Volkswagen Recalls Cars and SUVs for Backup Camera Problems

Keith Barry
·3 min read

These cars need a software update or else the backup camera image might not display

By Keith Barry

If you have a newer Volkswagen, you may need to take your car to the dealership for a free software update.

VW is recalling over 43,000 cars and SUVs to fix a software problem with the backup camera. The recalled vehicles are the 2021 Golf GTI hatchback, 2021 Jetta, Jetta GLI and Arteon sedans, 2021 Tiguan SUV, 2022 Jetta sedan, and 2022 Taos, Tiguan, Atlas, and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs.

A faulty backup camera means that these vehicles may be in violation of a specific federal motor vehicle safety standard that requires new vehicles to have rear visibility technology installed as standard equipment. Before this rule went into effect, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that 210 individuals were killed and 15,000 injured by vehicles backing over them.

In documents provided by Volkswagen to NHTSA, the automaker said it was not aware of any cases of backup cameras not displaying outside of internal testing or any warranty claims due to the issue.

The Details

Vehicles recalled:

• Volkswagen Golf GTI hatchbacks manufactured between Sept. 23, 2020, and Dec. 22, 2020.

• Volkswagen Jetta GLI sedans manufactured between Sept. 23, 2020, and Feb. 11, 2022.

• Volkswagen Tiguan SUVs manufactured between Aug. 4, 2021, and Jan. 27, 2022, and between Sept. 2, 2020, and Dec. 4, 2021.

• Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport SUVs manufactured between July 15, 2020, and Feb. 10, 2022.

• Volkswagen Atlas SUVs manufactured between June 15, 2020, and Feb. 8, 2022.

• Volkswagen Jetta sedans manufactured between Oct. 1, 2020, and Jan. 14, 2022, and on Apr. 19, 2022.

• Volkswagen Arteon sedans manufactured between Sept. 23, 2020, and July 29, 2021.

• Volkswagen Taos SUVs manufactured between Mar. 26, 2021, and Dec. 26, 2021.

The problem: During the manufacturing process, software was installed on the vehicle’s internal eMMC memory module before it was soldered to the vehicle. This may have led to software problems that could prevent the backup camera from displaying.

The fix: Volkswagen dealerships will reinstall this software free of charge.

How to contact the manufacturer: Owners can call Volkswagen at 800-893-5298. Volkswagen will start notifying them by mail on Sept. 16, 2022.

NHTSA campaign number: 22V514. Volkswagen’s own number for this recall is 91DV.

Check to see whether your vehicle has an open recall: NHTSA’s website will tell you whether your vehicle has any open recalls that need to be addressed.

If you plug your car’s 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) into NHTSA’s website and a recall doesn’t appear, it means your vehicle doesn’t currently have one. Because automakers issue recalls often, and for many older vehicles, we recommend checking back regularly.



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