Rearview camera recalls are becoming common. Here's why

Automakers such as Ford, Volkswagen, Stellantis and Honda have all had recalls in recent months that involve rearview cameras and their images.

It's not usually seen as an automotive defect that endangers lives, but it's annoying nonetheless. Here are the most recent recalls:

• Ford Motor Co. recalled nearly 110,000 vehicles in May after it found their rearview camera images weren't displaying properly because of electromagnetic interference from cell phones.
• Volkswagen Group recalled more than 80,000 vehicles in June because of delayed or deactivated rearview camera images.
• In the same month, Stellantis recalled nearly 1.2 million vehicles in June because of rearview camera images conflicting with radio systems.
• Also in June, Honda Motor Co. recalled nearly 138,000 vehicles over rearview camera images that don't display.

None of the automakers shared the same supplier for the faulty parts that led to these recalls.

The supplier may not be the root of the issues automakers are having with rearview cameras, William Wallace, associate director of safety policy at Consumer Reports, told Automotive News. There's a federal safety standard on rearview cameras that makes it much easier to trigger a recall, Wallace said.

"You don't have any gray areas that you have with a lot of other vehicle systems," Wallace said.

This means that every mistake made in implementing rearview camera technology is more likely to trigger a recall than other issues, said Wallace.

The automotive industry is transitioning to software-based vehicles from hardware-based vehicles, said Art Hyde, director of the automotive engineering program at the University of Michigan. In the past, rearview cameras and their images were operated by a simple switch, the former chief engineer at Ford said. But today, software and hardware are intertwined.

"I think it's very difficult to proof out software," Hyde said. "Particularly, you have to proof out not just software alone, but software in the context of the hardware."

The shift to advanced technology in cars is a good thing, but it means the automotive industry is on a learning curve, Hyde said. While companies continue to work toward building vehicles rooted in software, these recalls are to be expected.