2021 POLESTAR POLESTAR 2 Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera Problems
100 NHTSA complaints on file
Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera Issues in the 2021 POLESTAR POLESTAR 2
100 back over prevention sensing system camera complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2021 POLESTAR POLESTAR 2. Of these, 0 involved a crash, 0 involved a fire, and 0 resulted in injury.
100
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
All Back Over Prevention Sensing System Camera Complaints
The rear view camera fails repeatedly and the rear window is not large enough to safely reverse.
I am reaching out to bring to your attention an urgent issue regarding the backup camera in the 2021 Polestar 2. The backup camera frequently fails to work when the car is put into reverse or, even more concerning, it intermittently cuts out while backing up. Given the limited visibility when relying solely on the rearview and side mirrors, this malfunction poses a significant safety risk. The inability to see small children or obstacles behind the vehicle without the aid of the backup camera is a major concern that needs to be addressed promptly. Polestar has attempted several fixes over several years, none to date have resolved the issue. Neither Polestar or NHTSA have taken this issue seriously.
Intermittently, when shifting into reverse, the rear camera does not work, with error stating that the camera is unavailable. Dealer states there is no fix.
When the car is put into reverse the rear camera activates and then goes dead. There is no image from the camera and an error appears on the screen saying camera is temporarily unavailable. There have been multiple recalls on this issue and the updates have not resolved the issue. My car is on software 3.6.4
Back up camera not available. Again.
The back up camera constantly fails to turn on. It appears to be a known defect of the car. Service centers seem to have no fix for the issue.
The backup camera on my 2021 Polestar 2 has never functioned reliably. It frequently fails to activate when the vehicle is placed in reverse and instead displays an error message. This is a manufacturer defect. Although the vehicle was recalled for this defect and I had the recall repair performed, the issue persists. The repair did not fully resolve the problem, and the backup camera continues to malfunction intermittently. Reduced Rear Visibility: Without a functioning backup camera, drivers lose critical visibility directly behind the vehicle, especially in blind spots not covered by mirrors. Risk to Pedestrians and Children: Backup cameras are designed to prevent accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists, or children who may be behind the vehicle. A malfunctioning system increases the risk of striking someone. Parking and Maneuvering Hazards: In tight spaces, garages, or crowded parking lots, the lack of a reliable rear camera increases the likelihood of collisions with...
ever since I bought the vehicle, I would often get an alert when putting into reverse that the rear reverse camera "Camera is Temporarily Unavailable". I did have the recall linked to this issue executed on the car. While the issue occurs less, it still does occur.
Rear camera constantly “unavailable”
Backup camera constantly unavailable
The backup camera does not function about 50% of the time. Polestar did issue a OTA software update that I have installed several months ago (software version 3.6.4) but the issue has not really improved. I was hoping that another update might be issued but so far, nothing. I should note that it is not just the backup camera, the entire infotainment has been very buggy and laggy as well but the backup camera is a real safety issue while the rest is more of an inconvenience.
Backup camera often doesn’t work when reversing even after previous recall
Most recent firmware fix from Polestar (3.6.4) to resolve backup camera not displaying issue is still non-sufficient. Backup camera still fails regularly after we received the ‘fix’ on June 13, 2025 at a Volve/Polestar dealership. Vehicle is now ‘timed out’ out of the factory warranty, and a call to Volvo/Polestar to schedule service was met with ‘you are out of warranty now, there is nothing we can do’. Vehicle is fully operable and in good repair otherwise.
Back up camera intermittently stops working and “camera is temporarily unavailable” displayed on infotainment screen. I have to back up my car 2-3 times a week with no backup camera. Cars software is up to date on 3.6.4
The rear-view camera fails to activate or remain active when the car is in reverse. Despite applying all available software updates, including for recalls meant to address this problem, it persists. The screen may go blank or indicate "camera unavailable."
On September 7, 2025, I had a total failure of the forward looking radar system in the vehicle. The symptoms were an error "Collision Avoidance system unavailable" and symbol on the driver display after starting the vehicle, and attempting to activate cruise control (which is typically adaptive cruise control) results in an "Unavailable" error. The symptom occurred suddenly after an otherwise unremarkable drive cycle, and the radar sensor appears to be free of any obstructions. This renders an otherwise key safety feature of the vehicle in reducing the chance of a forward collision completely inoperable, and due to service backlogs, I am unable to have the issue addressed by the dealer/service provider for at least a month, meaning the vehicle will remain stuck in this state until then. Prior to this, I have received "Camera temporarily unavailable" errors when in reverse (inhibiting the backup camera feature from operating as intended),...
