Lemberg Law is investigating complaints regarding problems with the telematics and connectivity antenna module (TCAM) in the 2022 Polestar 2. Vehicle owners are reporting that TCAMs commonly malfunction, resulting in serious connectivity issues that impact a plethora of functions. These range from faulty lock and starter motor mechanisms to every possible type of digital connectivity available in these all-electric cars.
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There are major problems with the TCAM in the 2022 Polestar 2. The module, which is located in the “shark fin” on the roof of the car, controls all elements that relate to digital connectivity. These include internet, wifi, GPS, LTE, Bluetooth, and even remote locking. While they may not all malfunction at the same time, some owners have faced multiple issues at one time.
Polestar acknowledges that there are TCAM rebooting problems with Polestar 1 and 2 models released in 2020, 2021, and 2022. See below: What Does Polestar Say About TCAM Issues?
There are also reports that Volvo XC40, XC60, and XC90 models have TCAM issues too. This is relevant since Polestar is owned jointly by Volvo and Volvo’s Chinese parent company, Geely.
However, neither Volvo nor Polestar have acknowledged the full extent of the TCAM problems facing owners of these cars.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Electrical System | |
| Unknown Or Other | |
| Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera | |
| Visibility/wiper | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking | |
| Fuel/propulsion System | |
| Back Over Prevention: Warnings | |
| Service Brakes | |
| Back Over Prevention |
Many 2022 Polestar 2 owners are complaining about TCAM problems on various forums and to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Just halfway into the year, there are 21 complaints to the NHTSA and more than half of them (11) relate to TCAM issues. Complaints range from very simple one-liners to lengthy descriptions that draw attention to safety issues.
“Polestar TCAM stopped working. No LTE.”
“Vehicle TCAM module stops working, losing LTE connectivity and other vehicle telematics including ‘SOS’ emergency communication features.”
“The TCAM stops working which causes both keys to stop communicating with the car and SOS to stop functioning. This will create a problem because you can’t start the car or lock the car. You’ll be stuck in Park. The digital key can also stop working and if you don’t have the physical key, you could be stuck in the middle of nowhere.”
“The car loses GPS information and LTE connectivity repeatedly. Manufacturer has not done anything about it. If I am driving with GPS on, I can get lost as it loses connectivity while driving. Unable to call SOS or CONNECT features without LTE connectivity.”
“Error message comes on 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.”
“TCAM/Navigation fails. GPS location got really flaky and jumped all over the map, and ultimately stopped working altogether. This TCAM failure seems like a common issue on the Polestar forums. The safety concern is mainly the amount of confusion it caused since it was telling me to turn left or right in places where that wouldn’t have been legal or safe (because it thought I was somewhere else).”
“Constant issues with the car’s data connection causing an inability to operate certain functions of the car. This includes safety-related actions like SOS and Connect. Aside from the possible safety issues, the dropping of data to the car prevents a multitude of features from being available to those in the vehicle. This happens on many occasions across a wide range of driving scenarios. The car is brand new and started this behavior less than 200 miles after purchase. There is a connection icon that shows a data error, with no other indicators from the vehicle. There have been times where I was unable to use (the) navigation to get to my destination requiring (the) use of my phone to complete the task. The dealer has been reluctant to address the issue and admit any widespread occurrence. I may be willing to have my car inspected depending on (the) level of invasiveness.
“The car spontaneously loses contact with all wireless capabilities. This disables the keys from working to start/lock/unlock the car, breaks SOS/assist functionality, and disables all internet connectivity. The car has been to the dealership twice so far and they have been unable to fix the problem. They said that there is a software update that will be available 3/22 that will supposedly fix some of the problems. In the meantime, they have acknowledged that nothing can be done in the service documentation.”
“The contact owns a 2022 Polestar Polestar 2. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 – 30 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The vehicle was taken to the dealer but was not yet (been) diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200.”
In June 2022, a Polestar 2 owner who uses a CarPlay workaround, posted on a Polestar forum: “Got my car back. After replacing the TCAM hardware, flashing the firmware, and connecting everything back up…. No connectivity still. And my mirrors still don’t always unfold.
He adds, “Seems GPS works, so the module hardware is intact, but no LTE or WiFi. But I can confirm (that I) can use Bluetooth hotspot tethering to get around that (though Google assistant still doesn’t work?)”
Another forum member writes: “Drove around with my semi-borked TCAM today. GPS works but LTE is out. Bluetooth hotspot with my phone works for extending network coverage so functionally (so) I’m fairly back to normal all things considered.
“I still have random little other bugs. And SOS is flashing red. So I will absolutely make sure they fix it properly. But this is kinda like what I guess it will be like if/when Polestar isn’t picking up the tab on the SIM connection. As long as the GPS signal works this is entirely fine.”
On a positive note, one forum member states that the dealership did compensate him for TCAM issues.
“I had an issue with what was apparently a faulty TCAM from the moment of delivery. They honored their warranty commitments and drove back and forth three times (once to pick up My Precious and leave me an ICE loaner; again to replace the ICE loaner with a P2 loaner; and to return My Precious and retrieve their loaner). After an animated and heartfelt discussion with the manager, I also received some compensation in an effort to ‘reset our relationship’ because we had minor issues that were indicative of TCAM issues from the moment of delivery and shouldn’t have been allowed to leave with the car.”
In May 2022, Polestar issued a technical service bulletin (TSB), NHTSA ID number 10214313. This addresses the fact that the vehicle information diagnostics for aftersales (VIDA) system created by Volvo for its car dealerships cannot maintain a connection. It also covers loss of connectivity in general and TCAM rebooting.
The TSB relates to the 2020-2022 Polestar 1 and Polestar 2 models, both of which are manufactured with either a single or dual motor.
Polestar has also issued online manuals that tell Polestar 1 and 2 owners what to do if they have internet connection issues. Essentially all these do is walk owners through the process of rebooting their network and internet connections.
Volvo also suggests restarting the TCAM to overcome connectivity issues. Additionally, they maintain that a gap between the antenna cover and the car sometimes allows moisture to get in and causes the TCAM to fail. Polestar does not suggest this is a cause.
Lemberg Law is currently investigating 2022 Polestar 2 TCAM issues. If you have experienced any connectivity problems or anything that you believe may be related to the TCAM of your car, you are welcome to contact us.
Contact us by filling out our contact form or calling us. We will undertake a free case evaluation to see if we can help you. It‘s not going to cost you anything because the law makes the manufacturer pay the legal fees for an action of this sort.
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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I believe the TCAM in my Polestar 2 is malfunctioning as well. The car is unable to conect to the internet despite multiple reboots.
Having trouble with the LTE. Been having this trouble for a few days now. Tried trouble shooting it and still nothing seems to work.
Thank you for this. My 2022 Polestar 2 from Bellevue Polestar has locked me out and required a tow twice now. The Space has reset TCAM but the problem still persists. Our family also owns a Hyundai Ioniq5 and Tesla Model 3 and both of those cars have not had any issues at all. I love the Polestar 2 but I am very sad Polestar amd Volvo have not taken the issue seriously.
I am having TCAM issues but am based in Canada. I assume I cannot participate in this class action?