Polestar Polestar 2 Problems — All Years, Common Issues & Reliability

A new software update was recently released to fix a previous recall of the backup camera. Ever since that version 5 of the software was released, the display unit computer randomly resets during the drive. During the report, all blind spot, cruise control, lane sensing, sensors, etc are not working and take multiple minutes to turn on and the activate.

Over the last 1.5 months, the liftgate system on the vehicle has failed to fully close and latch. The vehicle shows the liftgate as unsecured and the liftgate has play despite being partially latched. Investigation of the vehicle shows that the tailgate damper drive unit wiring harness is designed in a way that the wires pinch and short to ground. This design flaw causes the vehicle to lose communication with the position sensors in the tailgate damper drive unit and prevents the tailgate from closing fully.

Persistent unresolved front-suspension defect on a 2022 Polestar 2 (Polestar Approved CPO, purchased 03/20/2025). Vehicle pulls right under normal driving on flat, level pavement — a directional control hazard requiring constant steering correction at highway speed. A front-suspension noise over bumps developed after recent repairs. The Polestar-authorized dealer (University Volvo / Polestar Charlotte) made FIVE repair attempts on this same complaint without resolving it: 10/23/2025; 11/04/2025; 04/01/2026; 04/15/2026; and 04/17–04/27/2026. Five alignments performed. Both upper strut bearings replaced 04/15/2026 (Inv #XXX , $1,499.44). On the next visit the dealer replaced a control arm and did additional shock and bearing work as no-charge line items (Inv #263452, $279.19) — implicitly acknowledging the prior repair was inadequate. Within one block of leaving the dealer on 04/15, vehicle developed a new front-right rattle that did not exist before. Dealer's own technician notes on Inv #XXX state verbatim: "test drove vehicle and could not verify any pulling while driving" — repair performed WITHOUT confirmed symptom reproduction. As of 05/04/2026 (six days after pickup), vehicle is again pulling right and now has a NEW noise over bumps. Condition is materially worse than before any repair. This is the subject of Polestar Technical Journal TJ XXX (NHTSA document MC-XXX-0001), which acknowledges creaking/knocking from the upper front suspension on Polestar 2 MY 2021–2024 and states a redesigned upper bearing was released Q4 2023, with a further redesign in week 20 of 2024. Polestar has acknowledged in writing this component was defective and redesigned TWICE. Polestar Customer Engagement has refused to escalate to a contact with authority to remedy. Filing for ODI trend analysis, federal record of the defect and failed repairs, and to flag a known-defect CPO sale unremedied under warranty. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2022 Polestar 2. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and turned off, the door locks became inoperable. The contact was unable to enter the vehicle without using the key fob. The contact stated that on one occasion, entry was only possible through the trunk after manually engaging the trunk latch. The contact further stated that the failure recurred, and during a subsequent incident, both the doors and the trunk latch were inoperable, preventing access to the vehicle. The contact had to wait an extended period of time before being able to enter the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 76,000.

a recent software update (5.0.10) altered the acceleration on the car. There is now a 2+ second delay to acceleration to the car once the pedal is depressed if you're not wearing your seatbelt. I did not see this listed in the update info before I installed the over-the-air update. After the update, I have had several near accidents (side impact) as I try to pull out into traffic and the car fails to accelerate as expected. I only learned about the "feature" after calling a dealer to see if I needed to come in for repairs. This, IMO, is a seriously dangerous feature/update to add after purchase. I am used to the immediate acceleration and had this feature been present at purchase I probably would have considered another car. Not because I am opposed to wearing a seatbelt, but because I don't always wear if if running to the store, etc. This WILL cause an accident to someone at somepoint and should be removed.

I took car to dealer to get latest software update version 4.2.13 since my car hasnt been received updates OTA. After the update, the cars accelerating from a stand still had a lag of almost 1 to 2 seconds which is dangerous. I went online to find out several polestar 2 owners complaining about the same issue. My car has the performance upgrade which has a 0-60 time in 4 seconds. Now after this issue, car is hitting 0-60 in under 6.5 seconds. I was in a situation yesterday where i backed out of my driveway and saw a car behind me coming in very fast, I floored the acceleration pedal and the car did not move until 1.3 seconds. This is extremely unsafe and needs immediate attention. Before this software update I had no issues in acceleration and have owned the car for over 2 years. Please help.

The backup camera continues to fail to turn on. The car will intermittently report “Camera is temporarily unavailable”. This persists for minutes at a time. I cannot figure out how to get the camera to turn on when this happens. It already received the OTA “fix” for this but it did not fix the issue.

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.

On 03/29/2026 at approximately 11:00 AM, I was driving my 2024 Polestar 2 southbound on [XXX] near [XXX] in the center lane at approximately 80 mph in heavy traffic. Without any prior warning — no vibration, no TPMS alert, no unusual noise, no warning lamps or messages of any kind — the left rear tire suffered a catastrophic tread/belt separation. The tire is a Continental original equipment tire, size 245/40R20, with ContiSilent acoustic foam lining and POL1 Polestar-specific markings. DOT number: [XXX] , manufactured week 17 of 2023 at Continental's [XXX] plant. The tire was factory-installed original equipment and had never been removed or remounted. The entire center tread band delaminated from the tire carcass in a single explosive event. I heard a loud bang and immediately lost control of the vehicle. The rear end spun out and the vehicle crossed two lanes of heavy high-speed highway traffic before coming to rest on the shoulder. CHP responded to the scene and filed a report. I was not struck by any other vehicle. No injuries. No vehicle body damage. However the failure created an extreme risk of death or serious injury to myself and to other motorists in adjacent lanes at highway speed. The failed tire is preserved at the authorized Polestar dealership and is available for inspection upon request. Photographic documentation exists showing textbook belt edge separation: the shoulder tread remains attached on both sides while the entire center section has cleanly separated from the carcass, exposing the inner liner and ContiSilent polyurethane foam layer. The rim is undamaged. The left front tire is from the same production run [XXX] , manufactured one week earlier at the same Hannover plant), making it a sister tire that may carry the same manufacturing defect. NOTE REGARDING CONTSILENT ACOUSTIC MASKING: The ContiSilent polyurethane foam bonded to the inner liner of this tire is designed to absorb INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The backup camera consistently fails and displays a "Backup Camera is Temporarily Unavailable" message. Polestar is only issuing a software fix for this on model year 2026 Polestar 2s and a solution has not been offered for over 8 months now.

The vehicle recently updated to software version P4.2.13 after this update the vehicle sporadically losses the ability to accelerate fully from a stop, it just creeps forward. When your truning onto a street from a stop, or forward at a srop sign or ligjt sometime the vehicle accelerates normally, but what seems like about 50% of the time it just creeps forward a couple seconds then takes off. You never know what it's going to do as far as acceleration. This is incredibly dangerous when turning/merging into traffic from a stop, its a roll of the dice whether the car will just creep forward or accelerate.normally.

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? Rear camera does not show up when vehicle is placed in reverse. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Inability to use rear camera presenting a larger risk to others while the vehicle is in reverse. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes, this has been part of multiple recalls with an attempt to update through updates. Dealership advised it is a known issue an does not feel that Polestar will be able to fix this through an update but has not offered any other fixes. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? No Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No