The backup camera is unavailable when reversing.
This is a follow up to repairs made under previous recall number 25V-280; 'camera is temporarily unavailable' error when the car is operated in reverse. Despite being on the most recent version of the infotainment software (v 3.6.4) this problem persists in my vehicle. On many occasions since the most recent software update the rear view camera displays the error message (as above). This occurs at least as often as it did before the latest software update, several times per week during normal use. I have documented a few of these on 2/27/2025, 7/4/2025, 7/20/2025, 7/24/2025/ 7/27/2025, 7/30/2025, 8/2/2025, 8/30/2025. These are not the only instances but reflect the continuing pattern of cameral issues over the time since the latest software update.
Put the vehicle into reverse and the backup camera was listed as unavailable
Still encountering occasional "Camera temporarily unavailable", camera video feed stutter, and lag even after upgrading to software 3.6.4.
The reverse camera continues to fail regularly, especially within the first few minutes of using the vehicle. I shift to reverse, and rather than seeing the video from the reverse camera, I see the message "Camera is temporarily unavailable" or something to that effect. My car is updated to the most recent software (version 3.6.4) which I believe was intended to fix this issue as a recall, but there has been no improvement.
Rear camera malfunction while attempting to reverse out of a parking spot on a busy street. The rear camera would not activate and the car displayed the following message: "camera is temporarily unavailable". This issue persisted until I restart the infotainment unit.
For my MY'21 Polestar 2, post software update 3.6.4 (Recall 25V-280) I experienced another back up camera failure.
I wanted to bring to your attention an ongoing issue with the backup camera functionality. Despite updating the car software to version 3.6.4 as per the last recall, the backup camera still frequently shows "camera unavailable" when placing the vehicle into reverse. It seems that the problem remains unresolved even after following the recommended update per the recall.
Despite installing the latest software release intended to resolve the problem, my review camera continues to go out intermittently. This is dangerous as I lose visibility in the midst of backing up.
In reverse, the backup camera will not appear..often get a “camera is unavailable” during the only time I need it available. Latest software upgrade to 3.6.4 still has not corrected the issue.
Following the most recent software update, the rear camera continues to fail to activate nearly 50% of the time. Additionally, the safety systems fail regularly when the infotainment system requires a hard reset, thus all safety alerts, front, rear, side do not activate as expected. The reset requires the car to be parked, driver exit, lock, and step far away from the car for up to 10 minutes.
My car has just completed an "over the air" update to address a previous recall regarding the rear camera not working. The problem continues to persist. On more than one occasion the screen will display "camera not available". This recall has not fixed the issue and request that it be looked into.
Following the latest Over The Air software update to version 3.6.4, "Backup Camera Unavailable" error has become much worse, and almost constant. It will flash on and off, sometimes reverting to the 360 degree view, and sometimes not. It often starts to work and then cuts out again after I start reversing out of my garage. With over two dozen children living in our neighborhood, including our own, there are frequently kids, bikes and toys in our driveway, so this feels like a very dangerous condition.
Reverse camera does not come on sometimes. When it does come on it can take anywhere from 5- 30 seconds to finally come on. When lane keep assist is activated the car will randomly yank the steering wheel to the right and pull me out of my lane, even with my hands on the wheel. It’s incredibly dangerous.
The latest recall update to fix the backup camera prove to not work. I still have the same issues as before. You put it in reverse and the camera glitches out… I would say 90 percent of the time.
My vehicle was recently subject to a recall to fix a long-standing issue, where the rear camera fails to display on the centre console screen when the vehicle is placed in reverse. Once the vehicle is placed in reverse, the screen flashes and then displays the message "Camera is temporarily unavailable". I reported this to Polestar when it first occurred, and they advised I update the software. This didn't fix the problem I've since received a recall notice and again updated the software (to version 3.6.4). The problem still persists (daily). The software fixes aren't solving this issue and the recall should be investigated and re-issued with an actual fix.
Back up camera frequently doesn't work correctly. I have to wait up to 30 seconds before it works. Or I have to put it in park and back to reverse to get the camera to work.
When I get into my car and reverse, 3 times out of 10, the back up camera says unavailable. Very dangerous as the back window doesn't offer the greatest visibility
I have applied Software update 3.6.4, relevant to Recall 25V-280 and I am still seeing "Camera Not Available" warnings during backup. Recall fix did not correct the original issue.
