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2021 Ram 1500: backup camera failure

18 of the 687 complaints about the 2021 Ram 1500 describe backup camera failure.

owner complaints
18
of this car's complaints
3%
recalls
0
Is there a fix? 236 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Backup camera failure by model year

What owners say

Filed Aug 28, 2026 · Electrical, Visibility · NC

I purchased a new 2026 Ram 1500 Rebel Crew Cab 4x4 from the John Heister Dodge Ram dealership, in [XXX] on XXX. The following day, I day i was notified of an open safety recall (the federal safety agency 26V‑531) affecting the vehicle's rear visibility/backup camera system, which under certain conditions may fail to display the rearview image during a backing event. I later confirmed that this recall was posted on XXX -- four days before I purchased the vehicle. The dealer, John Heister Dodge Ram, did not disclose this open recall at any point during the sale, and the vehicle was sold to me with the defect unrepaired. This is a known safety-related defect, as new vehicles are required to have open recalls repaired before delivery. The recall remedy has not yet been performed on my vehicle. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Apr 15, 2026 · Driver assistance · AL

the reverse camera quit working, trailer reverse function inop, service electric throttle light is on. I have had the recall completed. the programing did not completely correct the issue. the vehicle s at the dealership now - has been there for a week now- no word on what the problem is.

Filed Apr 14, 2026 · Electrical, Steering · AL

July 2021 bought ram 1500 limited. $75k September 2021 3k miles took to dealer with REVERSE TRAILER STEERING UNAVAILABLE MESSAGES AND BACK UP CAMERA issues. Not fixed. Issues still happening. DEC 2021 ram 1500 recall y80 issued. RTSCM NEEDS updated. April 2022 dealer visit 11k miles recall y80 addressed and repaired. Issues continued. Several undocumented stop by dealer visits by request to look at while happening. Software updated each time. April 2023 purchasing dealer visit agin 26k miles. Up to this date vehicle was a lease. I bought the lease out with hopes to repair the issue. That dealer updated and also removed my dash to inspect the module. At this point as well 2 cases had been opened with ram themselves and I was wrote off as it will be fixed eventually. After that the issues never went away to this day but I was at a loss. A lemon law attorney told me that I didn’t have enough proof of the issue and i will share all my proof here with you guys. 2 month ago it froze the screen and accelerated on its own almost hitting a women and child pedestrian. I have had enough. I have worked hard for that money spent in the truck and cannot get the safety recall resolved. Now that the dash has been removed there are lights that shine in my eyes at night through the crease in the dash. All evidence cannot attach to this form because they are videos but I have over 65 showing proof and repair attempts

Filed Oct 8, 2025 · Electrical, Visibility · SC

Vehicles headunit no longer functions, backup camera system is also in-operational. Due to apparent over the air (OTA) updates to the uconnect infotainment headunit there is a widespread and known issue of, during the automated firmware update process, the vehicles battery being drained completely. This causes the vehicle to lose all power and the head unit to then fail the update process which creates a failure state for the headunit. In this particular case the headunit is "bricked" prescribled troubleshooting steps have been attempted but screen only displays: ("Software Update Update failed. Please re-insert USB Device.") according to a dealership service technician needs to be replaced. But there are none available for order. 2021 Ram 1500 BH UC 4 8.4" w/o nav.

Filed Oct 4, 2025 · MN

The uconnect radio system freezes. It will do this and then reset. Sometimes it resets multiple times before working. It will freeze when using the backup camera. The entire screen will be frozen until it resets itself it takes approximately 60 seconds for it to reset.

Filed Apr 15, 2023 · MI

The rear camera occasionally shows a black screen. If I turn off/on the truck its still the same. If it stays off for more than an hour and then turned back on then sometimes the camera works but some times it still doesn't work. It's very scary backing up a truck without a camera. I feel very unsafe doing so. There is an active recall for this exact issue but my truck is not affected by this recall: the federal safety agency campaign number: 23V059. Ram’s own number for this recall is 14A. How can i get this safety problem fixed if my truck ks not affected by the recall. Thanks.

Filed Jan 14, 2022 · Driver assistance, Electrical · WI

Truck showed "Service Electronic Throttle"... Truck has 13,000 miles on it. Along with the service code, rear view camera doesn't work, backup sensors don't work, and remote start will not operate. No apparent throttle issues, but concerned for safety with rear view camera and backup sensors not operating. It would be nice to have the remote start as its winter, but only an inconvenience for that matter.

Filed Nov 26, 2021 · Driver assistance · CA

The backup camera no longer works. I only have 2200 miles on my truck

Filed Nov 8, 2021 · Driver assistance · VA

On several occasions since purchase of a new 2021 RAM 1500 the backup camera has failed to work when in reverse. A black screen is displayed. Repeated efforts to turn the backup camera on by putting the vehicle in reverse or selecting the backup camera from the control panel resulted in a black screen. Repeated efforts to turn the vehicle off and on several times consecutively had the same result. I also tried opening and closing the tail gate with no positive result.

Filed Oct 30, 2021 · Driver assistance, Visibility · AZ

I am a courier and use my truck to deliver lots of material that I pick up at loading docks. The back up camera shows all shadows as simply black areas, and any details in shadow are absent. If my load obscures my rear view mirror I am backing up blind until the camera is itself in shadow. This is incredibly dangerous, especially if backing up around children.

Filed Aug 6, 2021 · Driver assistance, Electrical · AZ

Have had my truck for only two weeks. The backup camera did not work with message saying “backup camera not available” and at same time electronic throttle control showed “service electronic control”. I shut the vehicle off and waited @ 1 min and stil showed same. Did restart again, same results. Then drove to restaurant and when I returned to vehicle @ 1-1/2 hour later both messages were gone. Backup camera now working and throttle message is gone.

Filed Jul 9, 2021 · MA

Blurry back up camera image with surround view camera option

Questions about the 2021 Ram 1500 backup camera

Is backup camera failure a common problem on the 2021 Ram 1500?

18 of 687 owner complaints about the 2021 Ram 1500 (3%) mention backup camera failure. The model year with the most reports is 2018.

Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2021 Ram 1500?

There are 0 recalls and 236 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.

Other symptoms on the 2021 Ram 1500

Stalling 132Check engine light 50Loss of power 34Fuel pump 28ABS 21Power steering loss 19Water leak 19Engine failure 17Won't start 17Key fob 12No deployment 10Screen failure 8Jerking 8Start-stop 8Warning lights 8Airbag light 7Grinding brakes 7Fuel smell 7Won't shift 7Overheating 6Adaptive cruise 5Battery drain 5Fire or smoke 5Hesitation 5Steering lock-up 5Whining noise 5

All model years of the Ram 1500

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