less frequently than the rear camera failure but I would estimate a few times a year? Three times this year (2025) so far. I don't know if these two issues are related but, if I were to speculate, there's a problem with the OS running the console.

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)

Rear view camera failed to initialize. Since the 3.6.4 software update (rear-view camera recall) I have had multiple instances where the rear-view camera has either entirely failed to start, given me the "Camera Unavailable" message, or started in a stuttering/flickering unusable state.

When backing up I have experienced issues with the backup camera saying unavailable. This is after receiving the latest OTA update intended to fix the issue (3.6.4)

Polestar's fix to the last recall for broken rearview camera did not work.

Recently received a recall notice for the rear backup camera unavailable error. I updated software to version 3.6.4 because that is what was pushed Over-the-air to my car. This software version did not resolve the issue. After submitting a support request through Polestar's mobile app, I received instructions on how to shut off the car so it goes into a deeper sleep. This helped for a couple days, but the rear camera will still occasionally be unavailable, or it will sort of freeze the image and be very laggy. Needless to say, the software update did not resolve the recall on my VIN.

My car was subject to RP1056 (NHTSA Recall No. 25V-280). The reason for the recall was an error in the Parking Assist Camera in reverse. The camera would either not default to the rearview camera image, or it would display a "Camera is temporarily unavailable" message rather than showing the rearview camera image. An over the air software update (P3.6.3) was issued to attempt to address the error. The software update was installed on my car, but the problem is now more frequent and severe. The camera still displays the "Camera is temporarily unavailable" message. Additionally, the camera will now completely freeze and the IHU will also freeze and become completely unresponsive. During this time, the camera is not available, until it crashes and restarts.

The rear camera does not always engage when the car is put into reverse. The car was just recalled for it, of which I just received a notice and the update (3.6.4), and it has not fixed the issue; it has only gotten worse.

After the update to the Polestar 2's software to version 3.6.4, which was released to fix the rear camera not working when in reverse, the rear camera still will not work on occasion. The vehicle has not been inspected, but can be if needed. There were no errors or warnings aside from the "Camera is temporarily unavailable" message on the main screen. The camera will likely work if the car is taken out of and put back in to reverse. Previous recall notice: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The rear backup camera is still flaky and often will stop working or have a large and noticeable lag when backing up. This has not been fixed by the recent 3.6.4 software update as promised. It is available for inspection. If I am already in the middle of backing up and the camera goes out, I may hit someone that comes behind me quickly. No No None

After software 3.6.4 released by Polestar, my rear camera has issues populating the drivers side and rear camera. The rear-view camera display has issues during a backing. Failure to display the rear-view image will reduce my visibility in a backing event, increasing the risk of a crash.

Safety cameras continue to not work. It was recalled recently and they sent an OTA software fix, but it only fixed the problem for a few days. The camera, especially rear camera, never goes on. It is always needed to stop and try again or start tapping the screen to make it reload. I've complained many times to Polestar about the problem but they keep failing to address it. It's a big safety hazard as you never know when it's gong to just cut off mid-driving. Some times the whole infotainment system will just not work for like 20 minutes. Its one glitch after another.

The rearview camera failed to turn on and wouldn't turn on at all during the process of reversing out of the home garage. It is available for inspection and has been inspected previously. I could not see the pillars in my garage or anyone else/other cars if they were to appear behind me. The problem regularly occurs with my vehicle after multiple updates and was confirmed by the dealer. The manufacturer has inspected the car and its components, and an update has been issued to address the problem; however, the issue persists. No warning messages or symptoms, sometimes the camera turns on, and sometimes it doesn't. I would safely say that it happens every other time the rearview/surround camera is activated.