Rear camera continues to stop working while reversing the vehicle. Latest software has been installed (3.6.4). This problem happens frequently, and makes parking and maneuvering dangerous.
2023 Polestar 2 driver assistance complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 90 of 90, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I have a Polestar 2 and it has been recalled for an over the air update to correct backup camera failing to activate. The current software version for the computer in the car is 3.6.4. I am writing to notify your agency that the issue is uncorrected despite this “patch” or over the air update and that the rear backup camera still does not activate when switching in to reverse. This is a safety problem because the car has bad visibility when using mirrors and much of the rear of the car can not be viewed with mirrors.
Backup camera says camera not available and does not work ~50% of the time while trying to back up.
Rear backup camera has consistently failed to initialize since I purchased the vehicle in September 2023. Infotainment system states: “Camera is temporarily unavailable”
The backup camera some times does not work for a minute when the car first starts up.
Almost everyday I back out of my driveway and the backup camera either doesn't start at all (it says 'temporarily unavailable' - but oddly seems to work a few minutes later). Or it flickers so badly and slowly between an overhead view and backup that its hard to see. This has caused multiple near misses. The rear window is nearly useless so I can't even overcome this there was already one recall on this system and it actually made the number of times the camera goes unavailable worse, not better.
- Every time I back up within ~30-60 seconds of getting in the car, the backup camera turns off and switches to a screen that says "Camera unavailable". This is a major safety issue and has led to some close calls while backing up. Someone could have been hit. - This is an extremely common issue that most Polestar 2 owners have (at least for <=2023 models), the service center has been unable to do anything. - This has been happening since I got the car in January 2022
The rear camera freezes or doesn’t work at all.
The car consistently has issues with the rear view camera failing when reversing with a warning stating "Camera is Temporarily Unavailable." When backing up the camera sometimes stutters, making it impossible to notice a person or object until it's too late and then it fails completely to a black screen and presents a warning that the camera is unavailable. This is an example incident that has occured every day this week, when backing out of our driveway the camera will take almost a minute to turn on as the infotainment system boots up although the car is already in reverse. As you reverse, it stutters for a few seconds before failing completely. The rear collision warning will kick and slam on the brakes as we almost backed into traffic while the camera was blacked out. The issue is further exacerbated because the design of the car is based on leveraging the rear view camera and has limited visibility if trying to back up using the rear window. The car also lowers the side view mirrors when reversing and when the camera fails, the sideview mirrors remain dipped. Usually don't notice until we get on the highway and try to change lanes and realize we can't check if there's a car in our blind spot and need to readjust the mirrors while trying to drive on Atlanta highways. We have complained multiple times and Polestar keeps insisting they have fixed it with the latest software update but nothing has changed. They have utilized insufficient hardware power for critical safety systems. We have multiple complaints recorded with Dyer and Dyer Volvo to address the issue with no resolution. This has been occurring since the car was new.
When first starting the vehicle the camera routinely does not work and gives an error message "Camera is temporarily unavailable". This typically happens in the first minute or two. I have brought up this issue with the service center and they confirmed all software updates had been performed. Due to the design of the vehicle it's very hard to see out of the back so the camera is very important. The issue occurred today, 2/18/25, so I am entering that date although it has happened the entire time I have owned the vehicle (Late October 2023). Current mileage is approximately 21,000 miles.
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The reverse cameras don't function. It doesn't turn on with a message on the center screen saying. The camera system is temporarily unavailable. Yes, it is available for inspection upon resuqest. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? The rear visibility while reversing is not adequate, causing multiple issues when parking into tight spaces without the camera, Additionally the ADAS Forward collision warning brakes randomly resulting in unintentional brake checks on highway. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The dealer blamed the issue on a connected dashcam. This is not confirmed by Polestar or Volvo. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Yes, Volvo of austin. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? NO
Often when getting in the car and backing up to leave a garage or parking space the backup camera will not display anything and posts the message “Backup Camera Temporarily Unavailable.” sometimes the backup camera may work for a second or two before displaying the message and sometimes it immediately shows. The message will stay until I manually toggle off and on the camera OR the car triggers its 360 camera if near another object. When the 360 view happens it stays in that view which uses the same rear camera and from that screen I can also then just show the rear camera. This started happening Since Aug 2024 AFTER a fix for a software recall for the backup camera “flashing” black for long periods of time a new and very related problem emerged that happens almost as often, maybe 50% of the time when I first backup out of my garage and 20% of the time later in the day when backing up after getting in the car in a parking lot. I have a video of the entire sequence which I can’t upload but would be happy to provide.
While in reverse, the backup camera frequently goes blank and an onscreen warning appears stating that the rear camera is temporarily unavailable.
The rearview camera is completely unstable and almost unusable. After various software upgrades the problem has got worse not better and Polestar seem to take zero responsibility to fix this.
The backup camera never works. There was a recent update that made it much worse. The visibility is terrible out of the back window so the camera is pretty important. It always just says it’s unavailable which is very frustrating. No inspections or warning lights but it seems to be a software issue that many people are experiencing
The backup camera seemingly blinks just as you begin backing up and at random times as the vehicle is backing up causing vision to be lost
Upon putting the vehicle into reverse, the backup camera takes an insurmountably long time to engage and when it does, the image it produces frequently flashes for several seconds before stabilizing, rendering it useless - particularly with pedestrians or vehicles behind the car. Recent OTA updates have exacerbated this problem, which poses a pretty severe safety risk in a car with such limited rear visibility, and after researching the problem online, it's pretty clear that it's an endemic issue to the car and can likely be remedied through software, but the manufacturer has thus far shown little interest in addressing it.
The vehicle improperly sensed an impending rear collision when there was no vehicle present. The vehicle entered a mode where the electronic seatbelt tensioners aggressively pulled the occupants and did not release until the seatbelt latches were depressed. This happened in traffic. The occupants sustained soft tissue injuries. The manufacturer refused to acknowledge the situation.
The contact owns a 2023 Polestar Polestar2. The contact stated that on several occasions when the vehicle was shifted in reverse(R) the back over prevention camera screen was black. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determine that an unknown software update needed to be performed. The software update was performed four times, but the failure persisted. The contact was provided a 2023 Polestar Polestar2 loaner, and the vehicle also experienced the same failure. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 10.
The parking camera system freezes and flickers on a fresh startup on a fairly consistent basis, all you have to do is let the car go into a "sleep state" then enter the car and go in to reverse. Also, there are false positives from the parking collision system in the rear when going down a sidewalk apron, causing the emergency braking system to trigger. This has happened often enough to the point where I disable the emergency braking system on every startup.
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