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.
Polestar 2 screen failure problems
28 of the 597 owner complaints about the Polestar 2 describe screen or infotainment failure, most of them for the 2022 model year.
- owner complaints
- 28
- worst model year
- 2022
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
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 the federal safety agency 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 the federal safety agency 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.
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.
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.
The backup camera has progressively been made worse by software updates. It is often nonfunctional, shows a black screen, or excessively flickers, making it hard or impossible to see.
Rear camera not available message and blank screen whenever car is placed in reverse. Update to software made no improvement.
Often when putting the camera in reverse, a black screen appears saying the camera is unavailable. This has gotten progressively worse the longer I've owned the car. This increases the risk of hitting someone or something. Polestar has tried to fix this by software updates. No. Camera feed starts to lag first.
The backup camera fails to load. A black screen with the error message "Camera is temporarily unavailable" displays. This error occurs regularly. Turning the camera off and on again, will sometimes rectify the issue, but not always. This error can/has occurred at anypoint While my car was in reverse gear. Most frequently the error occurs from the very beginning of trying to use it. However it has failed while I was in motion trying to use it. This report is being filed because of that latter type of failure. There was a recall notice for this exact issue. Polestar issued a software update (v3.6.4) to fix this issue. However, in my experience, the error has occurred more frequently after the software update.
When putting the car into reverse, the camera would not display. The entire screen appeared frozen and no other buttons would operate.
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.
Related recalls
Electrical system: propulsion system: traction battery: management system/energy control module (bms/becm): software
- What is wrong
- Polestar Automotive USA, Inc. (Polestar) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Polestar 2 vehicles. The Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) microprocessor may reset and cause the high voltage system to disconnect.
- Risk
- A disconnected high voltage system can cause a loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Polestar will notify owners, and the software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 23, 2021. Owners may contact Polestar customer service at 1‑800‑806‑2504. Polestar's number for this recall is R10079.
Recall number 21V110000 · Recall details
Questions about the Polestar 2 screen failure
Which Polestar 2 years have screen or infotainment failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2022 (18 complaints), 2023 (6 complaints) and 2021 (4 complaints).
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