While sometimes it can seem like car recalls are unnecessary, after all, if your car has a problem you take it to get fixed and if it does not, then the problem does not affect you, oftentimes they are a matter of public safety and it does not matter whether or not your particular vehicle has shown the problem, just that it gets fixed before anything bad happens. This is the case with the latest Nissan recall, who is facing troubles with some of their backup cameras.
You might think that this is one of the cases in which it does not make sense to recall cars, after all it is just a camera, a minor inconvenience when it breaks, since you should still be able to park using mirrors. The fact that when you put the put the vehicle in reverse, the rearview camera might suddenly go blank is just a mild annoyance.
Except that it is not. This is a safety feature, and although it would be ok for most people to park using just mirrors, the camera gives an extra layer of protection, especially because it gives a unobstructed view of the back of the car, which can alert the driver to the presence of animals and small children that mirrors would not be able to pick up, especially in bogger models where visibility is not as good.
The Nissan recall, a big safety concern
Because this issue is so prevalent, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put out two separate recall notices on October 3, one affecting about 37,000 cars, which includes the 2024 and 2025 Nissan Rogue and the 2025 Infiniti QX80. The second notice affected a slightly smaller number of vehicles, just over 3,200 Infiniti QX80s equipped with the Around View Monitor system.
The first recall is due to the glitch in the software that can cause the backup camera to simply not work when the car is shifted into reverse, which according to the NHTSA wording, the issue “may cause the rearview camera to display a blank screen when the vehicle is in reverse.” The second recall is similar and has a comparable issue, but in this case the camera does not go black, it freezes, which might be worse because it does not allow you to see changes in the space behind you and thus not notice a pedestrian or an animal coming up behind your vehicle.
Apart from the practical issues from the driver’s point of view, the affected vehicles no longer meet the standards required by law, specifically Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 111, which deals with how well drivers can see behind them when reversing. That standard exists to make sure rear visibility technology like backup cameras actually helps prevent accidents. Since Nissan is attempting to solve the problem, there will be no fines issued as the recalls take place, but there is a definite emphasis on the problem being dealt with as soon as possible.
The fix should be simple and will be available for drivers starting in October. Most of the vehicles will be able to have an over-the-air update, which means owners will not have to take their vehicles into a dealership, as the update will be installed just like the one on a phone. For the vehicles that do not support wireless updates, the drivers will need to take them to the dealership to ensure that they fix is installed correctly and that there are no more issues with the cameras. In any case, the fix will be free and owners will not have to worry about covering the expense for the updated camera.