My vehicle was just serviced at the beginning of July, 2025. The software update was applied at the Polestar dealership in [XXX] . The software was updated to version 3.6.4. Immediately as soon as I was leaving the lot, putting the vehicle in reverse I got a message on the infotainment display "Camera is temporarily unavailable”. I went back into the dealership and had them check over the vehicle. They reran the update and got the same results as I did. I was told there was nothing they could do. This problem has been there since 2021 and has not been resolved yet INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Their has been multiple recalls from the Manufacturer about the Rear View Camera being disabled during reverse and this is consistent even after all the software updates, i am currently on SW 3.6.4 and the issue persists. The issue seems to be a Hardware issue with limited RAM and Processing capability instead of the way the company is stating for it to be a Software problem. Please Investigate it and ask the Manufacturer to update the Hardware.
The vehicle’s rear view camera continues to be unstable, even after the recent NHTSA-mandated software recall was installed. This recall DID NOT fix the issue. Ultimately, the vehicle’s computer hardware is underpowered and cannot run the latest software versions sufficiently, and that is the root of the flickering and crashing that occurs. Besides the rear view camera cutting out and saying “temporarily unavailable” the car’s automatic emergency braking system often mistakenly slams on the brakes, and because it’s controlled through the rear camera interface, you cannot safely disable it when these erroneous braking events occur as the screen becomes unresponsive or slow to respond.
Hi! I recently installed the software update associated with NHTSA campaign 25V409000 and have noticed that the rear backup camera still frequently fails to work. Please add this to the recall query associated with this campaign. Thanks, - [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
my rear backup camera does not work almost 60% of the time even though Polestar released a update quoting to fix this issue it has not been resolved whatsoever
Reir view backup camera periodically is blank and says "camera not available" even after now software update.
Frequently the rear camera system will not engage, displaying a "Rear camera temporarily unavailable". Polestar claims this was already addressed in a software update, but I am still experiencing the problem after the receiving the update. Due to the poor rear window visibility this presents a very dangerous situation when trying to back out of a parking spot and losing the camera visibility.
When I put the vehicle in reverse, the backup camera does not display. I instead get a warning message that says "Camera temporarily unavailable"
I received the recall notice about the reverse camera malfunctioning, something my car was definitely having an issue with. A little while later I did receive the OTA update to software version 3.6.4, however, my car still receives the "camera is temporarily unavailable" when putting it in to reverse a good amount of the time. Other times it flickers quite a bit. Other times it is OK. I can't identify any patterns or reasons why it fails sometimes.
I have updated to the latest firmware intended to fix the rear camera not available error and the issue is still occurring
Recently had recall fix 25V-280 completed. the software was updated and now shows version p3.6.4 however this did not resolve the issue with the backup camera. Since having the fix applied last week I have had the back camera display fail multiple times. I continue to randomly receive the message "camera is temporarily unavailable". It appears polestar’s software fix did not properly address this issue.
When putting the car in reverse, the backup camera will often flash on the screen before turning off and the message "backup camera is unavailable" will appear on the screen. This usually happens when the car has just ben turned on. I do have the latest software update installed that was supposed to solve this issue. The issue has actually gotten worse and happens more often since the update was installed.
Reverse camera does not activate consistently. After installing 3.6.4, this issue is not resolved and the "camera temporarily unavailable" message is still being displayed.
Recently had recall fix 25V-280 completed. the software was updated and now shows version p3.6.4 however this did not resolve the issue with the backup camera. Since having the fix applied last week I have had the back camera display fail multiple times. I continue to randomly receive the message "camera is temporarily unavailable". It appears polestars software fix did not properly address this issue.
The backup camera still does not work consistently even after software updates. Half or more times I reverse at home, the backup camera is unavailable or defaults to the 360 camera.
Other 2021 POLESTAR POLESTAR 2 Problem Areas
Unknown Or Other
13 complaints
Visibilitywiper
13 complaints
Back Over Prevention Rearview System Braking
9 complaints
Electrical System
8 complaints
Back Over Prevention Warnings
5 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Automatic Emergency Braking
4 complaints
Lane Departure Blind Spot Detection
4 complaints
Suspension
4 complaints
Forward Collision Avoidance Warnings
3 complaints
Fuelpropulsion System
2 complaints
Lane Departure Assist
2 complaints
Seat Belts
2 complaints
Steering
2 complaints
Air Bags
1 complaint
Air Bagsfrontaldriver Sideinflator Module
1 complaint
Engine
1 complaint
Forward Collision Avoidance Adaptive Cruise Control
1 complaint
Latcheslockslinkagesdoorslock
1 complaint
Service Brakes
1 complaint
Vehicle Speed Control
1 complaint