The Technology That Substitutes Your Mirrors is Facing Increasing Recall Issues | Carscoops

      Ford has announced 35 recalls impacting 4.6 million vehicles due to issues with backup cameras, but it’s not the only brand experiencing problems with malfunctioning displays.

      As of May 31, 2025, Nissan, Stellantis, and VW are the latest manufacturers to recall vehicles over defective rearview cameras.

      Since the technology became mandatory in the US, more than 180 camera recalls have occurred.

      Ford stands out as the most notable offender in terms of both the volume of recalls and the number of affected vehicles.

      Let’s see a show of hands for those who recall having a significant issue with a traditional rearview mirror. Likely, very few will respond, except for a handful who may have dislodged theirs from the windshield during an overly enthusiastic moment with a passenger.

      Old-fashioned mirrors were straightforward and reliable, unlike their contemporary counterpart, the reverse camera, which has revealed itself to be a reliability nightmare following its mandatory introduction in the US in spring 2018.

      Occasionally, the camera image fails to display on the console screen. In other cases, the view may be sporadic, unclear, or, most alarmingly, delayed, leading to a misleading perception of what is behind the vehicle. The frequency of these issues is quite concerning.

      Our analysis shows that a staggering 181 recalls have been issued due to camera-related defects since 2018, affecting over 12.3 million vehicles. Typically, the problems stem from software issues rather than hardware faults.

      This year has been particularly severe for camera recalls. Within less than six months, manufacturers have already called back 30 models, impacting over 2.8 million vehicles. This surpasses the 2.2 million cars affected in 2024 and doubles the total from 2023. The most recent recalls involve 80,000 MY25 Nissan Frontier and Kicks SUVs, as well as 171,000 VW Atlas and Atlas Cross Sports models from 2024-25.

      CAMERA RECALLS BY YEAR

      The leading culprit is undoubtedly Ford, which recently acknowledged a recall of 1 million units. Overall, it has issued 35 recalls affecting an astonishing 4.6 million vehicles since 2018, making Stellantis (FCA), the second-worst offender with 20 recalls and 1.7 million cars, seem comparatively minor. Nissan ranks third with 9 recalls impacting 1.6 million units, followed by Honda with seven recalls for 1.3 million units.

      While these manufacturers are all popular brands, GM and Toyota demonstrate that it is feasible to produce millions of vehicles while employing dependable technology. GM has issued only three recalls for 106,000 vehicles, while Toyota has made five recalls for 95,000 units.

      It’s reassuring to know that these systems can be effectively managed, as many of us now depend on them and will increasingly do so in the future, especially with the trend of eliminating rear windows, as seen in models like the Polestar 4 and the forthcoming Jaguar EV, becoming more commonplace across the industry.

      CAMERA RECALLS BY BRAND