Electrical system and brake-related issues are among the top complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
The 2022 Polestar 2 is a luxury electric vehicle that is relatively new to the scene, but guarantees customers it will impress. In fact, the Swedish automaker, Volvo, claims it is “the way electric cars should be.” But with electrical system complaints to the NHTSA overshadowing all others, consumers are extremely concerned about their investment.
Of the 32 complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 75% relate to the electrical system of this highly regarded luxury electric car.
Most electrical system issues highlight problems with all the Polestar 2’s wireless capabilities. Most commonly people find that the telematics and connectivity antenna module (TCAM) fails and they cannot use the GPS location, Connect, or SOS. This raises a myriad of safety concerns. Some of these impact children and pets who might be in a vehicle the owner cannot unlock because neither the key fob nor the manual key will unlock it.
Some owners say that the only “solution” is to take their Polestar 2 to the dealer to have the systems reset. But they also report that the problem continues to recur.
There is also one recall for the 2022 Polestar 2 and this is due to an electrical system fault. NHTSA Campaign Number 21V110000 states that the Battery Energy Control Module (BECM) microprocessor can reset while driving, causing the high-voltage system to disconnect. When this happens, drive power is lost and accidents are much more prevalent.
Other complaints are spread across a variety of components and systems. Of these, back over prevention, forward collision avoidance, and the fuel/propulsion system top the rest of the list with three complaints each. There are only two complaints in the Service Brakes category, but several of the complaints listed in the Back Over Prevention and Forward Collision Avoidance categories are about brake issues.
Additional components and systems that attracted complaints between January 2 and November 20, 2022, are exterior lighting, seat belts, vehicle speed control, visibility/wiper, and wheels.
Of these, the only complaints that don’t relate to those we are going to discuss are listed under Wheels and Seat Belts. Almost all of the complaints are reported to relate to at least two, often three, different components.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera | |
| Visibility/wiper | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Back Over Prevention: Warnings | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Lane Departure: Blind Spot Detection | |
| Power Train |
We have quoted several complaints from owners to the NHTSA in our investigation post mentioned above. These indicate dealership response, which, in each case, is unhelpful. Generally, it appears that dealers are unable to diagnose and/or fix TCAM problems.
Here are a few more examples of complaints about the TCAM issue that highlight safety issues.
An owner from Connecticut reports that an error message appears on the dash: eCall service required. “I leave the car and come back outside and all the doors are locked, which I did not initiate. Key fob won’t open the door. The manual key won’t unlock. EV charging cable won’t release. What would have happened if there was a child or pet in the back seat? The car unlocked itself after an hour or so. The car is not safe and the software is not stable.”
A similar complaint comes from an owner in California. Four days after taking delivery of a new 2022 Polestar 2 bearing the manufacture date of 03/2022, he also got the eCall service required message on the dash. Then SOS/Connect lost connectivity. This, he says, is “concerning if the vehicle is involved in a crash.” GPS also lost functionality. It “would be a major distraction for drivers.” Also, the complaint states that the key fob does not work unless it is unlocked with the key blade and the “key is placed on the key reader directly.” This “would impose possible safety issues if animals or children (were) left in (the) vehicle.”
Another owner from California states that the vehicle is not safe if the driver gets out and leaves passengers inside. This is because the doors of the vehicle, the AC, and all “operations” cease while it is unlocked or locked “with parties present.” This, the complaint states, is a “safety risk for all ages in hot and cold climates.” Furthermore, the “key in (the) car changes nothing. One expects an on-car to be on, and a key in (the) car to equal on if (the) driver exits.”
An owner in New York finds that the Polestar 2 becomes unresponsive and then disabled. “The only way to get the vehicle to function is by disconnecting the 12v battery and waiting for the car to reset and then proceed. This (has) happened multiple times and the manufacturer is not taking care of the problem.”
Nearly 18% of all new cars sold in California are electric compared to 6% in the rest of the U.S. So the relatively high number of complaints coming from Polstar 2 owners living in California isn’t surprising. Here’s another one. It states that the lane-keeping assistance function “consistently steers the vehicle onto freeway exits when used on the freeway.” It also notes that the exits in California use “normal shoulder line markings.” This malfunction started after “an OTA update to software version.” What happens is that “The steering onto the exit happens abruptly, with significant steering authority. Rapid assertive driver intervention is required to maintain (the) vehicle in (the) lane.”
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Stopping a vehicle before it hits something else is one of the most critical functions any car should have. Yet, faulty service brakes are a problem in some Polestar 2s, although the problems vary.
One of the complaints about faulty brakes was made by an owner from Minnesota and listed under Service Brakes, Back Over Prevention, and Forward Collision Avoidance. It involves the rear parking brake assist function. The complaint is that this function is sometimes activated “while backing into the garage bringing the car to a sudden abrupt stop without reason. It recently has stopped me backing into the driveway from a county road. There is a surmountable curb and a fog line that I cross. I didn’t consider this a safety issue until it stopped me in a traffic lane. There isn’t a way to disable the system until the car is placed into reverse, and this must be done every drive.”
Another complaint, listed only under Back Over Prevention and Forward Collision Avoidance, describes braking system issues experienced by a New Jersey owner while parking and leaving his driveway. Each time a “loud noise went off” and the braking system suddenly engaged. Each time, the driver “immediately experienced neck pain.” The outcome was persistent neck pain that required chiropractic treatment for whiplash.
These incidents happened after the manufacturer had installed a software update that added Auto Brake as part of Cross Traffic Alert. The aim of the software is “to stop the vehicle in the shortest possible distance to avoid (a) collision.” But the owner wasn’t told how to disable it until after he experienced whiplash. He believes, “This is dangerous because the auto must be in reverse gear to activate the time-consuming 2-step disable process, and (the) operator must remember to disable during every use.” But the manufacturer says the car is “performing as designed.”
The only complaint listed only under Service Brakes reports a problem with the rear brake pads. An owner from California says that these pads adhere to the rotors, “causing a juddering noise from some of the pad breaking off and left stuck on the rotors.” He maintains that this happens because “a high percentage of the brake pads’ material consists of metal with an outer metal coating that helps with break in and corrosion. These pads create significantly more brake dust, which coats the rotors while driving. The metal in the dust adheres the pads to the rotors, especially when wet. ”A major problem is that “it’s not possible to park your car without applying the parking brake.”
If you think your 2022 Polestar 2 is a lemon you can do something about it. Did you know that every year, auto manufacturers buy back, replace, or pay cash settlements to thousands of ‘lemon’ owners?. The best way to initiate a claim is via an experienced lemon law firm like Lemberg Law. We will assess your problems and let you know whether we believe you have a case against Volvo. We don’t charge for our services because the law says that Volvo must pay the legal fees for lemon law cases.
All you need to do is call our Helpline or fill in a Lemberg Law contact form. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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