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Polestar Polestar 2Model year report

2021 Polestar Polestar 2 Problems

Compared with other Polestar Polestar 2 years

Fewer complaints than typical for this model

0/100 0.2× a typical year · 50 = typical

Based only on NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations. Not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold, and not a reliability rating. How this is calculated

Complaints
148filed with NHTSA
Median mileage
15,000miles, 1 complaints with mileage
Recalls
5campaigns on record
Trend
RisingComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.
NHTSA crash rating
—no overall rating published
EPA fuel economy
92 MPGecombined, Electric AWD · 96 city / 88 hwy

Sources: NHTSA records for the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 (complaints, recalls, investigations), EPA fuel economy. Report an error

What owners report

Owners of the 2021 Polestar 2 report one dominant problem by a wide margin: the rearview camera often fails to display when the car is shifted into reverse, showing a blank, frozen, or "camera temporarily unavailable" screen. Many complaints say this persists after the software updates and recalls intended to address it, and some link it to generally laggy infotainment behavior. The remaining complaints are scattered across suspension, electrical, propulsion, and advanced driver-assist symptoms.

  1. Back-over prevention (rear camera)

    Rearview camera unavailable or frozen in reverse

    • 119 complaints (80%)
    • median 15,000 mi at 3.7 yrs old (1 states mileage, few)
    • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2024–2026

    Owners describe shifting into reverse and getting a blank, gray, or frozen image, or a message such as "camera is temporarily unavailable," instead of a live rear view. Complaints say the screen sometimes stutters or flickers before giving up, and that rear cross-traffic alerts can drop out along with it. Many report the behavior continues after recall software updates (versions 3.1.9 and 3.6.4 are named), with some saying dealers told them nothing further could be done or that the behavior was normal. Reported across a wide mileage range and in all seasons, most often right after startup or when the car has been parked for a while, and in some cases several times per week.

    Recall 25V615000Recall 25V280000Recall 24V4770003 related service bulletins

    What to check: Before buying, put the car in reverse several times, including right after a cold start, and confirm a live camera image appears promptly and does not freeze. Ask whether the rear-visibility recalls (25V280, 25V615, 24V477) were completed and which infotainment software version is installed.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “I recently received a recall notice (NTSA Recall No. 25V-280, Polestar Recall RP1056) where the vehicle fails to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111 on Rear Visibility. After updating the vehicle software that was supposed to fix the safety recall, I'm still having the issue where when backing the car up, I get a camera is temporarily unavailable on my center console display.”

    NHTSA complaint #11669765, filed 2025-06

    “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.”

    NHTSA complaint #11672288, filed 2025-07
  2. Electrical system

    Infotainment screen blank, laggy, or unresponsive

    • 31 complaints (21%)
    • typically at 4.8 yrs old
    • filed 2024–2026

    Owners describe the center display being slow or unresponsive, failing to boot, or showing the logo while going no further, which also takes out climate and camera controls on the same screen. Some mention missing audio for alerts and turn signals until the system is rebooted by holding the home button. Others report connectivity and app-update problems. Mostly reported in the first 3 years of use, often after a software download or update, and sometimes shortly after startup.

    Recall 24V4770005 related service bulletins

    What to check: Ask about the infotainment head unit software version and whether any head unit replacement or reprogramming was done; during a test drive, check that the screen responds promptly and that audio alerts work.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “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.”

    NHTSA complaint #11693648, filed 2025-10

    “Center entertaiment touchscreen which provides visiblity for the rear camera as well as the backup sensors and A/C controls for front defogger went is completely blank. Polestar2 logo appears, but no longer boots. This causes the rear camera to be completely useless.”

    NHTSA complaint #11746309, filed 2026-06
  3. Forward collision avoidance

    Driver-assist braking and steering interventions

    • 16 complaints (11%)
    • typically at 4.8 yrs old
    • 2 mention a crash, fire or injury
    • filed 2023–2026

    Owners report unexpected automatic emergency braking while reversing and, in one case, a forward radar failure that disabled cruise control and collision avoidance with an "unavailable" message. Others describe lane keeping pulling the steering wheel when it was not expected. Several owners tie these behaviors to the same laggy software affecting the camera. Reported across the first several years of use, in ordinary driving and parking situations rather than unusual conditions.

    1 related service bulletin

    What to check: During a test drive, confirm the collision-avoidance and lane-keeping systems show no unavailable warnings, and ask whether any radar or camera-related repairs or calibrations have been performed.

    2 excerpts from owner complaints in NHTSA records

    “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.”

    NHTSA complaint #11673106, filed 2025-07

    “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. …”

    NHTSA complaint #11672697, filed 2025-07

Buying note. The rearview camera problem is the one to verify closely: test it repeatedly after cold starts and confirm which recalls and software version the car has. Also ask for the service history on propulsion warnings, infotainment repairs, and any rear suspension work before deciding.

Summary written with AI from a sample of 60 NHTSA complaints for this model year (picked at random, with complaints that state a mileage and recent ones taken first), then checked automatically against the source records. Where a problem shows a complaint count, every complaint for this model year was matched with fixed keyword rules (written with AI and tested against the sample), and the mileage, age and repair figures are calculated from those complaints; owners' figures are as stated, not verified. Other counts refer to the sample. The excerpts come from NHTSA's public complaint records and are unverified; capitalisation is normalised, NHTSA staff notes are removed, and shortened text ends with “…”. Something wrong? Request a correction.

