Tesla Recalls 239,000 EVs After Rearview Cameras Stop Displaying

On January 10, 2025, Tesla filed a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) covering approximately 239,000 electric vehicles in the United States. The issue: a software condition that could cause the rearview camera display to go blank, reducing a driver's rear visibility and technically violating Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 111, which mandates a functional rear-view image on vehicles equipped with a backup camera system.

NHTSA acknowledgment letter 25V-002 says the rearview camera image "may fail," increasing the risk of a collision during low-speed backing maneuvers. The affected vehicles include multiple Tesla models produced within a specific manufacturing window; Tesla planned to deliver an over-the-air software update to address the problem, meaning no physical service visit was expected in most cases.

For auto glass shops, the recall itself required no windshield work. However, the episode is a useful reminder that rearview cameras on EVs and many other vehicles rely on correct calibration data tied to the vehicle's display processor. If a shop replaces rear glass or disturbs any camera housing during a repair, it must verify that backup camera functionality is intact and documented before returning the vehicle.

Tesla had already executed 16 recalls covering more than five million vehicles in the United States during 2024. The pace of software-driven recalls across the industry underscores how frequently camera and sensor systems—which auto glass technicians increasingly work around—are subject to safety actions.

The recall also highlights an important shop business point: consumer awareness of camera system recalls is rising, and customers whose vehicles appear in recall databases may call shops first with questions. Staying current on NHTSA recall filings helps service advisors field those calls accurately and, where relevant, point customers toward OEM dealer service for software updates before or after glass work.

This week's action was part of a broader early-2025 pattern in which camera-adjacent recalls put the auto glass and collision industries on notice that visibility systems—whether forward-facing ADAS cameras or backup cameras—require careful documentation whenever related glass or trim work is performed.