NHTSA recorded 148 consumer complaints for the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2. 1 of the complaints include a mileage, and 100% of those were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the median is 15,000 miles. Of all complaints, 2 involved a crash, according to the filers. NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns and 181 technical service bulletins for this model year. Compared with the other 2 Polestar Polestar 2 model years that have at least 25 complaints and are old enough to compare, this one scores 0 out of 100, where 50 is a typical year for the model (fewer complaints than typical for this model). The comparison allows for the era and for how long each year has had to collect complaints, but not for how many vehicles were sold.

Which parts are reported most

Complaints can name more than one part, so the counts add up to more than the total. Select a part to see its complaints, recalls and bulletins.

Also reported: Steering (2), Vehicle speed control (2), Brakes (1), Engine (1), Latches, locks and linkages (1), Transmission and drivetrain (1).

Example complaints

Back-over prevention (rear camera): “Well backing out of a parking space at the grocery store. My rear camera failed to activate even after several times trying to get the camera to work. I decided to try and back out by just looking over my shoulder, but could not see through the back window and collided into a shopping cart. None of the advanced systems activated no object detection, no camera and no collision warning.”

NHTSA complaint #11744618, filed 2026-06

Other or unknown: “I recently started noticing a clicking/tapping noise coming from the rear. It is only when I’m braking under about 20mph. I’ve done some research and it seems other people have had similar issues. It may be caused by the axles in the car but not totally sure.”

NHTSA complaint #11617798, filed 2024-10

Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors): “Even after having the vehicle updated to the latest OTA update (3.6.4) I still get an error message warning me that the backup camera is unavailable at least 50% of the time. Sometimes I am able to get the image to appear after putting the car back into park, and waiting 1-2 minutes before shifting back into reverse. Needless to say, this defect continues to present a significant safety issue, especially in a vehicle with such poor outward visibility from the driver's seat.”

NHTSA complaint #11687055, filed 2025-09

Electrical system: “There was a recall due to the rearview camera not coming on when the car is put in reverse. My car was at the shop 3 times for this issue to be fixed and they are unable to fix it. Now the site says there are no recalls on my car. How do I get this fixed? They should be fined for letting this go for years and still not resolving it. They're still selling cars knowing the issue is unresolved.”

NHTSA complaint #11630587, filed 2024-12

Mileage when problems were reported

100% of the 1 complaints with a mileage were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles; the middle half falls between 15,000 and 15,000 miles.

0%0–10100%10–250%25–500%50–750%75–1000%100–1500%150+
Share of complaints by mileage when the problem was reported, in thousands of miles (1 complaints with mileage). Red bars: under 50,000 miles. Bucket widths differ. Median: 15,000 miles.

Complaints by year filed

Trend: rising. Complaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are at least 25% higher than in the 3 years before.

20222023202420251152026
Complaints by year the complaint was filed with NHTSA. Red bars: the last 3 full calendar years used for the trend. The current year (2026) is partial.

Fuel economy and running cost

EPA ratings for each 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 version. Annual fuel cost is the EPA's estimate at its current fuel prices for 15,000 miles a year (55% city driving); for electric versions it is the cost of electricity and the rating is in MPGe.

VersionEngineTransmissionCityHwyComb.Fuel / yr
2 AWDElectricsingle-speed968892 MPGe$800

Source: U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, fueleconomy.gov. Ratings are for comparing vehicles; real-world mileage varies with driving and conditions.

Recalls and investigations

Recall details for the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 → · Check a VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls

NHTSA investigations

Technical service bulletins

TSBs are manufacturer notes to dealers about known repair procedures. They are not recalls and do not by themselves mean a vehicle has a fault. 181 on record; the latest 10 are shown.

See all 181 bulletins →

Other model years of the Polestar Polestar 2

YearComplaintsMedian miRecallsCrash ★MPGScore (50 = typical)Trend
2024251,00055—Too new to compareToo new
202311612,50545—50 · TypicalToo new
202230520,00045—57 · TypicalRising
202114815,0005—92 MPGe0 · FewerRising

All Polestar Polestar 2 model years · Best and worst years by complaints

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems with the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2?

Owners of the 2021 Polestar 2 report one dominant problem by a wide margin: the rearview camera often fails to display when the car is shifted into reverse, showing a blank, frozen, or "camera temporarily unavailable" screen. The issues reported most often: Rearview camera unavailable or frozen in reverse; Infotainment screen blank, laggy, or unresponsive; Driver-assist braking and steering interventions.

How many NHTSA complaints does the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 have?

NHTSA recorded 148 consumer complaints for the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 as of Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

What part of the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 is reported most often?

Back-over prevention is named most often, in 114 complaints (77% of the total), followed by other or unknown with 13.

Has the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 been recalled?

NHTSA lists 5 recall campaigns for this model year. To check a specific vehicle, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

How efficient is the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 according to the EPA?

The EPA rates the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 (2, Electric) at 92 MPGe combined, 96 city and 88 highway, with an estimated annual electricity cost of $800 at 15,000 miles a year. Other battery and motor versions are rated differently.

At what mileage are problems with the 2021 Polestar Polestar 2 reported?

Among the 1 complaints that include a mileage, the median is 15,000 miles and the middle half falls between 15,000 and 15,000 miles; 100% were filed for vehicles with under 50,000 miles.

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 29, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Fuel economy is from the EPA and DOE (fueleconomy.gov).

Complaint counts come from NHTSA’s public complaint database; we count each complaint once. The source records for this vehicle are on nhtsa.gov. Scores and trends are our own summaries of that data, described in the methodology. This page is not legal, safety or repair advice: for a specific vehicle, check its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and ask a qualified mechanic. See an error? Tell us.